How to Get an Electrician License in North Dakota (2026)

You get an electrician license in North Dakota through the North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB): register as an apprentice, log at least 8,000 hours of supervised experience over at least three years, pass the journeyman exam at the board's confirmed 70 percent passing grade, then add a year and 2,000 more qualifying hours to reach master. This guide walks that path step by step, including the fees, the exams, the business paperwork, and the one rule that decides whether you can actually sign an electrical contract once you get there.

At a glance

• Who issues it: The North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) in Bismarck registers apprentices, licenses journeymen and masters, and inspects the work.
• Journeyman: 8,000 hours of experience, which may not be obtained in less than three years.
• Exam: The passing grade is 70 percent.
• Fees: A new journeyman license runs a $25 application fee plus a $25 license fee; a new master runs $50 plus $50.
• Contracting: Only a master electrician or power limited electrician can enter into an electrical contract, not a journeyman and not a company on its own.

New to licensing in North Dakota generally? Start with the North Dakota contractor license requirements. This page covers only the electrician license. It is not exam preparation and does not cover study materials.

Does North Dakota license electricians at the state level?

Yes, and it is a genuine statewide system. The NDSEB licenses apprentices, journeymen, and masters across North Dakota, and the same board handles electrical inspections. That puts North Dakota in the same category as Minnesota, Montana, and Idaho, and in a very different category from states like Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York, where there is no state electrician license and every city writes its own rules. Our state vs. local contractor license guide breaks down the three patterns, and our contractor license guide covers how an individual license connects to a business license across trades.

North Dakota does not apply this statewide model consistently across every trade, which matters if you run more than one trade out of the same shop. Electrical is statewide. Plumbing is statewide too, but run by a different board with four separate licensing ladders. HVAC has no state license at all; mechanical licensing in North Dakota is municipal, city by city. A multi-trade shop here is dealing with three different regulatory shapes at once.

Who needs an electrician license in North Dakota?

Anyone performing electrical wiring, apparatus, or equipment installation for compensation in North Dakota needs to be registered or licensed at the level that matches the work: apprentice while learning under supervision, Class B for a narrow residential lane, journeyman for the full scope of wiring work, or master to sign the contract. North Dakota does carve out a narrow exemption at NDCC § 43-09-16: certain public utility employees working on utility distribution systems, and property owners who notify the board before self-wiring their own property, do not need a license for that specific work. That exemption is narrow and does not extend to rental property, work for someone else, or commercial jobs. If you are building a business around electrical work, you are on the licensing ladder below.

The North Dakota licensing ladder

Notes: Class B scope is one or two family dwellings only, and the license is held in contracting status only.

Source: NDSEB, Qualifications for Licensure (retrieved October 5, 2026).

There is also a Power Limited electrician license, a separate low-voltage ladder requiring 6,000 hours of apprentice experience under a licensed power limited electrician before you are eligible to sit for that exam. Power limited electricians can sign contracts within their scope the same way a master can within wiring generally.

Step 1: Register as an apprentice

Before your hours count toward anything, you register as an apprentice electrician with the NDSEB, within six months of starting the job, and work under the supervision of a contracting master or a master of record. A licensed electrician may supervise no more than three apprentices at a time, and supervision has to be direct: the supervising electrician working with you at the worksite, not checking in by phone.

Two things trip people up here:

• Your hours only count if you were registered while you earned them. Working unregistered for two years does not retroactively become credit; the board is explicit that unregistered or unrenewed time is lost.
• Your hours only count if they were earned under the supervision of a contracting master or master of record, not just any licensed electrician.

Step 2: Journeyman electrician

The journeyman requirement is 8,000 hours of experience, which may not be obtained in less than three years. That floor matters: you cannot compress 8,000 hours into two years of heavy overtime and test early. The board wants the calendar time as well as the hours.

That path, called Related Training, is only one of three the board recognizes, and it is the only one of the three that uses the 8,000-hour figure above on its own. Related Training pairs 576 hours of board-recognized classroom training with the 8,000 practical hours. The Professional Electrician Apprenticeship Program (PEAP) runs differently: 8,000 hours of on-the-job experience before you enter the program, 372 hours of PEAP classroom instruction, and 4,000 more hours of on-the-job training over two years alongside that instruction. A board-approved two-year electrical college degree substitutes for both the classroom hours and part of the practical hours: pair the degree with 6,000 hours of practical experience, still not obtainable in less than three years. Unless noted otherwise, the hour breakdown below describes the Related Training path, the one most applicants without a PEAP or a college degree use.

North Dakota is unusually specific about what those hours can consist of:

• Practical experience (wiring, apparatus, and equipment installation): minimum 4,000, maximum 8,000 hours of credit.
• Up to 3,000 hours of apprentice experience may apply under the qualifications of a Class B electrician.
• 2,000 hours of credit for a graduate of a two year or longer board accepted electrical school.
• A maximum of 1,000 hours for repairing electrical wiring, apparatus, equipment, and light, heat, and power.
• A maximum of 1,000 hours for wiring fire alarm technology circuits or systems.
• A maximum of 2,000 hours for wiring process control circuits or power limited systems.
• A maximum of 2,000 hours of armed forces electrical construction experience, where the board finds it equivalent to work under a North Dakota licensed contractor.

If you are coming out of the military or a low voltage background, read that list carefully before you apply; it sets exactly how much of your history the board will count.

You must gain approval from the NDSEB before you can sit for an exam. The board confirms the passing score directly: the passing grade is 70 percent.

Step 3: Class B electrician (the rural residential track)

North Dakota also offers a Class B license, a legitimate shortcut for a specific kind of work. A Class B electrician must complete 18 months and 3,000 hours of experience in farmstead or residential wiring in one family or two family dwellings, under the supervision of a master or Class B electrician. Commercial wiring experience will not be credited toward a Class B license. A graduate of a board approved two year electrical school may receive 1,000 hours of credit.

The trade off is scope. A Class B license can be held in contracting status only, and it only permits farmstead and residential wiring in one or two family dwellings located in a city with a population of 2,500 or fewer. For a rural residential outfit that is a workable license. For anyone who wants commercial work or work in Fargo, Bismarck, or Grand Forks, it is not.

Step 4: Master electrician

To sit for the master exam, you need one year of experience as a licensed journeyman, and at least 2,000 hours of that experience working as a licensed journeyman under the supervision of a contracting master electrician or master of record. Note the double requirement: one calendar year and 2,000 hours under qualifying supervision. Time spent as a licensed journeyman working outside that supervision structure does not close the gap.

Add it up and the fastest path from zero to master runs a minimum of four years: at least three years and 8,000 hours to journeyman, then at least one more year and 2,000 hours to master. That is the honest answer to how long it takes to get a journeyman license and then a master license in North Dakota.

How to apply: the application steps

Once your hours and calendar time are in place, the application runs the same way for each exam level:

1. Gather your experience proof. The NDSEB wants an Experience Affidavit signed by each supervising master electrician, plus payroll records, W-2s, 1099s, or an approved apprenticeship completion certificate covering the qualifying hours.
2. Submit the Examination Application for an Electrician's License to the NDSEB, at the apprentice, Class B, journeyman, or master level, once your hours meet the threshold for that exam.
3. Wait for board approval before scheduling. The NDSEB reviews your hours and documentation before you are cleared to sit for the exam; you cannot register for the exam on your own ahead of that approval.
4. Sit for and pass the exam at the board's confirmed 70 percent passing grade. The exam fee is paid separately to the testing center provider, not to the board.
5. Pay the license fee once you pass, and the NDSEB issues the license.
6. If you are setting up to contract, file the separate business paperwork covered below before you sign your first job.

If you fail, the board has a separate Re-Exam Application for an Electrician's License; there is no limit stated on attempts, but each attempt requires board approval and the testing fee again.

Want the application done for you?

Gathering the right experience proof, filling out the right NDSEB form for the right license level, and following up when the board has a question is where applications stall, especially for someone coming from another state or the military with mixed hours to document. License Application Processing handles that paperwork for you: an eligibility audit before anything is filed, a document checklist so you know what you are still missing, every NDSEB form prepared and reviewed line by line, submission the way the board requires, and the board's follow up 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. We do not promise approval, only the board decides, and we do not take the exam for you. Call 615-219-2110 to get started.

If you are not yet eligible on your own hours, for example you are still a year or two short of the journeyman or master threshold, a qualifying agent can qualify your company while you keep building toward your own license. More on that below.

License fees, exams, and renewal

North Dakota's individual license fees are small compared to insurance and contractor overhead. Missing a renewal is what costs you: an expired license requires a reinstatement fee equal to the annual fee, and a license left unrenewed for three consecutive years or more requires you to sit for the exam again.

The exam fee is not a board fee: under the board's rules it is paid separately to the examination testing center provider, if one is required.

Every license type above requires 8 hours of continuing education per year, at least 4 of which must be on the currently adopted NEC, filed with the board before renewal. Renewals open January 1. This NDSEB clock is separate from the Secretary of State contractor renewal covered below; letting one lapse while renewing the other on time is a common, avoidable mistake.

Source: NDAC 24.1-03-01-01, NDAC 24.1-04-01-01, NDCC 43-09-15, and NDSEB, Electrician's License Renewal & Requirements (retrieved October 5, 2026).

On fees and figures: all amounts above are set by the NDSEB, the Secretary of State, or the testing provider, and they change. Verify every current amount with the North Dakota State Electrical Board before you budget or apply.

Reciprocity: bringing an out-of-state license to North Dakota

If you already hold an active license elsewhere, North Dakota has direct reciprocity agreements for two license types.

Notes: the thirteen journeyman reciprocal states are Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. "Similar state" means the hours were earned under a contracting master in a state with similar licensing and inspection rules.

Every reciprocal applicant must have passed the written exam in the reciprocating state and held that license continuously, current and in good standing, for at least one year; North Dakota then requires no written exam of its own, though applicants from a state without a continuing education requirement must complete an approved 8 hour code course. Form: Reciprocal Application for Electrician's License (SFN 61913). Reciprocity gets you a journeyman or master credential; it does not by itself make you a contracting master or master of record, which still requires choosing one of the three categories below.

Source: NDSEB, Reciprocal License Agreements & Requirements (retrieved October 5, 2026).

What changes when you contract: three master categories

Getting the individual license is only half of it. Under North Dakota rules, a contract, agreement, or undertaking with another person for the installation of electrical wiring may not be entered into by anyone other than a master electrician or power limited electrician. A journeyman cannot sign electrical contracts, and neither can a company on its own authority. The contracting right attaches to a licensed individual.

When you become a master (or Class B, or power limited electrician), you choose one of three statuses:

1. Contracting Master

You are the individual responsible for adhering to all North Dakota wiring standards, and you have shown proof of liability insurance. This is the classic owner operator: your license, your business, your contracts.

2. Master of Record

This is the category that matters most for companies that are not owned by an electrician. A master of record is an individual responsible for adhering to all North Dakota wiring standards for the partnership, company, corporation, limited liability company, or association, and who has shown proof of liability insurance that the master of record is covered by the organization.

That insurance language is doing real work. The master of record is not an outside consultant signing on as a favor; he is covered by the organization, inside the business. North Dakota reinforces this: the master of record is not allowed to work on property other than property owned or leased by the organization. Your master of record works for your company, on your company's projects, not on side work elsewhere.

3. Non-Contracting Master

A non-contracting master holds the master credential but carries the same responsibility as a journeyman, working under a contracting master or master of record. This is the status for someone who earned the license but is not standing behind a business, a maintenance electrician or estimator, for example.

The one-business rule

Whichever status you choose, this rule applies: a master, Class B, or power limited electrician may exercise those privileges for no more than one shop or business. This applies whether the license was earned in North Dakota or brought in through reciprocity. One license. One company. This is the same principle you will find in Minnesota, Montana, and Idaho, and it is the single most important structural fact in contractor licensing: the licensed individual standing behind a business is exclusive to that business.

Setting up as an electrical contractor in North Dakota

If you choose Contracting Master or Master of Record status, the process runs like this:

1. Register with the North Dakota Secretary of State. You need business registration and licensure as a contractor, per NDCC chapter 43-07, a separate step handled by a different office.
2. Submit to the NDSEB: the Application for Electrical Contracting (SFN 61919), the E-Cert Application (SFN 62008), and a Certificate of Liability Insurance with policy limits of at least $500,000. This figure applies to both Contracting Masters and Class B electricians in contracting status; do not confuse it with lower figures quoted elsewhere.
3. Complete contractor orientation: an administrative rule session and a telephonic information session, attended by the contracting or of-record electrician and, where applicable, the owner or the owner's representative who signs the application.
4. Pay the license fee on a new license: $50.00 for Master/Power Limited, or $40.00 for Class B.

That orientation requirement signals how North Dakota thinks about this: the board wants the licensed electrician and the business owner in the same session, treating the master and the company as a unit, not a license and a customer.

The Secretary of State side, and the trap in it

Step 1 above is not a formality, and the contractor statute behind it has two provisions every North Dakota electrical contractor should have on a calendar.

The contractor license can be revoked over your trade license. The Secretary of State's contractor license involves no electrical exam and names no master. But NDCC § 43-07-14(1)(e) makes it a complaint ground to engage in "work without any trade or professional license as required for the work pursuant to local, state, or federal law", and § 43-07-15 lets the registrar suspend or revoke the contractor license, order a civil penalty of up to $1,000 and restitution of up to $5,000, and suspend for as long as sixty months. The state license does not test electrical competence going in; it simply becomes revocable if you work without the NDSEB credential the work requires.

The renewal deadline is a cliff, not a grace period. North Dakota runs on a "contractor year" defined in § 43-07-01(2) as March second through March first. Under § 43-07-10(3), a contractor who misses the March 1 filing is not in good standing and is "deemed to be unlicensed within the meaning of section 43-07-02."

You have until June 1 to cure, by filing the renewal and paying the renewal fee plus a $50 penalty fee; after June 1 the license is expired. The registrar has up to sixty days after March 1 just to mail the notice, so a contractor can sit in that status for weeks without knowing.

Why it matters: § 43-07-02(1) bars an unlicensed person from maintaining "any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in any court of this state" related to their contracting business, on jobs over $4,000. A missed filing deadline can cost you the ability to sue for your own money. Unlicensed contracting is also a class A misdemeanor, with a civil penalty up to three times the applicable license fee, payable before a license will issue.

We take the whole two track structure apart in North Dakota's Two-Track System.

What happens when your master leaves

Here is the scenario that puts North Dakota electrical companies out of business. Your company holds an electrical contracting license because a master of record stands behind it. That master retires, quits, gets recruited by a competitor, or has a health event. The company's authority to contract for electrical work goes with him, because in North Dakota the contracting right belongs to the licensed individual, not to the business entity.

You cannot sign new electrical contracts. Work in progress gets complicated. And because a master may only serve one shop or business, you cannot bring in another company's master to cover you without that person leaving their current company entirely. Even a master brought in through reciprocity from Iowa, Minnesota, or South Dakota is bound by the same one-shop rule the moment the North Dakota license issues.

This is exactly the problem a qualifying agent solves. A qualifying agent is a licensed individual who is employed by your company as a W-2, full-time employee and stands behind your license in the way the state requires. In North Dakota terms, that is your master of record: covered by your organization's insurance, working only on your organization's projects, exclusive to your business. Placing that person correctly, before you need them, is what our Hire a Qualifying Agent service does.

This is not a credential-for-hire arrangement. Paying someone to attach their name to your license while they stay uninvolved is exactly the arrangement North Dakota's structure (insurance by the organization, a property restriction, mandatory joint orientation, and a rule that the master be actively engaged in supervising every project certified under the license) is built to make impossible. See our explanation of why license-for-hire arrangements are illegal, or our guide to getting licensed without the experience yourself.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get an electrician license in North Dakota? Register as an apprentice with the NDSEB, work at least 8,000 hours over at least three years under a contracting master or master of record, gain board approval, and pass the journeyman exam at 70 percent. From there, a year and 2,000 more qualifying hours gets you to master.

How long does it take to get your journeyman license in North Dakota? At minimum three years. The requirement is 8,000 hours that may not be obtained in less than three years, so both hours and calendar time must be satisfied.

How much does it cost to get an electrician license in North Dakota? The state side costs are modest: a new journeyman license runs a $25 application fee plus a $25 license fee, and a new master runs $50 plus $50, with the exam fee paid separately to the testing provider and a $500,000 liability insurance requirement for anyone contracting. Actual total cost depends on insurance premiums, Secretary of State registration, and whether your company already has a licensed master in-house. If you want the state application itself prepared and filed for you, see License Application Processing.

Do I need a Class B or a journeyman license for rural residential work? Class B is narrower and faster: 18 months and 3,000 hours, farmstead and one or two family residential only, in cities of 2,500 population or fewer. If your work will ever include commercial jobs or larger cities, the journeyman to master track is the one that scales.

Can a journeyman electrician own an electrical contracting business in North Dakota? You can own a business, but you cannot enter electrical contracts on a journeyman license; only a master or power limited electrician can. A company owned by a non-electrician needs a master of record.

What is a master of record in North Dakota? An individual who takes responsibility for wiring standards compliance on behalf of a partnership, company, corporation, LLC, or association, covered by that organization's liability insurance, and who may not work on property other than what the organization owns or leases.

Can one master electrician cover two companies in North Dakota? No. A master, Class B, or power limited electrician may exercise those privileges for no more than one shop or business.

Is there reciprocity for North Dakota electrician licenses? Yes, for journeymen and masters only. Master reciprocity is limited to Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota and requires 10,000 qualifying hours. Journeyman reciprocity covers thirteen states and requires 8,000 hours. Every reciprocal applicant must already have passed the written exam in the reciprocating state and held that license, current and in good standing, for at least one year.

When does my North Dakota electrician license expire? Journeyman licenses expire March 31 each year. Master, Power Limited, and Class B licenses expire April 30 each year. Renewals open January 1, and each license type requires 8 hours of continuing education, at least 4 of which must cover the currently adopted NEC, filed before renewal.

What happens if I miss the March 1 contractor license renewal in North Dakota? Under NDCC § 43-07-10(3) your license is not in good standing and you are deemed unlicensed. You have until June 1 to cure by filing the renewal and paying the fee plus a $50 penalty. After June 1 the license is expired. This is the Secretary of State contractor license, separate from your NDSEB electrical license.

Do I need a license to wire my own house in North Dakota? North Dakota exempts certain property owners who notify the board before self-wiring their own property, under NDCC § 43-09-16. That exemption does not extend to rental property, work for someone else, or commercial jobs. Anyone doing electrical work for compensation needs to be on the licensing ladder above.

The bottom line

North Dakota runs a clear statewide ladder: register as an apprentice, put in 8,000 hours over at least three years, pass the journeyman exam at the board's confirmed 70 percent standard, then add a year and 2,000 qualifying hours to reach master. Fees are modest, and thirteen states have journeyman reciprocity if you are moving in with an existing license. If the paperwork itself is the obstacle, License Application Processing will prepare and submit the state application for a flat $999, paid up front, with state fees paid separately to the state.

The business layer is where the real decision sits. Only a master can contract. If you own an electrical company and you are not a master yourself, you need a master of record, a licensed master who is genuinely part of your organization, covered by your insurance, working on your projects, and exclusive to your company. If that is the gap you are trying to close, we place qualifying agents as full-time W-2 employees, the structure North Dakota's rules are actually written around. Start with what a qualifying agent is, see how hiring a qualifying agent works, or read the state-by-state breakdown in our electrical contractor qualifying agent guide.

Already hold a North Dakota master license and want to put it to work? Learn about becoming a qualifying agent. Or call 615-219-2110 to talk through your specific setup.

For the national picture, see our complete guide to getting an electrical contractor license, the difference between journeyman and master electricians, or browse all state licensing guides. Working other trades here? See Plumbing License North Dakota for the State Plumbing Board's four ladders, and HVAC License North Dakota for why mechanical work is licensed city by city rather than by the state.

Sources

• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Qualifications for Licensure, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Apprenticeship Information & Registration, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Power Limited Apprenticeship Information & Registration, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Applying for an Electrical License, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Electrician's License Renewal & Requirements, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Reciprocal License Agreements & Requirements, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Electrical Contracting & Non-Contracting Guidelines & Requirements, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota State Electrical Board, Forms, retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-09 (electricians), including § 43-09-11 (qualifications), § 43-09-15 (renewal and re-examination), § 43-09-16 (when license not required), and § 43-09-20 (who may contract, $500,000 insurance), retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota Administrative Code chapter 24.1-03-01 (licensing requirements, fees, master categories, one shop rule), retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota Administrative Code § 24.1-04-01-01 (continuing education), retrieved October 5, 2026
• North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-07 (contractors), including § 43-07-01 (definitions, contractor year), § 43-07-02 (unlicensed contracting, court action bar, misdemeanor, penalty), § 43-07-10 (renewal deadline, cure period, penalty fee), § 43-07-14 (complaint grounds) and § 43-07-15 (civil penalty, restitution, suspension), retrieved October 5, 2026
• The Licensing Company, License Application Processing, retrieved October 5, 2026

Requirements and fees are set by the board and change. Verify current details with the NDSEB before applying. Last reviewed October 2026.