Texas: CPE, firm permit and peer review rules for CPAs.

This page lists what the Texas board of accountancy publishes for a CPA and a CPA firm: CPE hours and the reporting period, the ethics requirement, whether a firm permit or registration is required, whether peer review is required, the licence renewal cycle, and whether an out-of-state CPA may practise under a practice privilege.

It is built for owners of small accounting and bookkeeping firms, especially those licensed in one state and serving clients in another. Every entry is a snapshot of what the cited source published on the verification date; it is a research starting point, not licensing advice.

Texas, field by field.

Board of accountancy

Texas State Board of Public Accountancy

CPE hours & reporting period

120 CPE credits in each three-year period with a minimum of 20 credits in each one-year period; the licence period ends on the last day of the licensee's birth month and CPE is reported at the annual renewal. 22 TAC § 523.112(a): "A licensee shall complete at least 120 CPE credits in each three-year period, and a minimum of 20 CPE credits in each one-year period." § 523.112(c)(1): "The first license period begins on the date of certification and ends with the last day of the licensee's birth month"; (c)(2)-(6): no CPE for the first full 12-month licence period; 20 credits for the second; at least 60 credits in the preceding 24 months for the third; at least 100 in the preceding 36 months for the fourth; at least 120 in the preceding 36 months (with at least 20 in the preceding 12 months) from the fifth period onward. § 523.112(e): a non-resident licensee meets the requirement by meeting the CPE requirements of the state of the principal place of business. Tex. Occ. Code § 901.411(c): the board provides for CPE reporting "to coincide with the person's license renewal date." Board renewal page: "You need 120 hours of CPE every three years" "with no carryover of unused credits."

Ethics CPE requirement

A Board-approved four-credit ethics course every two years. 22 TAC § 523.130(a): "A licensee must complete a board-approved four CPE credit ethics course, as required by §523.131 of this chapter (relating to Board Approval of Ethics Course Content), beginning two years following the expiration of initial licensure." § 523.130(b): "A licensee must take the four CPE credit ethics course required by §523.131 of this chapter and as defined in §523.102 of this chapter (relating to CPE Purpose and Definitions) every two years, and shall report completion of the course on the annual license renewal notice at least every second year." § 523.130(d): a licensee who does not reside in Texas, has no clients within Texas and is current with the ethics course requirements of the state of residence "is not required to take the mandated ethics course." Board renewal page: "at least 4 hours of Texas-specific Ethics every two years."

CPA firm permit / registration

A firm licence is required to provide attest services or use CPA-firm titles (unless the firm practises under the out-of-state firm privilege of § 901.461), and for any firm that establishes or maintains an office in Texas; each Texas office must hold a licence. Tex. Occ. Code § 901.351(a): "A firm may not provide attest services or use the title "CPA's," "CPA Firm," "Certified Public Accountants," "Certified Public Accounting Firm," or "Auditing Firm" or a variation of one of those titles unless the firm holds a firm license issued under this subchapter or practices in this state under a privilege under Section 901.461." § 901.351(a-1): "A firm is required to hold a firm license under this subchapter if the firm establishes or maintains an office in this state." § 901.401(b): "Each office in this state of a certified public accountancy firm or a firm of public accountants must hold a license issued under this chapter." 22 TAC § 513.10(a): a firm providing attest services or using those titles "shall do so only through a licensed firm"; § 513.10(b): a majority of the ownership, in financial interests and voting rights, must belong to certificate holders or CPAs licensed in another state, and all attest services performed in Texas must be supervised by a certificate holder (also Tex. Occ. Code § 901.354(a), (f)). 22 TAC § 513.15(a)-(b): a licence for each office located in Texas, and each office designates a resident manager licensed under the Act who is a Texas resident or spends a majority of the work week in Texas as resident manager. Firm licence term and renewal date: not stated in the statute or rules read — § 901.351(e)(3) leaves the term of a firm licence to board rule, and 22 TAC §§ 513.10, 513.12, 513.15 and 521.13 do not state it.

Peer review requirement

Each firm licensed or registered with the Board that performs attest services must participate; a subsequent review is due three years and six months after the year end of the previous review. Tex. Occ. Code § 901.159(a): "The board by rule shall provide for a peer review program to review the work product of a license holder or of the certified public accountancy firm." 22 TAC § 527.4(a): "Participation in the program is required of each firm licensed or registered with the board that performs any attest services as defined in §901.002 of the Act"; "A firm whose highest level of service is preparation engagements under SSARS is not required to participate in the program," and a firm whose attest services are subject only to PCAOB inspection is also not required to participate. § 527.4(b): "A firm that does not perform attest services as set out in subsection (a) of this section shall annually submit to the board a request for an exemption from the peer review program"; an exempt firm that begins attest services notifies the board within 30 days. § 527.4(c): enrol "within 30 days of performing services that require a review"; "a firm's subsequent peer review is due three years and six months after the year end of the previous peer review, or earlier as may be required by the sponsoring organization, a committee of the board or the board's executive director." § 527.4(h): an out-of-state firm practising under § 901.461 must comply with the peer review program of the state in which it is licensed. Board peer review page: "A firm must be peer reviewed if it does audits, reviews, compilations" and certain special reports; exemptions are claimed under Board Rule 527.4 using Form L0031.

Licence renewal cycle

Annual; CPE and the renewal fee are due by the last day of the licensee's birth month. Board renewal page: CPE hours must be completed and the fee paid by "the last day of your birth month"; renewal can be started six weeks before the deadline. Tex. Occ. Code § 901.403(a)-(b): the board specifies the term of a licence and "may adopt a system under which licenses expire on various dates during the year." § 901.405(a): "A person whose license has expired may not engage in activities that require a license until the license has been renewed"; (b)-(d): late renewal fees of 1½, 2 and 3 times the renewal fee by lapse period; (e): a licence expired two years or more "may not" be renewed.

Mobility / practice privilege

Yes, without a Texas certificate or licence and without notice. Tex. Occ. Code § 901.462(a) (as amended effective September 1, 2025): an individual who "holds an active certificate or license as a certified public accountant issued by another state and whose principal place of business is not in this state may exercise all the privileges of certificate and license holders of this state without obtaining a certificate or license under this chapter if the individual" has passed the uniform CPA examination, completed one of the listed degree pathways (150-hour baccalaureate with accounting concentration; graduate degree with accounting concentration; or baccalaureate with accounting concentration) and the matching one or two years of work experience. § 901.462(b): such an individual "may practice public accountancy in this state without notice to the board." § 901.462(c): the individual "is subject to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction and disciplinary authority of the board," "must comply with this chapter and the board's rules," and appoints the issuing state's agency as agent for service of process. § 901.462(f): an individual who on December 31, 2024 practised in Texas under this privilege may continue to exercise it. § 901.461(a): an out-of-state firm "may practice in this state without a firm license or notice to the board if the firm's practice in this state is performed by an individual who holds a license under this chapter or who practices under a privilege under Section 901.462"; § 901.461(b): attest services for an entity with its home office in Texas require compliance with the ownership requirements of § 901.354 and the peer review program under § 901.159. Board practice-privilege page: qualifying CPAs "are not required to provide notice to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy" and need not "pay a fee prior to practicing public accountancy in Texas."