Passing the Texas Podiatric Jurisprudence Exam

The Texas podiatric physician jurisprudence exam is short, closed book and unforgiving. Every applicant for a Texas podiatry license has to pass it, including podiatrists entering through the provisional license (16 Texas Administrative Code 130.40(a)(5) and 130.43(a)(4)). TDLR publishes the results, and they are sobering: in fiscal year 2025 (September 2024 to August 2025), 60 candidates passed and 41 failed, a 59.4% pass rate. The year before, the rate was 56.2%.

Those numbers are not a sign that the exam is clinically hard. It tests Texas law, rules and ethics, which experienced podiatrists rarely study and often assume they know.

What is on the exam?

PSI's Candidate Information Bulletin for the exam (updated July 24, 2025) gives the format: 50 scored items in 80 minutes, 80% correct to pass, plus 5 unscored trial questions with 10 extra minutes. The fee is $60, and it is neither refundable nor transferable.

The bulletin breaks the 50 scored items into four areas:

• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (15 items): licensing, continuing medical education requirements and their exceptions, the hyperbaric oxygen certificate and the nitrous oxide registration.
• Practitioner responsibilities and code of ethics (26 items): practitioner identification and professional corporations, advertising, medical offices, delegation, the code of ethics, sexual misconduct, podiatric radiological technicians, records, controlled substances and informed consent.
• Enforcement (5 items): complaints and claims, administrative penalties and sanctions.
• Federal (4 items): HIPAA and OSHA.

More than half the exam is the ethics and practice-rules block. That is where candidates who skim lose points: advertising rules, record retention, delegation and what must be displayed in an office are all specific to Texas.

Which statutes and rules should you study?

The bulletin lists the references the exam was built from:

1. Texas Occupations Code chapter 202 (the podiatry act).
2. 16 Texas Administrative Code chapter 130, TDLR's podiatric medicine rules.
3. Texas Health and Safety Code chapter 181 (medical records privacy), chapter 481 (Texas Controlled Substances Act) and chapter 483 (Dangerous Drug Act).
4. Chapters 601, 602 and 603 of Title 25 of the Texas Administrative Code.
5. The OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030.
6. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy's prescription monitoring program resources.

The exam is closed book, so the references are for preparation only. A sensible plan reads chapter 202 and chapter 130 in full, then works through the controlled substances and records statutes with the exam outline beside them. Chapter 130 matters twice: it holds the rules on CME, permits and advertising, and it is where Texas sets its own fees and timelines.

How do you schedule it?

You cannot book the exam until TDLR approves your eligibility from your license application. PSI then emails scheduling instructions, or mails a postcard if TDLR has no email address for you. You choose between:

• A PSI test center. TDLR lists sites in Abilene, Amarillo, Arlington, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock, McAllen, Midland, San Antonio, Tyler and Waco.
• Remote proctoring from your own computer. PSI has offered the podiatry exam online since September 1, 2021. You can launch within 30 minutes of the booked time, and if you have not started within 15 minutes after it, the fee is forfeited. Run PSI's audio, video, webcam and system checks well before exam day.

Identity checks are strict. Your government-issued ID must show your signature, photo and date of birth, and it must match the name TDLR has on file "EXACTLY." If your name has changed, tell TDLR in writing before you book. TDLR's exam page says PSI will not allow anyone other than the person in its database to test.

Is a retake allowed if you fail?

At a test center, the PSI proctor hands you your grade when you finish, and PSI's score report shows strengths and weaknesses by area. TDLR's page says you may schedule a retake with PSI within 24 to 48 hours of a failed attempt, and the bulletin says candidates may test without limit while their eligibility lasts. Each attempt is a new $60 fee. A missed appointment or late arrival forfeits the fee as well.

For a podiatrist on a provisional license, a failed attempt is more than an inconvenience. The provisional license is tied to the 180-day processing window and, under 16 TAC 130.43(f), runs "until passage or failure of the jurisprudence exam." See the provisional license and the sponsor for how the two fit.

How can we help you prepare?

Our Jurisprudence and State Exam Logistics service, $249 per state, gives you a study plan organized by the bulletin's four content areas, a reading list keyed to the reference statutes and rules, and the scheduling logistics: confirming TDLR has approved eligibility, checking that your name matches TDLR's record, and choosing a test center or a remote session. You sit the exam yourself and pay PSI directly; no service can test for you or promise a pass. Most Texas clients pair it with a Full State Podiatry License Application ($899). The Texas state page lists every Texas requirement, and the state index shows which other states give their own law exams.