(a) To apply for or to take any examination for a BEI Certificate, an applicant must:
  (1) be at least 18 years old;
  (2) have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent; and
  (3) not have a criminal conviction that could qualify as grounds for denial, probation, suspension, or revocation of a BEI certificate, or other disciplinary action against any holder of a BEI certificate.
(b) To take the written Test of English Proficiency or to take the American Sign Language Proficiency Test for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, an applicant must have:
  (1) met all the criteria in subsection (a) of this section; and
  (2) earned at least 30 credit hours from an accredited college or university, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
(c) To take a BEI performance test, an applicant must have:
  (1) met all the criteria in subsection (a) of this section;
  (2) earned an associate degree and/or a minimum of 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher, unless the applicant is applying for a court, medical, or trilingual certificate or except as provided in subsections (e) and (f) of this section; and
  (3) earned a passing score on the Test of English Proficiency, unless the applicant is applying for a court, medical, or trilingual certificate; or
  (4) earned a passing score on the American Sign Language Proficiency Test if the applicant is deaf or hard of hearing.
(d) To apply for and to be issued a BEI certificate, an applicant must have:
  (1) met all criteria in subsection (a) of this section; and
  (2) earned an associate degree and/or a minimum of 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher, except as provided in subsections (e) and (f) of this section; and earned a passing score on the requisite examination for the certificate level sought.
(e) A BEI certificate holder who holds an active and valid BEI certificate awarded as a result of proceedings initiated before January 1, 2012, is exempt from the educational or degree requirements in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, as long as the BEI certificate remains active and valid.
(f) A BEI certificate holder who holds an active and valid BEI certificate awarded as a result of proceedings initiated before January 1, 2012, and who applies for an additional BEI certificate level after January 1, 2012, may be exempt from the educational or degree requirements of subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, if, at the time the certificate holder applies for, takes, and passes any BEI examination for the additional certificate, the BEI certificate holder:
  (1) has an active and valid BEI certificate that is fully compliant with BEI's annual certificate maintenance and five-year recertification rules and requirements;
  (2) is not under any type of active or pending disciplinary action from BEI or DHHS; and
  (3) satisfies all other rules and requirements applicable to the additional BEI certificate level sought.
(g) A certified interpreter wanting to take a higher level BEI performance test must have the following prerequisite certificate for the corresponding BEI performance test:
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Source Note: The provisions of this §360.217 adopted to be effective April 24, 2013, 38 TexReg 2513; amended to be effective April 6, 2016, 41 TexReg 2503; transferred effective March 1, 2021, as published in the Texas Register February 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 946