Texas Electrician License: 8,000 Hours, $30 Fee, PSI Exam

How to get licensed as an electrician in Texas: 8,000 hours (Journeyman Electrician), $30 application fee, PSI exam, annual renewal, 4 hrs CE — verified from Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) (official site) and last verified July 22, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

Journeyman OJT: 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a licensed Texas master electrician (may sit for the exam at 7,000 hours)
Master OJT: 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a licensed Texas master electrician, AND having held a Texas Journeyman Electrician license for at least two years (both conditions)
Accelerated pathway (JEEP): Effective July 1, 2026, graduates of a TDLR-approved Accelerated Journeyman Electrician Education Program receive 4,000 hours of credit toward the 8,000-hour on-the-job training requirement (the credit also counts toward a later master electrician application) and are eligible to sit for the journeyman exam immediately on completing the program; completing an apprenticeship training program also confers immediate exam eligibility (16 TAC §§73.21(b), 73.112)
Exam: PSI-administered, open-book using the adopted National Electrical Code; 70% or higher to pass
Background check: TDLR conducts a criminal-history review on every applicant and at renewal
Reciprocity (master electrician): TDLR holds master electrician reciprocity agreements with Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska and North Carolina, and — as of June 5, 2026 — with Ohio, whose master electrical contractor license TDLR deems substantially equivalent to a Texas master electrician license. To qualify, an applicant must have held the out-of-state license in good standing for at least one year and have obtained it by passing that state's administered exam; each state's prerequisites still apply (including journeyman licensure and, for Ohio, its business-law exam).
Reciprocity (journeyman): TDLR holds journeyman electrician reciprocity agreements with Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Legal basis

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) administers electrician licensing in Texas. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.

What it’s called

Texas licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and held by the electrician personally (not only by the contractor, as in some states). “Electrician license,” “journeyman electrician license,” “master electrician license” and “electrician certification” are common informal names for the individual credential. The exact license tiers, fees, and any separate electrical-contractor license are set out in the license types and requirements below.

License types & fees

Type	Experience	Exam	Fee
Journeyman Electrician	8,000 hrs OJT (may test at 7,000) under a licensed TX master electrician	PSI, 70% to pass	$30
Master Electrician	Must have held a Texas Journeyman Electrician license for at least two years, plus 12,000 hrs OJT under a licensed TX master electrician (both conditions)	PSI, 70% to pass	$45

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

Texas exempts a long list of persons and work from the Electricians licensing law (Texas Occupations Code ch. 1305), which governs the Journeyman and Master Electrician licenses this page covers. Under Tex. Occ. Code sec. 1305.003(a), the chapter does not apply to: work on a dwelling performed by a person who owns and resides in that dwelling, so long as the work is ’not specifically regulated by a municipal ordinance’ (sec. 1305.003(a)(6)) — a city may still require permits or licensing; in-house maintenance electricians — electrical work performed by a person who does not engage in electrical work for the public, is regularly employed as a maintenance person or maintenance electrician for a business, and is not installing electrical equipment during new construction (sec. 1305.003(a)(8)); electrical equipment under the exclusive control of an electric utility, power generation company, electric cooperative, or municipally owned utility, in specified utility locations (sec. 1305.003(a)(5)), and similar gas-utility equipment (a)(9)); communications equipment provided by a telecommunications provider (a)(4)) and cable-operator equipment and network facilities (a)(16)); railway power/signaling installations (a)(3)) and electrical equipment in ships, non-floating-building watercraft, railway rolling stock, aircraft, motor vehicles, and recreational vehicles (a)(1)); underground mine and mobile surface-mining machinery installations (a)(2)); thoroughfare lighting, traffic signals, intelligent transportation systems, and telecommunications controlled by a governmental entity (a)(10)); HVAC electrical connections — connections supplying heating, ventilation, cooling and refrigeration equipment, including the required disconnect, when performed by an air conditioning and refrigeration contractor licensed under ch. 1302 (a)(11)); Class 1, 2, or 3 remote-control, signaling, or power-limited circuits, fire alarm circuits, optical fiber, and communications circuits as defined by the National Electrical Code (a)(12)); landscape irrigation control systems and landscapers’ low-voltage exterior and holiday lighting, excluding the power source (a)(13)); in-plant industrial work — electrical work at a chemical plant, petrochemical plant, refinery, natural gas plant or treating plant, pipeline, or oil and gas exploration and production operation by that business’s own employees, and certain long-term (12-month-plus) contract electrical workers at such plants outside new construction (a)(14)); agriculture — electrical work on a building, structure, or equipment in agricultural use (other than processing an agricultural commodity) (a)(18)); electrical equipment manufacturers’ authorized employees/representatives doing manufacturing, commissioning, testing, retrofit-with-same-ampacity, and in-enclosure servicing of their own products (a)(7)); elevator and escalator work regulated under Health and Safety Code ch. 754, excluding the power source (a)(15)); on-site sewage disposal system work (a)(17)); well pump and equipment work under ch. 1902 (a)(19)); electrical work in the factory construction and assembly of HUD-code manufactured or modular housing by licensed manufacturers/installers, other than service entrance conductors (a)(20)); licensed plumbers installing or servicing plumbing fixtures and appliances (water heaters, disposals, dishwashers, etc.) on existing electrical circuits only (a)(21)); residential appliance maintenance or repair by an appliance dealer or manufacturer using components of the same type and ampacity (a)(22)); and municipal employees maintaining pool-related electrical devices on municipally owned or operated pools (a)(23)). Political subdivisions (school districts, municipalities) do not need an electrical contractor license to employ electrical workers — but their individual employees still must hold the appropriate individual license (sec. 1305.003(d)-(e)). TDLR’s own exemptions page restates these plainly, e.g. that a maintenance electrician ‘who does not engage in electrical work for the public and does not install electrical equipment in new construction is not required by the state to be licensed as an electrician.’

Fees

Application (non-refundable): $30 journeyman, $45 master. Exam fees per the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin.

Exam

PSI-administered licensing exam, open-book using the TDLR-adopted NEC edition; a score of 70% or higher is required to pass

Renewal & continuing education

Annual (license valid one year from issuance; renew online) 4 hours of continuing education per renewal; the 4 hours must cover the National Electrical Code (Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1305)

How to apply

Applications are handled by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Start at the official application page .

Frequently asked questions

How many hours do you need for a journeyman electrician license in Texas?

8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a licensed Texas master electrician. You may sit for the licensing exam after 7,000 hours.

Is there a faster way to become a journeyman electrician in Texas?

Yes. Effective July 1, 2026, Texas created an accelerated pathway: graduates of a TDLR-approved Accelerated Journeyman Electrician Education Program (JEEP) receive 4,000 hours of credit toward the 8,000-hour on-the-job training requirement and may sit for the journeyman exam immediately after completing the program. The 4,000 hours also count toward a later master electrician application (16 TAC §73.112).

How much does a Texas electrician license cost?

The non-refundable application fee is $30 for a journeyman electrician and $45 for a master electrician. Exam fees are set in the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin.

Who administers the Texas electrician exam and what score do you need to pass?

PSI administers the exam. It is open-book using the adopted National Electrical Code, and you need a score of 70% or higher to pass.

How often do you renew a Texas electrician license, and how much continuing education is required?

Licenses are valid for one year and renew annually. Renewal requires 4 hours of continuing education, all of which must cover the National Electrical Code.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Texas.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: July 22, 2026.

LicensingAtlas states licensing and certification requirements categorically from official sources. It is a reference, not legal or career advice, and requirements change frequently — confirm details with the issuing board before you act.