Vermont Electrical License: Journeyman, Master and Type-S Requirements, Fees, Reciprocity and Lookup (2026)

Vermont licenses electricians at the state level through the Vermont Electricians' Licensing Board, which operates under the Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety at 45 State Drive in Waterbury. One Vermont license is recognized statewide; you do not chase separate city or town credentials the way you do in some neighboring states. Electrician licensing is governed by 26 V.S.A. Chapter 15 and the Vermont Electrical Safety Rules, reissued in a 2025 edition effective November 5, 2025, which also adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code. 2026 is the first full year under the updated rules, and the exam, continuing education and reciprocity rules on this page reflect them.

At a glance

• Issued by: the Vermont Electricians' Licensing Board, under the Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety
• When required: anyone performing electrical work in Vermont, other than in a residential building containing two or fewer dwelling units, must be licensed as an electrician
• Journeyman route: registered apprenticeship, four years, 8,000 on the job hours plus 576 classroom hours
• Exam: Prov, $80.00 per exam; journeyman 90 questions in 4 hours, master 105 questions in 5 hours
• Fees: $150.00 for a three year master license, $115.00 for a three year journeyman license

This guide covers the full ladder (apprentice, journeyman, master and Vermont's eleven Type-S specialty licenses), the Prov exams, the 2026 board calendar, every fee the statute sets, the reciprocity routes, how to look up a Vermont electrical license, and the part that trips up a lot of skilled electricians: the point where an electrical business needs a licensed master standing behind it. That is the exact spot where a qualifying agent becomes the difference between operating and being shut down.

One thing to know before you start: the Type-S specialty licenses described below are not a side door. They are how Vermont licenses refrigeration, air conditioning, and automatic gas or oil heating, work that most states hand to a mechanical board. If you came here looking for HVAC, start with our Vermont HVAC license guide; if hydronic heating is in your scope, it belongs to the plumbers instead, covered in the Vermont plumbing license guide.

Vermont electrician license requirements at a glance

Every row comes from the statute (26 V.S.A. §§ 902 to 906), the 2025 rules (sections 3.1 to 3.4), the board's application instructions and Prov's January 2026 candidate bulletin, all linked in the Sources section.

Who needs a Vermont electrician license

The 2025 rules put it in one sentence: with limited exceptions, anyone performing electrical work in Vermont, other than in a residential building containing two or fewer dwelling units or electrical work regulated under Article 800 of the National Electrical Code (communications circuits), must be licensed as an electrician. The exceptions live in 26 V.S.A. § 910, and there are seven of them:

1. Work on the equipment or premises of an industrial or manufacturing plant under the supervision of an electrical engineer or master electrician employed by the plant operator.
2. Exposed wiring installed in laboratories for experimental purposes only.
3. Work by an owner, or the owner's regular employees, in the owner's freestanding single unit residence, its accessory outbuildings, or any structure on an owner occupied farm.
4. Installations that are part of a training project at a vocational school or other educational institution.
5. Work by an electrician's helper under the direct supervision of a person holding the appropriate license.
6. Any electrical work in a building used for dwelling or residential purposes that contains no more than two dwelling units.
7. Installation of solar modules and racking on complex structures up to the point of connection to field fabricated wiring, and erection of net metered wind turbines.

Number six is the one that surprises people: wiring in a single family home or a duplex is outside the licensing requirement, which is why some Vermont handymen legally wire houses. The moment the building has three or more units, or is commercial, licensing applies. Licensed elevator and lift mechanics (21 V.S.A. § 145) may work on elevator wiring after the main electrical disconnect; the disconnect itself and the building wiring serving the elevator, including lights, receptacles and fire alarm devices, must be installed by a licensed electrician.

Electrical work notices, inspections and energizing permits

The work notice regime is where Vermont's licensing law actually bites, because a complex structure cannot be wired without a licensed name on the paperwork. "Complex structure" is defined at § 881(3) as carrying the same meaning as "public building" in 20 V.S.A. § 2900(8), which sweeps in public buildings, schools, hotels, restaurants, apartment buildings, churches, factories, office buildings, stores, nursing homes and child care facilities, while excluding working farms and family child care homes. That is why one and two family dwellings sit outside so much of this.

Under § 893(a), electrical work in a complex structure shall not commence until a work notice accompanied by the required fee is submitted to the Department and validated. The 2025 rules (section 7.1) add the operating detail:

• The Electrical Work Notice (EWN) must be filed by a master or Type-S journeyman electrician in good standing; for a residential complex structure with no more than two dwelling units, any person may file it. An electronic receipt from an online filing counts as a validated EWN.
• The base fee is $40.00 per work notice, except for work in one and two family residential dwellings, plus the per item schedule in § 893: a temporary service $30.00; a permanent service $35.00 up to 400 amps, $50.00 from 401 to 800 amps and $100.00 above 800 amps; a panel or feeder $35.00; outlets $20.00 per 50; an elevator $75.00; a fire alarm main panel $50.00; transformers $10.00 to $35.00 each and motors and generators $10.00 to $25.00 each. A reinspection fee of $125.00 applies to code violations.
• Demolition of energized wiring needs an EWN. A validated EWN expires if the work is not started, or is suspended or abandoned, for 12 months. An inspector may accept an annual EWN for ongoing work at an existing building.
• Section 893(c) bars covering an installation before it is inspected unless an inspector waives that in writing. On a request for final inspection the inspector has five working days to inspect, set a date or issue a waiver, and under § 893(e) no part of a complex structure with a new installation may be sold or conveyed for use or occupancy without a certificate of completion for that installation.
• § 894 requires a temporary or permanent energizing permit before a new installation in or on a complex structure is connected to a source of power.
• The Commissioner may refuse to validate a work notice for a licensee with unfiled work or unpaid fees, and may assess an administrative penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation of the rules (rules section 8, under § 897).

Article 800 communications work, lamp and cord and plug equipment replacement, fuse replacement and minor maintenance do not need an EWN.

The Vermont electrician license ladder

Apprentice electrician: how many hours you need

The Vermont answer to "how many hours do you need for a journeyman electrician" is the apprenticeship itself. The Department of Labor's rule is blunt: an apprenticeship is a job, so you are hired by an employer who registers you, not admitted to a program. The registered electrical apprenticeship runs four years, with 8,000 on the job hours under a master electrician and 144 hours of classroom instruction each year, 576 hours in all, delivered through Vermont State University, which has run the related instruction with the Department of Labor since 1999.

Supervision is defined tightly: when a master, journeyman or Type-S journeyman directs an apprentice or helper, the rules require the supervising licensee to be physically present on the work site and immediately available (for a master, a journeyman under the master's direction may be the one immediately available). One useful rule for apprentices nearing the finish: under rules section 3.2(b) the board may approve an applicant who has completed the instruction portion of the apprenticeship to sit for the journeyman exam before finishing the work experience portion. You can pass the exam early; the license does not issue until the hours are done.

Journeyman electrician

Section 903(a) sets the statutory bar: verification by the Vermont Apprenticeship Council of a completed apprenticeship in electrical wiring that included both instruction and practice in work processes, or equivalent training acceptable to the board, and passing the board's examination. The board's 2026 June application instructions list the routes it accepts:

• Completed the Vermont Apprenticeship Program within the past two years. Submit your completion certificate; employer affidavits are not required.
• Equivalent training and experience acceptable to the board, documented on the board's Employer Affidavit of Experience, one per employer, stating total hours and the specific duties you performed, signed in original by the employer, foreman, union representative or, if you were self employed, a client. The 2021 June edition of the instructions printed the bar for this route as proof of 12,000 hours of experience through signed employer affidavits (roughly six years of full time work); the 2026 June edition drops the number and leaves equivalency to the board's judgment, so call the licensing specialist at 802-479-7564 before you build an affidavit package.
• Military service. Under § 906(c), a journeyman's license is issued without examination to a service member or veteran designated by the U.S. Armed Forces as a 12R electrician or equivalent who has completed a minimum of 8,000 hours and four years of active duty field work in that role, with an honorable discharge no more than two years before the application, the DD-214 and the 12R course completion.
• Reciprocal, universal or NERA license, described in the reciprocity section below.

Then you pass the journeyman examination. The journeyman license fee is $115.00 for a three year license under § 905(d)(1)(B); fees are set by the Vermont Legislature and reprinted on the application.

Master electrician

The master electrician is the license that can run an electrical contracting business, employ other licensed electricians and helpers, and stand behind a company's electrical work. Under § 902(a) and rules section 3.1, you qualify by having been licensed as, and working as, a journeyman electrician under this chapter for at least two years, or having comparable experience and training, within or outside Vermont, acceptable to the board, and passing the examination. The 2021 June instructions printed the comparable experience route as proof of 16,000 hours of experience through a signed employer affidavit; the 2026 June edition no longer prints an hour figure, and the rules never did, so treat 16,000 hours as the board's historical yardstick rather than a guarantee.

The instructions add a reciprocal military master license for a 12R electrician with 12,000 hours of experience and a DD-214 within two years. Applying after two years as a Vermont journeyman is the simplest case: a completed application plus a copy of your qualifying journeyman license.

Then you pass the master examination, which also includes questions on all the Type-S specialty fields, because a master's license covers all of them, and under § 905(b) covers lightning rods, fire alarms and fire detection systems. The master license fee is $150.00 for a three year license under § 905(d)(1)(A).

Type-S specialty licenses

26 V.S.A. § 904 creates the Type-S journeyman electrician and names the statutory fields: automatic gas or oil heating; outdoor advertising; refrigeration or air conditioning; appliance and motor repairs; well pumps; farm equipment; and any miscellaneous specified area of specialized competence. Rules section 3.3 expands the catchall into eleven named fields, each with its own Prov exam:

To qualify, the 2026 June instructions say complete a board recognized training program plus one year (2,000 hours) of experience in the specialty, proven by signed employer affidavits for each field; the rules also accept training and experience acceptable to the board, which the 2021 June instructions spelled out as two years (4,000 hours) of experience by affidavit for an applicant with no formal training program. Each field is a separate license at $115.00 per field for three years under § 905(d)(1)(C). Unlike the plumbing board, the electrical board grants no fee exemption for holding a higher tier license.

Two structural points make Type-S licenses more powerful than most states' specialty cards. Under rules section 3.3(c), a Type-S journeyman may design, install, repair, maintain and replace installations in the field as an employee or an independent contractor, limited to installing branch circuits from the existing electrical service, may employ other licensees, and may supervise apprentices and helpers. And under 3.3(d), nobody other than a master electrician may engage in the business of installing lightning rods, fire alarms or fire detection systems for others unless that person holds the appropriate Type-S license.

Where the trades meet is HVAC. Vermont issues no HVAC license at all: cooling and refrigeration is Type-S C3 and automatic gas or oil heating is Type-S A1, both electrician licenses, while hydronic space heating is a Heating System Specialist (P2) license issued by the Plumbers' Examining Board under 26 V.S.A. § 2192a(b)(2), with steam work capped at 15 PSIG, and the fuel connections themselves (propane, natural gas, oil) are separate Division certifications. Four desks, one trade; the map is in our Vermont HVAC license guide.

Reciprocity: Maine, New Hampshire, the universal license and NERA

Section 907 also lets the board, at its discretion, credit journeyman experience or an apprenticeship served in another state, requires it to credit 12R military experience, and directs the Commissioner to adopt rules for assessing credentials earned outside the United States.

The examination

Exams are delivered through Prov, the board's contracted testing agency, and the fee is $80.00 per exam, paid directly to Prov (the 2025 rules and Prov's January 21, 2026 candidate bulletin both state it). Section 905(b) requires examinations to be conducted in writing (the rules add computer based) and to include a practical skills examination, covering theoretical and practical aspects of electrical work plus the relevant laws and rules. What Prov's 2026 bulletin says about the tests:

• Journeyman: 90 questions in 4 hours. Wiring and protection carries 30 questions, wiring methods and materials 20, equipment for general use 15, general theory 7 and Vermont's local amendments 5.
• Master: 105 questions in 5 hours. Wiring and protection 34, wiring methods and materials 21, general electrical knowledge 12, motors and controls 11, equipment for general use 10, local amendments 5.
• Type-S exams run 30 to 55 questions in 1 to 2.5 hours, per field (table above).
• Exams are open book against the references Prov lists for each test. For the journeyman and master exams in 2026 those are the 2023 NEC, the 2025 Vermont Electrical Safety Rules, 26 V.S.A. Chapter 15 and Ugly's Electrical References; several Type-S exams add the American Electrician's Handbook or NFPA 101 instead, so check the bulletin for your field. The cut score is 70 percent, and results are available at the test center when you finish.

Process details from the rules and the instructions: application first, exam second (the board approves your application at a meeting, and only then are you cleared to register with Prov); your approval to test is valid for three years from the date the board grants it (rules 3.4(d)); and three strikes, then reapply: a failed exam may be retaken twice, with fees to Prov each time and no waiting period between attempts, and after a third failure you submit a new application, pay new fees, obtain board approval and complete at least 8 hours of education on the National Electrical Code, the National Fire Alarm Code or an exam prep course before retesting (rules 3.4(e)).

How to apply: the 2026 board calendar and the paperwork

The Electricians' Licensing Board meets six times a year, 9:00 AM to noon at 45 State Drive, Waterbury, and applications must reach the Division's Central Office two weeks before the meeting or they roll to a future agenda. The 2026 dates published by the Division are February 3, April 7, June 2, August 4, October 6 and December 1.

The 2026 June application (all classifications, one form) has its own rules:

• Blue or black ink, original copies only; anything incomplete, illegible or with whiteout is returned.
• Signed and notarized. You can bring an unsigned application and photo ID to the Central Office and have it notarized there.
• Legal name exactly as on your ID, Social Security number and email address required, plus three references, unrelated to you, who know your electrical background, and employer affidavits where a route needs them.
• Four compliance questions, signed and dated: child support (15 V.S.A. § 795), taxes (32 V.S.A. § 3113), unemployment compensation (21 V.S.A. § 1378) and judicial bureau fines (4 V.S.A. § 1110). They cover Vermont obligations only, and an unresolved one can hold up an otherwise qualified application.
• Checks payable to the Division of Fire Safety; mail to Central Office, Licensing Division, 45 State Drive, Waterbury, VT 05671-8200. Questions to 802-479-7564 or DPS.DFSLicensing@vermont.gov.

Initial electrical licenses are not available on the Division's web portal; renewals are.

Fees, renewal and continuing education

Fees are set by the Legislature, and § 905(g) directs the board to waive application fees for qualified military members and military spouses.

Renewal. Under § 908(a) and rules 3.5, every Vermont electrical license runs three years and expires on the last day of a month designated by the board. The signed renewal, the continuing education certification, the child support and tax certifications and the fee must be back before the expiration date. If a license lapses, § 905(e) lets you renew within one year by paying $25.00 on top of the renewal fee, but you cannot perform unsupervised electrical work while lapsed and the state will not process work notices against an expired license. Past one year, you are back to a new application under the full procedure; the board may waive re examination for undue hardship or other unusual circumstance.

Continuing education. Section 908(b) is specific. Journeyman and master electricians must complete 15 hours of board approved instruction on the National Electrical Code during the preceding 36 months. Type-S licensees complete 8 hours of board approved instruction on their specialty in the same window, and a holder of multiple Type-S licenses is not required to complete more than 15 hours (the 2025 rules phrase the cap as more than two fields). New in the 2025 rules: a person licensed only as Type-S A1 and C3 need not complete more than 8 hours.

Every licensee must also complete the Vermont Energy Goals Module, a requirement the Legislature added in S.220 of the 2020 session (Act 178) and the Division applies to new licenses and renewals from July 1, 2021; § 905(h) caps it at not more than two hours and requires it at initial licensure and again at renewal. Section 901(c) requires the board to review its continuing education requirements at least once every five years and report to the Commissioner, who may order them reduced or changed, so re check the requirement before each renewal window.

Vermont electrical license lookup

Vermont publishes its electrician licenses as open data rather than through a search box on the board's site. The Division's electricians page links the Licensed Electricians dataset on data.vermont.gov, and its Trade Licensing page links the DFS Licensing MasterList covering every license and certification the Division issues. Each row carries the licensee's name, mailing address, license number, expiration date, license type and level (master, journeyman or special), and the portal's filter tools let you search by name, town or license number. The state refreshed the file on September 23, 2026.

What the file showed on that date: 4,387 active Vermont electrician licenses, made up of 2,400 masters, 1,640 journeymen and 347 Type-S specialists. About 2,533 of those licensees list a Vermont address; 696 are in New Hampshire, 617 in Massachusetts and 90 in Maine, which is the reciprocity story told in numbers. Two cautions: the dataset lists active licenses only, so a missing name may have lapsed rather than never existed (the licensing office at 802-479-7564 can confirm), and a license verifies the individual, not a company. Vermont's electrical chapter issues no business or entity license, so the question to ask a contractor is which licensed master directs its work.

How Vermont handles the other two trades

Vermont's Division of Fire Safety runs its electrical, plumbing and fuel programs out of the same building, and they do not work the same way. If you hold or plan to hold more than one credential, these differences will cost you money if you assume symmetry.

An electrician who also holds a plumbing specialty is on two clocks that realign only every six years, and the plumbing deadline is the hard one. The plumbing side ladder is in the Vermont plumbing license guide.

The step most electricians miss: the business needs a master

Earning your journeyman license lets you do the work, under direction. But the statute is explicit about who can operate.

Section 902(c) entitles a master electrician to design, install, repair, maintain and replace electrical installations as his or her principal business or in the course of another business, and says a master "may employ other persons licensed under this chapter or electrician's helpers to perform work in connection with electrical installations under his or her direction." Section 903(c) puts the journeyman under the direction of a master electrician. The 2025 rules repeat both at 3.1(c) and 3.2(d), and the work notice rules only accept an EWN from a master or Type-S journeyman.

That means a Vermont electrical contracting business runs on a master's license, and Chapter 15 issues no entity license at all, so there is nothing else for the company to hold. If the person who holds that master credential leaves, retires or passes away, the company's ability to perform and supervise licensed electrical work stops until a qualified master is back in place, with no statutory replacement window to buy time, because there is no entity license for a window to attach to. It is the same bottleneck electricians hit next door: see our guide to the electrician license in New Hampshire, where the statute explicitly lets an employee master qualify a corporation, and Massachusetts, where a Licensee of Record plays the same role.

Where a qualifying agent fits in Vermont

If you own or want to grow a Vermont electrical business but you do not hold the master credential the company needs, or your master just walked out the door, you have a real, time sensitive problem. Building your own master license from zero means at least two years as a licensed Vermont journeyman (or experience the board accepts as comparable, historically 16,000 hours) plus the master exam, after the apprenticeship years that came before it.

A qualifying agent closes that gap the lawful way: a Vermont licensed master electrician joins your business as a full time W-2 employee who directs and stands behind the company's electrical installations. That is the relationship § 902(c) describes when it speaks of a master who may employ other licensed persons to work under his or her direction, and it is the opposite of a name on paper who never visits the job. If the concept is new to you, start with what a qualifying agent is.

The Licensing Company, founded by Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski, places qualifying agents strictly as full time W-2 employees, never on a percentage, flat fee, per project or 1099 basis, because that employment structure is what allows a licensed master to properly direct and stand behind a company's work the way Vermont's rules require. If you are staring at a stalled Vermont electrical business or trying to keep operating while your own people finish their hours, hiring a qualifying agent keeps you running in the meantime; if you hold a Vermont master license yourself, becoming a qualifying agent is the other side of that market. For the layer above the trade license, our Vermont contractor license guide covers the residential registration and the state picture, and the contractor license pillar explains how trade licenses ladder into contractor licensing nationwide.

Your Vermont electrician roadmap

1. Get hired and registered as an apprentice with the Vermont Department of Labor and start logging the 8,000 on the job hours and 576 classroom hours.
2. Finish the apprenticeship (a completion certificate within two years skips the affidavit paperwork), or assemble employer affidavits the board will accept as equivalent training (12,000 hours under the earlier instructions).
3. Apply to the board (notarized application, two weeks ahead of one of the six meetings), get approved, then pass the Prov journeyman exam ($80, 90 questions, 4 hours, 70 percent to pass).
4. Work two years as a licensed Vermont journeyman (or show comparable experience the board accepts, historically 16,000 hours) and pass the master exam: 105 questions, 5 hours, and it covers the Type-S fields.
5. Qualify your business. If you run an electrical company, make sure a licensed master electrician is directing and standing behind its work and filing its work notices.
6. Renew every three years with 15 hours of NEC continuing education and the Vermont Energy Goals Module, before the last day of your expiration month.

For the national picture, read our complete guide to getting an electrical contractor license; if you are weighing the two top credentials, our journeyman vs master electrician explainer lays out the differences.

The residential contractor registration layer

Vermont also runs a separate residential contractor registration through the Secretary of State's Office of Professional Regulation, created by Act 182 of 2022 and codified at 26 V.S.A. Chapter 106. Under § 5501, anyone contracting directly with a homeowner for residential construction worth more than $10,000 including labor and materials, on a dwelling or building of four or fewer units, must register first. Registration is $75.00 for individuals and $250.00 for business organizations (§ 5507, renewed every two years), with liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate (§ 5509) and a written contract before any deposit or work. Licensed electricians are exempt under § 5502 while working within the scope of the license; step outside that scope on a residential job over $10,000 and the registration applies.

In April 2026 the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee took testimony on H.718, which the House passed and the Senate referred to that committee on March 27, 2026. The House passed text creates a Residential Contractor Regulation Task Force to advise OPR and appropriates $200,000 in fiscal year 2027 toward a consumer website and marketing plan for the registry; the Deputy Secretary of State told the committee the state had roughly 1,400 registered residential contractors, a figure she called very low, saying many contractors who should be registered are not. As of this review the bill's status page showed Senate committee hearings through April 24, 2026 and no floor action after the referral. See our Vermont general contractor guide for that layer, and browse licensing guidance for other states.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours do you need to become a journeyman electrician in Vermont? The standard route is the registered apprenticeship: four years, 8,000 on the job hours and 576 hours of classroom instruction (144 a year) through Vermont State University, verified by the Vermont Apprenticeship Council. Without the apprenticeship, you document equivalent experience on employer affidavits; the board's earlier instructions set that at 12,000 hours, and the current edition leaves it to the board.

How do I look up a Vermont electrical license? Use the Licensed Electricians dataset on data.vermont.gov, linked from the Division of Fire Safety's electricians page, or the broader DFS Licensing MasterList. Filter by last name, town or license number; each row shows the level (master, journeyman or special) and the expiration date. On September 23, 2026 the file held 4,387 active electrician licenses.

Do I need a license to do electrical work on a house in Vermont? Electrical work in a residential building with two or fewer dwelling units is exempt under 26 V.S.A. § 910(6) and the Electrical Safety Rules, and an owner may work on a freestanding single unit residence, its outbuildings or an owner occupied farm under § 910(3). Three or more units, commercial buildings and most other settings require a licensed electrician, and complex structures need a work notice and inspection.

How much does a Vermont electrician license cost? Per 26 V.S.A. § 905(d): $150 for a master license, $115 for a journeyman license and $115 per field for Type-S licenses, each for three years, plus $80 per exam attempt to Prov, a $10 framing certificate if you want one and a $20 replacement fee; verify before applying, since fees can change. What it costs to put licensed authority behind a company depends on your structure and situation; book a consultation for a straight answer on your case.

Does Vermont have electrical license reciprocity? Yes, in three forms: reciprocal licenses for Maine and New Hampshire residents, a universal license for a master or journeyman held in good standing for at least three years in another U.S. jurisdiction (§ 906(b)(2)(A)), and, under the 2025 rules, a license from a NERA member state held in good standing for one year. Each needs a certified letter from the issuing state and a copy of the license.

Can a journeyman electrician run an electrical business in Vermont? No. Under § 903(c) a journeyman performs installations under the direction of a master electrician, and only a master or Type-S journeyman can file the work notice a complex structure requires. Operating an electrical contracting business runs through the master license, either your own or a licensed master employed full time in your company as its qualifying agent.

What is a Type-S license in Vermont? A specialty journeyman license limited to one of eleven designated fields, created by § 904 and coded A1 through G7s in the rules. Type-S licensees may work as employees or independent contractors within their specialty, limited to branch circuits from the existing service, and qualify with a recognized training program plus one year (2,000 hours) of experience, or two years (4,000 hours) without one under the earlier instructions, then pass that field's exam.

Does a Vermont electrician license cover HVAC work? Partly. Refrigeration and air conditioning is Type-S C3 and automatic gas or oil heating is Type-S A1, both electrician licenses. Hydronic space heating is a Heating System Specialist (P2) plumbing license under § 2192a(b)(2), and gas and oil fuel work needs separate certifications. Full detail in our Vermont HVAC license guide.

Is there an apprentice electrician card in Vermont? Vermont registers apprentices through the Department of Labor rather than issuing an apprentice license from the electrical board; your employer registers you and your apprenticeship hours are logged under that registration. The wallet size license cards begin at journeyman, and the rules require a licensee to carry the card, or an electronic version with photo ID, on the job.

Talk to The Licensing Company

If a Vermont electrical company you own or run needs a licensed master directing its work, or your master is leaving and the work notices stop the day the license does, call 615-219-2110 or start at hire a qualifying agent. We will walk through your structure, your timeline and what the board's rules require before anything is signed.

Sources

All retrieved 2026-09-23.

• 26 V.S.A. Chapter 15, Electricians and Electrical Installations (full chapter)
• 26 V.S.A. § 893, Work notice; fees; inspection
• 26 V.S.A. § 901, Electricians' Licensing Board
• 26 V.S.A. § 902, Master electricians
• 26 V.S.A. § 903, Journeyman electricians
• 26 V.S.A. § 904, Type-S journeyman electricians
• 26 V.S.A. § 905, Application; examinations, education, and fees
• 26 V.S.A. § 906, Examinations not required
• 26 V.S.A. § 907, Recognition of experience
• 26 V.S.A. § 908, Renewal of license; continuing education
• 26 V.S.A. § 910, License not required
• Vermont Electrical Safety Rules, 2025 edition, effective November 5, 2025
• Division of Fire Safety, Electricians
• Division of Fire Safety, Trade Licensing and Certifications
• Division of Fire Safety, Electricians' Licensing Board (members and 2026 meeting dates)
• Division of Fire Safety, Electricians' License Application and Instructions, 2026 June edition
• Division of Fire Safety, Electricians' License Application and Instructions, 2021 June edition (Internet Archive capture of February 9, 2025, the source of the 12,000, 16,000 and 4,000 hour figures)
• Division of Fire Safety, Licenses Web Portal
• Prov, Vermont Division of Fire Safety Candidate Information Bulletin, 2026.01.21
• Vermont Open Data, Licensed Electricians
• Vermont Open Data, DFS Licensing MasterList
• 26 V.S.A. Chapter 39, Plumbers, and § 2195
• 26 V.S.A. Chapter 106, Residential Contractors, and § 5507
• 20 V.S.A. § 2900, Definitions (public building)
• S.220 of 2020 (Act 178), bill status
• H.718 of 2026, bill status and text as passed by the House
• VTDigger, April 16, 2026, report of the Senate committee hearing on H.718
• Vermont State University, Registered Apprenticeships in Electrical and Plumbing
• Vermont Department of Labor, Becoming an Apprentice
• National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance, About NERA

Last reviewed September 23, 2026. License requirements, exam formats and fees are set by the Vermont Electricians' Licensing Board, the Division of Fire Safety, the Vermont Legislature and the contracted testing agency (Prov) and are subject to change; confirm current requirements with the Division of Fire Safety (802-479-7564) before applying.