How to become a licensed electrician in Texas

Journeyman level 8,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), Electricians Program · (512) 463-6599 [1]

The license pathway in Texas

1. 1

   Apprentice Electrician

   • $20
   • Yearly, $20; 4 hours CE or enrollment in a TDLR-registered apprenticeship training course

   Your entry license. It lets you do electrical work under the supervision of a master electrician, journeyman electrician or residential wireman. There are no experience or exam requirements; you must be at least 16. [3][6][13]

2. 2

   Residential Wireman

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • Yes: 80 items, 240 minutes, 70% to pass, $64 (PSI)
   • $20 application
   • Yearly, $20; 4 hours CE

   An optional license limited to single-family and multifamily dwellings not over four stories. You qualify with 4,000 hours under a master electrician or residential wireman, or by finishing a TDLR-approved career and technology education (CTE) program, and you still must pass the exam. [2][3][7][10][21]

3. 3

   Journeyman Electrician

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • Yes: two parts (NEC knowledge, 59 items, 130 minutes; calculations, 26 items, 110 minutes), open book, 70% on each, $78 (PSI)
   • $30 application
   • Yearly, $30; 4 hours CE

   Lets you do electrical work under the general supervision of a master electrician. You need 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas master electrician; TDLR lets you apply and test at 7,000 hours. [3][4][10][11]

4. 4

   Master Electrician

   • 12,000 hours on the job
   • 2 years of experience
   • Yes: two parts (NEC knowledge, 75 items, 150 minutes; calculations, 170 minutes), 70% on each, $78 (PSI)
   • $45 application
   • Yearly, $45; 4 hours CE

   Can do and supervise all electrical work and serve as the master of record for a contractor. You need 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a master electrician and must have held a journeyman electrician license for at least two years. [3][5][10][12]

5. 5

   Electrical Contractor

   • $110 application
   • Yearly, $110; no CE

   A business license, not a personal one. The business must employ a licensed master electrician (who can be the owner) as master electrician of record, and carry liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence. [2][8][14][15]

Who needs a license in Texas

Texas licenses electricians statewide. TDLR says "anyone who performs, or offers to perform, non-exempt electrical work in the state of Texas must be licensed and perform that work through a licensed electrical contractor."

That includes beginners: new hires must hold an apprentice license before doing electrical work, and TDLR says "there is no grace period." Work in unincorporated areas also needs a license.

The law has exemptions. Examples include work by a homeowner on the home they own and live in (if not specifically regulated by a city ordinance), utility-controlled equipment, and work by a business's regular maintenance employee who doesn't do electrical work for the public, as long as it isn't new construction. Check the full list in Occupations Code section 1305.003 before relying on one. [1][2][3]

The license ladder: apprentice to master

The usual path is apprentice, then journeyman, then master. Texas also offers side licenses for specific kinds of work.

• Apprentice Electrician: no experience or exam; $20 a year.
• Residential Wireman: 4,000 hours (or an approved high school career and technology program) plus an exam; limited to homes and apartment buildings up to four stories.
• Journeyman Electrician: 8,000 hours under a master electrician plus an exam.
• Master Electrician: 12,000 hours under a master, two years as a licensed journeyman, plus an exam.
• Electrical Contractor: a business license that requires a master electrician of record; no exam.

Other licenses include Journeyman Industrial Electrician (8,000 hours; optional for people who already hold a journeyman or master license), Maintenance Electrician (8,000 hours), Journeyman Lineman, and sign electrician licenses.

Hours earned in a high school career and technology program count only toward the Residential Wireman license, not toward other electrician licenses. Hours as a Journeyman Industrial Electrician don't count toward the two years needed for a master license.

To compare Texas with other states, see the electrician hub and journeyman vs. master. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

The journeyman and master exams

TDLR's exam vendor is PSI, with test centers across Texas, including Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso and Lubbock. Schedule on the PSI website or at (833) 333-4741 after TDLR approves your application.

Since March 11, 2025, the journeyman exam has two parts: a knowledge part and a calculations part. The PSI bulletin lists the journeyman knowledge part at 59 items in 130 minutes and the calculations part at 26 items in 110 minutes. You must score at least 70% on each part. The fee is $78 for both parts, and a retake is also $78. The master exam has the same two-part format.

The exam is open book. You bring your own soft-bound copy of the National Electrical Code (NEC, the national wiring rulebook). PSI's bulletin says exams are referenced to the 2026 NEC starting September 1, 2026. Spiral or ring-bound copies and the NEC Handbook are not allowed, and only publisher-made permanent tabs are allowed.

You can retake as many times as you need, paying the fee each time. You have one year from the date TDLR received your application to meet all requirements, including passing. [9][10]

Fees, renewal and continuing education

TDLR application fees are $20 for an apprentice or residential wireman, $30 for a journeyman, $45 for a master, and $110 for an electrical contractor. PSI exam fees are separate ($78 for journeyman or master, $64 for residential wireman).

Licenses are valid for one year and must be renewed every year. Renewal costs the same as the application fee for each of these licenses. Late renewal costs more, and a license expired for more than three years can't be renewed.

Electricians, including apprentices, must complete 4 hours of continuing education (CE) from a TDLR-registered provider before each renewal. The hours must cover the NEC, Texas electrician law, the TDLR rules, and electrical safety under NFPA 70E. Apprentices can instead be enrolled in a registered apprenticeship training course. Contractors don't need CE. [4][5][6][7][8][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships in Texas

You can earn your hours with any employer that has a Texas master electrician supervising you. Many people go through a formal apprenticeship instead, which adds classroom training to paid work.

Union (IBEW/NECA) programs are run by joint apprenticeship and training committees (JATCs, a board of union and employer reps). The Electrical Training Alliance says typical entry requirements are age 18, a high school education, one year of high school algebra, a qualifying score on an aptitude test, and being drug free. Find your local program with its training center locator.

Open-shop (non-union) programs are run by contractor associations such as Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) and Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). IEC describes a four-year program with daytime work for an IEC contractor and evening classes.

TDLR keeps a public list of registered electrical apprenticeship training programs that includes union JATCs, IEC and ABC chapters, and colleges such as Blinn College. More on choosing: electrician apprenticeships, union vs. non-union and the aptitude test. [4][16][17][18]

If you're licensed in another state

Texas has reciprocal agreements for two license levels. For a journeyman license, TDLR lists Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. For a master license, it lists Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa (Class A master), Louisiana (state contractor's license), Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee.

To qualify, you must have passed the other state's statewide exam and held that license for at least one year. You also need the same hours a Texas applicant needs (8,000 for journeyman; 12,000 plus journeyman time for master). TDLR says there are no agreements for any other license types and no path for transferring a contractor's business license.

If your state isn't listed, you apply like any new applicant and take the Texas exam. Veterans get credit: the law tells TDLR to credit verified military service, training or education toward requirements other than the exam. See the Out of State Applicants page and our reciprocity guide.

Texas has no general law that recognizes every out-of-state license. A 2025 law, House Bill 11, tells TDLR to "maximize licensing reciprocity agreements" with states whose requirements are "substantially equivalent" to Texas's. It doesn't transfer any license by itself, so check TDLR's list for new agreements before you apply. [2][3][19][20]

City licenses in Texas

Some Texas cities still issue their own electrician licenses. TDLR says a city license is valid only in the city that issued it, while a state license is valid anywhere in Texas.

If you hold a state license, a city can't make you take its own exam to work within the scope of that license. It also can't charge you a registration or similar fee, though it can still charge building permit fees. Work inside city limits must follow local ordinances. [2][3]

Career changers: age, background and timing

The minimum age for an electrical apprentice license is 16 (18 for a sign apprentice). Union programs typically want applicants to be at least 18.

TDLR runs a criminal history check on every applicant and reviews convictions case by case. You can ask TDLR for a Criminal History Evaluation Letter before you apply.

The fastest legal route to a journeyman license is 8,000 hours of on-the-job training, and you can sit for the exam at 7,000 hours. TDLR doesn't require classroom hours for the journeyman license, but apprenticeship programs add their own classes. [3][4][6][16]

Steps to get licensed in Texas

1. Get your apprentice license before you start work

   Apply online through TDLR and pay $20. If you report no criminal convictions you get a temporary license right away; there is no grace period to work without one. [2][6]

2. Work under a master electrician and log your hours

   Build on-the-job training hours under the supervision of a Texas master electrician, through an employer or a registered apprenticeship program. Each supervising master will sign an Experience Verification Form for you later. [4][18]

3. Renew your apprentice license every year

   Renew online for $20 and complete 4 hours of continuing education, or be enrolled in a TDLR-registered apprenticeship training course. [13][15]

4. Apply for the journeyman license at 7,000 hours

   Mail the Journeyman Electrician License Application with your experience forms and the $30 fee. Applying at 7,000 hours lets you test early, but you need the full 8,000 hours for the license. [4]

5. Schedule and pass the PSI exam

   Once TDLR approves you, book the two-part exam with PSI ($78). Bring your own soft-bound NEC. You have one year from when TDLR received your application to meet all requirements. [9][10]

6. Keep going toward master

   After two years as a licensed journeyman and 12,000 total hours under a master, apply for the master electrician license ($45) and pass the master exam. [3][5]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train electricians in or for Texas, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  IBEW/NECA joint apprenticeship (JATC) programs in Texas

  Union programs run jointly by the electricians' union (IBEW) and contractors (NECA). TDLR's registered-program list includes the North Texas, Austin, South Texas, Houston, Texas Gulf Coast, El Paso and West Texas electrical JATCs, among others. [16][18]

• Open shop

  Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) chapters in Texas

  Non-union apprenticeship schools. TDLR's list includes IEC Dallas, IEC San Antonio, IEC Fort Worth/Tarrant County, IEC Texas Gulf Coast, CenTex IEC, IEC of East Texas, IEC Texas Panhandle, Lubbock Chapter IEC and RGV Chapter IEC. [17][18]

• Open shop

  Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) programs

  TDLR's registered-program list includes ABC South Texas, ABC Southeast Texas and the ABC Merit Shop Training Program. [18]

• State program

  TDLR list of registered electrical apprenticeship training programs

  TDLR's public lookup of every registered electrical apprentice training program in Texas, with phone numbers and addresses. Enrollment in one of these also satisfies an apprentice's yearly CE. [15][18]

• State program

  Texas Workforce Commission Office of Apprenticeship

  The state workforce agency supports registered apprenticeship programs and funds classroom (related) instruction for registered programs; local Workforce Solutions offices can point you to programs. [22]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask