TX-ME Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

The Official TDLR Numbers for 2025

Every discussion of the TX-ME - the Texas Master Electrician License Exam administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) through PSI - should start with the agency's own published results, not internet folklore. TDLR's FY2025 examination-result statistics report a 22.21% pass rate on the Master NEC portion (771 passes out of 3,472 completed examinations) and a 19.08% pass rate on the Master Calculations portion (753 passes out of 3,946 completed examinations).

Those figures are portion-level results, not first-attempt rates and not a combined "did the candidate become licensed" rate. A candidate who fails Calculations three times in a year shows up in the denominator three times. That distinction matters enormously when you're trying to interpret what the numbers say about your own odds, and it's a theme we'll come back to throughout this article.

Why Two Separate Pass Rates Exist

Unlike many licensing exams that produce a single composite score, the TX-ME is structured as two independently timed, independently scored portions:

• NEC Knowledge: 75 administered questions (70 scored, 5 unscored) in 150 minutes.
• Calculations: 33 administered questions (30 scored, 3 unscored) in 170 minutes.

Combined, that's 108 questions and 320 minutes of testing time, but the clock and the pass/fail decision never mix between portions. Time left over on NEC Knowledge cannot be borrowed for Calculations, and a 90% on one portion does zero to rescue a 60% on the other. You need 70% on each portion, separately, to move toward licensure. That structural rule is exactly why TDLR reports two distinct pass rates rather than one blended figure - the two portions are, statistically and administratively, separate exams that happen to be scheduled together.

What the Data Actually Means for You

A pass rate in the low twenties can look alarming out of context, but it doesn't mean the exam content is arbitrary or unlearnable - it means the exam is unforgiving of gaps. The 108-question format, open-book design, and 70% dual-portion threshold reward candidates who know exactly where to find information in an approved NEC and who have practiced applying it under time pressure, not candidates who "sort of remember" code sections.

Because the reported statistics aggregate every completed examination in the fiscal year - first attempts and retakes alike - the lower Calculations rate (19.08%) versus NEC Knowledge (22.21%) suggests that translating code language into numeric answers is where more candidates lose points, even with a calculator and an open book in front of them. That's consistent with what many exam-prep resources emphasize: knowing the NEC is necessary but not sufficient if you can't execute the arithmetic and unit conversions quickly within 170 minutes.

If you want a full breakdown of how difficult each portion tends to feel to real candidates, our companion piece on How Hard Is the TX-ME Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 goes deeper into the specific failure patterns behind these numbers.

Domain Weighting and Where Points Are Won or Lost

The NEC Knowledge portion draws its 70 scored questions from ten subject domains, and the allocation is not even. Two domains tie for the largest share:

On the Calculations side, Domain 12 (Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems) is the single largest with 8 of 30 scored questions - the same subject area that dominates NEC Knowledge, just tested numerically instead of conceptually. That repetition across portions is not a coincidence; it signals that service-related calculations and code application together represent the single most heavily weighted topic on the entire 108-question exam.

For the complete domain-by-domain allocation across all 20 areas - including the lighter domains like Domain 8 (Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means) at just 3 of 70 in Knowledge, or Domain 18 at 1 of 30 in Calculations - see TX-ME Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 20 Content Areas. Knowing which domains carry the most weight is the single biggest lever you have for improving on a pass rate that currently sits under 25% on both portions.

The 2026 NEC Transition and Its Effect on Results

Historical pass-rate data always needs a caveat, and this one is significant: the PSI candidate bulletin, revised July 9, 2026, requires the 2026 NEC edition for examinations administered from September 1, 2026, onward. Any residual references to the 2023 code are superseded by that dated transition notice.

That means the FY2025 pass rates reported above reflect testing under the prior code cycle. Once the 2026 NEC takes effect for the September 1, 2026 window, candidates studying from outdated softbound editions - or relying on tabs and notes built around 2023 section numbers - will be working from the wrong reference entirely. Given that the exam is open-book and section-lookup speed matters under a strict clock, this is not a minor detail.

The Eligibility Filter Behind the Numbers

Part of why the reported pass rates matter differently for you than for a casual observer is that TDLR doesn't let just anyone sit for the exam. Before you're even scheduled, you need TDLR approval based on 12,000 supervised on-the-job hours under a Texas-licensed Master Electrician and a Journeyman Electrician license held for at least two years. A Journeyman Industrial license does not satisfy that requirement, and your supervising masters must verify the experience directly.

Once TDLR approves your application, you're on a clock: licensing requirements, including passing both exam portions, must be completed within one year after TDLR receives the application. That means the population sitting for the exam isn't a general electrical audience - it's experienced journeymen who have already cleared a substantial experience bar, yet the pass rates are still low. That reinforces the point that the exam tests exam-specific readiness (speed, code navigation, calculation fluency) as much as it tests field experience.

For the full breakdown of hours, license types, and verification steps, see TX-ME Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Building a Study Schedule Around the Weak Portion

Given that Calculations posted the lower FY2025 pass rate (19.08% versus 22.21% for NEC Knowledge), a reasonable prep sequence weights early weeks toward numeric fluency and code lookup speed for the heaviest calculation domains before shifting to broader NEC Knowledge review.

This is not a generic weekly template - it's sequenced specifically around the FY2025 data showing Calculations as the tighter bottleneck and around the confirmed 11-of-70 domains that dominate NEC Knowledge. For a fuller first-attempt strategy, see TX-ME Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for the exact scoring mechanics behind the 70% threshold, review TX-ME Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Retake Mechanics and Costs

Because each portion is scored independently, a failed portion doesn't require retaking the whole exam - but it does require paying to retest. PSI charges $78 to take both portions and $78 to retake one or both portions, on top of the $45 TDLR license application fee. If you pass NEC Knowledge but fail Calculations, you can schedule a retake of just the failed portion for the same $78 fee.

Given the FY2025 completed-exam counts (3,472 for NEC and 3,946 for Calculations against far fewer passes), retakes are clearly common within the reported population. Budgeting for at least one retake fee is a realistic part of planning your total cost, which is covered in detail in TX-ME Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Testing itself is computer-based, multiple-choice, and open-book, offered in English and Spanish at PSI centers. You're allowed an approved softbound NEC (no handbooks, loose-leaf, spiral, or ring-bound copies, and no added papers), plus notes, highlighting, and underlining prepared before test day, along with permanent NEC-publisher-manufactured or supplied tabs. Writing in your reference material during the test itself is prohibited, so all annotation work has to happen during your prep - another reason a structured study plan matters more than last-minute cramming. You can build and test that annotation strategy using realistic timed drills on our TX-ME practice test platform before relying on it in the actual PSI test center.

Once licensed, remember that the individual Master Electrician license is a separate credential from the Electrical Contractor business license, is valid for one year, renews for $45, and requires four TDLR-approved continuing education hours covering the NEC, Texas law and rules, and NFPA 70E electrical safety each cycle. Passing the exam is the milestone the pass-rate data measures, but it's the entry point to an ongoing licensing relationship with TDLR, not a one-time event.

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