Using the code book and exam day on the Texas journeyman exam

The part that is not the code

A candidate can know the code and lose the day to a binding, a tab, a clock or a misread score report. Fifty-one of the five hundred questions in our bank sit in the administrative area, and seven of those are Texas-specific. The rest of this hub is the procedural material that no question will ask you and every candidate needs.

The Texas journeyman exam is two separately scored papers taken in one sitting. NEC Knowledge is 56 scored items inside 59 sat, with 130 minutes on the clock. Calculations is 24 scored inside 26 sat, with 110 minutes. Each half passes at 70 percent on its own, so you can clear one and rebook the other. For fiscal 2025 TDLR reports 24.46 percent passing the knowledge portion and 20.56 percent passing calculations, out of 26,303 attempts across every Texas electrical exam that produced 6,181 passes.

What it takes to get the chair

A Texas journeyman candidate needs 7,000 hours of on-the-job training under supervision to sit, and 8,000 to hold the license. A 4,000 hour credit is available through an accelerated program under 16 TAC 73.112. The master candidate needs 12,000 hours and two years holding a journeyman license under Tex. Occ. Code 1305.153.

The exam fee is $78 and it covers both portions. A retake is $78 whether you lost one portion or both. The application fee is $30 and it is non-refundable under 16 TAC 73.80(e). Your approval opens a one-year window under 16 TAC 73.20(b), and a pass stays valid for four years under 16 TAC 60.56.

The hours side is covered in depth on our licensing pages: hours required, documenting hours and applying.

The eleven topics

• Finding the rule in the book at the speed a Texas exam room asks for. Article 90 first, then the tabs that are allowed and the map that beats them.
• Getting into the chair for the Texas journeyman exam, and what the paper does once you are in it. 7,000 hours, two portions, 70 percent each, and what the published blueprint says.
• The three gates in front of the Texas master exam, and how the paper differs from the journeyman one. 12,000 hours and two years as a journeyman, then a longer and slower paper.
• How to spend the weeks you have, inside the year your application already started. A one year application window and what to do with each part of it.
• The Texas electrician test day in the order it happens, with the rule behind each step. ID, book rules, the desk, and the things that get people turned away.
• There is no single pace on this exam, because there is no single paper. 130 minutes over 59 items and 110 over 26, paced on what is in front of you.
• What a first-time Texas electrician exam candidate can settle before the day. What the room is like, what it costs, and what the clock actually allows.
• You lost a portion. Here is what it costs and what the clock says. Read the score report first, because it names the half you lost.
• What the wrong options are built from, and what each guessing rule costs you. What the distractors in a 500 item bank look like, measured.
• What Article 90 settles before any other rule in the book applies. Article 90 scope, arrangement, and who gets to decide on your job.
• Four defined words that decide equipment questions, and the one that is a decision. Four Article 100 words that look alike and mean four different things.

The one reference and the rules about it

The binding is what gets people turned away, and it is decided before you leave the house. Test day covers the whole desk, and code navigation covers what to do with the book once it is in front of you.

The edition your appointment runs on

Texas adopted the 2026 National Electrical Code under 16 TAC 73.100, effective 1 September 2026, and the examination edition change follows the same date. As read on 24 August 2026 the PSI bulletin updated 9 July 2026 prints that in capitals, while the reference material list inside that same bulletin and the department examination page both still named the 2023 edition.

Two official documents, one date. We print the conflict and leave it open. The line that is tied to your appointment is the one on your own admission notice, and calling PSI is the only way to settle it for a specific date. Which code edition applies has the rule text.

If it goes wrong

Since March 2025 the journeyman exam has been two separately scored portions in one sitting, so you can pass one and rebook only the other. That makes the score report the first thing to read, because it names which half you lost, and the two halves fail for different reasons. Failed the exam covers the cost and the clock, and wrong answers covers what the distractors are actually made of, measured across five hundred items.

One thing our sources do not answer: whether a passed portion is held while you retake the other. The bulletin, the department exam page, the department FAQ and 16 TAC 73.21 were all read on 24 August 2026 and none of them says. PSI is the only party who can answer it for your case.

Questions people ask

How many hours do I need to sit the Texas journeyman exam?

7,000 hours of on-the-job training under supervision to sit for it, and 8,000 to hold the license. Hours are documented by a licensed supervisor, and 16 TAC 73.26(b) gives the verifier thirty calendar days and limits the verification to what they actually know. A 4,000 hour credit is available for completing an accelerated program under 16 TAC 73.112, raised from 3,000 when the rule was adopted. The master path is 12,000 hours plus two years holding a journeyman license.

What kind of code book can I bring to the Texas exam?

One book, the National Electrical Code, in the edition the examination references. Soft-bound only. Loose-leaf, spiral-bound and ring-bound copies are turned away, and the handbook edition is not permitted. Tabs are allowed if they came from the publisher, and marking the book during the session is not. No statute book, no administrative rules, no textbook. The binding is the thing that catches people, and it gets decided at home on the way out the door.

What happens if I pass one portion and fail the other?

Since March 2025 the journeyman exam has been two separately scored portions taken in one sitting, so a candidate can clear one and rebook the other. The retake fee is $78 regardless of whether you lost one portion or both. What our sources do not establish is whether the passed portion is held while you retake, and how long for. The bulletin, the department examination page, the department FAQ and 16 TAC 73.21 were all read on 24 August 2026 and none of them answers it. PSI can.

Which edition of the code will my exam use?

Texas adopted the 2026 National Electrical Code under 16 TAC 73.100 effective 1 September 2026, and the examination edition change follows the same date. There is a conflict in the published material worth knowing about: as read on 24 August 2026, the PSI bulletin updated 9 July 2026 states the 2026 edition in capitals, while the reference material list inside that same bulletin and the department examination page both still named the 2023 edition. Confirm against your own admission notice.

What does the Texas exam cost in total?

The application fee is $30 and it is non-refundable under 16 TAC 73.80(e). The examination fee is $78 and it covers both portions. A retake is $78 whether you lost one portion or both. Those are the department and examination figures; the code book is separate and the edition you need is the one your appointment references. Approval to test opens a one-year window under 16 TAC 73.20(b), and a passed result stays valid for four years under 16 TAC 60.56.