- What TX-QM Actually Means Today
- From Qualified Manager to Company Representative
- Exam Format and Passing Threshold
- What You Need to Study
- Who Is Eligible to Sit for the Exam
- Fees, TOPS Application, and Retakes
- What to Bring on Test Day
- Who Hires People Who Hold This Role
- Building a Study Approach Around the Two Statutes
- Renewal Cycles and Continuing Requirements
- Frequently Asked Questions
- TX-QM refers to the Texas Qualified Manager Exam administered by DPS's Private Security Program, now tied to the Company Representative role.
- The separate qualified-manager registration ended September 1, 2019; today's exam qualifies a designated company representative, not a standalone license.
- The written, open-book exam has 50 multiple-choice/true-false questions, a 2-hour limit, and a 70% passing threshold.
- One exam attempt is included with the original company license fee; retakes cost $100 and depend on appointment availability within a 90-day window.
What TX-QM Actually Means Today
TX-QM stands for the Texas Qualified Manager Exam, a credential tied to the Texas Department of Public Safety's Private Security Program. If you searched "TX-QM" expecting a single fixed license, the current reality is a little more nuanced: the exam now targets what DPS calls the Company Representative Examination, while "Texas Qualified Manager" and "Texas QM" persist as the terms most people still use to search for it. Understanding that distinction is the first step to studying for the right thing.
This article walks through what the exam covers, who needs to pass it, how the fees and application process work, and how the role fits into a private security company's licensing structure in Texas. For a deeper breakdown of the tested content areas, see the TX-QM Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All Content Areas.
From Qualified Manager to Company Representative
For years, Texas private security companies were required to register a separate "qualified manager" for each license. That standalone qualified-manager registration requirement ended on September 1, 2019. Since then, the function has been folded into the company representative designation: a person who meets specific experience and eligibility standards and is named on the company's license application through DPS's licensing system.
This matters for anyone studying under the "TX-QM" label today. There is no separate qualified-manager pocket card to earn anymore - the exam you'll actually sit for is the Company Representative Examination, and passing it is what allows you to serve in that capacity for your employer's license. If you're unsure whether your job title or planned role even requires this exam, review the TX-QM Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify before you register for a test date.
Key Takeaway
Don't study for a "qualified manager license" that no longer exists as a separate credential. Study for the company representative exam that carries the legacy "TX-QM" name.
Exam Format and Passing Threshold
DPS administers the exam as a written, open-book test - meaning you are allowed to bring your printed statutes and rules into the room. It consists of:
- 50 questions, presented as multiple-choice and true/false items
- A 2-hour time limit
- A 70% passing threshold
Because it's open-book, the exam is less about memorizing statute numbers word-for-word and more about knowing where to find the correct answer quickly under time pressure. That changes how you should prepare compared to a closed-book test. For a closer look at how the exam's difficulty actually plays out for candidates, read How Hard Is the TX-QM Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026, and for the exact scoring mechanics behind that 70% line, see TX-QM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
What You Need to Study
The tested material is drawn directly from two legal sources: Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1702 and Texas Administrative Code Chapter 35. These govern the private security industry in Texas, and the exam draws heavily from a handful of recurring themes.
Individual-License Eligibility
Candidates must understand who qualifies for the various individual licenses the company oversees, including age, experience, and background requirements referenced throughout Chapter 1702.
- Baseline qualification criteria for license applicants
- How disqualifying criminal history factors into eligibility
Pre-Employment Procedures
Expect questions on what a company must do before placing an employee into a licensed security role, including verification steps required under Chapter 35.
- Required checks before assignment
- Timing rules tied to employment start dates
Applications and Recordkeeping
A large share of real-world compliance work - and exam content - concerns how applications are filed and how employee and business records must be maintained.
- What must appear in employee files
- Business record retention expectations
Disciplinary Actions and Administrative Fines
You'll need to know how DPS handles violations, what triggers administrative penalties, and how the disciplinary process is structured under the statute and rules.
- Categories of violations and associated consequences
- How fines are assessed against companies versus individuals
For a full walkthrough of how these topics map to actual test weighting and question style, the TX-QM Exam Domains 2026 guide goes into more depth than a single overview article can.
Who Is Eligible to Sit for the Exam
Eligibility differs depending on whether you're pursuing the representative role for a guard company or an investigations company.
- Guard-company representatives must be at least 21 years old, have three years of relevant accumulated employment experience, and one year of managerial or supervisory experience.
- Investigation-company representatives may qualify through three consecutive years of investigative experience, a qualifying criminal-justice or related bachelor's degree, specific combinations of degree plus experience, or completion of a qualifying university-affiliated specialized course of at least 200 instructional hours.
Additional service categories a company offers can require additional qualified representatives beyond the primary one, so larger or multi-service companies may need more than one person prepared to test. The full eligibility breakdown, including edge cases for combined degree-and-experience paths, is covered in TX-QM Requirements 2026.
Fees, TOPS Application, and Retakes
Applications are filed through TOPS (the DPS online licensing portal), where the company submits both company documentation and representative-specific paperwork. One examination attempt is included with the original company license fee, which follows the posted fee schedule:
| License Class | Company Fee (includes subscription charges) |
|---|---|
| Class A | $361 |
| Class B | $412 |
| Class C | $556 |
These figures cover the license fee itself; applicant, fingerprint, and insurance costs are billed separately and are not part of the exam fee. If you don't pass on your first attempt, a retake costs $100, and scheduling depends on appointment availability within the 90-day application window - so a failed attempt can create real time pressure if you wait too long to reschedule. A full cost breakdown, including how these figures stack up against the separate costs applicants often overlook, is in TX-QM Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Treat the 90-day application window as a hard deadline. A retake at $100 is manageable financially, but losing your appointment slot inside the window is the bigger practical risk.
What to Bring on Test Day
Because the exam is open-book, what you bring matters as much as what you know. DPS expects candidates to arrive with:
- Printed copies of the relevant statutes and rules (Chapter 1702 and Chapter 35)
- A driver license or other state-issued photo ID
- Two sharpened pencils with erasers
Since you're allowed printed material but not digital devices, organizing your printed statute book with tabs or highlighted sections in advance is one of the highest-value things you can do before test day. This is a case where preparation logistics matter almost as much as content knowledge - a theme covered practically in the TX-QM Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Who Hires People Who Hold This Role
Company representatives are named by licensed guard companies and investigation companies operating under DPS's Private Security Program. Because the role is tied directly to a specific company's license rather than being a portable personal certification, most people pursuing it are already working in a supervisory or managerial capacity at a security or investigations firm and are being designated to carry that compliance responsibility. If you're weighing whether this is a worthwhile career step, the practical earnings and demand picture is discussed in the TX-QM Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and the broader Is the TX-QM Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026.
Building a Study Approach Around the Two Statutes
Generic study techniques only get you so far here, since the exam content is entirely statute-and-rule based rather than conceptual. A structure that works reasonably well is to dedicate early study time to the sections most heavily tied to daily compliance work - pre-employment procedures and recordkeeping - before moving into disciplinary actions and fines, which tend to have more nuanced fact patterns in question wording.
Chapter 1702 Fundamentals
- Read through individual-license eligibility sections
- Tab pages covering age and experience requirements
Chapter 35 Procedures
- Focus on pre-employment and application procedures
- Build a quick-reference index for records requirements
Disciplinary Actions and Fines
- Work through scenario-style practice questions
- Review how administrative fines are categorized
Timed Practice
- Simulate the 2-hour, 50-question format
- Practice navigating your tabbed statute book quickly
For a condensed version of this same information you can review the day before your exam, keep the TX-QM Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts handy, and run through timed practice questions on the main practice test site to get comfortable with the pacing before you sit for the real thing.
Renewal Cycles and Continuing Requirements
Company licenses in Texas's private security program renew annually, while individual licenses generally run on a two-year cycle. There isn't a separate continuing-education track tied specifically to the old "qualified manager" credential anymore - continuing education requirements are tied to the individual's licensed role instead. Anyone tracking their own renewal timeline should also keep an eye on scheduled amendments to Chapter 35, including licensing-document changes taking effect July 2, 2026, since those can shift documentation requirements without changing the core exam structure. Current testing windows and scheduling logistics are tracked in TX-QM Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
You can also gauge how your prep is progressing by running full-length timed sets on our practice test platform and comparing your accuracy against the 70% threshold before committing to an actual appointment date.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The standalone qualified-manager registration ended September 1, 2019. Today the exam qualifies you to serve as a company representative, a designated role tied to a specific company's license rather than a personal pocket card.
The exam has 50 multiple-choice/true-false questions with a 2-hour time limit and a 70% passing threshold.
Yes. It's an open-book exam, so bringing printed copies of Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1702 and Texas Administrative Code Chapter 35 is expected and allowed, along with a driver license or state ID and two sharpened pencils with erasers.
Retakes cost $100 each, and scheduling depends on appointment availability within the 90-day application window, so plan your first attempt with that window in mind.
Yes. Guard-company representatives need to be at least 21 with three years of relevant employment and one year of managerial or supervisory experience, while investigation-company eligibility can be met through investigative experience, a qualifying degree, specific degree-plus-experience combinations, or a qualifying 200-hour specialized course.