Texas Electrician License Levels: Apprentice to Master

The license levels at a glance

The hours are on-the-job training under a supervisor licensed in Texas, and each supervisor signs an Experience Verification Form for the hours worked under them. TDLR may contact them to check. TDLR gives every exam through PSI, in English or Spanish, open book with the 2026 NEC.

TDLR also licenses three kinds of business: the electrical contractor, the electrical sign contractor and the residential appliance installation contractor. This guide covers the licenses a person holds.

Apprentice electrician: where everyone starts

TDLR says anyone who does electrical work in Texas must be licensed, apart from certain exemptions. If you are new to the trade, the apprentice electrician license is the one you need before you start work.

Requirements. As of 7 Nov 2026 (checked 7 Nov 2026), TDLR asks for no experience and no exam. An apprentice works under the general supervision of a master electrician, a journeyman electrician or a residential wireman.

The application. You apply online. TDLR runs a criminal history check on everyone who applies for or renews a license. If you apply online and report no criminal convictions, TDLR issues you a temporary license automatically. If you have a felony or misdemeanor conviction (other than a minor traffic violation), or a deferred adjudication, you add a Criminal History Questionnaire, and TDLR reviews it case by case. TDLR says that review can take one to six weeks.

Renewal. The license is valid for one year from the day it is issued, and you renew it online every year. TDLR's renewal page, checked 7 Nov 2026, lists:

• A $20 renewal fee, non-refundable.
• Four hours of continuing education from a TDLR-registered provider, taken during the term you are renewing. Instead of those four hours, you can be enrolled in a TDLR-registered electrical apprenticeship training course.
• A reminder by email or postcard about 60 days before the license expires. Renewing on time is still your job, so keep your contact details current with TDLR.
• Late renewal. Up to 90 days after expiry the fee is $30, and from 91 days to 18 months it is $40, online. From 18 months to three years you apply by mail. After three years the license cannot be renewed and you apply again as a new applicant.

Anyone can check a Texas electrician license, including an apprentice's, on TDLR's license search.

Electrical sign apprentice. The sign apprentice license works the same way: no experience, no exam, an online application and yearly renewal. A sign apprentice does electrical sign work under the on-site supervision of a master electrician, a master sign electrician or a journeyman sign electrician.

Residential wireman and residential appliance installer

A residential wireman may do electrical installations only in single-family and multifamily dwellings of no more than four stories. You qualify with 4,000 hours under a master electrician or a residential wireman, or by completing a TDLR-recognized career and technology education program. A residential wireman can also supervise apprentices.

A residential appliance installer does work limited to residential appliance installation, including residential pool-related electrical installation and maintenance, on behalf of a residential appliance installation contractor. TDLR asks for no experience, but you do take an exam.

Journeyman electrician

Most apprentices aim here. A journeyman electrician works under the general supervision of a master electrician, and TDLR asks for 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a master electrician for the license. With at least 7,000 hours you can apply and sit the exam early, though the license still needs the full 8,000. Under 16 TAC §73.21 and §73.112, in effect since 1 July 2026, completing a TDLR-recognized accelerated journeyman electrician education program (JEEP) or an apprenticeship training program also lets you test early. Our step-by-step guide to becoming a journeyman electrician in Texas covers the hours, the application, the exam and renewal in detail, and the eligibility guide explains the one-year window you get once TDLR receives your application.

Limited journeyman licenses: industrial, sign, maintenance and lineman

Four licenses sit at the journeyman level but cover narrower work:

• Journeyman industrial electrician: electrical work only at a business that runs a chemical plant, petrochemical plant, refinery, natural gas plant, natural gas treating plant, pipeline, or oil and gas exploration and production operation. TDLR says it is a limited license, not the equivalent of a journeyman electrician license, and that industrial experience cannot be used toward the master electrician license.
• Journeyman sign electrician: electrical sign work under the general supervision of a master electrician or master sign electrician.
• Maintenance electrician: electrical maintenance work under the general supervision of a master electrician.
• Journeyman lineman: maintenance and operation of equipment that carries electricity from its source to a substation. TDLR calls this a limited license too, not the equivalent of a journeyman electrician license.

If you might want a master electrician license one day, the journeyman electrician license is the one that leads there.

Master electrician

The master electrician license is the top individual license, covering electrical work in, on, outside or attached to any building, structure or premises, including service entrance conductors. TDLR asks for two years holding a Texas journeyman electrician license and 12,000 hours under a master electrician. Our master electrician exam outline covers the full requirements, the application and the two exam portions. The master sign electrician license is the sign-work equivalent, with 12,000 hours under a master electrician or master sign electrician. If you already hold a journeyman or master license from another state, check whether TDLR lists reciprocity with that state.

How long does each level take?

TDLR sets hours, not years. As our own arithmetic, a full-time 40-hour week for 50 weeks is 2,000 hours a year, so:

• 4,000 hours (residential wireman) is about two years of full-time work,
• 8,000 hours (journeyman and the other journeyman-level licenses) is about four years,
• 12,000 hours (master) is about six years.

Overtime shortens those times and gaps lengthen them. Keep a log of every employer, supervisor, date and hour from your first day as an apprentice, because every license above apprentice asks you to prove your hours.

Continuing education at every level

As of 7 Nov 2026 (checked 7 Nov 2026), TDLR's continuing education page asks every individual license holder above except the residential appliance installer for four hours of continuing education before each renewal. The four hours must cover the NEC, Texas electrician law (Occupations Code, Chapter 1305), the Texas electrician rules (16 TAC, Chapter 73) and electrical safety under NFPA 70E. If you hold more than one license, four hours in total covers them, taken within the term of the license you are renewing.

Start with the free check

Whatever level you are at, the journeyman exam is the big step between apprentice and master. You can find out today where it would cost you points. Take the free 10-question check with your NEC open: no signup, every answer explained, and your score by subject area at the end.

FAQ

What are the electrician license levels in Texas?

TDLR lists 11 individual licenses: apprentice electrician, electrical sign apprentice, residential appliance installer, residential wireman, journeyman electrician, journeyman industrial electrician, journeyman sign electrician, maintenance electrician, journeyman lineman, master electrician and master sign electrician. The common path is apprentice, then journeyman, then master.

What are the requirements for a Texas apprentice electrician license?

None in experience or exams, as of 7 Nov 2026. You apply online to TDLR, pass its criminal history check and add a Criminal History Questionnaire if you have a conviction to report. You then work under the general supervision of a master electrician, journeyman electrician or residential wireman.

How do I apply for an apprentice electrician license in Texas?

Complete the online application on TDLR's apprentice electrician page. If you report no criminal convictions, TDLR issues a temporary license automatically. If you report one, TDLR reviews the questionnaire case by case, which it says can take one to six weeks.

How many hours do you need for each Texas electrician license?

As of 7 Nov 2026: none for the two apprentice licenses and the residential appliance installer, 4,000 hours for a residential wireman, 8,000 hours for a journeyman electrician, journeyman industrial, journeyman sign or maintenance electrician, and 12,000 hours for a master or master sign electrician. The master electrician license also needs two years holding a journeyman license.

How do I renew a Texas apprentice electrician license?

Renew online every year before the license expires. As of 7 Nov 2026, TDLR lists a $20 renewal fee and four hours of continuing education from a registered provider, or enrollment in a TDLR-registered electrical apprenticeship training course instead of the four hours.

Sources

All checked on 7 Nov 2026.

• TDLR "Apply for a New License" pages, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation: Apprentice Electrician, Electrical Sign Apprentice, Residential Appliance Installer, Residential Wireman, Journeyman Electrician, Journeyman Industrial Electrician, Journeyman Sign Electrician, Maintenance Electrician, Journeyman Lineman, Master Electrician and Master Sign Electrician.
• Renew an Apprentice Electrician License, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
• Electrician Continuing Education, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
• Electrician Exam Information, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
• Texas Register, 26 June 2026, adopted rules, 16 TAC Chapter 73, §§73.10, 73.21, 73.26, 73.80 and 73.110 to 73.112 (TRD-202602373), effective 1 July 2026.