What Is TX-JE Certification?

What the TX-JE Credential Actually Is

The Texas Journeyman Electrician License Exam is the written examination a candidate must pass to earn a Journeyman Electrician license in Texas. The licensing authority is the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), and the testing provider is PSI Services LLC. When people search for "TX-JE certification," they usually mean this license-linked exam and the process around it. If you are new to the terminology, our short explainers on what TX-JE stands for and what TX-JE is cover the naming basics.

It is worth being precise about what this is and is not. Passing the exam is one requirement of the licensing process. It does not by itself issue a license, grant eligibility, or demonstrate field competence. Eligibility, experience verification, application review, and background review all sit alongside the test. And preparation material, including everything on this site, is independently authored supplementary knowledge practice, not actual issuer or provider questions and not an official mock examination.

The Two-Portion Exam Route

Since March 11, 2025, the Journeyman route has been split into two written portions. Each is computer-based and multiple-choice. Neither is a hands-on practical assessment, even though one of them is all about calculations. Each portion has its own timer and its own passing requirement, and unused time from one portion does not roll over to the other.

Two details matter for planning. First, the published materials do not require a particular order for taking the portions, so avoid assuming one. Second, you should not describe the exam as a single 85-question, four-hour test; that combined line does not exist for this route. Treat the two portions as independent assessments with independent strategies. For a deeper look at scoring, see our guide to the TX-JE passing score.

What the Exam Covers: The Two Ten-Heading Outlines

The exam content comes from the selected Journeyman Electrician sections of the current PSI Electrician Candidate Information Bulletin. The site lists 20 domains, but that number is a serialization of two ten-heading outlines: Domains 1 to 10 reproduce the NEC Knowledge outline, and Domains 11 to 20 reproduce the Calculations outline. Several names repeat across the two halves, and those repeats are distinct, portion-specific rows. The published allocations are item counts, not percentage weights, so do not read them as official domain percentages. For a domain-by-domain walkthrough, see TX-JE Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 20 Content Areas.

NEC Knowledge (Domains 1 to 10, 56 scored items)

The items sum to 56. Domains 4, 5, and 6 carry the largest allocations at ten items each, which makes branch circuits, wiring methods, and equipment the heaviest published territory in this portion. That is an item allocation, not an official weight, but it tells you where a missed concept costs the most.

Calculations (Domains 11 to 20, 24 scored items)

• Domain 11: Calculations and Theory (2 items) covers electrical theory.
• Domain 12: Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems (4 items) covers load calculations, service equipment, grounding and bonding, and transformers.
• Domain 13: Electrical Feeders (3 items) covers feeder load calculations and overcurrent protection.
• Domain 14: Branch Circuit Calculations and Conductors (4 items) covers branch-circuit calculations, overcurrent protection, conductors, and grounding and bonding conductors. The outline continues onto printed page 14 of the bulletin.
• Domain 15: Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials (2 items) covers raceways and boxes and enclosures.
• Domain 16: Electrical Equipment and Devices (2 items) covers air-conditioning, refrigeration, and heating equipment and appliances.
• Domain 17: Motors and Generators (2 items) covers motor and generator calculations.
• Domain 18: Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means (1 item) covers control devices and disconnecting means.
• Domain 19: Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions (3 items) covers RVs, mobile homes, park trailers, and marinas, data-processing and communications equipment, and miscellaneous equipment.
• Domain 20: Renewable Energy Technologies (1 item) covers electrical vehicle chargers and photovoltaics.

These total 24. Domains 12 and 14 are the largest at four items each, so service and branch-circuit load math deserve early attention. Note that the Calculations portion draws on the same NEC you carry into the room, so calculation skill and code navigation reinforce each other.

Open-Book Rules and the 2026 NEC

This is an open-book exam in a narrow sense: you may bring an allowed soft-bound copy of the NEC, subject to strict rules.

• The tested reference is NFPA 70, the 2026 National Electrical Code, effective September 1, 2026, under the current bulletin's explicit dated notice.
• Any soft-bound edition is admitted under the current text, but questions reference the designated tested edition. Permission to bring an older book is not evidence that older-edition answers are tested.
• 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, and non-NEC tabs are not.
• You may not add paper to the reference or write or mark in it during the examination. Electronic notepads are supplied.
• A silent, battery-powered, nonprogrammable calculator without an alphabetic keyboard or paper printing is allowed.

For Calculations, remember the standing assumptions: assume copper conductors unless directed otherwise, and use exceptions or optional calculation methods only when a question tells you to. A short tutorial of up to 15 minutes precedes the test and falls outside examination time.

Eligibility Versus Licensure: 7,000 Hours and 8,000 Hours

One of the most commonly misunderstood points is the difference between being allowed to test and being allowed to hold a license. TDLR may approve early testing once you have 7,000 verified, qualifying on-the-job hours under a Texas-licensed Master Electrician. But license issuance requires 8,000 approved hours, supervisory verification, an application, and background review. Each supervising Master Electrician must verify the applicable experience.

The one-year clock matters. Since all requirements must be completed within one year of TDLR receiving your application, plan your testing and any remaining hours together rather than treating them as separate projects. For the full qualification picture, read TX-JE Requirements: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Fees, Scheduling, and Test-Day Mechanics

The exam fee is USD 78 for both portions. If you retake one or both, the fee is USD 78 again, not USD 39 per portion. Separately, the initial TDLR application fee is USD 30. After licensure, the license term is one year, and annual renewal is 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 not additional exam domains. A full pricing view is in TX-JE Certification Cost: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

• Bring government identification that matches your registration.
• Arrive 30 minutes early.
• Give at least two days' notice to cancel or reschedule.
• English and Spanish are both available at PSI test centers.

Scheduling windows and deadlines are covered in TX-JE Exam Dates: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

Historical Pass Statistics, Read Carefully

TDLR's Fiscal Year 2025 statistics are published as separate attempt-level rows. They are historical figures, not predictions for the 2026 NEC examination.

Handle these with care. They count attempts, not unique first-time candidates. They are not a combined-license passing probability, so do not multiply the two component rates together. The unsplit row is a distinct legacy cohort and should not be substituted for either portion or blended with them. What the numbers do support is a sober conclusion: both portions have been demanding, so treat the exam seriously. More context is in TX-JE Pass Rate: What the Data Shows and How Hard Is the TX-JE Exam?

Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain

Preparation that mirrors the exam's structure beats generic review. Because the allocations concentrate in a few domains, front-load them, and because the NEC is allowed in the room, build fast navigation habits with your own tabbed book from the start.

Pairing a code-knowledge domain with its matching calculation domain, such as Domain 4 with Domain 14 or Domain 2 with Domain 12, lets you learn the rule and the math in one sitting. For a fuller study framework, see TX-JE Study Guide: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and keep the TX-JE Cheat Sheet handy for quick fact review. When you are ready to test yourself, the TX-JE practice test site offers independently written, domain-organized questions for both portions.

Frequently Asked Questions