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How to become an electrician in Texas
8,000 hours of supervised work, then the state exam.2 Texas licenses electricians through TDLR.1
How do you start as an electrician in Texas?
There are three ways in: a registered apprenticeship (18 programs and 74 companies in Texas), trade school (37 schools with electrician programs), or a helper or trainee job with a licensed electrical contractor.
Every route ends at the same place: 8,000 logged hours and the state exam.
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In TX
- 18 programs + 74 companies
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In TX
- 37 schools with programs
Start on a crew
Get hired as a helper by a licensed electrical contractor and log hours on the job.
- Pay
- Paid on the job
- Start
- No experience needed
How do you get an electrician license in Texas?
Log 8,000 hours of supervised work, then apply to TDLR and pass the journeyman exam given by PSI.
Journeyman license from TDLR.
Get your apprentice electrician license$20 license
Apply online to TDLR, $20, with no exam or experience needed. Applicants who apply online and report no criminal convictions are issued a temporary license automatically. It is good for 1 year; you renew it every year after 4 hours of continuing education. It covers electrical work under the supervision of a master electrician, journeyman electrician or residential wireman.
- Issued by
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)
- Cost
- $20 license
Log 8,000 hours8,000 hrs
About 4 years of full-time work under a licensed electrician. Keep your own log of hours and pay stubs.
- Issued by
- Your employer signs off
- Time
- 8,000 hrs
Pass the journeyman exam$30 application
Apply to TDLR with your hours, then book the exam with PSI.
- Issued by
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)
- Cost
- $30 application
Keep it currentEvery year
Renew every year. 4 hours of continuing education before each renewal, for every individual license including apprentices.
- Issued by
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)
- Time
- Every year
Run your own shop
For the Master Electrician of record: a Texas journeyman license held 2 years, plus 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas master electrician, verified on TDLR's experience form.
- Issued by
- TDLR - Electricians
Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Texas journeyman license.
$58,570
a year is the median for electricians in Texas ($28.16 an hour, May 2025).6
Pay by city and percentile- Beaumont–Port Arthur$29.51
- Austin–Round Rock$29.03
- Midland$28.62
- Corpus Christi$28.56
- Houston–Pasadena$28.45
More questions about becoming an electrician in Texas
How long does it take to become an electrician in Texas?
About 4 years of full-time work: the journeyman license requires 8,000 hours of supervised experience.2
Do you need a license to work on your own as an electrician in Texas?
Yes. Texas licenses electrical contractors through TDLR.4
Are electricians in demand in Texas?
Projections Central expects about 8,100 electrician openings a year in Texas through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.5
Find an apprenticeship near you
18 programs and 74 companies in Texas. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for electricians in Texas
Sources
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) (tdlr.texas.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR): experience requirements (tdlr.texas.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR): apprentice electrician license (tdlr.texas.gov, 2026-10-28)
- TDLR - Electricians contractor licensing (tdlr.texas.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Texas, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)