Electrician License from Tennessee to Texas: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Texas accept a Tennessee electrician license?
There is no Tennessee state license to carry to Texas: Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license. Texas does license this work, so ask the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) — Electricians program whether it credits a local license or your documented experience; otherwise you qualify as a new applicant.
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Verdict
No state license to transfer
The issue on this move is the starting point: Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman or master electrician license, so there is no Tennessee state license for Texas to verify, endorse or reciprocate. Texas does license electricians, through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) — Electricians program, and it licenses out-of-state electricians by endorsement — but that route starts from a state license. Ask the board, in writing, whether it credits a local Tennessee license or your documented hours; otherwise plan for its new-applicant route and exam. Texas waives its journeyman electrician exam for an applicant who holds a journeyman license obtained by that state's examination in a reciprocal state and has held it for at least one year; applicants from non-reciprocal states must apply and pass the Texas journeyman exam.
What's different between Tennessee and Texas
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Texas. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Tennessee to Texas (this page): No state license to transfer.
Texas to Tennessee (the reverse move): No state license to transfer.
Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so neither direction is a state-license transfer.
- Does coming from Tennessee matter?
Coming from Tennessee matters here: only 13 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Texas.
The others get: licensure by endorsement (27) and reciprocity agreement (10).
- Reciprocity agreements
Texas's reciprocity agreement list names 10 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming), not including Tennessee.
- Fee and processing
Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no Tennessee state license application fee or processing time to compare with Texas's.
- Experience hours
Texas's first-time-applicant standard is 8,000 hours of documented experience for the journeyman license; Tennessee sets none at state level because it issues no statewide journeyman electrician license.
- Exam rules on record
Texas and Tennessee carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Texas (this move): Texas waives its journeyman electrician exam for an applicant who holds a journeyman license obtained by that state's examination in a reciprocal state and has held it for at least one year; applicants from non-reciprocal states must apply and pass the Texas journeyman exam
- Tennessee (the reverse move): Not applicable — Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman or master electrician license, so there is no state journeyman exam to waive. The state Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE) requires passing its exam and is expressly excluded from the Board's trade-exam-waiver reciprocity. Journeyman/master licenses are examined and issued by individual cities and counties
What changes, Tennessee → Texas
| Tennessee (current) | Texas (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | — | 8,000 |
| Application fee | No statewide journeyman/master license fee exists; local authorities set their own fees. The state LLE and CE contractor fees are separate credentials not equivalent to a journeyman license | $30 ($30.00 journeyman electrician reciprocal license fee; the master electrician reciprocal license fee is $45.00.) |
| Processing time | No statewide journeyman license, so no state processing time; local code authorities vary | TDLR does not publish a fixed processing time for out-of-state reciprocal license applications |
| Licensing authority | Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Dept. of Commerce & Insurance) — state CE/LLE only; journeyman/master are local | Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) — Electricians program |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Texas sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Review Texas's requirements on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) — Electricians program website (linked below) — rules change.
- Ask the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) — Electricians program whether it credits a local Tennessee license or your documented experience: Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no state license to verify.
- Otherwise apply as a new applicant: meet Texas's education/experience requirements and pass the exams it requires.
- Submit the application with fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- TDLR — Electricians: Out-of-State (reciprocity) applicants ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TDLR News — Texas Expands Electrician Reciprocity with Ohio (2026-06-05) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors — Trade Exam Waiver (Reciprocity) with Tennessee ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors — main page ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Electrician application ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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