How to Get an Electrician License in New Jersey (2026 Guide)

New Jersey licenses electricians at the state level, through the New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, not city by city the way Pennsylvania or New York do. Getting licensed means moving through as many as four state license tiers, Class A electrical apprentice, Class B wireman, Class A journeyman electrician, and licensed electrical contractor, depending on how far you want to go.

New Jersey also draws a hard line most tradespeople miss: the credential that lets you do the work and the credential that lets you run the business are two different things. This guide walks the full ladder and explains the business permit every electrical contracting company in New Jersey must hold, and who is legally allowed to stand behind it. For the rules in every other state, see how to get a contractor license in each state; for New Jersey's general contractor rules, see our New Jersey Contractor Licensing Guide.

At a glance

• New Jersey licenses electricians through one statewide Board, with no separate city or county electrician licenses.
• Four license tiers: Class A electrical apprentice, Class B wireman, Class A journeyman electrician, and electrical contractor (N.J.A.C. 13:31, Subchapters 2 and 5 to 7).
• A 2021 law renamed the old "qualified journeyman" registration a Class A journeyman electrician license; the Board converted existing registrants effective January 31, 2023.
• Electrical contractor applicants now need a single path: a completed four-year U.S. DOL-accredited apprenticeship plus one year as a journeyman (N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.3).
• Three PSI exams, taken the same day for first-time applicants: Electrical Contracting, Business and Law, and Alarm Systems (official PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, read 2026-10-11).

New Jersey's four electrician license tiers

The Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, part of the Division of Consumer Affairs, licenses every tier directly. There is no city-by-city electrician license anywhere in the state. The Board's job is to make sure everyone doing electrical work meets the same experience and education standards, holds the right license for the work they do, and, for anyone running a company, holds a valid business permit behind it.

Notes on the table:

• Renewal fees shown are the flat triennial renewal rate from N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6 (amended effective 6/2/2025); initial license fees are prorated by which year of the three-year cycle you apply in ($150/$100/$50 for apprentice and journeyman, $75/$50/$25 for wireman, $225/$150/$75 for contractor).
• A Class B wireman may never supervise other employees; that is reserved for the contractor and the Class A journeyman electrician.
• Only the electrical contractor license lets you qualify a business permit, the credential a company needs to legally operate.

Step 1: Class A electrical apprentice license

Almost every licensed electrician in New Jersey begins here. Under N.J.A.C. 13:31-7.1, anyone enrolled and in good standing in a four-year electrical apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, and performing electrical work within the scope of that apprenticeship under the supervision of a licensed electrical contractor or Class A journeyman electrician, must hold a Class A electrical apprentice license.

Applying means submitting a Board application, the application fee, and proof of enrollment and good standing in the accredited program. Get licensed before you start accumulating hours. Work performed before you're enrolled does not count toward the journeyman hour requirement later.

Step 2: Class B wireman license

This tier did not exist under New Jersey's old three-rung system, and it is easy to miss if you're reading an older guide. Under N.J.A.C. 13:31-6.1, anyone employed to do electrical work who is not already a licensed electrical contractor, a Class A journeyman electrician, or a Class A electrical apprentice must hold a Class B wireman license.

A Class B wireman:

1. Must be employed by a business that holds a valid electrical contractor business permit.
2. Performs electrical work that matches their training and experience, under the supervision of a licensed electrical contractor or Class A journeyman electrician.
3. May never supervise other employees.
4. Must attest, at each triennial renewal, to a 15-hour continuing education course on the most recent National Electrical Code edition, including one hour on applicable New Jersey statutes and rules, from a Board-approved sponsor.

The Class B wireman license exists for workers doing electrical work who aren't on the apprentice-to-journeyman track, or who choose to stay at this level rather than pursue the full journeyman hour count.

Step 3: Class A journeyman electrician license

New Jersey used to call this credential a "registered qualified journeyman electrician." A 2021 law, P.L. 2021, c.479 (N.J.S.A. 45:5A-11.1 et seq.), renamed it a Class A journeyman electrician license and moved it from registration to full licensure. If you see "registered qualified journeyman" on an older form or a competitor's guide, that is the same credential under its prior name; the Board converted existing registrants to the new license effective January 31, 2023.

To hold a Class A journeyman electrician license under N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1, you must document:

• 8,000 hours of practical, hands-on experience installing, altering, or repairing wiring for electrical light, heat, and power, in compliance with the National Electrical Code, and
• At least 576 classroom hours of related instruction.

Two conditions matter. First, 4,000 of those hours must fall within the five years immediately before you apply, the Board wants recent, current-code experience. Second, the hours must be genuine tool time. Time spent supervising, engineering, estimating, or on managerial tasks does not count toward the requirement.

A Class A journeyman electrician license can also be issued to someone who already holds a current, active electrical contractor license, since the contractor credential covers the same ground. A journeyman electrician can perform electrical work and can supervise a Class B wireman or Class A apprentice, but the journeyman license alone does not let you open and qualify your own electrical contracting business. That takes the next step.

A quick note on terminology: New Jersey's licensing statute uses the word "journeyman" in two places, and they are not quite the same thing. The one-year post-apprenticeship work period required for the electrical contractor exam under N.J.S.A. 45:5A-9 is distinct from the Class A journeyman electrician license defined at N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1. You can hold the license without yet qualifying for the contractor exam, or complete the one required year as a journeyman without ever registering for the standalone license. If you're reading the law directly, watch which one applies.

Step 4: Qualify for the electrical contractor license

The licensed electrical contractor credential carries the real business weight in New Jersey. To sit for the licensing examination you must be at least 21 and hold a high school diploma or equivalent (N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.1).

As of this run, the experience path has narrowed to one route under N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.3:

1. Complete a four-year electrical apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, while actively engaged in it, documented with a DOL Certificate of Completion, then
2. Obtain at least one year (2,000 hours) of practical, hands-on experience as a journeyman electrician, completed after finishing the apprenticeship, with your five years of combined experience falling immediately before you apply.

Older guides, and the Board's own alert about the 2018 amendment to N.J.S.A. 45:5A-9, describe a transition window that let an applicant substitute a year of prior field employment for a year of the apprenticeship. That credit applied only to work performed between December 17, 2018 and December 17, 2022, and the window has closed. If you're planning your path from scratch today, the DOL-approved four-year apprenticeship followed by one journeyman year is the route the Board is built around.

The New Jersey electrical contractor exam

New Jersey's licensing examination is administered by PSI under contract with the Board, and covers three separate tests. If you're approved to test on or after March 16, 2015 (which covers every current applicant), the rules are:

1. First attempt, all three exams, same day. You must take your first attempt within two years of your eligibility date.
2. Retakes are per exam. If you fail one or more sections, you only retake the failed exam, not all three, and you must wait six months between attempts.
3. Three attempts, five years. You must pass all three required exams within three attempts, and within five years of your eligibility date, or you must reapply with the Board.

The three exams, per the official PSI Candidate Information Bulletin (updated 3/5/2026):

• Electrical Contracting: 100 questions, 255 minutes, 70% required to pass (70 correct), fee $84. This exam is open book; PSI provides the 2023 edition of NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code, at the test center.
• Business and Law: 50 questions, 130 minutes, 70% required to pass (35 correct), fee $47. Candidates bring their own copy of the NASCLA Contractor's Guide to Business, Law and Project Management for New Jersey.
• Alarm Systems Electrical Contractor: 50 questions, 165 minutes, 70% required to pass (35 correct), fee $49.

Combined, the three exam fees total $180. Exam formats and fees are set by the testing vendor and the Board and do change, verify the current details with PSI and the Board before you register. (This guide covers the licensing process, not exam preparation.)

The application fee for the electrical contractor license is $100. The initial license fee is prorated by the year of the triennial cycle you apply in, $225 in the first year, $150 in the second, $75 in the third, and the triennial renewal is $225. A licensed electrical contractor is also generally required to carry a surety bond (commonly reported at $1,000) and general liability insurance; bond and insurance minimums are set by the Board and should be verified before applying. Continuing education is required each renewal cycle, commonly reported at 34 hours including Code and New Jersey law content, confirm the current breakdown with the Board.

Step 5: The business permit, where the qualifier lives

Here is the part almost every "how to get licensed" article skips, and the part that matters most if you want to own an electrical company in New Jersey.

Passing the exam and getting your electrical contractor license makes you a licensed electrical contractor. But a business that performs electrical contracting in New Jersey must hold a valid business permit, and that permit has to be qualified by a licensed electrical contractor. The business permit renews every three years, with an initial fee prorated by cycle year ($150, $100, or $50) and a $150 triennial renewal (N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6).

In plain terms: a company cannot legally bid, contract for, or perform electrical work in New Jersey unless a licensed electrical contractor stands behind its business permit. That licensed individual is the company's qualifier. If your business doesn't have one, if the licensed person leaves, retires, or you simply never had one, the company cannot operate, no matter how much work is on the schedule.

This is the exact structure that trips up business owners who are strong operators but were never licensed themselves, and general contractors or investors who want to run an electrical division but don't personally hold the credential.

What if you own the business but aren't the licensed contractor?

This is the most common bind in New Jersey electrical contracting: you can run the company, win the work, and manage the crews, but the state requires a licensed electrical contractor to qualify the business permit, and you don't hold that license.

There are only a few legitimate ways through it:

1. Get licensed yourself. The cleanest long-term answer, but it means meeting the full apprenticeship-plus-journeyman-year requirement and passing the exam, years away for most owners starting from scratch.
2. Bring a licensed electrical contractor into the business as a qualifier. New Jersey requires that person to genuinely stand behind the company's work, not simply attach their name to the permit.
3. Do not put someone else's license on your permit without a real role for them. Paying someone for their license number while they have no real involvement in the company is illegal and puts both the license and your company at risk. We cover exactly why this fails in our guide on putting someone else's license on your business permit

The legitimate version of option 2 is to bring a properly licensed electrical contractor on as a W-2 employee who serves as the qualifier of record, a real employee, with a real role, standing behind the business permit the way the Board intends. That is exactly what a qualifying agent is, and it is how many electrical companies in New Jersey and elsewhere keep their business permit valid while the owner works toward licensure or simply runs the company.

How a qualifying agent keeps a New Jersey electrical business legal

A qualifying agent is a licensed professional who QUALIFIES your company, as an owner or as a full-time W-2 employee who genuinely supervises the work, so the business permit has a real licensed electrical contractor standing behind it. Read What Is a Qualifying Agent? for the role in plain English, or go straight to Hire a Qualifying Agent if you need a licensed electrical contractor to qualify your New Jersey business permit; companies that want help finding and vetting that person can also look at our contractor qualifier services.

That distinction is the whole ballgame. A W-2 qualifying agent is genuinely part of your company; a credential with no real role behind it is not, and the Board treats the difference as the line between a compliant business and a disciplinary case. For how the qualifier requirement works in other states, see Electrical Contractor Qualifying Agent: Licensing Requirements by State.

If you are a licensed New Jersey electrical contractor, your license is a genuine asset, companies need exactly what you hold. Become a Qualifying Agent explains how that works as a legitimate W-2 role.

How much does a New Jersey electrician license cost?

The government and vendor fees are the easy part to pin down. The application fee for any of the four license types is $100, with initial license fees prorated by triennial cycle year and triennial renewals of $225 for the electrical contractor, $150 for the Class A journeyman electrician and Class A apprentice, and $75 for the Class B wireman. The three PSI exams for the contractor license total $180. On top of that you'll have your surety bond, general liability insurance, and continuing education. All of these are set by the Board or the testing vendor and are subject to change, verify the current figures before you apply.

The harder question is usually, "What does it cost to get a business operating legally if I'm not the licensed contractor?" That depends entirely on your situation, whether you're pursuing your own license, bringing on a qualifier, how many jurisdictions you work in, and the risk profile of your work. There's no flat number that fits most companies, which is why that conversation happens one on one rather than on a pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Does New Jersey have a statewide electrician license? Yes. Unlike Pennsylvania or New York, New Jersey licenses every tier, apprentice, wireman, journeyman, and contractor, at the state level through the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors. Local jurisdictions do not issue their own electrician licenses.

What happened to the "registered qualified journeyman" license? It was renamed. A 2021 law converted the qualified-journeyman registration into the Class A journeyman electrician license, and the Board moved existing registrants over effective January 31, 2023. The hour requirements, 8,000 hours of tool time plus 576 classroom hours, did not change.

How do I get an apprentice electrician license in New Jersey? Enroll in a four-year electrical apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, then apply to the Board for a Class A electrical apprentice license before you start counting hours toward your journeyman license. You'll work under the supervision of a licensed electrical contractor or Class A journeyman electrician for the life of the apprenticeship.

What's the difference between a Class B wireman and a Class A journeyman electrician? A Class B wireman works under supervision and can never supervise others. A Class A journeyman electrician has met the full 8,000-hour, 576-classroom-hour requirement, can perform electrical work independently, and can supervise a wireman or apprentice. Neither credential lets you qualify a business's electrical contracting permit, only a licensed electrical contractor can do that.

Does New Jersey have a separate low-voltage license? No. Low-voltage and communications wiring is part of the electrical contractor license's trade exam content, and work on fire and intrusion alarm systems requires the same license's Alarm Systems Electrical Contractor exam. There is no standalone low-voltage license issued apart from the electrical contractor license.

Can I run an electrical company in New Jersey without being licensed myself? Only if a licensed electrical contractor qualifies your business permit. Many owners who aren't personally licensed do this by employing a qualifying agent as a full-time W-2 employee who stands behind the permit.

How long does it take to become a licensed electrical contractor in New Jersey? Plan on the length of a four-year DOL-approved apprenticeship plus one additional year as a journeyman before you're even eligible for the contractor exam, five years at minimum, before you add exam scheduling and processing time.

Sources

• New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, Division of Consumer Affairs (retrieved 2026-10-11; the page did not render full text through our fetch tool, cited for the Board's role and contact information)
• N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6, Fee Schedule, Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute mirror, amended effective 6/2/2025 (retrieved 2026-10-11; njconsumeraffairs.gov and regulations.justia.com would not load for direct citation)
• N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.1, Qualifications of Applicants (retrieved 2026-10-11)
• N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.3, Experience Requirements (retrieved 2026-10-11)
• N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.4, Electrical Contractor License Renewal (retrieved 2026-10-11)
• N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1, Initial Class A Journeyman Electrician License (retrieved 2026-10-11)
• N.J.A.C. 13:31-6.1, Initial Class B Wireman License (retrieved 2026-10-11)
• P.L. 2021, c.479 (Assembly Bill 6108, Second Reprint), New Jersey Legislature, approved January 18, 2022 (retrieved 2026-10-11)
• PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, New Jersey Electrical Contractor Licensure Examination, PSI Services LLC, updated 3/5/2026 (retrieved 2026-10-11)

Ready to put a licensed electrical contractor behind your New Jersey business permit?

Whether you're building your own path to a New Jersey electrical contractor license or you need a qualifying agent to stand behind your business permit today, call 615-219-2110 or start with Hire a Qualifying Agent.

New Jersey's requirements are set by the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors and PSI, and fees, exam formats, and continuing-education rules change, always verify the current details with the Board and the testing vendor before applying. This guide explains the licensing process, not exam preparation, and is not legal advice.

Keep reading:

• Journeyman vs Master Electrician: Key Differences Explained
• How to Get an Electrical Contractor License: State-by-State Guide
• How to Get an Electrician License in New York and Pennsylvania
• New Jersey Overhauls Contractor Licensing in 2026: What the New Law Means
• New Jersey Contractor Licensing Guide and browse all state guides

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