Texas license lookup / Electricians / Renewal guide
Renewing a Texas electrician licence
Four hours of approved continuing education, every year, for almost every individual electrician licence in Texas. Here is who needs them, what they have to cover, and how many licences are up for renewal right now.
The short version
Cycle: electrician licences renew every year.
Continuing education: 4 hours from a TDLR-approved provider, completed within the term of the licence being renewed.
Content: the hours have to cover the National Electrical Code as adopted in Texas, Texas electrician law and rules, and electrical safety. A course that is all code content does not satisfy the requirement on its own.
More than one licence: still 4 total hours, not 4 per licence.
One CE hour means 50 minutes of actual instruction.
Who needs the four hours
TDLR requires the 4 hours before each renewal from master electricians, journeyman electricians, journeyman linemen, journeyman industrial electricians, residential wiremen, maintenance electricians, master sign electricians, journeyman sign electricians, apprentice electricians and apprentice sign electricians.
Two groups are exempt: contractors, meaning the electrical contractor and electrical sign contractor business licences, and residential appliance installers. Note that the exemption is for the business licence itself. The master electrician of record still keeps up their own individual continuing education.
The apprentice alternative
Electrical apprentices and electrical sign apprentices have a choice that no other licence type has: take the 4 hours, or be enrolled in a department-registered electrical apprenticeship training course for the renewal. If you are in a registered programme, the enrolment satisfies the condition.
This matters more than it sounds. Apprentices are by far the largest electrician licence in Texas, so most of the renewal volume in the trade sits in the one category with an alternative route.
Step by step
- Check your expiration date. Electrician licences run for one year, and TDLR usually sends a reminder around 60 days out, but the deadline is your responsibility.
- Take the 4 hours with a TDLR-approved provider, inside the term of the licence you are renewing. Courses taken before that term started do not count.
- Check that your hours were reported. The provider reports them, not you. If they are not showing on TDLR's course lookup after a few days, contact the provider first.
- Renew through TDLR online services and pay the fee for your licence type.
- Keep your certificate along with the renewal confirmation.
If you miss the date
Working on an expired licence is not allowed, and late renewal costs more, with the fee rising the longer the licence has been expired. After a long enough lapse the licence cannot be renewed at all and you have to apply as a new applicant under the requirements in force at that time. Because the exact tiers and fees change, check the current ones with TDLR before paying anything.
How many electrician licences renew, and when
From the public TDLR file: 234,531 active individual electrician licences in Texas, of which 231,278 expire in the next twelve months, an average of 19,273 every month. Annual renewal means nearly the whole population of licence holders passes through this process every year.
Individual electrician licences expiring each month over the next year. Source: public TDLR file, 20 September 2026.
Where they are
| County | Active electrician licences |
|---|---|
| Harris | 37,974 |
| Dallas | 26,564 |
| Out Of State | 16,372 |
| Hidalgo | 13,575 |
| Tarrant | 13,048 |
| Bexar | 12,925 |
| Travis | 9,086 |
| Williamson | 6,596 |
Questions
Can one course cover everything?
Yes, if it is approved and its 4 hours collectively cover the code, Texas law and rules, and safety. A single approved 4-hour course is the usual route.
Do the hours carry over if I take extra?
No. The requirement is per renewal term, and courses have to fall inside the term of the licence being renewed.
Does my electrical contractor licence need CE?
No. Contractor business licences and residential appliance installers are exempt. The individual licences held by the people doing the work are not.
Can I take the same course twice?
Repeating the same course does not add hours. Choose different approved coursework if you need more credit.
Sources
Continuing education rules, the list of licence types that need CE, the apprentice alternative and the multiple-licence rule: TDLR electrician continuing education. Annual renewal and reminders: TDLR renewal pages. Renew at TDLR online services.
Reviewed 23 September 2026. Written by an independent site; not legal advice and not an official TDLR publication. Rules and fees change: confirm yours with TDLR before renewing.