Texas CPA License Reinstatement: What a Lapsed License Costs
If your Texas CPA license has already lapsed
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No flat fee -- a tiered multiplier of the base renewal fee under 22 TAC § 515.5: 1.5x if expired ≤ 90 days, 2x if expired 90 days–1 year, 3x if expired 1–2 years; at 2+ years (revocation-eligible) the licensee owes all accrued renewal + late fees for the lapsed period, not a simple multiple. If the license was suspended or revoked for non-payment of fees, failure to complete the renewal, or failure to meet the mandatory CPE rule, 22 TAC § 515.5(g) has the executive director decide individually, on written application, whether those fees must be paid for those years and whether any fee exemption applies. At the $112/yr base individual fee (the most recent figure the Board has published) this computes to roughly $168 / $224 / $336 for the first three tiers -- recompute these if the base fee has since risen.
- Under 22 TAC § 523.112(d) (amended effective October 9, 2025), a former licensee whose certificate or registration was revoked for failure to pay the license fee must report at least 120 CPE credits completed in the 36 months before the reinstatement application, with at least 20 of them completed in the 12 months before it. That is a total for the window, not extra penalty hours on top of normal CPE. An individual reinstated administratively under 22 TAC § 515.5(e) must also meet the Board's Chapter 523 CPE requirements. The Chapter 523 requirements include a board-approved four-credit ethics course every two years (22 TAC § 523.130). That rule is written for a current licensee and does not say how it applies to someone reinstating after a lapse, so confirm with the Board whether you need one and how recent it must be.
Sourcing note: The § 523.112 reinstatement CPE rule was amended effective October 9, 2025 (50 TexReg 6492). We read the adopted text on the Texas Secretary of State's rule viewer. The rule links here open that viewer, which needs a regular web browser to show the text, and the Board's Act page linked here covers only the statute, not Board rules. Free third-party copies of § 523.112 (such as Cornell's) still show the older pre-2025 wording, which said a former licensee must report the minimum CPE credits missed. The Board's own July 10, 2025 board-meeting notice describes the new 120-hour / 36-month / 20-in-12-months test. Confirm the current rule text with the Board before you apply. (Last checked 2026-11-01.)
What triggers lapsed status: Individual licenses renew annually by the last day of the licensee's birth month. Missing that deadline triggers the escalating late-fee tiers above. Failure to complete renewal for 3 consecutive years lets the Board revoke the license under Tex. Occ. Code § 901.502(4). If a license was suspended or a certificate revoked for voluntary non-payment of the annual fees, voluntary non-completion of the annual renewal, or voluntary non-completion of Board-required CPE, 22 TAC § 515.5(e) allows administrative reinstatement: meet the Chapter 523 CPE requirements, submit fingerprints if not previously submitted, and pay all renewal and late fees (or, on a showing of good cause, enter an Agreed Consent Order). See the fee note above: § 515.5(g) can change what is owed. That administrative path does not cover a revocation on other grounds.
See Texas's CPA license renewal deadline →