Texas has full firm mobility and an open individual privilege — but the specific test for qualifying as an individual changed less than a year ago, and the board's own website hasn't been updated to match. Here's what actually applies to a California-licensed CPA today.
Senate Bill 522 deleted the old NASBA/NQAS substantial-equivalency test from Tex. Occ. Code § 901.462(a) and replaced it with individual criteria, effective September 1, 2025. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy's own practice-privilege page, as of this page's last review, still describes the repealed NASBA checklist — the statute and the board's own conformed rule (22 TAC § 517.2, amended effective October 9, 2025) both say otherwise. Don't rely on the board's plain-English page alone for this specific question.
Under the current statute, you qualify by having passed the Uniform CPA Exam and meeting your education/experience requirement at the time you were originally licensed in California, through one of three pathways: a 150-hour bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration plus 1 year of experience; a graduate degree with an accounting concentration plus 1 year of experience; or a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration plus 2 years of experience. California's own licensure requirements track closely enough that most actively-licensed California CPAs clear this without issue. There's no notice, no fee, and no registration required.
If you already held an out-of-state license and were practicing under Texas's privilege as of December 31, 2024, you keep it under a grandfather clause without needing to meet the new criteria.
Texas has had full firm mobility since 2019 (HB 1520) — an out-of-state firm needs no Texas firm license, registration, or notice for either attest or non-attest work performed through licensed or privileged individuals, unless the firm actually establishes an office in Texas. The one condition that applies regardless of office location: attest work for a client whose home office is in Texas requires the performing firm to meet CPA-majority ownership rules, comply with Texas's peer review program (which can be satisfied through your home state's own peer review program, per the board's FAQ), and perform the work through a Texas-licensed or privilege-holding individual.
The honest caveat: this page is sourced to Tex. Occ. Code §§ 901.461, 901.462, and 901.351(a-1) as amended by SB 522, plus the conformed board rule at 22 TAC § 517.2 — not to the Texas board's own web page, which was stale as of this page's last review. It's general orientation, not a determination for your specific engagement type. Run your own situation through our Practice Privilege Check tool, or confirm directly with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. And don't lose track of your own California renewal while you're at it — it runs on a birth-month/odd-even cycle that's easy to misremember. Check your California renewal date here.
General orientation, not a citation. This guide draws on board rules and, where available, this site's own verified dataset — it isn't a primary source in itself. Last checked against those sources: August 13, 2026.
For the current renewal date or CPE figures your state actually enforces, use the state page linked above — it carries a direct link to the board page and codified rule, per our verification standard.