Short answer: From your first day, write down the company you work for, the Texas Master Electrician who supervises you and their license number, your start date and your hours each week. TDLR asks for on-the-job training under a Texas Master Electrician: at least 7,000 hours to apply for the Journeyman exam and 8,000 hours for the license. You need verification from each Master who supervised you, signed on an Experience Verification Form, and each supervisor completes a new form. Those forms are filled in years later, so the dates and totals you save now are what make them easy to complete.
Starting your first year as a Texas apprentice? The US$19 Texas First-Year Electrical Apprentice Kit gives you printable pages for the first months on the job: a tool-check card, a who-to-ask list with a short stop-and-ask script, emergency-contact and heat-and-rest cards, plus a Tool budget sheet and a Tool inventory sheet (CSV).
Log your Texas Journeyman hours free. A free Tsai Electro account keeps your supervised hours, your online practice scores and your exam date in one place. Start with a five-question check to see which topic to practice next.
The free hours ledger in your Tsai Electro account lets you record each employer, supervisor, work period and hours, shows how far you are from 7,000, 8,000 and 12,000 hours, and exports a CSV or a printable summary. It is your own record, not an official TDLR record, and it does not replace the Experience Verification Form your supervising Master signs.
Tsai Electro is an independent learning site. Not affiliated with TDLR or any apprenticeship program.
What you have saved so far
Day-one records checklist
Check each record you already have for your current job. This checks your own files; it does not mean TDLR has accepted any hours.
- The company’s full legal name, address and phone number
- My supervising Master Electrician’s full name
- My supervising Master Electrician’s Texas license number
- My Master Electrician’s phone number or email
- My exact start date at this company
- A weekly total of the hours I worked on electrical work
- My first pay stub, saved somewhere other than my work phone
- The type of work I do most (for example residential, commercial or industrial)
- A copy of my own Apprentice Electrician license and its expiration date
Why day one matters
| Record | Why you need it later | Where to get it now |
|---|---|---|
| Supervising Master’s name and license number | TDLR asks you to get verification from each Master who supervised you | Ask the Master, or look it up with the TDLR license search |
| Company name and contact | If you cannot reach a Master later, TDLR suggests contacting the Electrical Contractor the Master worked under | Your offer letter or pay stub |
| Start date and end date | The verification form covers a period of supervised work | Your offer letter and first and last pay stubs |
| Weekly hours | The form asks for the hours worked in that period | Your own weekly log, checked against pay stubs |
TDLR’s FAQ says a contractor whose Master Electrician of record leaves must designate a new one within thirty business days. The person who signs for your hours may not be the person at that company years from now, so record who actually supervised you.
For the full list of what the form asks, see the Texas Experience Verification Form (ELC017). For the apprentice license itself, see the Texas Apprentice Electrician license.
For a paid desk reference, see the Texas Apprentice Records and Renewal Desk Guide.
Studying for the Journeyman exam later? Your hours stay in the free ledger. When you start studying for the Journeyman exam, the Texas Journeyman Electrician Exam Practice Pack has 1,000 original practice questions in the PSI two-part format, 10 full timed two-part mocks and step-by-step solutions for every calculation question, built on the 2026 NEC. It is exam prep only; it does not track hours, verifications or renewals. One payment of US$39, no subscription, and you can try 70 questions free with no sign-up.
What records should a new apprentice electrician keep in Texas?
Keep the company’s name and contact details, your supervising Master Electrician’s name, Texas license number and phone, your start date, your weekly hours, your pay stubs and a copy of your apprentice license. These are the details you need later to get each Master’s signed Experience Verification Form.
Does TDLR track my apprentice hours for me?
Your hours are verified when you apply, by each Master who supervised you on an Experience Verification Form, and TDLR may contact people to verify the experience. Keep your own record from the first day so that you can fill in those forms accurately.
Is a personal hours log an official record?
No. A log you keep yourself, including the free Tsai Electro hours ledger, helps you remember dates and totals. The Experience Verification Form signed by each supervising Master is what goes with your application.
