Guardianship Certification

Under section 155.012 of Texas Government Code, the following individuals must be certified by the Commission:

• An individual who is a private professional guardian;
• An individual who will provide those services to a ward of a private professional guardian on the guardian's behalf; 
• An individual, other than a volunteer, who will provide those services, or other services under Section 161.114, Human Resources Code, to a ward of a guardianship program or the Department of Aging and Disability Services on the program's or department's behalf.
• A person who at any time supervises direct providers of guardianship services must be certified, unless the person is exempt under Section 155.001(6) of the Government Code.

Attorneys are not required to be professionally certified guardians.

• Attorneys seeking to become guardians should contact the court where the guardianship will be filed for information on those requirements.
• The attorney will, however, need to register any guardianships with the JBCC and must refer to the Register a Guardianship webpage for information on that process.
• The Guardianship Ad Litem Certification, required for attorneys representing the interests of any person during a guardianship proceeding, is issued by the State Bar of Texas. Please contact the State Bar if you are seeking that type of certification.

Inquiries Regarding Paperwork

Applications are processed as soon as possible, in the order of which they are received. Due to the volume of applications received, processing times can vary; therefore, we are unable to provide more specific timeframes.

Applicants must confirm receipt of their applications, the status of their applications, and their applications progress by referring to the View Pending Online Applications page of their online profiles. From that page, they can verify the following information 24/7:

Applicants are solely responsible for ensuring they know all information required to become certified, by ensuring to utilize all resources available to them (i.e., our website, rules, slideshows, any communications submitted to them by staff, etc.).

1. Confirm receipt of documents uploaded to their application by looking at the number reflect next to the Document(s) link.
   • If it shows (0), the document was not uploaded (i.e., it was not received).
   • If it shows (1), or any number other than 0, the document was uploaded (i.e., it has been received).
2. Check their applications status.
   • By hovering their mouse over the status, they'll also be able to see descriptive text that explains what the status means.
3. Check the progress of their applications status by clicking the View Details link.
   • This will show them which items on their application's checklist have been completed, and which are still pending.

Applicants are also sent automated email confirmations of successful application submission, and when applications are approved.

Inquiries for application status checks or receipt confirmation will not be replied to unless determined by staff that there’s been a delay in processing your application, and you have not received prior notification. We receive many of these inquiries and each email takes time to research and respond to which delays the processing of applications. Thank you for your understanding.

Expiration

For new certifications, your approval to provide guardianship services will expire two (2) years after the last day of the month of certification and, upon expiration, unless renewed, your name will be removed from the list of certified guardians in our online licensing system. Provisional certifications are valid for one 2-year period only and cannot be renewed or reinstated.