TX-QM Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

The Pass Rate Reality: What DPS Actually Publishes

If you searched for a hard percentage - "X% of candidates pass the TX-QM exam" - you should know upfront: the Texas Department of Public Safety's Private Security Program does not release aggregate pass/fail statistics for the Company Representative Examination (the exam long referred to informally as the Texas Qualified Manager or "Texas QM" exam, even though the standalone qualified-manager registration requirement itself ended on September 1, 2019). There is no leaderboard, no annual report, and no third-party data source with verified numbers for this specific credential.

That absence of a published figure is actually useful information. It means anyone quoting a specific pass rate for this exam is either guessing or, more likely, borrowing a statistic from a completely different certification that happens to share the "TX-QM" abbreviation. This article sticks to what is documented: the exam structure, the passing threshold, the fee mechanics, and the content areas that determine whether a given candidate clears the bar.

The 70% Threshold and Why It Matters More Than a Published Rate

DPS administers a written, open-book exam with 50 multiple-choice and true/false questions, a two-hour time limit, and a 70% passing threshold. That means a candidate needs roughly 35 correct answers out of 50 to pass. Because the exam is open-book, the real skill being tested isn't memorization - it's the ability to locate the correct statute or rule quickly under time pressure and apply it to a specific scenario.

This is a meaningfully different challenge than a closed-book, multiple-choice test where recall alone gets you through. Candidates who treat this as an open-book "look everything up" exercise without practicing navigation of Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1702 and Texas Administrative Code Chapter 35 beforehand often run out of time before they run out of questions. For a full breakdown of exactly what "passing" requires numerically, see the TX-QM Passing Score guide.

Exam Format Factors That Move Outcomes

Several structural details of the exam directly influence whether a candidate finishes strong or runs out of runway:

• 50 questions in 120 minutes - roughly 2.4 minutes per question, which is generous if your reference materials are organized, and tight if they aren't.
• Open-book format - you're allowed printed statutes and rules, but disorganized notes slow you down as much as no notes at all.
• Required identification - a driver license or state-issued ID is mandatory; forgetting it means you don't sit for the exam at all, regardless of preparation.
• Two sharpened pencils with erasers - a small detail, but arriving without them can cost you valuable exam-room time.

None of these are "study" factors - they're logistics factors, and logistics failures are entirely preventable causes of a failed attempt. A deeper walkthrough of exam-day mechanics and difficulty perception lives in How Hard Is the TX-QM Exam?

Content Areas That Determine Who Passes

The exam draws its content directly from Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1702 and Texas Administrative Code Chapter 35. Candidates preparing for the Company Representative role should expect questions clustered around these recurring themes:

A more granular walkthrough of how these topics map to actual question phrasing is available in the TX-QM Exam Domains Guide, and if you're just orienting yourself to the credential itself, start with What Is TX-QM?

Why Candidates Fail: The Patterns Behind the Numbers

Without a published pass rate, the most reliable way to understand outcomes is to look at where candidates predictably lose points. Based on the structure of the exam and the statute it's built on, failure tends to cluster around a few avoidable patterns rather than random bad luck:

• Confusing the qualified-manager legacy terminology with current requirements. Because the standalone qualified-manager registration ended September 1, 2019, candidates studying outdated materials sometimes prepare for a role that no longer exists as a separate license - company representative is a designated role, not a separate pocket card.
• Weak statute navigation under time pressure. Open-book only helps if you can find the answer in under a minute.
• Skipping the administrative-fines and disciplinary-action material because it feels less "operational" than pre-employment procedures, even though it's directly tested.
• Not accounting for amendments. Chapter 35 has been amended over time, including licensing-document changes effective July 2, 2026 - studying a static 2023-2024 compilation without checking for updates leaves gaps.

Retake Costs, Windows, and What They Signal

One exam attempt is included with the original company license fee. The posted schedule lists Class A at $361, Class B at $412, and Class C at $556, each including subscription charges - with applicant, fingerprint, and insurance costs billed separately. If a candidate doesn't pass on that included attempt, each retake costs $100, and scheduling depends on appointment availability within the 90-day application window.

That 90-day window is tighter than it sounds once you factor in appointment availability. A candidate who fails on attempt one and waits too long to schedule a retake risks running out of window entirely, which forces a fresh application cycle. This is a mechanical, avoidable cause of "failure" that has nothing to do with content knowledge - it's a scheduling problem, not a knowledge problem. For the complete fee breakdown including applicant and insurance costs, see the TX-QM Certification Cost breakdown, and for exact scheduling windows and deadlines, check TX-QM Exam Dates.

A Preparation Timeline Built Around the Real Exam

Generic study advice rarely accounts for an open-book, statute-based, 50-question format. Here's a compressed timeline built specifically around the content areas and mechanics above:

For a fuller first-attempt strategy that goes beyond this compressed schedule, see the TX-QM Study Guide 2026. A condensed reference for exam week is available in the TX-QM Cheat Sheet, and you can build confidence on the timed format with practice questions at TX-QM Exam Prep.

Company Fee Classes at a Glance

Because the exam attempt is bundled into the original company license, understanding the fee classes matters as much as understanding the content. Here's how the posted schedule breaks down:

Applicant, fingerprint, and insurance costs sit outside this table and are billed separately regardless of class. If you're still confirming whether you even meet the underlying eligibility rules - three years of relevant accumulated employment plus one year of managerial/supervisory experience for guard-company representatives, or the investigative-experience and degree pathways for investigation companies - review TX-QM Requirements 2026 before budgeting for fees.

Frequently Asked Questions