TSBPA timing guide · unofficial

When should you file your Application of Intent?

The AOI is how TSBPA officially evaluates your coursework. It costs $20 — but filing it too early can waste it, because it starts a clock you cannot pause.

What changed on August 1, 2026

Texas licensure rules were rewritten by SB 262 (signed May 8, 2025; TSBPA rules effective October 10, 2025). Three things matter to students:

A second licensure route exists: Pathway B. Bachelor's degree + 120 semester hours + 27 upper-level accounting + 24 upper-level business hours (including the 3-hour ethics course) + 2 years of qualifying experience. The classic route (Pathway A) still asks for 150 hours + 1 year of experience.
Sitting for the exam needs more accounting. The upper-level accounting hours required to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam rose from 21 to 24 on August 1, 2026, and the specific content expectations changed. If you planned around the old 21-hour rule, re-check your accounting courses.
Pathway A's accounting pool grew. Pathway A now draws its selected accounting hours from a wider pool (15 → 18 selected hours on top of the 12 specific hours). More courses can qualify — but only TSBPA confirms which ones.

TSBPA exam requirements (PDF) · TSBPA certification requirements (PDF)

What the AOI actually gives you

For the $20 fee, TSBPA reviews transcripts from every school you attended (even if you do not need those credits) and issues the only education evaluation that officially counts. You may file while you are still completing courses — but the AOI cannot be approved until your baccalaureate degree is conferred and 120 semester hours appear on your official transcript.

The 2-year clock — the real timing decision

An AOI expires two years after you submit it unless you pass at least one CPA Exam section within that window, and expired files are destroyed. That is why filing as a freshman or sophomore is usually a waste of $20: if life delays your exam by two years, you file — and pay — again.

Fees at a glance

ItemFee

Application of Intent (AOI)Nonrefundable, check or money order only (Board Rule 521.12). Includes the education evaluation and a background review.$20

Transfer of Credit evaluationBoard Rule 521.7 — for coursework taken outside the standard evaluation path.$100

Eligibility Application (per exam section)Filed after the AOI, once you are ready to schedule a section. TSBPA typically processes it in 24–48 hours.$15

A sensible order of operations

Run a free unofficial preflight (like this site's tool) while you are still taking courses — it costs nothing and starts no clock.
Fix real gaps with upcoming course registrations; your academic advisor confirms what your school offers.
File the AOI when you are within roughly a year of sitting for your first exam section — close enough that the 2-year window is safe, early enough that the official evaluation can still change your last registrations.
Treat the official AOI evaluation as the answer; treat every unofficial tool, including this guide, as preparation.

Unofficial guidance, last reviewed against TSBPA publications on 2026-08-13. Fees and rules change — verify current amounts and deadlines with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy before filing anything.

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