Is the Texas journeyman electrician exam open book?

Yes. Texas allows your own soft-bound NEC 2023, with notes, highlighting, and permanent publisher tabs added before the session.

Can I bring the NEC Handbook to the Texas exam?

No. The Texas PSI bulletin excludes the NEC Handbook, along with loose-leaf, spiral-bound, ring-bound books, homemade tabs, and loose paper.

Why does open book still need practice?

Because Texas is timed and split into NEC Knowledge and Calculations. The book helps only if you can find the controlling rule quickly and use it correctly.

Texas TDLR · open-book rules

Is the Texas TDLR Journeyman Electrician Exam Open Book?

Texas is open book, but that does not mean the book saves you. PSI gives you two timed parts, and the reference rules are strict enough that a sloppy book setup can become a test-day problem.

Last reviewed June 2026

Format

Two parts

Code

NEC 2023

Book

Soft-bound

Score

70% each

What Texas generally allows

Use the current PSI candidate bulletin before test day. The rule below is the Texas-specific reference setup we publish from TDLR and PSI facts.

Allowed

Your own soft-bound NEC 2023.
Notes, highlighting, and underlining added before the exam session.
Permanent index tabs manufactured or provided by the NEC publisher.
The same book for both NEC Knowledge and Calculations.

Keep out of the room

Loose-leaf, spiral-bound, or ring-bound NEC copies.
Homemade or DIY tabs, non-NEC tabs, loose paper, taped paper, or stapled paper.
The NEC Handbook.
Anything you are not willing to have the proctor inspect.

The open-book trap in Texas

Texas now scores NEC Knowledge and Calculations separately. The book helps only if you can find the rule fast and still run the math clean. A strong code habit does not carry a weak calculation part, and slow lookup steals minutes from both parts.

How to practice with the book legally

Practice with the same style of book and tabs you plan to take. Do not build speed around materials PSI will not allow.

Check the book format: Use a soft-bound 2023 NEC. Do not rehearse with a binder if the binder cannot come with you.
Drill high-frequency articles: Time Article 210, 220, 230, 250, 310, 314, Chapter 9, and 430 lookups until the article family comes first.
Separate the two parts: Run NEC Knowledge lookups and Calculations practice separately, because TDLR scores them separately.
Repair slow lookups: If a lookup takes more than 90 seconds, tag the article family and drill that family again before adding more topics.

Where the facts come from

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