How to become an electrician in Texas

The path in Texas, step by step

Texas licenses electrical work at the state level through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Electricians Program. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Work under a licensed electrician and earn a Journeyman Electrician license.
2. Hold the Journeyman license for two years and log 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas Master Electrician.
3. Apply by mail for the Master Electrician license with the $45 fee and experience verification forms.
4. Pass the Master Electrician exam with PSI.
5. Buy the required liability insurance and set up workers comp or file the no-coverage notice.
6. Apply for the Electrical Contractor license with the $110 fee and your certificate of insurance.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: electrical license in Texas.

Finding an apprenticeship in Texas

Texas has no recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, so the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship registers and oversees programs there through a state field office. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Texas Office of Apprenticeship as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Most electricians learn the trade in a 4 or 5 year apprenticeship. Each year brings about 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus some classroom instruction.

License levels and exams in Texas

The license to aim for: Electrical Contractor license, with a Master Electrician of record.

Trade exam. Yes. The Master Electrician exam is given by PSI. It is open book, using the National Electrical Code, 2026 Edition.

Keeping it. Electrician licenses are valid for one year and renew every year. Master Electricians need 4 hours of continuing education before each renewal. Contractors do not need continuing education.

Coming from another state. Texas has no path to transfer an electrical contracting business license from another state. Individual electricians licensed elsewhere should see the board's out-of-state applicant page.

What the Texas license costs

The fees the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Electricians Program lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in Texas

The median electrician in Texas earned $28.16 an hour in May 2025, 45th of 51 states, with 76,770 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Texas earned under $22.44 an hour and a tenth under $18.23. At the top, a quarter earned over $34.20 and a tenth over $38.61.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: electrician salary in Texas.

Jobs ahead in Texas

Texas's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 68,930 in 2022 to 81,440 in 2032, a change of 18.1%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 7,800 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 18.1% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 8th of the 50 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group electricians.

Starting your own electrician business in Texas

To contract on your own in Texas, the license is the Electrical Contractor license, with a Master Electrician of record.

Insurance. Electrical contractors must carry liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate, and $300,000 aggregate for products and completed operations. You must also show workers comp, a self-insurance certificate, or a statement that you elected not to carry it.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Texas median of $28.16 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $120.04 per billable hour. Try your own in the electrician labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start an electrical business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.