Texas Switches to the 2026 NEC on September 1: What Changes for Your License Exam

September 1, 2026. That's the date the 2026 National Electrical Code becomes Texas's statewide electrical code, and the date the TDLR journeyman and master exams switch editions with it. The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation voted unanimously on July 28 to adopt the new code, and the transition lands in one day.

What Changed

Starting September 1, the 2026 NEC is the mandatory minimum standard for non-exempt electrical work across Texas, inside city limits and out in unincorporated county land alike. Every permit application filed on or after that date has to comply with the new edition. Municipalities can still layer on local amendments, so check with your authority having jurisdiction if you're unsure which rules apply to a specific project.

The 2026 code also moves where the rules live. Load calculations, one of the most-used sections in the book, shift out of the old Article 220 and into a new Article 120. The general lighting and receptacle load for dwelling units drops from 3 VA per square foot to 2 VA per square foot, which changes the number on a service-sizing calculation even when you're running the same formula you always have.

Texas made one notable amendment of its own. The base 2026 NEC was set to end an exception in Section 210.8(F) on September 1: the one that lets outdoor HVAC equipment at a dwelling skip GFCI protection. TDLR struck that expiration date. In Texas, the HVAC exception stays in place, addressing the nuisance-tripping problems that come with Class A GFCI protection on outdoor condensers and heat pumps.

Impact on Electricians and the License Exam

If you're testing before September 1, nothing changes. The journeyman and master exams still run on the 2023 NEC. Test on or after September 1, and the exam is written to the 2026 edition, code book and all.

That matters most if you're an open-book test-taker. Texas lets you bring your code book into the exam room, so speed depends on knowing where a rule lives, not just what it says. Chapters 1 through 7 got renumbered in the 2026 edition, and load calculations moving from Article 220 to Article 120 is the change most likely to cost you time if you're flipping pages out of 2023 muscle memory.

If your test date sits close to September 1, confirm with PSI which edition applies before you walk in. And if you're studying right now, match your materials to your test date: 2023 NEC if you're testing before the switch, 2026 NEC if you're testing this fall. Studying the wrong edition wastes money and time you don't have before an exam.

Whichever edition you land on, the skill being tested doesn't change. Only where the rules sit does.

Preparing for your license exam? Start with 25 free NEC 2023 practice questions. No account required.

Source: IEC Fort Worth Chapter Source: EC&M