ELECTRICIAN LICENSING DEADLINE NEARING
7/22/2004

Everyone engaged in regulated electrical work must be
licensed by September 1.

Anyone who works in the electrical trade in Texas who has not received a license by September 1 could be in for a shock.

Under House Bill 1487, passed by the 78th Texas Legislature, everyone who performs electrical work in Texas is required to be licensed by that date, unless exempted by law. This applies to all categories of electrician, including apprentices. Persons performing electrical work without the appropriate license after that date could be assessed financial penalties.

It is not sufficient to have applied for a state license by September 1. The license must be issued by that date for a person to be in compliance with the requirements of the law.

We encourage anyone who is not licensed to apply as soon as they can, said William Kuntz, executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). If a large number of people wait until the last minute, the sheer volume of applications can slow processing and some licenses may not be issued until after September 1. We dont want to make anyone stop working when the deadline arrives, but the safety of the public requires us to ensure that everyone doing electricalwork in our homes and businesses is qualified to perform their jobs properly.

Electrical Contractorsare responsible for ensuring that all electrical work as defined by the Texas Electrical Safety and Licensing Act is performed by licensed electricians. Contractors who allow individuals who are not licensed to continue to work after September 1 can be subject to enforcement action.

TDLR estimates that as many as 40,000 apprentices are involved in electrical work in Texas. A total of 4,332 have applied for a state apprentice license. The annual license fee for apprentices is $15.

The state electrical licensing program, which began accepting
applications on March 1, 2004, has been very successful. So far, more than 65,000 electricians have applied to TDLR for a license. Licenses have been issued to more than 49,000 individuals, including 511 electrical contractors, one electrical sign contractor, 10,428 master electricians, 313 master sign electricians, 31,530 journeyman electricians, 394 journeyman sign electricians, 1,470 residential wiremen, 1,418 maintenance electricians and 3,005 apprentices.

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