Every state sets its own experience, exam, bond, and insurance requirements for an electrical contractor license, but the process follows the same basic path everywhere. This guide covers what's common to every state, explains the NASCLA electrical exam and the National Electrical Code, and links directly to the current requirements in all 50 states.
How do you get an electrical contractor license? In most states, a board issues the license to a company once one person, the qualifier, documents years of trade experience and passes a trade exam and a business and law exam, and the company then files insurance and often a bond. This guide walks through the path nearly every state uses, the license levels that repeat from board to board, and links the current licensing rules for electrical contractors in all 50 states.
An electrical contractor license is different from an individual electrician license. The individual credential, usually a journeyman or master electrician card, certifies a person's own skill. The contractor license is what lets a company bid work, sign contracts, and pull permits. For how licensing works across every trade, see how to get a contractor license in each state.
At a glance Who issues it: a state licensing board, or a city or county where the state sets no electrical license. Experience: most boards ask the qualifier for 4 to 6 years in the trade, several require more for a master credential. Exams: a trade exam on the National Electrical Code, plus a business and law exam in many states. Money proof: insurance, plus a bond or a case by case financial review in many states. Reciprocity: the NASCLA accredited electrical exam is accepted by roughly 19 state agencies in place of their own trade exam.
What an Electrical Contractor License Covers and Who Needs One
An electrical contractor license is a business credential: it lets the company bid jobs, sign contracts, and pull permits for electrical installation, maintenance, and repair work. A separate individual credential, where a state issues one, covers the person who actually plans and performs the wiring, and sits as its own layer under the company's contractor license.
Every state that licenses electrical contractors also ties the business license to one licensed person who stands behind the work. States use different names for this role, and the name matters because it is usually the term printed on the application form:
- Florida: Qualifying Agent
- California: Responsible Managing Employee or Responsible Managing Officer
- Nevada: Qualified Individual
- Texas and Michigan: Master Electrician
- Washington: Electrical Administrator or Master Electrician
- Arizona: Qualifying Party
- New Mexico: Qualifying Party (a full time W-2 employee under the EE-98 license)
- South Carolina: Primary Qualifying Party
- North Dakota and Wyoming: Master of Record
- Most other states: Qualifier, Qualifying Individual, or Designated Agent
These labels matter beyond vocabulary. A business owner researching how to license a company often searches for the generic term, qualifying agent or qualifier, while the state's own application form uses its own local label, Responsible Managing Employee in California or Master of Record in North Dakota and Wyoming. Knowing both names for the same role helps a company find the right form on the first try instead of searching a state board's site for a term it does not use.
The scope a license covers also varies. Georgia licenses a Class I Restricted contractor, limited to single phase residential work and three phase work up to 200 amperes, separately from a Class II Unrestricted contractor with no amperage or voltage limit. North Carolina splits the same way into Limited, Intermediate, and Unlimited classes tied to experience hours. A company doing larger commercial or industrial work typically needs the unrestricted or unlimited tier, not the entry level class.
Licensing is triggered by the work itself, not by company size. A state's threshold is usually a dollar figure attached to a single project or contract rather than anything about how many employees a company has. Tennessee's Board for Licensing Contractors, for example, requires its CE electrical contractor license once a project, including a subcontractor's electrical portion of a larger job, reaches $25,000. A business doing smaller jobs only in a state with no such threshold can still need a license on day one, since several states that run a statewide board, Georgia and North Carolina among them, set no minimum contract size at all for electrical work.
The qualifier's role is more than a name on a form. Florida's rule puts it plainly: the qualifying agent carries final approval authority over both the construction work and the business side, contracts, specifications, checks, and payments, which is why a board treats the qualifier's departure as serious enough to start a countdown clock rather than a routine paperwork update. A company that treats its qualifier as interchangeable, rather than as the one person legally answerable for the work, is usually the same company caught without a plan when that person leaves.
The Path Every State Shares
Licensing boards build the electrical contractor license from the same handful of parts, even when the numbers and the order change from board to board. Expect some mix of documented experience, a trade exam built on the National Electrical Code, a business and law exam, a state application and fee, insurance, a bond or financial review, and a renewal cycle, with continuing education required in some states.
| Requirement | What boards ask for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | Years in the trade, documented | Texas: 12,000 hours for a master license |
| Trade exam | NEC, electrical theory, safety | Georgia: minimum passing score of 70 |
| Business and law exam | Contracts, lien law, business rules | Nevada: Business and Law exam |
| Application | State form and fee | Florida: $196 application fee |
| Insurance | General liability, often more | Florida: $300,000 per occurrence |
| Bond or financial proof | Where the state requires one | California: $25,000 license bond |
| Renewal | Fixed cycle, continuing education in some states | Florida: renews every two years |
| Qualifier | One licensed person tied to the company | Arizona: requalify within 60 days |
Notes
- Texas requires 8,000 hours and roughly four years to reach journeyman, then 12,000 more supervised hours and at least two years holding an active journeyman license before a master electrician exam.
- Nevada asks its qualifier for four years of journeyman, supervising employee, or contractor level experience within the last 15 years, with up to three of those years satisfied through an accredited training program.
- California's $25,000 contractor license bond, set by SB 607 effective January 1, 2023, applies to every classification the Contractors State License Board issues, including the C-10 electrical classification, and a separate $25,000 bond of qualifying individual applies when an employee or a minority owner qualifies the license instead of a majority owner.
- Florida's trade exam and business and law exam are both scored out of 100 with a 75 percent passing requirement, and a passing score stays valid for three years while the applicant finishes the rest of the application.
- North Carolina measures experience in hours rather than a flat year count: Limited needs 3,000 hours, Intermediate 5,750 hours, and Unlimited 9,000 hours, each exam delivered through PSI Services for a $125 exam fee.
Training can offset part of the experience clock in some states. Arizona credits accredited training toward part of its four year requirement as long as two of those years fall within the last ten, and Georgia credits a two year academic diploma in a related field as up to one year of secondary experience at a 50 percent rate. Exams commonly come in two parts, a trade exam on the NEC and electrical theory and a business and law exam on contracts and lien law, and the two parts are not always scheduled with the same vendor.
License Levels and Classes That Recur
A few license levels repeat across states even when the titles differ. An apprentice registers hours toward a future license but cannot work unsupervised, and most boards only count hours earned after that registration is filed, which is why registering late is a common way applicants lose months of otherwise legitimate experience. A journeyman has passed a trade exam and can perform electrical work, usually under a contractor's permit, but in most states cannot hold the contractor license alone. A master electrician has cleared a second, harder exam and the added years of experience most states require before that person can qualify a company.
The contractor license itself often comes in more than one tier. Florida splits electrical contractors into Certified, which can contract anywhere in the state once an applicant proves statewide competency, and Registered, limited to the single city or county where the holder met local requirements. Georgia's Class I tops out at single phase residential work and 200 amp three phase service, with Class II left unrestricted.
Texas separates its journeyman track, roughly 8,000 hours, from its master track, 12,000 more hours plus two years already holding the journeyman card, and only a master electrician can qualify an electrical contractor license. Michigan runs the same two step path: a journeyman first, then 12,000 hours over at least six years and a 75 percent exam score for the master credential that anchors a contracting business.
A search for an electrical contractor license sometimes really means the individual journeyman or master card, and the two are not interchangeable. The individual license shows a person can safely perform the work; the contractor license, held by the company and tied to that person as qualifier, is what lets the business sign the contract and pull the permit.
The table below lines up six states side by side so the pattern is easier to see. It is a sample, not a full comparison, since every figure can change and every state's own page carries the current detail.
| State | Qualifier term | Experience example |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | Qualifying Agent | Several pathways, 3 to 6 years |
| California | RME or RMO | 4 years within the last 10 |
| Texas | Master Electrician | 12,000 hours, 2 years as journeyman |
| Nevada | Qualified Individual | 4 years within the last 15 |
| Georgia | Qualifying agent (Class I or II) | 4 years, up to 1 year by education |
| Washington | Administrator or Master | Set by L&I electrician certification |
Notes
- Florida's experience pathways run from 3 years as a licensed professional engineer to 6 years of comprehensive training or broad experience, with several options in between; see the Path table above.
- Texas requires the master electrician qualifier to already hold 2 years of active journeyman status on top of the 12,000 supervised hours.
- Georgia credits up to 1 year of its 4 year requirement through a 2 year academic diploma in a related field, at a 50 percent rate.
Reciprocity and the NASCLA Electrical Exam
Unlike some trades, electrical contracting has a working national exam program. The National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies runs the NASCLA Accredited Electrical Examination Program, three separate open book trade exams: one for master or unlimited electrical contractors, one for journeyman electricians, and one for residential electrical contractors. Once a candidate passes the exam through one administering state agency, that passing score carries to every other state agency that participates in the program, with no second trade exam required.
As of today, the agencies that accept the NASCLA electrical exam in place of their own trade exam include Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, plus Vanderburgh County in Indiana. Arizona lists the NASCLA exam as an alternative to its own C-11 Electrical trade exam, and separately waives that same trade exam outright for anyone who was already a qualifying party in the same or a comparable classification, in Arizona or another state, within the preceding five years; Arizona's own Statutes and Rules exam carries no such waiver.
Accepting a shared trade exam is not the same as full reciprocity. A board that participates in the NASCLA program still runs its own application, its own business and law exam where it requires one, and its own experience review. A qualifier moving between participating states skips repeating the trade exam, not the paperwork. States outside the NASCLA list, including California, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, and Washington, run their own trade exam with no NASCLA substitute, so a qualifier working across both groups of states should expect to sit for more than one trade exam over a multi state career.
The three NASCLA exams are not interchangeable with each other either. A qualifier who passes the residential electrical contractor exam is credentialed to run a business doing residential scope work in a participating state, not automatically the unlimited commercial scope that the master or unlimited exam covers, so the exam a candidate sits for should match the scope the company actually plans to bid, not just the cheapest or fastest option on the registration form.
The National Electrical Code: The Code Every State Builds On
Every state's trade exam and inspection rules trace back to the same source document, the National Electrical Code, revised on a three year cycle. States do not all adopt the newest edition at the same time, so the edition a trade exam tests, and the edition a local inspector enforces, can lag the current cycle by several years.
| State example | NEC edition in force |
|---|---|
| Idaho | 2023 NEC |
| Nebraska | 2023 NEC |
| South Dakota | 2023 NEC |
| West Virginia | 2023 NEC, effective January 1, 2026 |
| Arkansas | 2020 NEC, enforced statewide since August 1, 2022 |
| Alabama | 2023 NEC in current exams; 2026 NEC from January 1, 2027 |
Notes
- A state moving to a new edition usually gives boards and exam vendors a lead time of months before the new edition shows up on the trade exam, which is why Alabama's board already has a 2026 NEC date on the calendar even though today's exam still tests the 2023 edition.
- A company working across state lines should confirm the adopted edition with each state board directly rather than assuming the newest NEC applies everywhere; some cities and counties also amend the code locally on top of whatever the state adopts.
What an Electrical License Costs and How Long It Takes
Application and exam fees are set state by state and do not move together. Florida's Rule 61G6-8.001 sets a $196 application fee for certification by examination, a $67.25 fee paid to the department for the trade exam, and a separate test administration fee paid to the testing vendor directly; issuance, renewal, or reinstatement of the certificate runs $291. North Carolina charges $125 for its PSI administered exam on top of its application fee. None of these figures include a bond premium, fingerprinting, or a background check, which the state collects on its own schedule.
Timeline runs on two tracks that rarely move together. The experience clock is the long one, running for years, sometimes six or more for a master credential, before an application is even filed. A qualifier who already has the hours can usually clear the exam and paperwork stage in weeks. Florida's passing exam scores stay valid for three years, which gives an applicant room to finish the rest of the paperwork without rushing back to retest.
Renewal resets on its own calendar in most states. Florida's certified and registered electrical contractors renew every two years, and many boards tie continuing education to that same cycle. Missing a renewal deadline, rather than the original application, is the most common reason a company ends up relicensing a qualifier from scratch.
Most boards also require a background check or fingerprinting as part of the application, billed separately from the application and exam fees above and typically paid directly to the state's chosen vendor rather than to the licensing board itself. Budgeting for this step alongside the bond and insurance, rather than treating it as an afterthought once the exam is passed, avoids a last minute delay right before the board's final review.
Insurance usually costs more than the application itself, and the minimums are not uniform. Florida's Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board FAQ lists $300,000 of per occurrence coverage, $500,000 of property damage coverage, and $100,000 per person or $800,000 combined single limit, on top of workers' compensation where the company has employees. A state that skips a fixed bond figure, as Georgia's own rule does for its electrical contractor license, still expects the company to carry commercially reasonable coverage even though no dollar minimum appears in the licensing rule itself; a company should confirm the current figure with the board rather than relying on a bond seller's estimate, since those sites are not the state and are not always current.
States Without a Statewide Electrical Contractor License
Several states leave electrical licensing to cities and counties instead of running one board, and a company that only checks the state level can miss a local requirement entirely.
Illinois has no statewide electrician license. Chicago requires a licensed Supervising Electrician to own or work for every Electrical Contractor license holder, under Municipal Code Chapter 4-290, and the contractor license goes inactive automatically if no supervising electrician is attached to it. Cook County suburbs and other Illinois cities run their own separate programs with no reciprocity between them.
Indiana licenses electricians locally in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, and other cities, each with its own exam, bond, and insurance minimums, and Indiana's state Professional Licensing Agency licenses plumbers statewide but not electricians, a split that catches contractors moving in from other trades.
New York has no statewide electrician license either. New York City's Department of Buildings issues Master and Special Electrician licenses, with applications now filed through DOB NOW: Licensing as of February 23, 2026, and licensed electricians there must carry at least $1,000,000 in general liability coverage plus workers' compensation and disability benefits coverage. Counties and other municipalities outside NYC license locally, with no statewide reciprocity.
Pennsylvania has no statewide contractor license of any kind; the Department of Labor and Industry confirms the state sets no licensure requirement for most construction contractors. Electricians there are licensed city by city, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh among them, each running its own exam with no reciprocity between cities. Residential work of $5,000 or more a year still needs Home Improvement Contractor registration with the Office of Attorney General on top of whatever the city requires.
Missouri runs an optional statewide Electrical Contractor license under Sections 324.900 to 324.945 RSMo, while individual journeyman and master licensing stays local under home rule. A company doing electrical contracting needs a statewide licensed electrical contractor in its employ at a supervisory level, and that person may represent only one firm at a time, but the statewide license changes nothing about local permitting, since the state issues no permits and performs no inspections itself.
Kansas has no statewide electrician license at all. Journeyman and master certificates come from local programs such as Wichita and Sedgwick County's building department or Johnson County, each running its own ICC based exam, and a contracting business registers locally and names a master electrician as its qualified individual under whichever jurisdiction's own term applies.
The pattern across all six is the same even though the names differ: the state either declines to license the trade at all, or it adds an optional statewide layer on top of a local one rather than replacing it. A company expanding into any of these states should start with the city or county where the actual jobsite sits, not with a state board search that may turn up nothing.
When the Company Needs a Qualifier
In nearly every licensing state, the company's right to contract for electrical work rests on at least one licensed person who actually supervises the work. Florida is typical: under Florida Statute 489.119, a business organization applies through a certified or registered qualifying agent who must hold final approval authority over the construction work performed and over the business's contracts, specifications, checks, and payments.
The clock starts the moment a qualifier leaves. Florida gives a business 60 days from the date a sole qualifying agent's affiliation ends to designate a replacement, and the business may finish contracts already signed during that window but cannot sign new ones; after 60 days without a replacement, the board can suspend or revoke the license. Colorado's State Electrical Board runs a similar 20 day window before a contractor registration that has lost its responsible master goes inactive. Alaska requires a licensed electrical administrator to notify the department in writing within 15 days of any change in employer or company affiliation, and an administrator can anchor only one contractor at a time.
A qualifying agent qualifies the company as an owner or a full time W-2 employee who actually supervises the work, never a name attached to a license for a business the agent does not work for. Our founders, Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski, built The Licensing Company around that model. Read what a qualifying agent is, or hire a qualifying agent if your company needs one while a future licensee builds the hours toward their own license.
The Licensing Steps in Order
- Pick the state, and the class. Match the restricted or unlimited tier to the scope of work the company actually plans to bid, since a license sized for residential work will not cover a large commercial contract.
- Name the qualifier. Decide who sits for the exams and stays tied to the company's license, and confirm that person can genuinely work full time for the business, not just attach a license number to work they are not performing.
- Document the experience. Most boards want signed statements, certificates, or employer affidavits; some, like Georgia, ask for named references from a currently licensed contractor, and a missing signature is one of the most common reasons an application is returned.
- Check whether NASCLA helps. If the state participates in the NASCLA program, decide whether the qualifier should sit the shared exam instead of a state specific one, and confirm which of the three NASCLA exams actually matches the scope of work planned.
- Apply in the order the board sets. Some boards issue exam eligibility only after the full application is filed; others let a candidate test first and apply once they pass, and applying in the wrong order can add weeks to the timeline.
- Pass the exams. Plan for the NEC based trade exam and, in most states, a business and law exam covering contracts and lien law.
- File the money proof. Insurance, and a bond or financial review where the state asks for one, with the certificate of insurance naming the board exactly the way its rule requires.
- Keep the license alive. Renew on time, track continuing education where the state requires it, and replace a departing qualifier inside the state's window rather than after it closes.
Want the Application Done for You?
Every board above runs its own eligibility check, document checklist, state form, and submission process, and a single missing piece can bounce an application back to the end of the line. The Licensing Company's License Application Processing prepares and submits the state electrical contractor license application: an eligibility audit before anything is filed, a document checklist where we chase the pieces with you, every state form prepared and reviewed line by line, submission the way the board requires, and the board's paperwork questions answered and resubmitted until the board decides.
It is a flat $999 per state application, paid up front. State fees, exam fees, background checks, and fingerprinting are paid to the state, not to us. Call 615-219-2110 or start with License Application Processing; we do not promise approval, a timeline, or sit the exam for anyone.
Electrical Contractor License Requirements in Every State
Every board sets its own experience, exam, fee, and bond rules, and the figures above are sourced examples, not numbers that hold everywhere. Find your state below for its electrical contractor license page, with current figures and a link to the board.
- Alabama electrician license
- Alaska electrician license
- Arizona electrician license
- Arkansas electrician license
- California electrician license
- Colorado electrician license
- Connecticut electrician license
- Delaware electrician license
- Florida electrician license
- Georgia electrician license
- Hawaii electrician license
- Idaho electrician license
- Illinois electrician license
- Indiana electrician license
- Iowa electrician license
- Kansas electrician license
- Kentucky electrician license
- Louisiana electrician license
- Maine electrician license
- Maryland electrician license
- Massachusetts electrician license
- Michigan electrician license
- Minnesota electrician license
- Mississippi electrician license
- Missouri electrician license
- Montana electrician license
- Nebraska electrician license
- Nevada electrician license
- New Hampshire electrician license
- New Jersey electrician license
- New Mexico electrician license
- New York electrician license
- North Carolina electrician license
- North Dakota electrician license
- Ohio electrician license
- Oklahoma electrician license
- Oregon electrician license
- Pennsylvania electrician license
- Rhode Island electrician license
- South Carolina electrician license
- South Dakota electrician license
- Tennessee electrician license
- Texas electrician license
- Utah electrician license
- Vermont electrician license
- Virginia electrician license
- Washington electrician license
- West Virginia electrician license
- Wisconsin electrician license
- Wyoming electrician license
Operating Without a License
Working as an electrical contractor without the license a state requires is rarely a minor paperwork lapse. Most states treat it as a misdemeanor on a first offense, with fines commonly running from roughly $1,000 to $15,000 or more per violation, and a repeat or aggravated case can escalate to a felony in several states. Using another contractor's license on a job carries its own separate penalty track and can cost both companies involved their licenses, which is exactly why a genuine full time qualifying agent, someone actually employed by and supervising the company's work, is the lawful alternative rather than a name attached to a license for a business the agent does not actually work for.
A lapsed license carries real consequences too, even for a company that was properly licensed at some point. Continuing education and renewal deadlines reset on each state's own calendar, and a company that keeps contracting on an expired license is, in the board's eyes, in the same position as one that never applied at all.
Mistakes That Stall an Electrical License
- Assuming one state's class names match another's. A Class I in Georgia is not the same scope as a Limited license in North Carolina.
- Skipping the local layer where there is no statewide license. Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and large parts of New York and Pennsylvania decide locally instead.
- Letting the qualifier gap run past the deadline. 60 days goes fast in Florida, and 20 days goes faster in Colorado, once a qualifier leaves.
- Assuming NASCLA means full reciprocity. It carries the trade exam between participating states, not the application, the business and law exam, or the experience review.
- Testing on the wrong NEC edition. Confirm the edition a state's exam currently covers before you sit for it, since several states have an upgrade already scheduled.
Frequently Asked Questions
What states require an electrical contractor license? Most do. Every state in the list above runs some form of statewide electrical contractor, journeyman, or master electrician licensing except Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New York, and Pennsylvania, where cities and counties license locally instead. Use the state list above for the current rule where you do business.
What states do not require a statewide electrical contractor license? Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New York, and Pennsylvania leave electrical licensing to cities and counties. Missouri's statewide license is optional, running alongside local home rule licensing rather than replacing it.
How long does it take to get an electrical contractor license? Experience is the long part, commonly 4 years for a journeyman track and several years more for a master or unlimited credential, with Texas and Michigan both requiring 12,000 hours for their master electrician license. See how long it takes to get a contractor license for the full timeline.
Does the NASCLA exam work for an electrical contractor license? In the roughly 19 participating state agencies, yes, a passing NASCLA Accredited Electrical Examination score replaces that state's own trade exam. It does not replace the application, the business and law exam where the state runs one, or the experience review, and states such as California, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, and Washington do not participate at all.
Can my company get an electrical contractor license if I am not licensed myself? Yes, in most states, through a qualifier. Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas all license the business through a qualifying person who meets the experience and exam rules and actually supervises the work, while the owner focuses on running the company.
Do I need a bond for an electrical contractor license? It depends on the state. California requires a $25,000 contractor license bond that covers its C-10 electrical classification, Washington requires a $4,000 electrical and telecommunications contractor bond under RCW 19.28.041, and Nevada sets its bond anywhere from $1,000 to $500,000 based on the license's monetary limit, while other boards rely on insurance and a financial review instead of a fixed bond figure.
What is the difference between a journeyman and a master electrician license? A journeyman has passed a trade exam and can perform electrical work, typically under a licensed contractor's permit. A master electrician has cleared a second exam and more years of experience, and in most states only a master electrician can qualify a company for its contractor license.
What edition of the National Electrical Code do states use? It varies. Several states, including Idaho, Nebraska, South Dakota, and soon West Virginia, test and enforce the 2023 NEC, while others, like Arkansas, still enforce the 2020 edition, and a few already have a 2026 edition date scheduled. Confirm the edition with the state board directly rather than assuming the newest cycle applies.
What happens if my qualifying agent leaves the company? The clock starts immediately. Florida allows 60 days to name a replacement before the board can act against the license, Colorado allows 20 days before the registration goes inactive, and Alaska requires written notice within 15 days of the change. A qualifying agent placed as a genuine full time employee, rather than a name attached to the license alone, is the model that keeps a replacement search from becoming an emergency.
What is the difference between Florida's Certified and Registered electrical contractor license? A Certified Electrical Contractor has met Florida's statewide competency standard and can contract anywhere in the state. A Registered Electrical Contractor has only met the requirements of the single city or county where the license was issued and may contract there alone, which is why a company planning to work across more than one Florida county usually wants the certified route.
Does operating without a license cost more than just a fine? Yes. Beyond the misdemeanor or felony exposure, an unlicensed contract is often unenforceable in court, which means an unlicensed company can end up unable to collect payment for completed work through the usual legal channels, on top of whatever fine the state assesses.
Is a license from one state good in another? Only where a specific reciprocity agreement or a shared exam program, such as the NASCLA electrical exam, says so, and even then usually only for the trade exam portion. Absent that, a qualifier moving to a new state should expect to meet that state's own experience, application, and exam requirements from the start.
Talk With Our Team About Your Electrical License
If your company needs an electrical contractor license in a new state, or a qualifier just gave notice, call 615-219-2110 or start on the hire a qualifying agent page. Our team, led by founders Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski, will walk you through the board's steps, the qualifier it requires, and License Application Processing if you want the paperwork handled for you.
Whether the fastest path is studying for the exam yourself, placing a qualifying agent while you build your own hours, or simply getting a messy application in front of the right board the first time, the state by state links above are the place to start checking the current rule where your company actually works.
Sources
All retrieved and verified 2026-10-08.
- Florida Statute 489.119, qualifying agents (Florida Senate)
- Florida Statutes Chapter 489, Part II, Electrical and Alarm System Contractors (Florida Senate)
- Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G6-8.001, Fees (state-rules.com mirror of the Florida Administrative Code)
- DBPR Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, Frequently Asked Questions
- DBPR Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, program page
- CSLB bond requirements, including SB 607 and the Bond of Qualifying Individual
- Nevada State Contractors Board, license requirements
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, electricians program
- Georgia Rule 121-3-.01, Statewide Electrical Contractor License (Georgia Secretary of State)
- Georgia Board of Electrical Contractors, Frequently Asked Questions (Georgia Secretary of State)
- North Carolina General Statute 87-42, examinations (North Carolina General Assembly)
- Arizona Registrar of Contractors, applying for a license
- Washington RCW 19.28.041, electrical/telecommunications contractor bond
- Illinois Municipal Code of Chicago, Chapter 4-290, Electrical Contractors
- Chicago Supervising Electrician License
- NYC Department of Buildings, Master and Special Electrician License
- NYC Department of Buildings, DOB NOW: Licensing
- Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, contractor licensing
- Pennsylvania Attorney General, home improvement contractor registration FAQ
- Missouri Electrical Contractors Law, Sections 324.900 to 324.945 RSMo (Missouri Revisor of Statutes)
- NASCLA, Electrical Exams, Participating State Agencies
- Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations, Electrical Board
- Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Change of Employer/Affiliation form guidance
Disclaimer: This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, licensing guidance, or an offer of services. Licensing requirements vary by jurisdiction. For specific compliance questions, contact The Licensing Company for a confidential consultation.