Texas journeyman exam · 2026 NEC
The 2026 NEC and the Texas journeyman exam
The Texas journeyman exam is referenced to the 2026 edition of the National Electrical Code from 1 September 2026, and its questions follow that edition in the soft-bound code book you bring to the seat. Texas adopted the 2026 NEC by rule the same day. Here is what that means for the book on your desk, and how to use it at speed.
Which edition, and since when
The exam is referenced to the 2026 edition of the National Electrical Code from 1 September 2026.
Texas adopted the 2026 NEC by rule, effective 1 September 2026.
Can I use the 2023 book?
PSI’s bulletin (updated 15 September 2026) allows any soft-bound edition, but the questions are based on the 2026 edition TDLR has adopted, so a 2023 book will send you to sections that have moved. Bring the 2026 book.
What moved in 2026
Some section numbers changed. The load calculations that lived in Article 220 are now in Article 120, and most definitions are gathered in Article 100. A number you memorised from an older book may now point somewhere else, so practise from the 2026 book itself.
What “code book in hand” means
You bring your own soft-bound copy of the National Electrical Code: PSI names the 2026 edition, allows any soft-bound edition, and bases the questions on the edition TDLR has adopted. Loose-leaf, spiral-bound and ring-bound copies are not allowed, and neither is the NEC Handbook or any extra paper.
Highlighting, underlining and notes are allowed if they were made before the exam; nothing may be marked during it.
Tabs must be permanent tabs made or supplied by the code book’s publisher; homemade tabs are not allowed.
PSI provides an electronic notepad at the seat.
Looking things up fast
Start from the index, not from memory
Turn the question into the noun the index would file it under — the equipment, the place, the wiring method — and go there first. A guessed section number costs more time than the index does.
Read the scope first
The first section of an article says what the article covers. Ten seconds there tells you whether you are in the right article before you read anything else.
Use the chapter you are in
The general chapters apply everywhere; the later chapters change or add to them for particular places and equipment. If the question names a special place, check its chapter before you answer from the general rule.
Know the tables at the back
The calculation questions lean on the Chapter 9 tables and the tables inside Articles 310, 314 and 430. Know which table answers which question so you go straight to it.
Practise with the clock
A Knowledge question gives you a little over two minutes (130 minutes for 59). Speed comes from repetition in your own book, not from reading about it.