state eligibility guide
Texas CPA exam requirements
Texas requires bachelor's degree or higher and 120 semester hours, including 24 accounting hours for CPA exam eligibility. Texas State Board of Public Accountancy makes the final eligibility decision.
Published by Kesler CPA Review, a commercial CPA exam preparation company. This page is educational, not legal advice. The Board or application authority makes the final eligibility decision.
- Minimum education to sit
- 120 semester hours
- Degree rule
- bachelor's degree or higher required to sit
- Passed-section credit window
- 30-month passed-section credit window
Education requirements to sit
- Degree: bachelor's degree or higher required to sit
- Minimum education to sit: 120 semester hours
- Accounting coursework: 24 semester hours
- Business coursework: 21 semester hours
- Upper-level accounting: 24 semester hours
- Accreditation: Degree and courses must be completed through Board-recognized institutions and Board-recognized course offerings.
Required accounting subjects
- Financial accounting and reporting
- Financial statement auditing
- Taxation
- Accounting information systems or accounting data analytics
Other required coursework
- Board-recognized upper-level related-business courses
- A three-semester-hour Board-approved ethics course is required for certification, not for initial exam eligibility
Effective August 1, 2026, Texas increased the examination accounting requirement from 21 to 24 upper-level hours. Elementary accounting, principles, introductory courses, CPA review, CPE, accounting software, and ethics courses do not count as upper-level accounting hours. Board-approved community-college accounting programs may supply recognized courses.
Personal eligibility rules
- Citizenship: U.S. citizenship is not listed as an absolute requirement; review any lawful-presence rule
- U.S. residency: No U.S. residency requirement is listed
- Jurisdiction residency: No jurisdiction-residency requirement is listed
- Social Security number: An SSN is required
- Character review before sitting: A character requirement applies before sitting
- Background investigation completed through the Application of Intent
Texas does not impose a residency requirement. The Application of Intent requires Social Security documentation and permits non-U.S. identification documents, so U.S. citizenship is not required.
How to apply
Apply through Texas State Board of Public Accountancy Paper Application of Intent followed by an online Eligibility Application for each section.
Documents commonly required for this application
- Application of Intent
- Official transcripts from every institution attended
- Authorization and release form
- Government-issued identification and Social Security documentation
- Background statement when applicable
- Foreign-education documentation when applicable
- Required fees
The $20 Application of Intent expires after two years unless the applicant takes an examination section. After approval, submit a $15 online Eligibility Application for each section.
Published exam fees
- Application of Intent: $20.00 This fee is not repeated while the Application of Intent remains valid.
- Section eligibility application: $15.00 per section Charged for each exam section selected.
- CPA exam section fee: $268.59 per section Charged for each exam section selected.
- Transfer-of-credit Application of Intent: $100.00 This conditional transfer fee is not part of the ordinary first-time estimate.
Before you pay: These figures were verified on 2026-08-09, but fee schedules can change. Confirm the current official fee schedule.
Can you apply or sit before graduation?
- Apply before the degree is awarded: Yes, subject to the conditions below
- Sit before the degree is awarded: No; the education requirement must be completed first
- Final transcript deadline: Education must be documented before eligibility approval
Candidates may file the Application of Intent while finishing education for a preliminary review, but the Board cannot approve exam eligibility until the bachelor's degree and 120-hour examination education are documented.
Foreign education
- Foreign education accepted: Yes, with the jurisdiction's conditions
- Credential evaluation: A credential evaluation is required
- NIES: NIES is not specifically required
- Certified translation: A certified translation is required when applicable
The Texas Board performs its own foreign-education evaluation and does not accept an outside credential evaluation in place of its review. Applicants with foreign education should contact the Board's Qualifications team.
NTS and passed-section credit
- NTS issuer: NASBA
- NTS validity: 180 days
- Passed-section credit: 30-month passed-section credit window
- Continuous testing: Available subject to current AICPA scheduling windows
- Candidates have 180 days from Board approval to pay NASBA, schedule with Prometric, and take the approved section; the Board does not grant extensions.
- Discipline sections follow AICPA testing windows.
The 180-day eligibility clock begins on the date of Board approval. The deadline in the Board approval email and NTS controls.
Sitting for the exam is not the same as licensure
These examination rules answer whether you can apply and sit. A CPA license can require additional education, experience, ethics, and administrative steps.
- Education for licensure: 120 semester hours under the current pathway
- Experience: 1 year required under the current pathway
- Ethics exam: Required
- Alternative pathway: enacted and effective
Pathway A requires 150 hours and one year. Pathway B, effective August 1, 2026, requires 120 hours and two years of full-time, non-routine accounting experience directly supervised by a CPA.
Special rules and recent changes
- Texas uses Board-recognized course lists and specific upper-level course definitions.
- education requirement: 24 upper-level accounting hours to sit; 21 upper-level related-business hours. Effective date: 2026-08-01. Read the official change source.
- alternative pathway: Pathway B: bachelor's degree, 120 hours, and two years of qualifying experience; Pathway A remains. Effective date: 2026-08-01. Read the official change source.
Official sources used
- CPA Exam — NASBA Exam Fees — Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-08)
- Education Requirements — Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- New Pathway for CPA Exam and Certification — Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Application of Intent — Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
- Eligibility Application — Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Texas CPA Exam — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Eligibility Application Fees — Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-08)
- Eligibility Application — Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
- Implementing Candidate Fee Changes — National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (accessed 2026-08-09)
Before you apply: Confirm the current application, fees, NTS terms, and testing availability with the Board. This guide only includes details we could verify from published sources, and the licensing section is a starting point—not a complete licensing checklist.
Your application plan
Turn this page into a checklist
Check off each research step as you complete it. This is a planning aid; finishing the checklist does not mean the Board has approved your eligibility.