Texas Electrician License Reciprocity: Which States Qualify

By Engineer Tsai. Built from official TDLR pages and the PSI candidate bulletin; every source below shows the date we read it. Last reviewed October 2, 2026.

Part of Texas Electrician Exams: every Texas license step and exam in one place.

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Contents

Short answer: Texas (TDLR) has reciprocal licensing agreements for only two license types: Journeyman Electrician and Master Electrician, each from a short list of states such as Alabama, Arkansas and Nebraska. You must have passed that state’s exam, held its license for at least a year and have 8,000 hours (Journeyman) or 12,000 hours (Master).

In detail: Texas (TDLR) has reciprocal licensing agreements for only two license types. A Journeyman Electrician license can transfer from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. A Master Electrician license can transfer from Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa (Class A), Louisiana (state contractor’s license), Nebraska, North Carolina and Ohio. You must have passed that state’s exam, held its license for at least a year and have 8,000 hours (Journeyman) or 12,000 hours (Master) under a master electrician. No other Texas electrician license types have reciprocity.

From the TDLR Out-of-State Electrician License page, read October 2, 2026. Agreements change, so confirm on TDLR before you apply.

States with reciprocity

Texas license	States TDLR lists	Texas fee
Journeyman Electrician	Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming	$30
Master Electrician	Alabama, Arkansas (master electrician), Iowa (Class A master electrician), Louisiana (state contractor’s license), Nebraska, North Carolina (master electrician or unlimited electrical contractor), Ohio	$45
Any other license type	None	–

What you must show

Journeyman Electrician by reciprocity

• You took and passed the reciprocal state’s examination.
• You have held that state’s license for at least one year.
• You have at least 8,000 hours under the supervision of a master electrician.
• You send the Journeyman Electrician by Reciprocity application, the $30 fee and a copy of your state-issued license.

Master Electrician by reciprocity

• You took and passed the reciprocal state’s statewide examination.
• You have held the reciprocal license for at least one year.
• You have at least 12,000 hours under the supervision of a master electrician.
• You have held a journeyman electrician license for at least 2 years (1 year if you come from Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska or Ohio).
• You send the Master Electrician by Reciprocity application, the $45 fee, a copy of your license and, for most states, a letter of good standing.

State-specific notes on the TDLR page: Iowa reciprocity is for Class A master licenses only (Class B does not reciprocate), and for Louisiana you must be a Louisiana resident to qualify for a Texas Master Electrician license.

If your state is not on the list

You apply like any Texas candidate: document your hours, apply to TDLR and pass the Texas PSI exam. For the Journeyman license that means a two-part exam on the 2026 NEC: 59 NEC Knowledge questions in 130 minutes and 26 Calculations questions in 110 minutes, with 70% needed on each part. See the Texas Journeyman exam guide and the TDLR Journeyman application steps.

Texas exams are referenced to the 2026 NEC from September 1, 2026. If your home state still uses an older edition, practice on the 2026 book. Try the free Texas Journeyman practice, 20 questions with no sign-up.

FAQ

Sources

• TDLR: Out-of-State Electrician License to Texas, read October 2, 2026
• PSI candidate information bulletin for TDLR electricians, updated September 15, 2026, read October 1, 2026
• TDLR Active License Search: look up a Texas electrician license, read October 3, 2026
• Texas Open Data Portal: TDLR All Licenses dataset, read October 3, 2026