CPA exam and license
Texas CPA requirements: Pathway A or Pathway B
Texas offers two routes to the CPA license: Pathway A with 150 college semester hours and 1 year of experience, Pathway B with 120 hours, usually a bachelor’s degree, and 2 years. Type your hours and years of experience to see which one you fit.
Independent site: not run by, or affiliated with, any body that sets these exams or charges these fees.
Step 1: which licensure route fits you in Texas
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Route this example fits (120 hours, 2 years): type your own hours and years above
Pathway B (120 hours)
| Pathway A: 150 semester hours and 12 months of experience | short 30 hours |
| Pathway B: 120 semester hours and 24 months of experience | this example fits |
Education content rules (accounting and business hours) apply on top: see the state page.
The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) now offers two routes to the CPA certificate. Pathway A is for candidates with at least 150 semester hours of college coursework and asks for 12 calendar months of full-time experience, or at least 2,000 hours of part-time work over no more than 2 consecutive years. Pathway B, in effect since August 1, 2026, is for candidates with at least 120 semester hours and asks for 24 months full-time, or 4,000 part-time hours over no more than 4 years. Both require a board-approved 3-semester-hour ethics course and a pass on the board’s exam on its Rules of Professional Conduct. TSBPA charges a $15 eligibility fee for each exam section applied for and $50 to issue the certificate; the section fees themselves are paid to NASBA.
Step 2: what the exam and Texas board fees cost
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
No retake counted yet: CPA exam and Texas board fees if all four sections pass the first time, prep not included
$1,184
| Four sections, $268.59 each | $1,074 |
| Retakes you expect: 0 × $268.59 | none typed |
| Texas board fee to apply for each section, $15 a try | $60 |
| Texas board, CPA certificate | $50 |
| Texas board, application of intent and license fee | not counted: ask the board |
| Your review course and books | not included: type it above |
Type how many sections you think you will retake to add them. Exam fees $1,074, plus $110 of Texas board fees we could confirm. One retake costs $283.59 here ($268.59 section fee, the same in every state, and the board’s fee for a new try). Pass rates for each section are published by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), which writes the exam; this site does not copy them, so retakes are the ones you type.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The two pathways
| Pathway A | Pathway B | |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 150 semester hours | 120 semester hours |
| Full-time experience | 12 calendar months | 24 calendar months |
| Part-time experience | 2,000 hours within 2 years | 4,000 hours within 4 years |
| In effect | already in force | since August 1, 2026 |
Pathway B is not a shortcut: the year saved in school is spent at work before the certificate. For a graduate who would take a paid job anyway, it moves the cost from tuition to time.
The Texas board runs an Examination Fee Financial Aid program that reimburses the exam section fees (paid to NASBA) to eligible candidates. Its conditions are on the board’s site.
The steps and their fees
- Application of intent. Texas candidates first file an application of intent, which lapses after two years if no section is sat. The fee amount was not stated on the page we read and is not shown.
- Eligibility application. $15 per section applied for, nonrefundable, according to the eligibility page. Approval opens a 180-day window, with no extensions.
- NASBA section fee. $268.59 per section as of July 4, 2026 (Virginia board figure; the fee is set by NASBA). TSBPA says it receives none of it.
- Ethics. A board-approved 3-semester-hour ethics course, and an exam on the Rules of Professional Conduct, sent after you apply.
- Certificate. $50 to issue it; the license fee follows.
What the exam costs in Texas
The Step 2 calculator above starts on Texas: it shows the same exam fees as the CPA exam cost page, $1,074, and adds the Texas board fees to them.
Because the $15 fee is charged per section applied for, each retake costs it again: a retake costs $283.59 in Texas, the section fee to NASBA and the board’s fee. With the four sections passed the first time, a candidate pays $1,074 to NASBA and $60 to the board, plus $50 for the certificate; with one retake, $1,343 to NASBA and $75 to the board. Type the retakes you expect in the Step 2 calculator.
Who should pick which
A candidate who already has 150 hours gains nothing from Pathway B. One at 120 hours chooses between thirty more hours of coursework with a year of experience and two years of experience without them. The tool lets you try both profiles; the five-state comparison shows that Florida, by contrast, still has no 120-hour route.
Part-time experience
Both pathways accept part-time work, measured in hours over a maximum period: 2,000 hours within 2 consecutive years on Pathway A, 4,000 hours within 4 years on Pathway B. A candidate working twenty hours a week logs about a thousand hours a year, so Pathway A’s part-time route takes about two years and Pathway B’s about four, in both cases right at the limit. Anyone below that pace should plan on full-time work for at least part of the period.
The tool above starts with an example, 120 hours and two years of experience, a profile Pathway B accepts; type your own figures. The date you apply does not change the result in Texas, since both pathways are open.