Electrician Exam Application 2026: Apply, Book, What to Bring

How do you send an electrician exam application?

State	Where you apply	Then
Texas	TDLR, by mail for a first journeyman or master license, with the $30 or $45 application fee and experience forms signed by each supervising master electrician	TDLR emails instructions, and you book with PSI online or by phone. You can test as often as you need during your eligibility period
California	The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), online or by mail, with the $75 application fee	DLSE sends an eligibility notice, and you book with Pearson VUE online or by phone. You must test within one year of that notice
Washington	L&I, after checking your hours and classes with its Verify tool. Send your final affidavit of experience with the in-state application	L&I sends a notice with instructions for booking with PSI

Texas lets you apply with 7,000 of the 8,000 hours a journeyman license needs, so you can test before you finish them.

Changing or missing your appointment

Texas (PSI): cancel or reschedule at least 2 days before the exam on the PSI website or by phone. A voicemail or email doesn't count.
California (Pearson VUE): reschedule more than 48 hours before your appointment. If you miss it, you can't reschedule and you lose the exam fee.

ID rules on exam day

If your ID doesn’t meet the rules, you won’t be let in and you’ll usually lose your exam fee. In California you’d also have to apply to the state again.

State	What you need
Texas (PSI)	1 valid government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, state ID or passport, with your name, photo, signature or fingerprint, date of birth and expiration date. It must match what TDLR sent to PSI.
California (Pearson VUE)	2 original IDs. One government-issued with your photo and signature. The second can be a signed bank card, employee ID or school ID. No photocopies or digital IDs.
Washington (PSI)	1 valid, unexpired ID with your photo and signature, such as a driver’s license, state ID, passport or military ID, in your legal name.

Your code book

Texas: bring a soft-bound copy of the NEC. Loose-leaf, spiral-bound and ring-bound copies aren’t allowed, and neither is the NEC Handbook.
Texas: you can highlight, underline and make notes before the exam, and use permanent tabs made by the publisher. Homemade tabs aren’t allowed, and you can’t mark the book during the exam.
California: don’t bring any books. The 2023 NEC, NFPA 70E and the Cal/OSHA pocket guide open on screen, and you can search them.
Washington: you can bring original published books, including ones with questions and answers, with permanent tabs. State law printouts are allowed in a binder.

Calculators

Texas allows only silent, battery-powered, non-programmable calculators with no paper tape and no letter keys. Washington allows a silent, non-printing, non-programmable calculator, and may hand you one of theirs if yours is in doubt.

California doesn’t allow your own calculator. You use the one built into the exam screen.

Leave at home

Phones, smart watches, bags, notes and food all go in a locker or back to your car, and friends or family can't wait inside the test center. All three states ask you to arrive 30 minutes early. If you're late you can be turned away and lose your fee.

Sources: TDLR · PSI · Pearson VUE / CPS HR and 4 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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Electrician exam application: apply, book and what to bring