The Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS), established by the Supreme Court of Texas in 1974, board certifies Texas lawyers as well as paralegals.
As of October 2026 TBLS reports more than 6,650 board certified lawyers across 28 specialty areas.
Our research lists four requirement categories — practice experience, involvement in your specialty, peer references and an exam — but TBLS's attorney-certification page did not load, so neither the categories nor the numbers behind them are confirmed.
Each step is below — with what our research could and could not confirm flagged.
What are the TBLS specialty areas?
TBLS certification is field-specific: the board reported more than 6,650 board certified lawyers across 28 specialty areas as of October 2026.
The count is what our sources record; the named list of areas is TBLS's to maintain and update, so pull the current list from tbls.org before you anchor a certification plan to a particular field.
If you are new to the credential itself, our guide to board certification covers what it means across states — this page stays on Texas.
Check the board's standards for the area you have in mind before you plan around it.
The requirement categories our research lists — years in practice, substantial involvement in the specialty, peer references — are not confirmed, as the next section explains, so TBLS is the source for what a given area asks of you.
Certification also matters in how you are allowed to describe yourself.
Under the specialist-claim rule states adopt from the ABA Model Rules — Ohio Rule 7.4(e) is one state's adopted version — a lawyer may not state or imply they are a specialist unless they have been certified as a specialist and the communication clearly identifies the certifying organization.
The ABA moved the provision to Model Rule 7.2(c) in 2018, while states keep their own numbering and wording.
Before building "specialist" wording into ads or bios, confirm the rule as your state has adopted it.
TBLS certifies paralegals as well as lawyers.
That program is voluntary on the paralegal side — Texas does not require a paralegal to hold TBLS certification to work under a licensed Texas attorney — and it runs on its own standards; our Texas paralegal requirements guide covers the paralegal side.
What are the requirements for TBLS certification?
The requirement categories our research lists for TBLS attorney certification are: years in practice; substantial involvement in the specialty, described as a percentage; peer references; and a certification exam, covered in the next section.
Treat that list as unconfirmed.
The categories themselves, and the specifics behind them — how many years, what percentage, how many references — are exactly where this page stops.
The attorney-certification page on tbls.org redirected and did not open when we read it in October 2026, so neither the list nor its specifics are confirmed here.
The board is the source to rely on for the current requirements.
Keep the two credentials straight as you plan: board certification is a specialty credential for lawyers, while the license to practice is a separate thing earned through bar admission.
If you are still working toward licensure, our Texas bar guide covers that process — certification planning builds on an active practice, not a blank one.
Confirm the current standards with TBLS
What is the TBLS certification exam like?
Our research lists an exam among the requirement categories above — unconfirmed, like the rest of that list — and it is the piece of the process our sources can say least about.
The exam's format, the subject matter it covers, how and when it is administered, and whether it carries a fee are details TBLS keeps — and because the board's attorney-certification page did not open during our research, none of those specifics are confirmed on this page.
For planning purposes, the exam is not the place to start.
If the categories our research lists hold, they describe a record — years in practice, involvement in the specialty, references from peers — and the realistic planning question is how your record measures up before you commit to an exam window.
Where the sitting falls in the sequence — and what it involves — is in the board's current standards.
How does TBLS recertification work?
This page's research did not capture TBLS's recertification terms for attorneys — how long a certification lasts and what renewal requires are details to confirm with the board.
The gap matters for planning: before you commit to qualifying, check what keeping the credential will ask of you once you have it.
What the research does confirm is the CLE obligation that runs in parallel for Texas lawyers generally, separate from any specialty credential: active State Bar of Texas members must complete at least 15 CLE hours per compliance year, including 3 ethics hours.
That requirement belongs to the State Bar, not to a specialty board — our guide to Texas CLE requirements covers the compliance year, carryover and fees.
Career information, not legal advice: specialty certification standards and the rules on specialist wording belong to the boards and state rulemaking bodies that issue them, and they change. Confirm current requirements, the exam and renewal terms with the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and the wording rules in your state's disciplinary rules, before you rely on either.