The numbers TDLR publishes
The book is in the room. The answers still get missed.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, electrician examination statistics, fiscal year 2025 (Sept 2024 – Aug 2025), Journeyman exam, which has had two separately scored portions since March 11, 2025.
You are allowed to bring the code book. So the exam is not testing whether you memorized the NEC. It is testing whether you can find the right rule in about two minutes (59 questions in 130 minutes) and work a calculation in about four (26 in 110). That is a skill. It can be trained.
What changed on September 1
The exam switched to the 2026 NEC. The load calculations moved, and two dwelling numbers changed.
In the 2026 edition, the branch-circuit, feeder and service load calculations moved from Article 220 to Article 120. Energy management systems moved from 750 to 130. Fire-resistive cable systems moved from 728 to 772. "Overcurrent protective device" became "OCPD" about 700 times.
And two dwelling numbers changed. For a dwelling service or feeder calculation, the 2026 NEC sets the unit load at 2 VA per square foot (120.41); the old 3 VA now only counts general-lighting branch circuits (120.13). The optional method's first block dropped from 10 kVA to 8 kVA (120.82). Work a dwelling service the 2023 way and your total comes out wrong.
If your tabs, your notes or your prep course still say 220 and 3 VA, you will be working from the old book during the portion with the lowest FY2025 pass rate. The Open Book Method is built on the 2026 edition the Texas exam now uses.
The rule worth using
Your code book is allowed to carry notes.
The Open Book Method gives you a section-by-section Margin Notes Map: short cross-references and step lists to write into your own 2026 NEC, with the Top 40 marked if you are short on time. Inside the rules, it turns the book in front of you into your best tool in the room.
What's inside
Seven parts. One job: find it, work it, walk in ready.
Who it's for
Built for
- Texas apprentices sitting the PSI Journeyman exam on the 2026 NEC
- Anyone retaking the Knowledge or Calculations portion
- People who learn by doing: drills, notes, worked problems
Not for
- The Master or Residential Wireman exams (not covered)
- Exams in other states (different outlines and editions)
- Anyone looking for a video course
Instant download · 37-page PDF
Texas Journeyman Edition · 2026 NEC
- The Lookup Method and the Article Finder
- What Moved in 2026: the 220 → 120 map, the 2 VA change and the rule changes
- The Margin Notes Map + 3-color highlight plan
- The Calculations Playbook: 19 calculation patterns, worked
- 71 Timed Lookup Drills with lookup paths
- Exam-day pacing and a 10-day retake plan
DAY
PDF download. Use it with your own soft-bound 2026 NEC (not included). For exam study only. Not affiliated with or endorsed by NFPA, TDLR or PSI. NEC® and National Electrical Code® are registered trademarks of NFPA. No study guide can guarantee an exam result.
We sell to customers in the United States. Refund policy
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Questions
Which exam is this for?
The Texas Journeyman Electrician exam given by PSI for TDLR: the NEC Knowledge portion (59 items, 130 minutes) and the Calculations portion (26 items, 110 minutes). Since September 1, 2026 it is referenced to the 2026 NEC, and this guide is built on that edition.
I already have a course. Do I need this?
It is built to sit next to a course, not replace one. A course teaches the code; this trains the open-book part: finding a rule in about two minutes, writing allowed notes into your own book, and working the calculations on the 2026 numbers. If your course still says 220 and 3 VA, Part 3 shows what moved.
Does it include the code book?
No. You use it alongside your own soft-bound 2026 NEC, the same book you will bring into the exam. The guide points you to locations in the code; it does not reprint the code.
Can I bring this guide into the exam?
No, and you don't need to. PSI allows notes, highlighting and underlining in your own NEC when they are made before the exam, so you copy the Margin Notes Map into your book. Homemade tabs and inserted pages are not allowed.
Is this a video course?
No. It is a PDF you can read on your phone or print, built for working with the book open in front of you: method, notes, worked calculations and timed drills.
How was it checked?
Every code location in the guide was checked against the 2026 NEC text, and every worked calculation was computed and re-checked in software before publishing, including the one-family dwelling example from the 2026 code's own Informative Annex D.
I already failed a portion. Will it help?
That is who it was written for. Part 7 turns PSI's diagnostic report into a 10-day retake plan, and you only retake the portion you did not pass.
Who's behind it?
Open Book Electrician, a small independent publisher based in Austria that sells to US customers. We are not affiliated with PSI, TDLR or NFPA. The guide is built from the 2026 NEC text, PSI's candidate bulletin and TDLR's published statistics. You pay in US dollars; depending on your card, your bank may add a foreign-transaction fee.
How do I get it?
Right after checkout you get download buttons on the confirmation page and in your order email.
What if it isn't for me?
Email us within 30 days of purchase and we refund you in full. No questions asked.
Walk in with a book that works for you.
Find it fast. Work the calculations. Use the notes the rules allow.
Get the Open Book Method — $97