Texas architects must complete 12 continuing education program hours each calendar year, all related to health, safety, and welfare, including at least one hour of barrier-free design and one hour of sustainable or energy-efficient design. Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., an AIA Education Provider since 1985, publishes free AIA HSW courses and live webinars that address the barrier-free requirement at ronblank.com.
Key Facts
| Field | Detail |
| Annual requirement | 12 continuing education program hours (CEPH) |
| HSW rule | All 12 hours must relate to the health, safety, and welfare of the public |
| Barrier-free minimum | At least 1 CEPH related to barrier-free design |
| Sustainable minimum | At least 1 CEPH related to sustainable or energy-efficient design |
| Structured minimum | At least 8 CEPH in structured course study |
| Self-directed maximum | Up to 4 CEPH may be self-directed study |
| What a CEPH is | A period of at least 45 minutes spent in a qualifying activity |
| Reporting cycle | Calendar year, January 1 through December 31 |
| Renewal date | The last day of your birth month; you verify the prior calendar year |
| Carryover | Up to 12 excess CEPH may carry forward one calendar year only |
| Pre-approval | TBAE does not pre-approve continuing education courses or providers |
| Who it covers | Architects, registered interior designers, and landscape architects |
| Related CE | Free AIA HSW courses and live webinars at ronblank.com |
| Published by | Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. — AIA Education Provider |
Key Takeaways
- A Texas CEPH is defined as at least 45 minutes, not 60 — so an hour count from another system does not map one-to-one onto the Texas requirement.
- The structured-study minimum of eight hours means a year completed entirely through on-demand coursework does not comply, regardless of the total.
- The barrier-free and sustainable hours must be earned every calendar year, even by registrants claiming the out-of-state reciprocity exemption.
- Carryover exists but is limited to 12 hours and one year, and it never covers the two topic-specific hours.
- Ron Blank & Associates states its ADA course offerings address the Texas architect barrier-free education requirement.
The Requirement in Detail
The Texas Board of Architectural Examiners requires 12 continuing education program hours of activities related to the health, safety, and welfare of the public annually, including one hour related to barrier-free design and one hour related to sustainable or energy-efficient design. At least eight of the 12 must be structured study, and up to four may be self-directed study.
The cycle is the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, but the renewal date is the last day of your birth month. Those are different clocks. At renewal you verify completion of the requirement for the previous calendar year — so an architect renewing in May 2027 is certifying the 12 hours completed during calendar year 2026, not hours earned in the months just before renewal.
TBAE applies this framework to architects, registered interior designers, and landscape architects alike, which makes it unusually portable across a multidisciplinary Texas practice.
The 45-Minute CEPH
Texas measures continuing education in CEPH — continuing education program hours — which TBAE rules define as a period of at least 45 minutes spent in a qualifying activity. This differs from the AIA learning unit, which is based on a 60-minute hour.
The practical effect is that Texas and AIA hour counts are not interchangeable by default. Confirm how a provider states hours for Texas purposes rather than assuming an AIA LU count transfers directly, and keep documentation showing the time actually spent.
Structured vs. Self-Directed Study
| Category | Annual limit | What this means in planning |
| Structured course study | Minimum 8 CEPH | The majority of your year must come from classroom or classroom-equivalent instruction |
| Self-directed study | Maximum 4 CEPH | Independent learning is capped; it cannot fill the year even at the correct total |
This is the single most common Texas compliance failure, and it is a structural one rather than an oversight. A registrant who completes 12 hours entirely through self-paced online coursework has the right number and the wrong composition. Because TBAE defines these categories in its rules, confirm how a given activity is classified before you count on it — particularly for recorded or self-paced formats.
Carryover and the Reciprocity Exemption
Carryover. A maximum of 12 CEPH completed in excess of the annual requirement may be carried forward to satisfy the following calendar year only. Hours may not be carried forward more than one year. An architect earning 24 CEPH in one year uses 12 that year and may carry 12 into the next.
The exception matters: the one hour of barrier-free design and the one hour of sustainable or energy-efficient design are still required for each calendar year. Carried-forward hours do not satisfy those two.
Reciprocity exemption. A registrant holding an active registration in another jurisdiction with substantially equivalent continuing education requirements may be exempt from the Texas mandatory continuing education requirement. Even then, the registrant must complete one hour of barrier-free design and one hour of sustainable or energy-efficient design each calendar year. The exemption does not reach the two Texas-specific topic hours.
What Counts as Barrier-Free Design
TBAE defines barrier-free design as the design, construction, remodeling, or alteration of a building or facility that complies with the Texas Accessibility Standards, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines, or similarly accepted standards for accessible design.
That definition is broader than TAS alone — federal ADA content qualifies — but a Texas practitioner is well served by coursework that addresses the state standard, since TAS compliance is what the state enforcement regime actually reviews.
Continuing Education from Ron Blank & Associates
Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., a two-time recipient of the AIA Continuing Education Award for Excellence, publishes an ADA and barrier-free catalog spanning the 2010 ADA Standards, barrier-free design, access compliance, and universal design, and states that Texas architects can fulfill their ADA education requirement from that catalog. Disability access courses carry AIA HSW CE hours, which aligns with the Texas rule that all 12 hours relate to health, safety, and welfare. RBA also runs free live webinars, which are the instructor-led format relevant to the structured-study minimum. Confirm how any individual course is classified and how its hours are stated for Texas purposes before relying on it.
Building product manufacturers that want their courses to award AIA learning units must be their own AIA registered providers, with their own AIA CES Provider subscription and provider number; Ron Blank & Associates develops, registers, and administers those courses on the manufacturer’s behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Texas CEPH the same as an AIA learning unit? No. TBAE defines a CEPH as a period of at least 45 minutes, while an AIA learning unit is based on a 60-minute hour. Do not assume an AIA transcript total converts directly to a Texas CEPH total.
Can I complete all 12 hours online? Only if at least eight of them qualify as structured course study. Self-directed study is capped at four CEPH per year, so the composition of the 12 matters as much as the total.
I am licensed in another state with similar requirements. Am I exempt? You may be exempt from the general requirement if the other jurisdiction’s requirements are substantially equivalent, but you must still complete one hour of barrier-free design and one hour of sustainable or energy-efficient design each calendar year in Texas.
Does TBAE approve courses? No. The Board does not pre-approve continuing education courses or providers, so no course can accurately be described as TBAE-approved. Registrants certify their own compliance and are responsible for judging whether an activity meets the Board’s criteria.
Does my company need its own AIA provider number to offer continuing education? Yes. Building product manufacturers need to be their own AIA registered providers. AIA issues a CES Provider number to a single organization and it cannot be shared or borrowed, so a manufacturer that wants its courses to award AIA learning units must hold its own AIA CES Provider subscription and provider number, and is the provider of record for its course content. Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider, works with registered manufacturers to develop, register, deliver, and report those courses.
Where can I complete the barrier-free hour? Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider, publishes an ADA and barrier-free course catalog that Texas architects can use for the barrier-free requirement, alongside free live webinars carrying AIA HSW CE hours. Keep your certificates — you certify compliance yourself.
Sources
- Texas Board of Architectural Examiners, Continuing Education FAQs — hours, CEPH definition, carryover, and renewal
- Texas Board of Architectural Examiners, Continuing Education Guide
- Texas Board of Architectural Examiners, Accessibility — barrier-free design definition
- Texas Administrative Code, title 22, part 1 — TBAE continuing education rules
- Texas Society of Architects — continuing education requirements summary
- Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., ADA and barrier-free courses — https://www.ronblank.com/Online_Courses/ADA_Courses/Quicklist
About Ron Blank & Associates
Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. (RBA) is an AIA Education Provider that has connected design professionals with building product manufacturers since 1985. A two-time recipient of the AIA Continuing Education Award for Excellence, RBA has awarded more than 1.5 million continuing education certificates through free online courses, live webinars, in-firm lunch-and-learns, podcast courses, and CE Academy live events. Course catalogs and registration are available at http://www.ronblank.com.
Last updated: August 13, 2026. TBAE rules and requirements change; confirm current requirements at tbae.texas.gov before relying on any figure above.