Texas Journeyman Electrician Exam

The Two-Part Exam Format

Since March 11, 2025, TDLR has split both the journeyman and master electrician exams into two independently timed sections. You must pass each section separately with a minimum score of 70%. Time remaining from the first section does not carry over to the second.

Journeyman Electrician Exam:

Master Electrician Exam:

Both exams are open-book — you bring your own copy of the NEC. The pre-test questions are mixed in with scored questions and aren't identified, so treat every question as if it counts.

PSI Registration and Scheduling

The exam is administered by PSI Services, the third-party vendor TDLR contracts with for all trade licensing exams. You can't schedule an exam until TDLR has approved your application and issued an exam eligibility notice.

Once you have that notice, schedule through PSI's online portal or by phone at (833) 333-4741. PSI operates 16 testing centers across Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Arlington, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock, McAllen, Midland, San Antonio, Tyler, and Waco.

The exam fee is $78 for both journeyman and master exams, $60 for the residential wireman exam. Each retake costs the full fee again, regardless of whether you're retaking one section or both.

What You Can Bring Into the Testing Room

Allowed:

• Soft-bound copy of the state-adopted 2026 NEC (effective September 1, 2026)
• Publisher-printed permanent tabs in the NEC
• Highlights and handwritten notes made before the exam (already in the book when you arrive)
• A non-programmable, silent, battery-operated calculator
• Government-issued photo ID matching your TDLR application name exactly

Prohibited:

• Loose-leaf, spiral-bound, or ring-bound NEC copies
• Handmade tabs or sticky-note tabs
• Programmable or noisy calculators
• Personal scratch paper (PSI provides electronic notepads)

The codebook rules trip people up more often than you'd expect. If you show up with a spiral-bound NEC or homemade tabs, you won't be allowed to test — and you lose your scheduling slot without a fee refund.

The Pass Rate Reality

TDLR publishes exam statistics annually. The fiscal year 2025 numbers are sobering:

• Journeyman NEC Knowledge: approximately 24.46% pass rate (4,329 failures out of 5,731 attempts)
• Journeyman Calculations: approximately 20.56% pass rate (5,027 failures out of 6,328 attempts)
• Master NEC Knowledge: approximately 22.21% pass rate (2,701 failures out of 3,472 attempts)
• Master Calculations: approximately 19.08% pass rate (3,193 failures out of 3,946 attempts)

These are aggregate numbers across all attempts, including retakes. But the message is clear: most candidates fail at least one section on a given sitting. The calculations section is consistently harder than the NEC knowledge section at both levels.

Retakes and the 12-Month Window

If you fail one or both sections, you can retake the exam as many times as needed — as long as you're still within your 12-month eligibility window and can pay the $78 fee each time.

After a failed section, check PSI's current scheduling rules for the next available slot. In practice, PSI availability varies by location and time of year, so build scheduling lead time into your plan.

The 12-month window is non-negotiable. If it expires before you pass both sections, your application terminates, your original fee is lost, and you start over with a new application, new experience verification forms, and a new fee.

ADA Accommodations

Candidates who need special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act must submit requests directly to PSI with supporting documentation before scheduling the exam. These requests go through PSI's accommodations process, not through TDLR. Allow extra lead time for this — PSI needs to review and approve accommodations before you can book a slot.

Exam Day Logistics

PSI test centers provide the testing station, electronic notepads for scratch work, and a printed grade report at the end of the exam. You'll know immediately whether you passed each section — the proctor hands you the results before you leave.

PSI transmits official scores to TDLR electronically. Assuming everything else in your application is in order (hours verified, fees paid, background check cleared), TDLR issues the license without requiring you to do anything additional.

Preparing Your Logistics, Not Just Your Knowledge

This post covers the exam process, not exam content — the licensing umbrella this guide operates under explicitly avoids exam-prep territory. But the administrative logistics around the exam are where many candidates lose time or money unnecessarily: wrong codebook format, expired eligibility window, scheduling delays at popular test centers.

The Texas Electrician License Guide maps out the complete exam logistics alongside the application timeline, so the administrative side of the process doesn't derail your advancement.

See more Texas guides →