Texas electrical license requirements and insurance

To work for yourself as an electrician in Texas, you need the Master Electrician license. Texas has 6 electrical license types, and which one you need depends on the work you take on. The state's minimum liability insurance is $300,000, and workers' comp is your choice. The state does not ask for a bond.

Checked by the Trades by State editor on 2026-09-16 Based on 18 official pages, listed at the bottom Something wrong? Tell us

License you need: Apprentice Electrician Renew Every year
Insurance you must carry: $300,000 liability, at least
Workers' comp: Your choice not required in this state
Credit score: None. Texas does not check your credit for this license or take a 14-hour course
To protect your pay, send notice by: The 15th of the third month after the month you did the work (work done in January means notice by April 15)

Turn this into a checklist

1 What stands out in Texas for an electrician What is this?

The things people get wrong or do not expect about Texas, in a few sentences.

Texas licenses the person and the business separately. You need a Master Electrician license to hold the knowledge, and an Electrical Contractor license for the company that takes the money. One person can hold both.
Every electrical contractor has to name a Master Electrician of Record. If that person leaves, you have thirty business days to tell the state, and the company cannot take new electrical work without one.
Your license number goes on both sides of every work vehicle, in letters at least two inches high, with the letters TECL in front of it. Plumbers use a different prefix, so the two trades are not interchangeable.
Licenses renew every year, not every two. Four hours of continuing education before each renewal. Contractors and residential appliance installers are the two that need none.
Low-voltage work is outside this license. Class 2 and Class 3 circuits, fire alarm wiring, phone and data cabling and fiber are all named as exempt, so a separate set of rules covers them.
Workers' comp is optional in Texas. If you go without it you have to tell the state you have opted out.

Checked by a person against the official page

·5 official pages

2 Who issues electrician licenses in Texas? What is this?

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), Electrical Safety and Licensing Program issues electrical licenses in Texas.

Name	Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), Electrical Safety and Licensing Program
Website	https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/
Look up a license	https://vo.licensing.hpc.texas.gov/
The law	Texas Occupations Code chapter 1305
The rulebook	16 Texas Administrative Code chapter 73

One state license covers the whole state. Cities cannot make you hold a second electrical license, but they still issue permits and inspect the work.

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·2 official pages

3 Texas electrician license requirements and fees What is this?

Texas has 6 license types that matter to an electrician. The Master Electrician needs two years holding a Texas Journeyman Electrician license, plus 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas Master Electrician.

Apprentice Electrician

Anyone learning the trade. You register before you start and you work under someone licensed

What you can work on

Electrical work under the supervision of a journeyman, master or residential wireman

Experience required

None. This is where the hours start counting

Training required

None to register

Exam

Fees

Application	20
Renewal	20

Renewal

Every year

Training hours each renewal

Checked by a person against the official page

·2 official pages

Residential Wireman

Anyone doing electrical work on homes who is not yet a journeyman

What you can work on

Electrical installations in single-family and multifamily homes, up to four stories. Not commercial or industrial work

Experience required

4,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas Master Electrician

Training required

None beyond the hours

Exam

Yes, a state exam

Fees

Application	20
Renewal	20

Renewal

Every year

Training hours each renewal

Checked by a person against the official page

·2 official pages

Journeyman Electrician

The working electrician's license. Lets you do electrical work for a licensed contractor without someone watching you

What you can work on

All electrical work, under a licensed electrical contractor. You cannot take the job in your own name with this alone

Experience required

8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas Master Electrician. You may sit the exam once you reach 7,000 hours, but the license comes at 8,000

Training required

None beyond the hours

Exam

Yes, a state exam

Fees

Application	30
Renewal	30

Renewal

Every year

Training hours each renewal

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·2 official pages

Master Electrician

The license behind a business. You need this before your company can hold an Electrical Contractor license

What you can work on

All electrical work, and you may be the Master Electrician of Record for one contractor

Experience required

Two years holding a Texas Journeyman Electrician license, plus 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas Master Electrician

Training required

None beyond the hours

Exam

Yes, a state exam

Fees

Application	45
Renewal	45

Renewal

Every year

Training hours each renewal

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·2 official pages

Electrical Contractor

The business license. Anyone who offers or takes on electrical work in their own name needs this, on top of the personal licenses

What you can work on

Taking electrical work, pulling permits, and employing licensed electricians

Experience required

None for the business itself. The knowledge comes from the Master Electrician of Record

The licensed person behind the business

You must either hold your own Master Electrician license and assign it to the company, or employ a Master Electrician who assigns theirs. If that person leaves, you have thirty business days to tell the state

Exam

No exam for the contractor license itself

Fees

Application	$110
Renewal	$110

Renewal

Every year

Training hours each renewal

About training hours

Contractors need no continuing education. The Master Electrician of Record still needs their own four hours

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·3 official pages

Other licenses the same program issues

Trades close enough to electrical work that the same office handles them

These are	Journeyman Industrial Electrician, for plant and industrial work Journeyman Lineman, for power lines Maintenance Electrician, for work on your own employer's property Master Sign Electrician, Journeyman Sign Electrician and Electrical Sign Contractor, for signs and outline lighting Residential Appliance Installer and Residential Appliance Installation Contractor
Fees	Between $20 and $110, depending on the license. The same rule sets them all

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·2 official pages

4 How much insurance does an electrician need in Texas? What is this?

The least liability insurance Texas lets an electrician work with is $300,000. Most customers ask for more. Workers' comp is your choice.

Minimum liability insurance	$300,000
Per claim	$300,000
Per year, all claims	$600,000
Cover for finished work	$300,000
Type of policy	Commercial general liability, covering property damage and bodily injury together
Who this applies to	The Electrical Contractor, meaning the business. The individual licenses do not carry their own requirement
Who must be named on the certificate	Not stated in the rule. You file proof of coverage with your application, and you must give a customer your insurer's details if they ask
Workers' comp required?	No
Workers' comp: what to know	Texas does not make private employers carry workers' comp. If you go without it you must tell the state Division of Workers' Compensation that you have opted out, and report any injury that costs more than one day of work

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·2 official pages

5 Does Texas check your credit for an electrician license? What is this?

Texas does not check your credit for this license.

Credit score you need	None. Texas does not check your credit for this license
If your score is lower	Not needed
How we know	The electrician rules run to twenty-seven sections, and none of them covers a bond, a surety, financial responsibility, net worth or credit. The only money test is the insurance in rule 73.40

Checked by a person against the official page·law.cornell.edu

6 Does an electrician need a bond in Texas? What is this?

Texas does not require a state bond for this license. Some cities ask for one before they issue permits.

Does the state require a bond?	No
Amount	Not listed yet

The state does not ask for one. Some cities do before they let you pull permits, so check with your city.

Checked by a person against the official page·law.cornell.edu

7 Federal rules that also apply What is this?

Rules from the US government that apply to an electrician in Texas on top of the state's own.

Federal license	None. There is no federal license or card for electrical work. The state license is the one you need
Lead-safe certification	Work that disturbs paint in a home or childcare building put up before 1978 is covered by the federal lead rule. Electrical work is named in it. Your firm must be EPA lead-safe certified and use a trained renovator. Jobs that disturb six square feet or less of paint in a room inside, or 20 square feet or less outside, are left out
Who runs it	The EPA runs this program directly in Texas

Taken from the linked page, not separately checked

·2 official pages

8 Where must a Texas electrician show the license number? What is this?

In Texas: every proposal, invoice and written contract carries the contractor's name, address, phone number and license number. It also carries a line saying the work is regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, with that department's address and phone number.

On your vehicles	Both sides of every vehicle the business owns or runs for electrical work show the company name and the license number. Letters at least two inches high, in a color that stands out from the vehicle. The number is written with TECL in front of it
On ads	Every ad that seeks electrical work carries the contractor's name and license number. A few are let off, including nationally placed television ads, which instead say license numbers are available on request, phone book listings that give only contact details, and cheap promotional items
On quotes, contracts, and invoices	Every proposal, invoice and written contract carries the contractor's name, address, phone number and license number. It also carries a line saying the work is regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, with that department's address and phone number

Checked by a person against the official page·law.cornell.edu

9 Does an electrician charge sales tax on labor in Texas? What is this?

In Texas, no sales tax. The rest of the rules are below.

See how this compares in every state: Sales tax on labor for plumbers and HVAC contractors by state

Labor on homes (repairs and remodels)	No sales tax
Repairs and remodels on businesses	You charge tax on the whole bill, labor and materials
Labor on new buildings	No sales tax
Materials, when you quote one total price	You pay tax when you buy the materials and do not charge the customer
Materials, when you list them separately	You buy materials tax-free with a resale certificate and charge the customer tax on them

Checked by a person against the official page·comptroller.texas.gov

10 Getting paid: lien and notice deadlines for a Texas electrician What is this?

If you are not paid in Texas, a lien on the property is your backstop, but only if your notice goes out on time: the 15th of the third month after the month you did the work (work done in January means notice by April 15).

Who has to send a notice	Subcontractors and suppliers who were hired by the contractor, not by the property owner
Business jobs: send your notice by	The 15th of the third month after the month you did the work (work done in January means notice by April 15)
Home jobs: send your notice by	The 15th of the second month after the month you did the work (work done in January means notice by March 15)
Business jobs: file your lien by	The 15th of the fourth month after your last day of work
Home jobs: file your lien by	The 15th of the third month after your last day of work

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·2 official pages

11 How much does it cost to become an electrician in Texas? What is this?

The government fees on this page add up to about $155 in Texas. Add insurance, tools, and a vehicle to get the real number.

Government fees, added up	$155

Government fees only. Does not include the exam sittings, insurance premiums, tools, a vehicle, or city permits.

Our estimate

12Where these numbers come from

The labels under each table are explained on how to read a page.