What a Texas electrical contractor licence costs
How much does it cost to license an electrical contracting business in Texas?
The fees that fall in the first year
Two licences, two fees, and they are not the same licence. The business needs the contractor licence; the person qualifying it needs an individual master licence. An electrician who already holds the master licence is only adding the business fee. Someone qualifying from scratch pays both, on top of whatever the exam and the training hours cost them. Neither fee is large relative to a van or a stock of wire, which is why the insurance floor below tends to be the number that decides the timing.
$110The electrical contractor business licence fee is $110. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
$45A master electrician licence is $45 and a residential wireman licence is $20. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
The application fee is non-refundable if the application fails or is terminated. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
Why the insurance floor dominates the budget
The licence fees are fixed and small. The cover behind them is neither. TDLR sets a floor rather than a price, so what you actually pay depends on payroll, trade mix and loss history, and a residential service shop and an industrial fit-out contractor with identical licences will see very different premiums. What the rule removes is the option to start cheap: you cannot buy a token policy, because the certificate has to clear three separate limits and come from a carrier of a stated quality.
$300,000Cover must be at least $300,000 per occurrence for combined property damage and bodily injury. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
$300,000A separate $300,000 aggregate applies to products and completed operations. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
Cover must come from an admitted carrier or an eligible surplus lines carrier. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
The recurring line item after year one
Budget the licence as an annual cost that does not shrink. Renewal is charged at the same rate as the original application, so nothing about being established makes it cheaper. Set the reminder against the licence date rather than your financial year, because the penalty schedule keys off the expiry date and nothing else.
$110Renewal of an electrical contractor licence costs $110. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
What a lapse adds, in steps
Late renewal is priced in bands, and the bands are steep relative to the base fee. Miss the date by a week and by three months and you pay the same premium; cross into the next band and it rises again. Past a certain point the schedule stops being a penalty and becomes a wall — the licence is not renewable at all and the business is reapplying as a new applicant, with the fee and the attachments all over again.
$165A licence expired 90 days or less renews at $165, half again the standard fee. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
$220A licence expired between 91 days and 18 months renews at $220, double the standard fee. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
36 monthsA licence expired beyond 36 months cannot be renewed and requires a fresh application. — Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-14
Questions
Is the $110 fee charged per year or per licence term?
It is charged per licence term and the renewal is the same amount, so treat it as an annual line item unless TDLR tells you otherwise for your specific licence.
Does the contractor fee cover the master electrician licence too?
No. They are separate licences with separate fees. The business pays for the contractor licence and the individual pays for the master licence that qualifies it.
Can I reduce the insurance cost by carrying a lower limit at first?
No. The limits are conditions of holding the licence and must be maintained at all times, not only on the day the application is reviewed.
If my application is rejected, do I get the fee back?
No. The application fee is non-refundable, which is the argument for having the insurance certificate and the master electrician signature in hand before filing rather than after.