TDLR Electrician License: Tiers, Exam, and Renewal

To earn a TDLR electrician license in Texas, you apply to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for the tier that matches your experience, document the required on-the-job training hours through a supervising electrician, pass an open-book exam administered by PSI on the National Electrical Code, and then renew the license every year after completing four hours of approved continuing education. The path is the same in shape for every tier; what changes is how many hours you need behind you and how broad your scope of work becomes once you’re licensed.

Pick the Right License Tier

Texas tiers electrician licenses by skill and scope of work. Applying for the wrong one wastes the fee and the wait.

Apprentice electrician: entry level, works under the on-site supervision of a master, journeyman, or residential wireman.¹
Residential wireman: electrical work in single-family and multifamily dwellings up to four stories, under a master electrician’s general supervision.²
Maintenance electrician: electrical maintenance work under a master electrician’s general supervision. Does not cover new construction.³
Journeyman electrician: a broad scope of commercial and industrial electrical work under a master electrician’s general supervision.²
Master electrician: the top individual license. A master can plan, lay out, and supervise all types of electrical installations.⁴
Electrical contractor: a business-level license required for any person or entity in the business of designing, installing, or repairing electrical wiring systems for others.⁵

Sign electrician licenses (master, journeyman, and apprentice sign electrician) follow the same shape but are separate credentials for professionals working on electrical signs and outline lighting.

Experience Hours and Age

Each tier has an experience floor documented and signed off by supervising electricians. TDLR can audit these hours.

Apprentice electrician: no experience hours, but you must be at least 16 and actively learning under supervision.¹
Residential wireman: 4,000 hours of on-the-job training in residential electrical work.
Maintenance electrician: 8,000 hours under a master electrician or a licensed maintenance electrician.³
Journeyman electrician: 8,000 hours under a master electrician’s supervision.
Master electrician: 12,000 hours, plus a journeyman license held for at least two years before you apply.⁴

Electrical sign apprentices must be at least 18, older than the 16-year minimum for general apprentices.¹

How to Apply

Your application package has two core pieces: the license application form for the tier you want, and an Experience Verification Form completed and signed by every supervising electrician who oversaw your training hours. Both forms come from the TDLR electricians page.³

Fees are non-refundable and vary by tier. A maintenance electrician application is $20; a journeyman electrician application is $30.⁶ Some initial applications, including the maintenance electrician application, must be filed by mail rather than online.³ Check the TDLR page for your specific license type before you file, because online availability differs across categories.

Once TDLR receives your completed application and verifies your hours, you’ll be notified that you’re approved to sit for the exam. Verification is where most applicants get stuck. Track down former supervisors early and get those forms signed before you submit anything, because a hard-to-reach supervisor can stall the whole process.

The Licensing Exam

TDLR contracts with PSI to administer every electrician licensing exam. The exam is open-book, and you bring your own copy of the National Electrical Code to the testing site. The current edition is the 2023 NEC, and it must be a soft-bound copy. Loose-leaf, spiral-bound, and ring-bound versions are not allowed.⁷

A passing score is 70%. As of March 2025, the journeyman exam has two parts: a knowledge portion and a calculations portion. PSI publishes a Candidate Information Bulletin with the exact number of questions for each exam type.⁷

Open-book sounds forgiving, but candidates who haven’t practiced navigating the NEC under time pressure lose the exam on the clock. Knowing where an answer lives beats memorizing code sections. Tab the book before test day.

Contractor Insurance (Business License Only)

If you’re applying for the business-level electrical contractor license, you must carry business liability insurance before TDLR will issue or renew:

$300,000 per occurrence, combined property damage and bodily injury
$600,000 aggregate for total property damage and bodily injury
$300,000 aggregate for products and completed operations

Insurance certificates must be filed with the initial application and every renewal.⁸ Individual license holders (apprentices, journeymen, masters, and so on) don’t face these insurance requirements, though most contractors carry their employees on the company policy anyway.

Criminal Background Check

TDLR runs a criminal background check through the Texas Department of Public Safety on every original application and every renewal. If something comes back that could justify denial, TDLR’s Enforcement Division assigns an attorney to review the nature of the crime, how closely it connects to electrical work, how much time has passed, and evidence of rehabilitation.⁹

A conviction is not an automatic bar. If the reviewing attorney recommends denial, you’ll receive a letter identifying the specific convictions and your right to request a hearing. Any felony or misdemeanor conviction other than a minor traffic violation means you also need to submit a completed Criminal History Questionnaire with your application.³

Annual Renewal and Continuing Education

Every Texas electrician license is valid for one year from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually.¹⁰ Before each renewal, you complete four hours of TDLR-approved continuing education. That requirement applies to every tier: master, journeyman, residential wireman, maintenance electrician, sign electricians, and apprentices. Holding multiple license types doesn’t multiply the hours; four total hours cover you, so long as the courses fall inside the renewal period of the license being renewed.¹¹

The four hours must cover these topics:

The National Electrical Code, as adopted under Texas Occupations Code §1305.101
Texas Electrician Law (Occupations Code Chapter 1305)
Texas Electrician Administrative Rules (16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 73)
Electrical safety standards from NFPA 70E

A detail that trips up renewals: four hours of NEC content alone doesn’t finish the requirement. You still need at least one additional approved hour covering the law, the administrative rules, or NFPA 70E safety.¹¹ Apprentices can satisfy the CE requirement either through four hours of continuing education or by being enrolled in a TDLR-registered apprenticeship training program.

Journeyman renewal is $30, matching the initial application fee. Renewals go through the TDLR website, where approved course providers report your completed hours electronically.¹²

If You Let It Expire

Late renewal gets more expensive the longer you wait. Using the journeyman fee schedule as an example:¹²

Expired 90 days or less: $45 renewal fee, up from $30
Expired 91 days to 18 months: $60
Expired 18 months to 3 years: $60, but you must apply by mail with a Request to Executive Director for Expired License Renewal form
Expired more than 3 years: the license cannot be renewed. You reapply as a new applicant and take the exam again.

The three-year cliff is the real hazard. Set a calendar reminder well before your expiration date.

Penalties for Working Without a Current License

Performing or offering to perform electrical work with an expired license is a Class B Violation under TDLR’s enforcement framework. Penalties run from $1,000 to $3,500 and can include suspension for up to one year.¹³ The suspension is usually worse than the fine, because a year off the tools cascades into lost income, stalled projects for your employer, and reputational damage.

Out-of-State License Transfers

Texas has reciprocity with a limited number of states, and only in states that also honor a Texas license. The list differs by tier.

Master electrician: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa (Class A master), Louisiana (state contractor’s license), Nebraska, and North Carolina (master or unlimited electrical contractor).
Journeyman electrician: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

To transfer, you need at least one year holding the equivalent out-of-state license in good standing, a letter from the licensing state confirming your license is active and that you passed their exam, and the Texas experience hours for the tier (8,000 for journeyman, 12,000 for master).¹⁴ If your state isn’t on the list, you go through the full Texas application and examination process. There is no partial credit for a non-reciprocal out-of-state license.

What Changes in 2026

Under the Texas Electrical Safety and Licensing Act, TDLR adopts the latest edition of the NEC as the statewide standard. Texas is set to adopt the 2026 National Electrical Code effective September 1, 2026. Until then, the 2023 NEC is enforceable and the exam is based on the 2023 edition.⁷ If you’re testing before September 2026, study the 2023 edition. If you’re renewing after that date, plan on continuing education courses that cover the 2026 updates.

1
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code Section 1305.161 – Apprentice
2
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 73 – Electricians
3
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Apply for a New Maintenance Electrician License
4
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code OCC 1305.153 – Master Electrician
5
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code OCC 1305.002 – Definitions
6
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Journeyman Electrician License Application
7
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Electrician Exam Information
8
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License
9
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Guidelines for License Applicants with Criminal Convictions
10
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Renew an Apprentice Electrician License
11
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Continuing Education Information for Electricians
12
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Renew a Journeyman Electrician License
13
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Electricians Penalties and Sanctions
14
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Transfer Your Out-of-State Electrician License to Texas