Texas Journeyman Electrician License Requirements

The journeyman electrician license is the main working license in Texas. It is also the license you must hold for two years before you can qualify for master. This guide covers the hours, the application, the exam, the fees and what it takes to keep the license. For exam content and study tactics, see the journeyman exam guide.

Key facts

• Experience: 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas Master Electrician (TDLR journeyman apply page).
• You may apply and test at 7,000 hours. The license is issued once you have 8,000 (TDLR).
• Application: by mail, $30, with an Experience Verification Form from each supervising master, as of November 2026 (TDLR).
• Exam: two portions given by PSI, $78 for both, 70% to pass each (PSI bulletin updated 9/15/2026; TDLR exam page).
• Eligibility window: one year from the date TDLR receives your application (TDLR exam page).
• Renewal: yearly, $30, with 4 hours of CE (TDLR renew and CE pages).

Experience: the 8,000 hours

TDLR wants 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under the supervision of a Master Electrician licensed in Texas. You prove them with an Experience Verification Form. Each master who supervised you fills out and signs a separate form. TDLR may contact your supervisors to check.

TDLR lets you apply and sit for the exam once you have 7,000 hours. That gives you time to pass while you finish the last 1,000 hours. You cannot get the license itself until you reach 8,000.

Most people earn these hours as a licensed apprentice electrician. Hours as a Journeyman Industrial Electrician are a separate track and do not count toward master (TDLR master apply page).

A proposed shortcut, not yet a rule

TDLR has proposed a Journeyman Electrician Education Program pathway. Graduates of approved programs would generally be credited 3,000 of the 8,000 hours and could test on graduation. The proposal would also write the 7,000-hour testing rule into the rules. Comments closed on 2026-05-11. As of 2026-11-09 we found no adoption notice in TDLR’s electricians news feed, so it is proposed and not adopted.

How to apply

1. Collect a signed Experience Verification Form from every master who supervised you.
2. Fill out the Journeyman Electrician license application form from TDLR.
3. Mail both with the non-refundable $30 fee (as of November 2026). TDLR’s page says the first application is by mail.
4. If you have a criminal conviction other than a minor traffic violation, include the Criminal History Questionnaire.
5. Wait for TDLR to approve you to test, then schedule with PSI online or at (833) 333-4741.

The one-year clock starts when TDLR receives your application. You must pass the exam and meet every other requirement inside that year.

The exam

Portion	Questions (scored + non-scored)	Time	To pass
NEC Knowledge	59 (56 + 3)	130 minutes	70%
Calculations	26 (24 + 2)	110 minutes	70%

Source: PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, updated 9/15/2026. The fee is $78 for both portions, as of November 2026. A retake also costs $78 whether you failed one portion or both. The exam has been split into two portions since 2025-03-11 per TDLR’s exam page.

Both portions are open book with your own soft-bound 2026 NEC. You may highlight, underline and write notes in it before the exam, and you may use only permanent tabs made or sold by the NEC publisher. You may take it in English or Spanish at no extra cost. See open-book rules and tabs and calculator rules.

The Calculations portion is the hard part. In FY2025, TDLR reports a 20.56% pass rate for Journeyman Calculations and 24.46% for Journeyman NEC (TDLR exam statistics; see pass rates). Our journeyman practice test and generated calculation drills with worked steps are built for that portion. Read how to pass the calculations exam too.

Fees at a glance

All fees as of November 2026, from TDLR’s apply and renew pages and the PSI bulletin.

Item	Fee
TDLR application	$30
PSI exam (both portions)	$78
PSI retake (one or both portions)	$78
Yearly renewal	$30
Late renewal, 90 days or less	$45
Late renewal, 91 days to 36 months	$60

If the license has been expired more than 36 months, you must apply again as a new applicant. Past 18 months, renewal goes by mail with a request form to the Executive Director.

Keeping the license

The journeyman license is valid one year and renews every year. Each renewal needs 4 hours of CE from a TDLR-registered provider, covering the NEC, Texas electrician law, TDLR rules and NFPA 70E safety. See the CE guide.

What comes next

After two years as a journeyman, and with 12,000 hours under a Texas master, you can apply for master. See master electrician license requirements. If you fail a portion, read retaking the Texas electrician exam.

TexasElectricianExam is independent and not affiliated with TDLR, PSI or NFPA. Confirm current requirements with TDLR before you apply.