The Electrical Contractor license is a TDLR business license — it is what allows a company to offer electrical contracting services in Texas. TDLR issues an equivalent Electrical Sign Contractor license for sign contracting businesses.
Neither business license carries a continuing education requirement. But that exemption is narrower than many owners realize, because every electrical contractor must employ a licensed Master Electrician as its Master of Record — and that individual must:
- Keep their own Master license active with the $45 annual renewal
- Complete their own 4 hours of TDLR-approved CE every year
If the Master of Record's individual license expires, the contractor license cannot be renewed. The common confusion — "our company license doesn't need CE, so we're covered" — conflates the business credential with the individual one. The business is exempt; the person it depends on is not. Individual electricians working under the contractor license also each maintain their own licenses and annual CE.
What it means for your renewal
If you own a contracting business, treat your Master of Record's CE and renewal deadline as a business-critical date, not a personal one. One lapsed individual license can stall the company license itself — and with it, the whole operation.
Authority: Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1305