- TX-JAM is a 75-question, 80%-passing online module built by FSBPT for the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.
- Initial PT/PTA licensure applicants pay no module fee; renewal, restoration, and compact-privilege users pay $48 plus a 1.6% processing fee.
- Ethical and Professional Responsibilities is the largest domain at 33.3%, followed by Patient Care Management at 24%.
- You get 96 hours to finish once started, with a 2-hour 20-minute working time limit and unlimited retake attempts.
What Is TX-JAM?
TX-JAM stands for the Texas Jurisprudence Assessment Module, an open-book, online assessment that tests a physical therapist's or physical therapist assistant's knowledge of the laws, rules, and ethical standards that govern PT practice in Texas. It is not a clinical skills exam. Instead, it checks whether a licensee understands the legal and regulatory framework - scope of practice, disciplinary rules, documentation obligations, and consumer protection provisions - that shapes everyday practice decisions in the state.
If you have searched around the site and landed on our other explainer pieces like What Is TX-JAM?, TX-JAM Meaning, or What Does TX-JAM Stand For?, this article pulls all of that context together in one place: what the module actually contains, who has to take it, what it costs, and how it fits into ongoing Texas licensure.
Who Administers TX-JAM?
Two organizations sit behind TX-JAM. The Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners, operating within the Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners (ECPTOTE), owns the content requirements and sets the passing standard. The actual module - the question bank, the online delivery platform, and the scoring engine - is developed and delivered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT). Because it's delivered "on demand," there are no fixed testing centers or seat reservations; candidates complete it online whenever they choose within the allowed window, which is a point worth understanding before you start planning around it - see our TX-JAM Exam Dates guide for how the on-demand format affects scheduling.
Who Must Complete TX-JAM?
TX-JAM applies at several points in a Texas PT or PTA's career, and the fee structure changes depending on why you're taking it:
- Initial licensure applicants (new PTs and PTAs applying for a first Texas license) complete TX-JAM as part of the licensing process and pay no module fee.
- Renewal candidates who need TX-JAM as part of their continuing competence obligations pay a fee.
- Restoration applicants reinstating a lapsed or inactive license also pay the same fee structure as renewal.
- Texas compact-privilege holders practicing under an interstate compact privilege likewise pay the fee.
For a full breakdown of eligibility paths and documentation, see TX-JAM Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify. If your interest is specifically who ends up using this credential day to day - new grads, out-of-state transfers, or compact-privilege clinicians - our TX-JAM Jobs and TX-JAM Training pages go deeper into the practical career context.
Key Takeaway
Whether you owe a fee for TX-JAM depends entirely on your reason for taking it: initial licensure is free, while renewal, restoration, and compact-privilege use all carry the $48-plus-processing fee.
Exam Format, Fees & Registration Mechanics
TX-JAM's structure is straightforward once you know the numbers:
- 75 questions covering all seven jurisprudence domains
- 2 hours 20 minutes of allotted working time
- 80% passing requirement
- Immediate detailed score report, including rule links tied to any missed items - a built-in study tool for anyone who doesn't pass on the first try
- 96-hour completion window once the module is started
- Unlimited attempts, though each new attempt requires a new registration and, if applicable, a new fee
Fee-wise, renewal, restoration, and compact-privilege candidates pay $48 plus a 1.6% processing fee, rounded up to the nearest dollar. Initial licensure applicants pay nothing for the module itself. For a line-by-line cost comparison across scenarios, read TX-JAM Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. And if you want the exact numeric passing threshold spelled out with examples, check TX-JAM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The Seven TX-JAM Domains
TX-JAM's content outline was last revised on July 27, 2018, and it organizes the 75 questions across seven domains of very different sizes. Understanding the weighting is the single most useful thing you can do before opening a study guide, because it tells you exactly where your preparation hours should go.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1. Legislative Intent & Definitions | 2.7% |
| 2. Board of Physical Therapy Powers & Duties | 2.7% |
| 3. Licensure & Examination | 13.3% |
| 4. Ethical and Professional Responsibilities | 33.3% |
| 5. Patient Care Management | 24% |
| 6. Disciplinary Actions and Unlawful Practice | 20% |
| 7. Consumer Advocacy | 4% |
Domain 4: Ethical and Professional Responsibilities (33.3%)
This is the largest domain by a wide margin - roughly a third of the entire exam. Candidates should be able to identify ethical obligations around supervision, informed consent, conflicts of interest, and professional boundaries as they apply specifically to Texas-licensed PTs and PTAs.
- Know supervision ratios and delegation rules between PTs and PTAs
- Understand documentation and record-keeping obligations tied to ethical practice
- Recognize scenarios involving dual relationships or conflicts of interest
Domain 5: Patient Care Management (24%)
Nearly a quarter of the exam centers on how Texas law shapes day-to-day clinical decision-making, from referral requirements to treatment authorization.
- Understand direct access limitations and referral triggers under Texas rules
- Know documentation standards expected during active patient care
- Be able to apply scope-of-practice boundaries to real patient scenarios
Domain 6: Disciplinary Actions and Unlawful Practice (20%)
One-fifth of the exam covers what happens when practice goes wrong - grounds for discipline, reporting obligations, and what constitutes unlawful practice under Texas statute.
- Know what triggers a Board complaint or investigation
- Understand mandatory reporting duties for licensees
- Distinguish lawful supervision from unlawful delegation
The remaining domains - Licensure & Examination (13.3%), Legislative Intent & Definitions (2.7%), Board of Physical Therapy Powers & Duties (2.7%), and Consumer Advocacy (4%) - together make up roughly 22.7% of the exam. They're smaller, but they're not skippable, since a handful of questions from each can still swing a borderline score. For a domain-by-domain study breakdown with more detail on each of the seven areas, see TX-JAM Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 7 Content Areas.
CCUs, Passing Score & Renewal Requirements
Passing TX-JAM isn't just a licensing checkbox - it also contributes to Texas continuing competence requirements. A passing completion awards 2 CCUs (continuing competence units). Texas requires 30 CCUs for PTs and 20 CCUs for PTAs per renewal cycle, and that total must include TX-JAM along with approved human-trafficking prevention training.
This means TX-JAM is a recurring obligation, not a one-time hurdle. Every renewal cycle, licensees who need it must budget both the time to complete the module and, outside of initial licensure, the associated fee. Because the passing bar is 80% - meaning 60 of the 75 questions must be answered correctly - a surprising number of candidates underestimate how much of the exam is concentrated in Ethical and Professional Responsibilities and Patient Care Management. Missing those two domains disproportionately hurts your score, since together they represent well over half the exam.
Key Takeaway
Since Domains 4 and 5 alone account for 57.3% of TX-JAM, mastering ethics and patient-care law first gives you the best return on study time before touching the smaller domains.
How to Approach Preparation
Because TX-JAM is open-book by design and includes an immediate score report with rule links for missed items, some candidates assume they can wing it. That works less often than expected - the 2-hour 20-minute window and 75-question volume don't leave much room to look up unfamiliar rules from scratch during the exam. A better approach is to front-load your review by domain weight.
Ethical and Professional Responsibilities
- Review supervision, delegation, and consent rules
- Work through practice questions weighted toward the largest domain
Patient Care Management & Disciplinary Actions
- Study direct access, referral rules, and documentation standards
- Learn grounds for discipline and mandatory reporting duties
Licensure, Legislative Intent, Board Duties & Consumer Advocacy
- Cover the smaller domains together since they total roughly 22.7%
- Take a full timed practice run to check pacing against the 2-hour 20-minute limit
For a more detailed walkthrough of study techniques matched to TX-JAM's specific content outline, see our TX-JAM Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you're still deciding how much difficulty to expect, How Hard Is the TX-JAM Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and TX-JAM Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows are useful next reads. You can also run full-length timed sets on our practice test platform to get comfortable with the pacing before attempt day.
If you're weighing whether the time and (for renewal candidates) the cost is worthwhile relative to your career plans, Is the TX-JAM Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and TX-JAM Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis look at that question in more depth. And for a condensed reference you can review the night before your attempt, bookmark TX-JAM Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. TX-JAM tests knowledge of Texas practice law and ethics, not clinical competency. It's completed alongside - not instead of - the national clinical licensure exam process.
Initial PT and PTA licensure applicants pay no module fee. Renewal, restoration, and Texas compact-privilege candidates pay $48 plus a 1.6% processing fee, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
You get an immediate detailed score report with rule links for any missed items, and you can register for another attempt. Attempts are unlimited, but each new attempt requires a new registration and, where applicable, a new fee.
You have a 96-hour completion window from the time you begin, with a working time limit of 2 hours 20 minutes to answer all 75 questions.
Yes. A passing completion awards 2 CCUs, which count toward the 30 CCUs required for PTs or 20 CCUs required for PTAs, alongside approved human-trafficking prevention training.
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