Short answer: The Texas Journeyman exam has two multiple-choice parts graded separately: NEC Knowledge (59 questions, 56 scored, 130 minutes) and Calculations (26 questions, 24 scored, 110 minutes). You need 70% on each. Branch Circuits and Conductors, Wiring Methods and Materials, and Equipment and Devices account for 30 of the 56 scored knowledge questions. Each area covers several topics, so use those totals to set study priorities, not to predict how many questions test any one topic.
Know what each part tests, then practice it against the clock. The Texas Journeyman Practice Pack includes 1,000 original questions and 10 timed mock exams that use the official question counts and time limits for both parts: 59 NEC Knowledge questions in 130 minutes and 26 Calculations questions in 110 minutes. These are practice exams, not official PSI exams. The real exam includes 3 unscored NEC Knowledge questions and 2 unscored Calculations questions. The practice mocks match the total question counts and time limits, and each part is scored against the 70% pass line. Every calculation includes a step-by-step solution. Try free practice questions without signing up. Get the full pack for US$39 with one payment.
Tsai Electro is an independent learning site. Not affiliated with TDLR, PSI or NFPA. The outline, question counts and exam rules below come from the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin (updated September 15, 2026), TDLR’s exam page and TDLR’s exam statistics as we checked them in October 2026. Verify code requirements and calculation values in your own 2026 NEC. For exam format, question counts and testing rules, use the current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin.
The two parts at a glance
TDLR split the Journeyman exam into two parts on March 11, 2025. PSI says the content stayed the same; the calculation questions were moved into their own part. Since September 1, 2026, both parts are based on the 2026 NEC.
| NEC Knowledge | Calculations | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 59 (3 not scored) | 26 (2 not scored) |
| Scored questions | 56 | 24 |
| Time | 130 minutes | 110 minutes |
| Average time per question (total time ÷ total questions) | about 2.2 minutes (130 ÷ 59) | about 4.2 minutes (110 ÷ 26) |
| To pass | 70% | 70% |
| Subject areas | 10 | 10 |
Two rules from the bulletin change how you should pace yourself. Time left over on the first part does not carry into the second part. And you can go back and change answers until your time runs out, so mark hard questions and return to them.
The score you need on each part
PSI states the passing mark as 70% correct on each part. If passing is calculated directly as 70% of the scored questions, the minimum whole-number targets would be 40 of 56 in NEC Knowledge (71.4%; 39 would be 69.6%) and 17 of 24 in Calculations (70.8%). These are our calculated targets, not raw-score cutoffs published by PSI. You do not know which questions are unscored, so answer every question as if it counts.
NEC Knowledge: 10 subject areas, 56 scored questions
| Subject area | Scored questions | What it covers | Start with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definitions, Theory and Plans | 3 | Code definitions, electrical theory, plan reading | NEC Articles 90 and 100, plan reading |
| Services, Service Equipment and Separately Derived Systems | 6 | Load knowledge, fault current, service equipment, temporary wiring, grounding and bonding, transformers | services and overcurrent, grounding and bonding |
| Feeders | 3 | Feeder loads, feeder grounded conductors and bonding, feeder overcurrent protection | conductor ampacity |
| Branch Circuits and Conductors | 10 | GFCI and AFCI protection, branch circuits and their overcurrent protection, conductors, grounding and bonding conductors | branch circuits, conductor ampacity |
| Wiring Methods and Materials | 10 | Raceways and cable trays, boxes and enclosures, cabinets and panels, cables and cords, underground wiring | raceways and conduit fill, box fill |
| Equipment and Devices | 10 | Receptacles and switches, luminaires, air conditioning, refrigeration and heating, appliances, workspace clearance | working space, rough-in and trim |
| Motors and Generators | 5 | Motors, generators | motor circuits |
| Control Devices and Disconnecting Means | 1 | Control devices, disconnecting means | motor circuits |
| Special Occupancies, Equipment and Conditions | 6 | Special occupancies, pools and fountains, RVs, mobile homes and marinas, data and communications equipment, emergency systems, miscellaneous equipment | solar and emergency systems |
| Renewable Energy Technologies | 2 | Photovoltaics, electric vehicle chargers | solar and emergency systems |
Calculations: 10 subject areas, 24 scored questions
| Subject area | Scored questions | What it covers | Start with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calculations and Theory | 2 | Electrical theory | Ohm’s law |
| Services, Service Equipment and Separately Derived Systems | 4 | Load calculations, service equipment, grounding and bonding, transformers | transformer kVA, services and overcurrent |
| Feeders | 3 | Feeder load calculations, feeder overcurrent protection | conductor ampacity |
| Branch Circuit Calculations and Conductors | 4 | Branch circuit calculations and overcurrent protection, conductors, grounding and bonding conductors | branch circuits |
| Wiring Methods and Materials | 2 | Raceways, boxes and enclosures | box fill, conduit fill |
| Equipment and Devices | 2 | Air conditioning, refrigeration and heating, appliances | Practice sets in the pack |
| Motors and Generators | 2 | Motors, generators | motor calculations |
| Control Devices and Disconnecting Means | 1 | Control devices, disconnecting means | motor calculations |
| Special Occupancies, Equipment and Conditions | 3 | RVs, mobile homes and marinas, data and communications equipment, miscellaneous equipment | Practice sets in the pack |
| Renewable Energy Technologies | 1 | EV chargers, photovoltaics | solar and emergency systems |
Unless a question says otherwise, PSI tells you to treat every conductor as copper.
Study priorities by question-count tiers
Use the scored question counts to set your starting priorities, then adjust them with your weak areas and your timed practice results. Each part needs its own passing score, so do not let one part slide to push the other up.
| Tier | NEC Knowledge | Calculations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Branch Circuits, Wiring Methods, Equipment and Devices: 30 questions | Services and Branch Circuit Calculations: 8 questions |
| 2 | Services, Special Occupancies, Motors: 17 questions | Feeders and Special Occupancies: 6 questions |
| 3 | Definitions and Theory, Feeders, Renewable Energy, Control Devices: 9 questions | Theory, Wiring Methods, Equipment, Motors: 8 questions (2 each) |
| 4 | Control Devices and Renewable Energy: 2 questions |
Tier 1 in NEC Knowledge is more than half of that part. These three areas account for 30 scored questions. Practice finding the rules in your 2026 NEC, not just memorizing answers. The 2026 edition moved load calculations from Article 220 to Article 120 and moved the rules for snap switches and dimmers from Article 404 to Article 406, so older study notes can send you to the wrong place. Practice finding both in your 2026 NEC without relying on the old article numbers.
Worked example: split 48 study hours
Say you have 48 hours for topic study, plus separate time for the full-length timed mocks. As a starting point, divide the 48 hours by the exam time limits: 130 minutes for NEC Knowledge and 110 minutes for Calculations, 240 minutes in all. Exam time does not measure how hard either part will be for you, so treat this as a starting point, not a PSI recommendation, and shift hours toward whatever your practice scores show you need.
- NEC Knowledge: 48 × 130 ÷ 240 = 26 hours. Calculations: 48 × 110 ÷ 240 = 22 hours. Check: 26 + 22 = 48.
- Inside NEC Knowledge, split 26 hours by scored questions: tier 1 gets 26 × 30 ÷ 56 ≈ 14 hours, tier 2 gets 26 × 17 ÷ 56 ≈ 8 hours, tier 3 gets 26 × 9 ÷ 56 ≈ 4 hours. Check: 14 + 8 + 4 = 26.
- Inside Calculations, split 22 hours across the four study tiers: Tier 1 gets 22 × 8 ÷ 24 ≈ 7.3 hours, Tier 2 gets 22 × 6 ÷ 24 = 5.5 hours, Tier 3 gets 22 × 8 ÷ 24 ≈ 7.3 hours and Tier 4 gets 22 × 2 ÷ 24 ≈ 1.8 hours. Check: before rounding, the four shares add up to 22.
Each full two-part mock takes about 4 hours (130 minutes for NEC Knowledge and 110 minutes for Calculations), so schedule mocks separately from the 48 topic-study hours. Take the first one after you cover the main subject areas of each part, then use the results to adjust your remaining study time. After each mock, record your score for each part separately. For every missed question, note the subject area, why you missed it, the 2026 NEC reference and whether you can now solve it without the explanation. Review those notes before the next mock, and put more hours into areas where you keep missing questions or take too long to find the rule. The Calculations part gives you about 4.2 minutes a question (110 ÷ 26), so practice finding the right table and finishing the math inside that window.
Rules in the bulletin that decide answers
- Exceptions and optional methods. Do not apply code exceptions or optional calculation methods unless the question tells you to. For a dwelling load question that names no method, use the standard calculation method, not the optional one.
- Copper by default. Conductors are copper unless the question says aluminum.
- Open book, with limits. PSI allows a soft-bound NEC, and the exam is based on the 2026 edition, so bring the 2026 NEC for the correct references. Highlighting, underlining and notes added before the exam are permitted, and index tabs must be permanent tabs made or supplied by the NEC publisher. Loose-leaf, spiral-bound and ring-bound editions are not allowed, and the NEC Handbook is not on the list of permitted references. The full list is on our page about what you can bring to the Texas Journeyman exam.
- Calculator. Silent, battery-powered and non-programmable, with no alphabetic keyboard and no paper tape.
- Comments. You can leave a comment on a question during the exam with the Comments button.
If you do not pass a part
A failing candidate gets a diagnostic report showing strong and weak areas. Map those areas onto the tables above and put most of your time on the weakest ones, while you keep practicing the stronger topics so you do not lose them. The retake fee is $78, and you may retake as many times as you need while you are eligible. TDLR requires you to meet every requirement, including passing the exam, within one year of the date it receives your application. If you have not applied yet, start with the 7,000-hour application guide.
FY2025 pass rates
TDLR reports these results by exam attempt, not as the share of candidates who eventually got licensed. FY2025 was a transition year because the exam split into two parts in March 2025. The 2026 NEC did not become the exam reference until September 1, 2026, after FY2025. These historical pass rates therefore do not measure performance on the current 2026 NEC exam. Use these rates as historical context, not as a prediction of your own result.
| Exam (fiscal year 2025) | Passed | Attempts | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyman NEC Knowledge | 1,402 | 5,731 | 24.46% |
| Journeyman Calculations | 1,301 | 6,328 | 20.56% |
| Journeyman, single exam before the split | 1,390 | 5,050 | 27.52% |
Calculations had the lowest pass rate of the three. It has fewer questions than NEC Knowledge, so a few extra correct answers move the score more: each scored question is about 4.2% of the Calculations score, against about 1.8% in NEC Knowledge.
Check yourself
- How many of the 59 NEC Knowledge questions are scored? 56.
- A dwelling load question names no calculation method. Which method do you use? The standard method, because the bulletin says not to use optional methods unless the question directs you to.
- About how many minutes do you get per Calculations question? About 4.2 (110 minutes ÷ 26 questions).
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The book you bring into the exam room
NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2026 Edition (softcover). Texas Journeyman exams use the 2026 NEC, and PSI permits a soft-bound NEC with highlighting, underlining and notes added before the exam. This softcover edition is one suitable option, not a special PSI-approved product. Before you buy, make sure the listing is the complete 2026 NFPA 70 in soft-bound form, not the NEC Handbook or a spiral-bound copy, and practice with the same book you will bring so you know its layout and index. PSI permits notes, highlighting and underlining added before the exam. Index tabs must be permanent and made or supplied by the NEC publisher; homemade or third-party tabs and added sheets of paper are not permitted.
FAQ
How many questions are on the Texas Journeyman Electrician exam?
Two parts. NEC Knowledge has 59 questions, 3 of them not scored, in 130 minutes. Calculations has 26 questions, 2 of them not scored, in 110 minutes. Both are multiple choice.
What score do you need to pass the Texas Journeyman exam?
70% on each part, and each part is graded on its own. If the 70% requirement is applied directly to scored questions, the minimum whole-number targets would be 40 of 56 in NEC Knowledge (39 would be 69.6%) and 17 of 24 in Calculations (70.8%). These are calculated targets, not raw-score cutoffs published by PSI.
Which subject areas have the most questions?
In NEC Knowledge, Branch Circuits and Conductors, Wiring Methods and Materials, and Equipment and Devices have 10 scored questions each. In Calculations, Services and Branch Circuit Calculations have 4 each.
Which NEC edition is the Texas Journeyman exam based on?
Since September 1, 2026, the 2026 NEC. Bring a softcover 2026 edition; spiral-bound and ring-bound editions and the NEC Handbook are not allowed.
Sources checked October 2026
- PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Texas electrician examinations (updated September 15, 2026): https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/1682
- TDLR electrician examination page: https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/elecexam.htm
- TDLR electrician exam statistics, fiscal year 2025: https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/elecExamStats2025.htm
