1. (a) To qualify for the issuance of a CPA certificate, an applicant must hold at a minimum a baccalaureate degree, conferred by a board-recognized institution of higher education as defined by §511.52 of this chapter (relating to Recognized Institutions of Higher Education), and have completed the board-recognized coursework identified in paragraphs (1), or (2), and (3) - (5) this section:

   1. (1) effective through July 31, 2026, at least 27 semester hours or quarter-hour equivalents of upper level accounting courses as defined by §511.57 of this chapter (relating to Courses in an Accounting Concentration to take the UCPAE) to include a minimum of two semester credit hours in research and analysis;
   2. (2) effective August 1, 2026, at least 30 semester hours or quarter-hour equivalents of upper level accounting courses as defined by §511.57 of this chapter;
   3. (3) no fewer than 24 semester hours or quarter-hour equivalents of upper level related business courses, as defined by §511.58 of this chapter (relating to Related Business Subjects);
   4. (4) although not required to meet subsection (a)(5) of this section, the board may accept not more than six hours or quarter hour equivalents of CPA review coursework completed at a board-recognized institution of higher education; and

   5. (5) academic coursework at an institution of higher education as defined by §511.52 of this chapter, when combined with paragraphs (1) - (4) of this subsection meets or exceeds 150 semester hours. An applicant who has met paragraphs (1) - (3) of this subsection may use a maximum of 9 total semester credit hours of undergraduate or graduate independent study and/or internships as defined in §511.51(b)(4) or §511.51(b)(5) of this chapter (relating to Educational Definitions) to meet this paragraph. The courses shall consist of:

      1. (A) a maximum of three semester credit hours of independent study courses; and
      2. (B) a maximum of six semester credit hours of accounting/business course internships including the coursework used to meet §511.58 of this chapter (relating to Related Business Subjects).

2. (b) The following courses, courses of study, certificates, and programs may not be used to meet the 150 semester hour requirement:

   1. (1) remedial or developmental courses offered at an educational institution; and

   2. (2) credits awarded for coursework taken through the following organizations and shown on a transcript from an institution of higher education may not be used to meet the requirement of this chapter:

      1. (A) American College Education (ACE);
      2. (B) Prior Learning Assessment (PLA);
      3. (C) Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES);
      4. (D) Defense Subject Standardized Test (DSST); and
      5. (E) StraighterLine.
3. (c) The hours from a course that has been repeated will be counted only once toward the required semester hours.
4. (d) The work experience shall be at least one year of full time non-routine accounting experience as defined by §511.122 and §511.123 of this chapter (relating to Acceptable Work Experience and Reporting Work Experience) and supervised by a CPA as defined by §511.124 of this chapter (relating to Acceptable Supervision).

Source Note:The provisions of this §511.164 adopted to be effective October 4, 2023, 48 TexReg 5666; amended to be effective February 7, 2024, 49 TexReg 554; amended to be effective October 9, 2025, 50 TexReg 6489.