| (a) Requirement. To determine the applicant's qualifications
and competency to engage in the business of rendering investment advice,
the State Securities Board requires written examinations. Applicants
must make a passing score on any required examination.
(b) Examinations accepted.
(1) Each applicant for registration as an investment
adviser or investment adviser representative must pass:
(A) the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination
(the new entry level competency examination, Series 65, administered
after December 31, 1999); or
(B) the following combination of examinations:
(i) a general securities representative examination
as described in §115.3(b)(2) of this title (relating to Examination)
or a limited examination as described in §115.3(b)(3) of this
title; and
(ii) the Uniform Combined State Law Examination (Series
66), the Uniform Investment Advisers State Law Examination (Series
65, as it existed and was administered on or before December 31, 1999),
or an examination on the Texas Securities Act administered by this
Agency.
(2) Each of these examinations (except the Texas Securities
Act examination) is administered by FINRA and can be scheduled by
submitting a Form U-10 to FINRA.
(c) Waivers of examination requirements.
(1) All persons who were registered in Texas on August
23, 1963, are not required to take any examinations.
(2) A full waiver of the examination requirements of
the Texas Securities Act, §13.D, is granted by the Board to the
following classes of persons:
(A) a person who was registered as an investment adviser
or investment adviser representative on or before December 31, 1999,
provided the person has maintained a registration as an investment
adviser or investment adviser representative with any state securities
administrator that has not lapsed for more than two years from the
date of the last registration;
(B) applicants who are certified by the CFA Institute,
or its predecessors, the Association for Investment Management and
Research, the Financial Analysts Federation, or the Institute of Chartered
Financial Analysts, to be chartered financial analysts (CFA);
(C) applicants who are certified by the Certified Financial
Planner Board of Standards, Inc., to use the mark "CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
PLANNER" (CFP);
(D) applicants who are designated by the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants as accredited personal financial specialists
(PFS);
(E) applicants who are designated by the Investment
Adviser Association, or its predecessor, the Investment Counsel Association
of America, Inc., as Chartered Investment Counselors (CIC);
(F) applicants who are designated by the American College,
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, as chartered financial consultants (ChFC);
(G) a person who completed the required examinations,
but whose registration has lapsed for more than two years and who
has been continually employed in a securities-related position with
an entity which was not required to be registered; and
(H) a person who completed the required examinations
and whose registration with another state securities regulator has
not lapsed for more than two years.
(3) The CFA Institute, the Certified Financial Planner
Board of Standards, Inc., the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, the American College, and the Investment Adviser Association
are required to submit to the Securities Commissioner any changes
to their certification programs as such changes occur.
(4) A partial waiver of the examination requirements
of the Texas Securities Act, §13.D, is granted by the Board to
solicitor applicants. Such persons are required to pass only an examination
on state securities law.
(5) The Securities Commissioner in his or her discretion
is authorized by the Board to grant full or partial waivers of the
examination requirements of the Texas Securities Act, §13.D.
(d) Texas securities law examination.
(1) The fee for each filing of a request to take the
Texas securities law examination is $35. An admission letter issued
by the Board is required for all entrants. The examination is given
at 9:00 a.m. on each Tuesday at the office of the State Securities
Board in Austin. The examination may be taken at other locations near
principal population centers across the state. Testing centers require
reservations and may charge an additional (monitor) fee for administering
the examination. A list of examination centers with additional details
may be obtained from the State Securities Board.
(2) While taking the examination on the Texas Securities
Act, each applicant may use an unmarked copy of the Texas Securities
Act as it is printed and distributed by the State Securities Board.
No other reference materials are allowed to be used by applicants
during the examination.
(3) The passing score for all applicants on the examination
on the Texas Securities Act is 70%. An applicant who fails the examination
on the Texas Securities Act may request reexamination. The applicant
must bring his or her application up to date before retaking an examination.
(4) Disability accommodations. The Texas securities
law examination shall be administered to applicants with disabilities
in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as
amended ("ADA").
(A) Any applicant with a disability who wishes to request
disability accommodations must submit to the Securities Commissioner
a Form 133.3, ADA Accommodations Request Form, that has been completed
and signed by the applicant and includes supporting documentation
from a licensed or certified health professional appropriate for diagnosing
and treating the disability, at least 60 days prior to the examination.
A prior history of receiving disability accommodations, without demonstration
of a current need, will not necessarily warrant approval of disability
accommodations.
(B) The Securities Commissioner may request additional
documentation to substantiate a request for disability accommodations.
(C) Documentation shall not be older than three years
from the date of submission.
(D) All medical records provided to the Securities
Commissioner are confidential under the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act ("HIPAA").
(E) The Securities Commissioner is not required to
approve every request for disability accommodations or to provide
every accommodation or service requested. The Securities Commissioner
is not required to grant a request for disability accommodations if
doing so would fundamentally alter the measurement of knowledge or
the measurement of skill intended to be tested by the Texas securities
law examination, would affect the security of the examination, or
would create an undue financial or administrative burden.
(F) Once disability accommodations have been granted,
they may not be altered during the examination unless prior approval
of the Securities Commissioner is obtained.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §116.3 adopted to be effective August 12, 2001, 26 TexReg 5799; amended to be effective July 14, 2005, 30 TexReg 3989; amended to be effective February 21, 2008, 33 TexReg 1319; amended to be effective December 21, 2011, 36 TexReg 8508; amended to be effective June 13, 2012, 37 TexReg 4186 |
