The rules about your code book are stricter than people expect
Turning up with the wrong binding or the wrong tabs ends the day before it starts. Verify these with the testing authority, not with a study site.
On this page
Verify this list, do not trust it
Reference material rules change, and they change without announcement on any site that is not the testing authority.
Everything below is what to check rather than what is true today. The candidate information bulletin is the authority and it is dated. Read the current one before you travel.
If this page and the bulletin disagree, the bulletin is right and this page is out of date.
The book itself
- Which edition is tested. Texas adopts the 2026 code effective September 1, 2026, and the tested edition follows adoption.
- Binding. Soft-bound is typically required, and loose-leaf or spiral is typically not accepted.
- Whether the handbook edition is permitted. It usually is not, because it contains commentary.
- Tabs. Publisher-manufactured tabs are commonly permitted and homemade tabs commonly are not.
- Highlighting, underlining and handwritten notes. Rules on these vary and have tightened in some jurisdictions.
That tab restriction is the one that catches people, because a well-tabbed book is genuinely useful and a DIY tab set is easy to make.
What to confirm about the exam itself
- Whether a calculator is provided or you bring one, and what type is permitted.
- How the two portions are scheduled, and whether both are sat the same day.
- Which forms of identification the test center accepts.
- Arrival time, and what happens if you are late.
Sources disagree on several of these, including sources selling exam prep. Get them from the testing authority.
The practical preparation nobody mentions
Bring the book you studied with. Not a fresh one. Your hands know where things are in the copy you have been using, and that muscle memory is worth real minutes.
Check your tabs are still attached the night before. They fall off.
Know where the test center is and park early. Arriving stressed costs you more than an extra hour of studying would have gained.
What this page cites
- 16 TAC 73.100 Texas adoption of the 2026 edition, which drives the tested edition.