How to Become an Electrician in Texas

Over the last decade, Texas had the highest growth rate of any state—4.8 million new residents! Nine of the 10 cities with the largest inflex of people during the pandemic were in Texas. The huge boost in people calling Texas home brings jobs in construction with it, including a demand for electricians.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects demand for electricians to grow 6% nationwide over the next decade, but in Texas that number is 15.4%. Becoming an electrician in Texas is a multi-step process that begins with on-the-job training as an apprentice before taking a test to become a licensed journeyman electrician. Some electricians will continue to become master electricians or electrical contractors. Determining your career goals will help you decide what to do.

Types of Electrical Licenses in Texas

Texas has multiple electrician licenses tiered by experience and specialization. The state also makes a distinction between individual and business licenses. Texas categorizes electrical contractors and businesses. Apprenticeship, journeyman, master, and residential licenses are assigned to individuals. Specialties within each license type include linemen, sign electricians, industrial electricians, wiremen, and appliance installers. A license is required at each step in the process, including the apprenticeship. For all license types, four hours of approved continuing education is required each year to renew your license.

Apprentice

There are two apprentice licenses: apprentice electrician and electrical sign apprentice. The apprentice electrician is a general license and allows you to work on-site under the supervision of a journeyman or master electrician or residential wireman. As an electrical sign apprentice, you perform specialized electrical sign work under the eye of a master electrician, master sign electrician, or a journeyman sign electrician.

Regardless of which of these you choose, there are only two requirements:

Meet minimum age requirements. To get your electrical apprentice license, you must be at least 16 years old. The minimum age for an electrical sign apprentice is 18.

No experience is required. However, you must work under a licensed journeyman or master electrician. If you’re specializing in electrical sign work, you’ll need to work under a master electrician or journeyman or master sign electrician.

Submit an application and pay a fee. Texas requires apprentice electricians to get a license. You will submit an online application and pay a non-refundable fee (in 2024 that’s $20). Those without a criminal record will automatically be issued a license. The apprentice license is renewed each year.

Journeyman Electrician License

At the journeyman license level, you can work independently under a master electrician. There are four separate license types: journeyman electrician, journeyman sign electrician, journeyman lineman, and journeyman industrial electrician. The journeyman industrial electrician and journeyman linemen licenses are limited licenses and not equivalent to the journeyman electrician license. You cannot use experience under these two specialties toward a master electrician license.

Each of the journeyman license types require the following, with a few exceptions:

Document 8,000 hours of experience. For all license types, you must have 8,000 hours or roughly four years of hands-on experience as an apprentice. Your experience will need to be documented and signed by each supervisor.

Submit an application and pay the fee. Before you can take the exam, your applications must be received and verified. You’ll pay a non-refundable fee ($30 at the time this article was written). Your license will be issued once you pass your exam. It is renewed annually.

Take the licensing exam. The journeyman electrician and sign electrician exams have 80 scored questions, and you have four hours to take the test. The journeyman lineman electrician exam has 40 questions with a two-hour time limit. The industrial electrician license has 60 questions with a three-hour time limit. All exams required 70% to pass, and each exam has three to five non-scored questions with extra time allocated to take those.

For the journeyman electrician’s license, you can apply to take the exam after completing 7,000 hours of work experience. The journeyman lineman license requires 7,000 hours of training in an approved apprenticeship program or 3.5 years of supervised work for an electric utility, electric cooperative, municipality owned utility, or electrical contractor.

Maintenance

Maintenance electricians perform general maintenance to electrical systems while working under master electricians. You’re required to have 8,000 hours of documented on-the-job training and pass a licensing exam. Work experience must be signed off by a master electrician or a licensed maintenance electrician.

Master Electrician License

Master electricians are licensed to install, maintain, or connect electrical systems to municipal power. They can work on any type of building, including homes, structures, property, or service entrance conductors. To get your master electrician’s license, you must meet the following requirements:

Work as a licensed journeyman electrician. You’re required to have held a journeyman electrician’s license for at least two years.

Complete on-the-job training. A total of 12,000 hours of work experience under a master electrician is required. If you have or held a municipal or regional master electrician’s license, that qualifies as on-the-job training.

Apply and pass the exam. After applying for your license, you will take the exam. A 70% or better is needed to pass.

A master sign electrician license is offered in Texas. These licensees work on behalf of an electrical sign contractor to manufacture, install, maintain, extend, connect, or reconnect electrical systems and components related to signs. You must meet the same qualifications as a master electrician to get this license.

Residential Wireman License

This license type is for electricians who install electrical systems in single-family and multi-family homes that do not exceed four stories. Only 4,000 hours of documented work experience is required under the supervision of a master elections or residential wiremen licensed in Texas. You are also required to pass an 80-question exam with a score of 70%.

Texas also has a residential appliance installer license. Work under this license is restricted to residential appliance installation and pool-related electrical installation and maintenance on behalf of an appliance installation contractor. No experience is required; however, you are required to pass an 80-question exam with a score of at least 70%. You have four hours to pass the timed exam covering theory, grounding and bonding, wiring methods and electrical materials, electrical equipment, motors, control devices, and pool, spa, and fountain equipment.

Business Contractor License

To apply for the electrical contractor’s license in Texas, you must be a master electrician or employ a master electrician. Only one master electrician can be assigned to one electrical contractor, unless the master electrician is an owner-operator who owns more than 50% of the business. You’re required to notify the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) when changing your master electrician of record.

Liability and worker’s compensation insurance are required. Taking and passing an exam is not required. To obtain the license, you simply submit your application along with documentation of insurance and master electrician of record and pay the licensing fee.

Steps to Obtain an Electrician License in Texas

The steps are generally the same for each license type in Texas and are tiered based on experience. You can’t jump the line—you must work your way up from being an apprentice to obtaining your master electrician license.

Here are the basic steps to getting an electrician’s license in Texas:

Be at least 16 years old (to begin an apprenticeship)

Complete the application

Document a minimum of four years or 8,000 hours of on-the-job experience*

Pass the appropriate electrical license exam with at least 70%

Pay the fees

*No experience is necessary to get your apprentice and appliance installer license types, and only 4,000 hours is required to get your residential wireman license. The experience requirements to get your journeyman lineman license is 7,000, and your master electrical or master sign electrical license is 12,000 hours.

The business contractor’s license does not require an exam. You also do not have to pass an exam to begin an apprenticeship. All other license types require that you pass a 40- to 100-question exam. The exam covers National Electrical Code (NEC), theory, and application specific to the license type. Each exam has an additional three or five test questions that are not scored. Extra time is included to answer those questions.

Master electricians take two tests; a 75-item NEC knowledge portion and 33-question calculations portion. Eight of the questions are not scored—five from the NEC portion and three from the calculations portion. There is a 320-minute time limit to take the test.

Master sign electricians take a 100-question exam with a five-hour time limit.

Journeyman, journeyman sign, residential wireman, and residential appliance installer electrical licensees take an 80-question test within a four-hour period.

Maintenance electricians take a 60-question exam and have three hours to complete the test.

Journeyman industrial electricians take a 60-item test with a three-hour time limit.

Journeyman linemen electricians take a 40-question test with a two-hour time limit.

Exam prep courses are designed to help you pass the exam by focusing on the topics covered on the test. The Contractor Training Center also has highlighted and pre-tabbed study materials, which you can bring with you to the open-book exam. Prep courses also have numerous practice tests to help you target your learning in the areas where you’re weak so you're ready for exam day.

Of note, any applicant with a criminal record is required to submit a Criminal History Questionnaire with their application. Criminal history is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Continuing Education and License Renewal

Continuing education is required to renew your license for all license types except contractors and residential appliance electrician licenses. CE must be completed each year prior to the renewal date of your license. You are required to use a registered TDLR provider. One hour of CE is equivalent to 50 minutes of instruction time.

Apprentices are also required to take four hours of CE or be enrolled in an apprenticeship training program.

Approved CE courses include topics on the NEC, Texas electrician law, Texas administrative rules, and electrical safety. The TDLR maintains a list of approved CE providers.

FAQs

Is an apprenticeship program required?

No. You don’t have to attend an apprenticeship training program. However, there are some advantages. Most apprenticeship training schools offer a combination of education and hands-on training. In Texas, attending a training program excludes you from taking four hours of CE courses each year during your apprenticeship.

Can I count any experience as a journeyman toward the experience requirements for a master electrician license?

No. Only hands-on experience as a journeyman electrician counts towards the master electrician license. The journeyman industrial electrician and journeyman linemen licenses are limited licenses and not equivalent to the journeyman electrician license.

Can you become an electrical contractor without getting an electrician’s license at all?

Yes. You don’t have to have a journeyman or master electrician license to become a licensed electrical contractor. But you are required to employ a master electrician if you do not hold that license yourself.

Conclusion

Texas continues to thrive as more and more people move to the Lone Star state, making this an incredible opportunity for electrical workers. The licensing process is a lot like other states and includes an apprenticeship and exam before becoming a licensed electrician. One of the big differences in Texas is the four hours of continuing education required each year for all license types. But if you’re willing to put in the work, you can enjoy a long and prosperous career as a licensed electrician.

When you are ready, explore the Contractor Training Center’s exam prep courses to help pass your Texas electrical license exams. We’re always here to help, so don’t hesitate to reach out with your questions.

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