Bonding vs grounding: what it means for the Texas exam

Use this diagram

Copy this HTML to show the diagram with a credit link<img src="https://bondingjumper.com/charts/bondingjumper/bonding-vs-grounding.svg" alt="A service panel with a ground rod below it labeled grounding, and metal conduit, a box and a motor frame tied together back to the panel labeled bonding, with a fault current arrow running along the bonded path back to the source rather than through the earth" width="100%"><p><a href="https://bondingjumper.com/guides/bonding-vs-grounding?utm_source=embed&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=figure_embed&amp;utm_content=bonding-vs-grounding.svg">Fault current goes home along the bonded path, not through the dirt. by Bonding Jumper</a></p>

What each one is for

Grounding ties the system to earth through a grounding electrode, such as a rod, a concrete-encased electrode or a metal water pipe. It gives the system a stable reference to earth and a place for lightning and line surges to go. The conductor that does it is the grounding electrode conductor.

Bonding joins enclosures, raceways, boxes, equipment frames and metal piping into one continuous, low-impedance path. When a hot conductor touches a metal part, the fault current flows along that path back to the source, the current is large, and the overcurrent device opens. The equipment grounding conductor is the bonding path on a circuit, and bonding jumpers fill the gaps.

Why the earth cannot clear a fault

The earth has far too much resistance to carry fault current back to the transformer at a level that would trip a breaker. A metal box that is grounded to a rod but not bonded back to the source can sit at a dangerous voltage for as long as the fault lasts. That is the single most useful idea in Article 250: the effective path to clear a fault is the bonded one, not the earth.

Where they meet

At the service, the two systems are joined once: the main bonding jumper connects the neutral to the equipment grounding system and the enclosure, and the grounding electrode conductor connects that point to earth. Downstream, the neutral and the equipment ground are kept apart. The two conductors are compared in EGC vs GEC.

Common mix-ups

• Calling every green wire a ground. It is an equipment grounding conductor doing a bonding job.
• Adding a ground rod to fix a shock hazard. A rod does not replace a missing bonding path.
• Thinking bonding is optional where a rod exists. They are separate requirements.
• Reading grounded as grounding. The grounded conductor is usually the neutral, a current-carrying conductor.

On the Texas journeyman exam

Grounding and bonding sit in the services, service equipment and separately derived systems area, 10 scored items across both portions under the PSI bulletin, and reach into wiring methods and equipment too. Study to name which conductor does a job and to find the right table in Article 250. Our blog post on what a bonding jumper is goes further.

Practice it

The grounding electrode conductor sizing guide shows the tables in use. Every term in this set is in the electrical terms glossary.

Know the terms? Take the free 10-question check

Take the free 10-question check. It needs no signup and explains every answer, so you see whether theory, grounding or wiring methods costs you the most points. When you want the full method worked topic by topic, the Bonding Jumper course comes second.

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Sources

Show the list

• Candidate Information Bulletin, Texas electricians (updated 9/15/2026), PSI for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
• NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (2026 edition), NFPA. Free read-only access with an account.