- The Plain Answer: What a TX-JE Actually Is
- Who Runs It and Who Delivers It
- Two Portions, Two Timers, Two Pass Marks
- What the Exam Covers: The Ten-Heading Outlines
- The 2026 NEC and Why Edition Details Matter
- Open-Book Rules for the NEC
- Eligibility Is Not the Same as Licensure
- Fees, Retakes, and Renewal
- Reading the Published Pass Statistics Carefully
- Where a Journeyman License Fits in the Trade
- Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Item Counts
- Frequently Asked Questions
- TX-JE means the Texas Journeyman Electrician License Exam, regulated by TDLR and delivered by PSI Services LLC.
- The exam has two computer-based portions: NEC Knowledge (56 scored items) and Calculations (24 scored items).
- Each portion needs 70% separately; the fee is USD 78 for both portions, and a retake costs USD 78.
- Testing may be approved at 7,000 verified hours, but license issuance requires 8,000 approved hours.
The Plain Answer: What a TX-JE Actually Is
On this site, TX-JE refers to one thing: the Texas Journeyman Electrician License Exam. It is the written examination a candidate must pass as part of earning a Journeyman Electrician license from the State of Texas. The acronym is shared by other credentials elsewhere, but everything in this article describes only the Texas electrician route.
The exam is not a hands-on practical. It is a pair of computer-based, multiple-choice written portions that test whether you can find, interpret, and apply the National Electrical Code and work the math that goes with it. Passing both portions is one requirement on the path to licensure, not the whole path. If you want the shorter definitional versions of this topic, see our pages on what TX-JE is, what TX-JE stands for, and the broader TX-JE certification overview.
Who Runs It and Who Delivers It
Two organizations matter, and candidates often confuse their roles:
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) is the governing body. It sets eligibility rules, receives applications, verifies experience, and issues the license.
- PSI Services LLC is the provider. PSI administers the computer-based test at its test centers and publishes the Electrician Candidate Information Bulletin that TDLR links to.
That bulletin is the authority for the exam outline and the reference rules. Any older document you find online, including a TDLR-hosted bulletin updated March 30, 2023, belongs to the superseded combined-exam era and should not override the currently linked bulletin. Always start from TDLR's electrician exam information page and follow its link to the provider bulletin.
Two Portions, Two Timers, Two Pass Marks
Since March 11, 2025, the Journeyman route has been split into two separately scored portions. The TX-JE identifier on this site covers the full route, meaning both portions. Passing one does not replace the other.
| Feature | NEC Knowledge | Calculations |
|---|---|---|
| Total questions | 59 | 26 |
| Unscored questions | 3 | 2 |
| Scored questions | 56 | 24 |
| Time allowed | 130 minutes | 110 minutes |
| Passing requirement | 70% | 70% |
| Format | Computer-based multiple choice | Computer-based multiple choice |
A few format details are worth internalizing early:
- Each portion has its own timer. Unused time on one does not roll over to the other.
- No required order of portions is published, and there is no combined 85-question, four-hour exam on the current route. If a prep page describes one, it is describing the older format.
- Both English and Spanish are available at PSI test centers.
- A tutorial of up to 15 minutes precedes testing and sits outside exam time.
- Calculations are written, multiple-choice problems. They are not a hands-on practical assessment.
For a candid look at the difficulty implications, read How Hard Is the TX-JE Exam? and the breakdown of the passing score.
What the Exam Covers: The Ten-Heading Outlines
The bulletin's Journeyman outline is published as two ten-heading lists, one per portion. Our site serializes them as Domains 1 through 20, but that is a bookkeeping convenience: the issuer did not announce twenty unique weighted domains. Several headings repeat between portions, and the repeated names are distinct rows (a Knowledge question on feeders is not a Calculations question on feeders). The published numbers are scored-item allocations, meaning counts of questions, not percentage weights.
NEC Knowledge (Domains 1-10, 56 scored items)
Domains 4, 5, and 6: The Ten-Item Heavyweights
These three headings carry the largest Knowledge allocations at ten items each, together accounting for 30 of the 56 scored items.
- Domain 4, Branch Circuits and Conductors: GFCI/AFCI protection, branch circuits, branch-circuit overcurrent protection, conductors, and grounding/bonding conductors.
- Domain 5, Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials: raceways and cable trays, boxes and enclosures, cabinets and panels, cables and cords, and underground wiring.
- Domain 6, Electrical Equipment and Devices: receptacles and switches, luminaires, air-conditioning/refrigeration/heating equipment, appliances, and workspace clearance.
Domains 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10
- Domain 1, Definitions, Theory, and Plans (3 items): code definitions, electrical theory, and plan reading.
- Domain 2, Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems (6 items): load knowledge, fault current, service equipment, temporary wiring, grounding/bonding, and transformers.
- Domain 3, Electrical Feeders (3 items): feeder load knowledge, grounded conductors and feeder grounding/bonding, and overcurrent protection.
- Domain 7, Motors and Generators (5 items).
- Domain 8, Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means (1 item).
- Domain 9, Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions (6 items): special occupancies, swimming pools/fountains and similar installations, RVs/mobile homes/park trailers/marinas, data-processing and communications equipment, emergency systems, and miscellaneous equipment.
- Domain 10, Renewable Energy Technologies (2 items): photovoltaics and electric vehicle chargers.
Calculations (Domains 11-20, 24 scored items)
Domains 12 and 14: The Four-Item Leaders
- Domain 12, Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems (4 items): load calculations, service equipment, grounding/bonding, and transformers.
- Domain 14, Branch Circuit Calculations and Conductors (4 items): branch-circuit calculations, overcurrent protection, conductors, and grounding/bonding conductors.
The Remaining Calculations Headings
- Domain 11, Calculations and Theory (2 items): electrical theory.
- Domain 13, Electrical Feeders (3 items): feeder load calculations and overcurrent protection.
- Domain 15, Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials (2 items): raceways and boxes/enclosures.
- Domain 16, Electrical Equipment and Devices (2 items): air-conditioning/refrigeration/heating equipment and appliances.
- Domain 17, Motors and Generators (2 items).
- Domain 18, Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means (1 item).
- Domain 19, Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions (3 items): RVs/mobile homes/park trailers/marinas, data-processing and communications equipment, and miscellaneous equipment.
- Domain 20, Renewable Energy Technologies (1 item): electric vehicle chargers and photovoltaics.
For a deeper walk through each heading, use the complete TX-JE domains guide.
The 2026 NEC and Why Edition Details Matter
The tested reference is NFPA 70, the 2026 National Electrical Code, effective September 1, 2026, under an explicit dated notice in the currently linked bulletin. That is the edition your preparation should target.
There is an honest wrinkle you should know about. The bulletin's own presentation is inconsistent in places: the visible cover reads "Updated 7/9/2026" while the extracted text reads "Updated 9/15/2026," and on printed page 8 the rendered allowed-reference line still says 2023 Edition while the extracted text says 2026 Edition. Both representations display the explicit September 1, 2026 transition to the 2026 NEC. Rather than pretend the document is perfectly consistent, treat the dated transition notice as your guide to the 2026 scope, and confirm the current PSI/TDLR bulletin before buying a code book or locking in edition-specific study materials.
Open-Book Rules for the NEC
TX-JE is open-book with the Code, which changes how you should prepare. Speed in navigating the book matters as much as recall. The rules are specific:
- Bring a soft-bound NEC. The NEC Handbook is prohibited, as are loose-leaf, spiral-bound, and ring-bound copies.
- Existing notes, highlighting, and underlining are allowed.
- Only permanent index tabs manufactured or provided by the NEC publisher are authorized. Homemade, DIY, or non-NEC tabs are not.
- No added paper and no writing or marking in the reference during the exam. Electronic notepads are supplied.
- A silent, battery-powered, nonprogrammable calculator is allowed, provided it has no alphabetic keyboard and no paper printing.
- Assume copper conductors unless a question directs otherwise, and use exceptions or optional calculation methods only when the question directs you to.
The practical lesson: tab and annotate your book well before test day so that a question on, say, workspace clearance or Article 250 bonding sends you to the right page in seconds. The TX-JE cheat sheet pairs well with this habit, and the study guide covers how to build a lookup-first workflow.
Eligibility Is Not the Same as Licensure
One of the most misunderstood points is the difference between being allowed to sit for the exam and being allowed to hold the license.
| Stage | Hours Required | What Else Applies |
|---|---|---|
| Early testing approval | 7,000 verified qualifying on-the-job hours under a Texas-licensed Master Electrician | TDLR may approve testing |
| License issuance | 8,000 approved hours | Supervisory verification, application, and background review |
Each supervising Master Electrician must verify the experience applicable to their period of supervision. All requirements must be completed within one year after TDLR receives your application. Attempts at the exam are unlimited within that eligibility period, but the clock still runs. Full detail lives in our TX-JE requirements guide.
Exam day logistics also have rules: bring government identification that matches your registration, arrive 30 minutes early, and give at least two days' notice to cancel or reschedule. See TX-JE exam dates and scheduling for planning help.
Key Takeaway
Passing the exam does not itself issue a license. Preparation material, including ours, does not grant eligibility, demonstrate field competence, or substitute for TDLR's experience verification.
Fees, Retakes, and Renewal
- Exam fee: USD 78 covers both portions.
- Retakes: retaking one or both portions costs USD 78. It is not USD 39 per portion.
- Initial TDLR application fee: USD 30, separate from the exam fee.
- License term: one year.
- Annual renewal: USD 30, with four hours of TDLR-approved continuing education covering the NEC, Texas electrician law and rules, and NFPA 70E safety.
Those renewal subjects are continuing-education requirements, not extra exam domains. For the full money picture, see the TX-JE certification cost breakdown.
Reading the Published Pass Statistics Carefully
TDLR publishes Fiscal Year 2025 exam statistics, and they deserve a careful reading rather than a headline takeaway:
| Journeyman Row (FY 2025) | Passes / Attempts | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| NEC | 1,402 / 5,731 | 24.46% |
| Calculations | 1,301 / 6,328 | 20.56% |
| Separate unsplit Journeyman row | 1,390 / 5,050 | 27.52% |
These are distinct historical, attempt-level cohorts. They are not counts of unique first-time candidates, they are not a combined-license passing probability, and they do not describe results on the 2026 NEC examination. Do not multiply the component rates together, and do not swap the legacy unsplit row in for the split-route figures. Our pass rate analysis covers how to interpret them responsibly.
Where a Journeyman License Fits in the Trade
A Texas Journeyman Electrician license is the credential that lets a tradesperson work as a licensed journeyman rather than only as an apprentice under supervision. Employers that typically need licensed journeymen include electrical contractors, commercial and industrial construction firms, maintenance departments, and service companies. The license is also a step on the way toward Master Electrician status for those who continue to build qualifying experience.
Texas also has a separate Residential Wireman license with its own TDLR page; it is a different credential with different scope, so check the Residential Wireman requirements directly if you are weighing the two. On earnings, we deliberately avoid quoting a salary figure here, since any pay claim should come from a dated occupational source and not imply a verified license premium. Our salary guide, jobs overview, and ROI analysis take that more careful approach.
Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Item Counts
Generic study habits matter less than where you point your time. Because the two portions reward different skills, schedule them differently: Knowledge is a book-navigation and Code-reading test, while Calculations is a math-under-time-pressure test with a smaller question count and a tighter 110-minute window.
Foundations and the Big Three
- Tab your soft-bound NEC using only publisher-provided permanent tabs.
- Start with Domains 4, 5, and 6, since they carry ten items each in Knowledge.
- Work Domain 1 definitions early because they underpin every later article.
Services, Feeders, and the Matching Math
- Study Domains 2 and 3 for Knowledge, then immediately pair them with Domains 12 and 13 for Calculations.
- Drill load calculations, grounding/bonding conductor sizing, and transformer questions, where Domain 12 carries four scored items.
Equipment, Specials, and Timed Practice
- Cover motors and generators, control devices and disconnects, special occupancies, and renewable energy and EV charging.
- Run timed sets for each portion separately, keeping the 130-minute and 110-minute limits in mind.
- Confirm the current PSI/TDLR bulletin and your NEC edition before final review.
Practice material is only a supplement. Every question on our site is independently authored for knowledge preparation, not drawn from the issuer or provider, and none of it is an official mock exam or a measure of field competence. You can try the TX-JE practice tests to check your lookup speed and calculation accuracy, and revisit the main practice test hub as you move through each domain.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means the Texas Journeyman Electrician License Exam, administered through PSI Services LLC under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. It covers both the NEC Knowledge and Calculations portions. See also what TX-JE means.
No. Both portions are computer-based multiple-choice written tests. The Calculations portion tests math problems on screen and is not a hands-on practical assessment.
NEC Knowledge has 59 total questions with 56 scored, and Calculations has 26 total with 24 scored. Each portion requires 70% separately.
No. Bring a soft-bound NEC; the NEC Handbook and loose-leaf, spiral-bound, or ring-bound copies are prohibited. Only permanent index tabs manufactured or provided by the NEC publisher are authorized, and homemade or non-NEC tabs are not.
Not necessarily. TDLR may approve early testing at 7,000 verified qualifying hours under a Texas-licensed Master Electrician, but license issuance requires 8,000 approved hours plus supervisory verification, application, and background review.
In short, a TX-JE is a two-part, open-book, computer-based gateway to a Texas journeyman license, and it rewards candidates who understand its structure as well as its content. Start with the official TDLR and PSI sources, confirm the current NEC edition, and build your plan around the scored-item counts and the rules above.