Texas Electrician Apprentice License: Requirements, Fee and Hours

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026, against the TDLR apprentice pages.

Short answer: The Texas Electrical Apprentice license is the TDLR license a beginner holds to do electrical work in Texas, and it is the first license on the way to Journeyman. With certain allowed exemptions, anyone doing electrical work in Texas must be licensed, so you need it before your first day on a job. Requirements: you must be 16 or older; no previous electrical experience and no exam are required; you work under the general supervision of a Master Electrician, Journeyman Electrician or Residential Wireman; and the license lasts one year, renewed each year with 4 hours of continuing education or enrollment in a TDLR-registered apprenticeship training course. A training-program place and a job are separate steps. For the online application and the fee, see how to apply for the apprentice license.

Application and apprentice renewal requirements checked October 19, 2026: TDLR application and TDLR renewal.

Related: Read Texas apprentice pay and first-year apprentice costs.

By Tsai Electro. Built from official TDLR pages and the PSI candidate bulletin; every source below shows the date we read it. Last reviewed October 2, 2026.

Part of Texas Electrician Exams: every Texas license step and exam in one place.

In detail: A Texas Electrical Apprentice license needs no experience and no exam. You apply online to TDLR with a $20 non-refundable fee. If you apply online and report no criminal convictions, a temporary license is issued automatically. The license lasts one year and is renewed every year. As an apprentice you work under the general supervision of a Master Electrician, Journeyman Electrician or Residential Wireman. Your hours under a Texas Master Electrician are what later qualify you for the Journeyman exam (7,000 hours) and license (8,000 hours).

This page covers the Electrical Apprentice license. TDLR also issues a separate Electrical Sign Apprentice license for electrical sign work under the on-site supervision of a Master Electrician, Master Sign Electrician or Journeyman Sign Electrician; the next step on that path is Journeyman Sign Electrician (8,000 hours under a Master or Master Sign Electrician). Compare the two apprentice licenses before you apply.

Last checked October 1, 2026 against the TDLR apprentice, Journeyman and continuing education pages. The Criminal History Evaluation Letter, the License Search number format and the 16 TAC §73.112 school-hours rule were checked October 11, 2026.

Requirements at a glance

With certain allowed exemptions, anyone doing electrical work in Texas must be licensed, so get the apprentice license before you start work.

Apply step by step

1. Check that you are 16 or older. TDLR’s Electricians at a Glance fact sheet sets the minimum age at 16, and apprentices under 18 learn under the direct supervision of a licensed Electrical Contractor, Journeyman Electrician or Residential Wireman.
2. Answer the criminal history question honestly. With any conviction other than a minor traffic violation, or a deferred adjudication, fill out TDLR’s Criminal History Questionnaire. The review can take one to six weeks, and you can ask TDLR for a Criminal History Evaluation Letter before you apply. The request costs $10, TDLR issues the letter within 90 days of a complete request, and its recommendation is guidance, not a binding decision. It is worth doing before you pay for training.
3. Apply online. Go to TDLR online applications, choose the electrical apprentice license and pay the $20 fee. With no convictions, your temporary license is issued automatically.
4. Save your number and look yourself up. Write the license number down for job and program applications, and find yourself on the TDLR License Search once it is issued. To search by number, enter the license type with the 8-digit number, including leading zeros (for example 00000123).
5. Then start work. TDLR’s electrician FAQ says there is no grace period: hold the license before you do electrical work.

Starting out? Use the first-week checklist, find a program in the Texas apprenticeship program directory, and compare union, IEC, ABC and direct-hire routes.

The hours that count toward Journeyman

Not every hour counts the same. TDLR’s Journeyman requirement is on-the-job training under the supervision of a Texas-licensed Master Electrician:

• 7,000 hours lets you apply and take the Journeyman exam early.
• 8,000 hours is required before the Journeyman license is issued.
• Each supervising Master Electrician signs an Experience Verification Form when you apply.

School hours count only through one approved route. Since July 1, 2026, 16 TAC §73.112 lets a graduate of a TDLR-approved Accelerated Journeyman Electrician Education Program receive credit of 4,000 hours toward the Journeyman on-the-job training requirement, and TDLR counts the same hours toward a later Master Electrician application. TDLR must approve both the program and its curriculum, so a course without that approval does not earn this credit. A student who starts but does not finish an approved program generally gets no credit for program hours, except for properly supervised electrical work in an optional cooperative element. The proposed rule offered 3,000 hours; the adopted rule set 4,000. Graduates can also take the Journeyman exam without first reaching 7,000 hours. Source: Texas Register, June 26, 2026, adopted rules for 16 TAC Chapter 73, checked October 11, 2026.

See when your hours reach 7,000 and 8,000 in the license timeline.

169,534 Texas apprentices hold a current license: see the statistics (TDLR data, September 2026).

Keep your own log from day one: dates, employer, supervising master’s name and license number, and hours. Supervisors change jobs and become hard to reach. TDLR suggests contacting the electrical contractor the master worked under, or using the TDLR license search to find them.

Log your hours the way TDLR’s Form ELC017 asks for them, field by field.

Renewing and continuing education

Apprentice licenses expire after one year and can be renewed online. TDLR requires 4 hours of approved continuing education before each renewal, covering the NEC, Texas electrician law, the Texas electrician rules and electrical safety (NFPA 70E). Apprentices have one alternative: being enrolled in a TDLR-registered electrical apprenticeship training course also satisfies the renewal requirement. The course provider reports your hours, and you can check them on TDLR’s continuing education course lookup. Details: Texas electrician continuing education.

Renewal is $20 online, and TDLR sends a reminder about 60 days before your license expires. A late renewal costs $30 up to 90 days late and $40 from 91 days to 3 years. After 3 years expired you apply again as a new applicant (TDLR renewal page).

From apprentice to Journeyman: the ladder

Next steps: the TDLR Journeyman application, the Texas Journeyman exam, the Texas Master exam and the electrical contractor license. For the wider picture, read how to become an electrician in Texas.

Start studying before you reach 7,000 hours

TDLR’s May 2026 staff report shows candidates from apprenticeship programs passed the early Journeyman exam 83.54% of the time on the first attempt, against 23.71% for their repeat attempts. Preparing while you build hours pays off. Try the 70 free Texas Journeyman practice questions, available in rounds of 20 with no sign-up.

Renewing after the expiration date

Fees shown are TDLR state fees, as published by TDLR. Each amount links to its TDLR source page.

Up to 18 months after expiration you can renew online. From 18 months to 3 years, TDLR asks for a mailed request form. Source: TDLR apprentice renewal page.

FAQ

How should I keep license paperwork separate from apprenticeship applications?

Keep a separate checklist for the licensing authority and for each training program or employer. Record what you submitted, where you saved it and which response you are waiting for. The Texas entry kit includes an application tracker and route planning material.

A study routine to try

1. Use one row for each organization and application.
2. Record the document name and submission date without placing private identification in a shared tracker.
3. Check the organization's current instructions before the next action.

Sources

Sources

• TDLR: Apply for a New Electrical Apprentice License, read October 1, 2026
• TDLR: Apply for a New Journeyman Electrician License, read October 1, 2026
• TDLR: Continuing Education for Electricians and TDLR electrician FAQ, read October 1, 2026
• TDLR: Electrician Continuing Education, read October 2, 2026
• TDLR staff reports, May 12, 2026, read October 1, 2026
• TDLR Active License Search: look up a Texas electrician license, read October 3, 2026
• TDLR License Search help, checked October 11, 2026
• TDLR: Criminal History Evaluation Letter, checked October 11, 2026
• Texas Register, June 26, 2026: adopted 16 TAC §73.112, effective July 1, 2026, checked October 11, 2026
• Texas Open Data Portal: TDLR All Licenses dataset, read October 3, 2026
• TDLR Electricians at a Glance, December 2025, read October 3, 2026
• TDLR: Renew an Apprentice Electrician License, read October 3, 2026
• TDLR Criminal History Questionnaire, read October 3, 2026

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