Electrical / electrician

Typical public-Texas published cost

TDLR published application fees we fetched September 8, 2026: Electrical Apprentice non-refundable $20; Journeyman $30; Master $45. Optional Dallas College in-county classroom (not a substitute for 8,000 hours): Commercial Electrical Technology Certificate estimate $2,673 / about 8 months; Commercial Electrical Technology A.A.S. $5,940 / about 2 years (page stamped Updated June 25, 2026). TCC Electrical Line Technician is a line/utilities classroom path, not the same product as an inside-wireman journeyman: 2026–27 in-county Ground Technician 25 SCH $1,850; Line Technician 44 SCH $3,256; AAS 60 SCH $4,440. For Chapter 133–funded programs only, a public ISD or state postsecondary school may charge an apprentice no more than a $5 administrative fee per course (TEC §133.002(e)); §133.009 limits that chapter to programs that receive those state funds. We do not invent a statewide apprentice tuition total, PSI exam prices, or an ACC electrician package.

Sources retrieved September 8, 2026: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; Texas Constitution and Statutes; Texas Constitution and Statutes; Texas Workforce Commission; Texas Workforce Commission; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship; Dallas College; Tarrant County College. All sources

Debt caution

Do not borrow for a private trade school if a registered program or a dated public classroom estimate is open. You must hold the TDLR apprentice license before performing electrical work. Hours in a §1305.1575 career-and-technology residential-wireman sequence may not be credited toward other licenses' on-the-job training. Getting hired by a sponsor is not guaranteed. We do not publish starting salaries or placement rates.

Why community-college to university can save money

A bachelor's in electrical engineering is a different occupation from a TDLR electrician license under Chapter 1305. University transfer does not replace the 8,000-hour journeyman requirement. THECB still lists Engineering as “Subcommittees will convene in Fall 2026,” not Completed. Do not treat engineering as a finished Texas Direct block.

See the Austin 2+2 example for dated ACC, Texas State, and UT Austin arithmetic, the Houston HCC example, the Dallas College example, the Alamo / UTSA example, the Fort Worth / Tarrant County example, or the El Paso EPCC → UTEP example, or the Lubbock SPC → Texas Tech example, or the Corpus Christi Del Mar → TAMU-CC example, or the Tyler TJC → UT Tyler example, or the Amarillo AC → WTAMU example, or the McAllen STC → UTRGV example, or the Brownsville TSC → UTRGV example, or the Laredo LC → TAMIU example, or the Waco MCC → TAMUCT example, or the Beaumont LIT → LU example, or the Midland–Odessa OC → UTPB example, or the Victoria VC → TAMUV example, or the Texarkana TC → TAMUT example, or the Wichita Falls Vernon → MSU example, or the Abilene Cisco → ASU example, or the Bryan–College Station Blinn → TAMU example, or the Galveston GC → UHCL example.

Field of Study / Texas Direct status

Engineering Field of Study: THECB’s Texas Direct table fetched September 8, 2026 still lists Engineering as “Subcommittees will convene in Fall 2026.” That is not a completed Texas Direct block. Electrical work licensure sits with TDLR Chapter 1305, not with Texas Direct.

Sources retrieved September 17, 2026: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources

Official language lives on the Texas Direct explainer.

AI-era note (qualitative only)

The work is licensed, code-based, and done on physical systems. That is a qualitative description. We do not publish a percent chance that electricians are safe from AI.

How to read this path

Keep the products separate. First: TDLR Electrical Apprentice is the entry license. Occupations Code §1305.161 and TDLR’s Electricians at a Glance require an applicant to be at least 16. TDLR’s apply page (fetched September 8, 2026) says there are no experience qualifications and no examination, the fee is a non-refundable $20, and apprentice applicants who register online and report no criminal convictions are automatically issued a temporary license. Occupations Code §1305.151 says a person may not perform electrical work without the appropriate license. Get the apprentice card before you work.

Second: a registered apprenticeship is an employer/sponsor hire, not a campus admission. Find programs through the U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Finder and apply to the employer or sponsor. TWC’s apprenticeship FAQ (fetched September 8, 2026) floors related instruction at a minimum 2,000 on-the-job learning hours per year and a minimum 144 related-technical-instruction hours per year; program length can range from 2,000 to 8,000 hours. TWC’s Program Year 2025 Report on Available Apprenticeships lists Electricians as 108 programs and 9,973 active apprentices — a statewide snapshot of people already in programs, not job openings. Statewide the same report lists 961 active programs and approximately 35,585 active apprentices. Those counts are not a seat guarantee.

Third: journeyman and master are later TDLR products. Occupations Code §1305.155 requires at least 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a master electrician and a passing exam. TDLR’s journeyman apply page says submitting at least 7,000 hours allows the exam before the full 8,000, but licensure still needs the full 8,000; the application fee is a non-refundable $30. Occupations Code §1305.153 requires at least 12,000 hours under a master, a journeyman license held at least two years, and a master exam; TDLR’s master apply page lists a non-refundable $45 application fee.

Fourth: optional public classroom is not a substitute for the 8,000 hours. Dallas College’s Electrical Technology page (Updated June 25, 2026) estimates the Commercial Electrical Technology Certificate at $2,673 in-county / about 8 months and the Commercial Electrical Technology A.A.S. at $5,940 in-county / about 2 years. TCC’s Electrical Line Technician page (2026–27 in-county) lists Ground Technician 25 SCH $1,850, Line Technician 44 SCH $3,256, and AAS 60 SCH $4,440 — label that as line/utilities classroom work, not a TDLR inside-wireman journeyman license. Separately, Occupations Code §1305.1575(g) says hours spent completing a career-and-technology residential-wireman program may not be credited toward on-the-job training required for other licenses under Chapter 1305. A college certificate does not replace the 8,000 journeyman hours.

Fifth: Texas Education Code §133.002(e) says a public school district or state postsecondary institution may not charge an apprentice tuition or fees other than an administrative fee of no more than $5 for each course. Section 133.009 says Chapter 133 applies only to apprenticeship training programs that receive state funds under §133.002. Do not read that as every apprentice in Texas paying $5 for all training.

What we will not say: we will not guarantee an apprenticeship seat or a placement rate. We will not publish starting salaries, a $70k average, earnings, or job counts from a college marketing block. We will not invent AI-proof percents, PSI exam dollar amounts, College Scorecard figures, or an ACC electrician certificate package total. We will not say a college certificate replaces journeyman OJT. We will not treat TCC line technician as a TDLR journeyman electrician. We will not say a bachelor's is the Chapter 1305 license path.

Related PathMax pages: Pending Fields of Study (Engineering is not a completed Texas Direct block); Plumbing (TSBPE Chapter 1301 — not a TDLR electrician license); HVAC / ACR (TDLR Chapter 1302 Registered Technician — a different board); Welding (no statewide TDLR or TSBPE welder license — a different product).