Texas (TX) CPA Continuing Education (CPE) Requirements

BestCPE (CPE Publications, Inc.) is registered with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (Sponsor # 9074). Listed below are some of the Texas CPA CPE requirements that apply to online continuing education. BestCPE designs its courses to meet the credit hour requirement by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. Please use the official rules from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy as the official documentation for any questions related to Texas CPA CPE.

Texas CPA CPE Purpose and Definitions

The purpose of CPE is to help ensure that licensees are able to serve the public in a competent manner. Licensees may participate in a variety of sponsored learning activities, such as "live classroom programs" or "self-study programs".

"Live programs" are those educational processes that are designed to permit a participant to learn a given subject through interaction with an instructor and other participants either in a classroom or conference setting or by using the internet which includes the following:

(A) Workshops, seminars, and conferences with substantial interaction by a qualified instructor/facilitator. A sponsor will issue certificates of completion at the end of the class for participants who attended the entire program.

(B) "Blended programs or interactive computer programs" include:

(i) "Group self-study" programs that are based on self-study materials presented in a group format with substantial interaction from a qualified instructor who is responsible for answering participant's questions or who leads the discussion of individual topics presented in the materials.

(ii) "Webinar" is a program that is a web cast and the participants are led by a discussion leader/facilitator that interacts with the web cast instructors. Sponsors will issue certificates of completion at the end of the class.

"Self-study programs" provide ongoing feedback for the participant regarding the learning process without substantial interaction of an instructor/facilitator. This type of program clearly defines learning objectives and manages the participant through the learning process by:

(i) requiring frequent response to questions that test for understanding of the material presented: providing evaluative feedback to incorrectly answered questions; and

(ii) providing evaluative feedback to correctly answered questions.

Sponsor will provide a certificate of completion upon successfully passing the final exam. Self-study programs include the following:

(i) programs that are taken on the internet individually and involve the participant answering questions that test for understanding after each section of the course and passing a final exam to earn credit for the course. A certificate of completion is immediately received once the participant successfully passes the final exam.

(ii) courses in which course materials are sent to a participant and after completing the course and the final exam, the participant sends the final exam to the sponsor either electronically or by mail for grading. The sponsor may send the grade either electronically or by mail to the participant.

Texas CPA CPE Purpose and Definitions

The fundamental purpose of CPE is to increase the licensee's professional competence that benefits the public. Courses the board regards as increasing the licensee's professional competence include:

(1) technical courses pertaining to the profession of accounting such as, but not limited to, accounting, audit, tax, management advisory services, and other technical areas of benefit to a licensee and a licensee's employer(s); and

(2) non-technical courses such as, but not limited to, communications, ethics, behavioral science, practice management and advanced courses in foreign languages relating to accounting, which are of benefit to a licensee or a licensee's employer(s).

Staff meetings or other settings that do not include technical issues that enhance a licensee's professional development can not be claimed for CPE credit.

Texas CPA Mandatory CPE Attendance

A licensee shall complete at least 120 hours of CPE in each three-year period, and a minimum of 20 hours in each one-year period. CPE, except as provided by board rule shall be offered by board contracted CPE sponsors. The exception to this requirement is an initial licensee, one who has been certified or registered for less than 12 months.

The exception to the requirement of 120 hours of CPE is an initial licensee, one who is paying the license fee for the first time. To be issued a license that is less than twelve months from the date of certification or registration, the licensee does not have a CPE hour requirement. The first license period begins on the date of certification and ends with the last day of the licensee's birth month.

To be issued a license for the first full twelve-month license period, the licensee does not have a CPE accrual requirement and can report zero hours. CPE earned prior to the first twelve month license period will not be applied toward the three year requirement. To be issued a license for the second full twelve-month period, the licensee must report a minimum of 20 CPE hours. The hours must be accrued in the 12 months preceding the license period. To be issued a license for the third full twelve-month license period, the licensee must report a total of at least 60 CPE hours that were accrued in the 24 months preceding the license period.

At least 20 hours of the requirement must be accrued in the 12 months preceding the license period. To be issued a license for the fourth full twelve-month period, the licensee must report 100 CPE hours that were accrued in the 36 months preceding the license period. At least 20 hours of the requirement must be accrued in the 12 months preceding the license period. To be issued a license for the fifth and subsequent license periods, the licensee must report a total of at least 120 CPE hours that were accrued in the 36 months proceeding the license period, and at least 20 hours of the requirement must be accrued in the 12 months preceding the license period.

Texas CPA Ethics Requirement

A candidate applying for certification or registration must complete a board-approved four hour ethics course designed to thoroughly familiarize the applicant with the board's Rules of Professional Conduct no more than six months prior to submission of the application. Proof of completion of this course must be submitted with the application.

A licensee must take a four hour ethics course that has been approved by the board pursuant to §523.131 of this title (relating to Board Approval of Ethics Course Content) every two years. Licensees shall report completion of the course on the annual license renewal notice at least every second year. A licensee granted retired, permanent disability, or other exempt status is not required to complete the ethics course during the licensee's exempt status. When the exempt status is no longer applicable, the licensee must complete an ethics course approved by the board and report it on the annual license renewal notice if due.

A licensee must take the ethics course in a live instructor format or in a format as defined in §523.102(c)(1) of this title (relating to CPE Purpose and Definitions). A person who does not reside in the state of Texas, who has no clients within this state, and who is current with the ethics course requirements of his state of residence is not required to take the ethics course mandated by this section.

  Give us a call at 877-7CPENOW.