How to get an electrician license in Arizona

Licensing office Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) · (602) 542-1525 [5]

The license pathway in Arizona

1. 1

   Apprentice or electrician employee (no state license)

   Arizona has no state apprentice, journeyman or master electrician license. If you work for a contractor and your wages are your only pay, the licensing law doesn't apply to you. After a registered apprenticeship you can file your completion certificate with the ROC. [4][12][13]

2. 2

   Electrical contractor qualifying party (C-11, R-11 or CR-11)

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: Statutes and Rules Exam (online through Gmetrix, open book) and an electrical trade exam (PSI) or the NASCLA electrical exam; 70% to pass
   • Application plus license: C-11 $580, R-11 $720, CR-11 $850 (includes recovery fund). Exams: $61 SRE, $66 PSI trade
   • Every 2 years: C-11 $480, R-11 $540, CR-11 $650

   The qualifying party is the person whose experience and exams qualify a contracting business. You need four years of experience in electrical work, the two exams, a background check, a bond and a business entity to hold the license. [1][2][3][5][6]

Who needs a license in Arizona

In Arizona, electrical licensing is about contracting, not about the individual electrician. The Registrar of Contractors licenses businesses that contract for electrical work. Arizona does not issue a state journeyman or master electrician license.

Arizona's contractor law lists people who don't need a license. One is "any person who engages in the activities regulated by this chapter ... as an employee with wages as the person's sole compensation." So if you work for wages as an employee of an electrical contractor, you don't need your own ROC license. Your employer needs one.

The electrical classifications are:

• C-11 Electrical (commercial): wiring and equipment under 600 volts, including overhead and underground electrical construction.
• R-11 Electrical (residential): installing and repairing residential electrical systems.
• CR-11 Electrical (dual): the work of both C-11 and R-11.

[1][4][5]

The qualifying party

Every license names a qualifying party: a person regularly employed by the licensed business who is actively doing the type of work the license covers. It can be the sole owner, a partner, an LLC (limited liability company) member, a corporate officer or an employee. That's the person whose experience and exam scores qualify the company.

Before a license is issued, the qualifying party must have:

• Four years of practical or management experience in the type of work, at least two of them in the last ten years. The ROC's classification chart lists four years for C-11, R-11 and CR-11.
• Passing scores on the required exams.

Technical training at an accredited college or university, or in a manufacturer's accredited program, can replace part of the experience, but no more than two of the four years. The Registrar can also cut the four years if custom in the trade shows it's excessive. A person can be the qualifying party for one other licensed business only in limited cases, such as at least 25% common ownership. [2][3][5]

The exams

The qualifying party must pass each required exam with at least 70%.

• Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE): an online, open-book training course and exam offered only through Gmetrix. It costs $61. It can be waived only if you were a qualifying party on an Arizona ROC license in the past five years.
• Electrical trade exam: taken online or at a test center through PSI for $66. The PSI candidate bulletin lists the content and study materials.
• NASCLA option: for C-11, R-11 and CR-11 you can take the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies (NASCLA) electrical exam instead of the Arizona trade exam. It costs $116. NASCLA's program is designed to help contractors who need licenses in more than one state.

Under state law, a written exam must have been taken no more than two years before you apply. [2][3][5][6]

Fees, bond and renewal

ROC licenses last two years. Fees for a new license (application plus license fee):

• C-11 (commercial specialty): $100 + $480 = $580.
• R-11 (residential specialty): $80 + $270 + $370 recovery fund assessment = $720.
• CR-11 (dual specialty): $100 + $380 + $370 recovery fund assessment = $850.

Renewal every two years costs $480 (C-11), $540 (R-11) or $650 (CR-11). Exam fees are extra. Sole proprietors applying for their first Arizona license can have the initial application fee waived if they're a military spouse, a veteran discharged within two years, or in a low-income household. The recovery fund assessment still applies.

You also need a license bond. For commercial specialty contractors, the bond runs from $2,500 for $150,000 or less of annual work to $50,000 for over $10 million. For residential specialty contractors it's $4,250 under $375,000 a year, or $7,500 at $375,000 or more. [6][7]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships in Arizona

With no state apprentice or journeyman license, an apprenticeship in Arizona is about training and pay, not a state credential. Your years in a program can build toward the four years a qualifying party needs. See union vs. non-union.

• Union: the Phoenix Electrical JATC (IBEW Local 640) takes online applications from people who will be at least 18 when they start and have a diploma or GED. The Tucson Electrical JATC works with IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 570.
• Open shop: the IEC of Arizona runs a four-year program with 576 classroom hours and 8,000 on-the-job hours with a member contractor.
• State: the Department of Economic Security runs Arizona's registered apprenticeship program. The ROC itself doesn't offer apprenticeships. It does keep a registry where you or your program sponsor can file a completion certificate from a U.S. Department of Labor- or DES-approved construction apprenticeship. The ROC keeps it for ten years, though filing doesn't guarantee you qualify for a license.

More on getting in: electrician apprenticeships. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

If you're licensed in another state

No reciprocity. The ROC says "Arizona does not have direct reciprocity with any state."

Out-of-state waiver. The ROC can waive the trade exam and the experience requirement if the qualifying party held a comparable license in another state within the past five years and earned it by passing a trade exam. Submit the Out of State Waiver Request Form with your application. The ROC doesn't pre-approve waivers. The Statutes and Rules Exam can't be waived unless the qualifying party was the qualifying party on an Arizona license within the past five years (the FAQ on the same ROC page says simply that it can't be waived, because it covers Arizona law).

Universal recognition (A.R.S. 32-4302). Arizona's universal licensing law says a person who moves to Arizona is to be granted a license in the same discipline and practice level if they have:

• been licensed in another state for at least one year, in good standing;
• met that state's education and experience requirements, and passed its exam if one was required;
• no license revocations, unresolved discipline or pending complaints;
• no disqualifying criminal history;
• paid the fees.

An agency that gives a test on Arizona law may still require it. The ROC posts the 32-4302 notice on its website. Ask the ROC which route fits you. More: license reciprocity. [5][15][16]

Steps to get licensed in Arizona

1. Get experience as an electrician

   Work for a licensed electrical contractor, for example through a union JATC or IEC apprenticeship. As a wage employee you don't need a license. [4][8][11]

2. Build four years of experience

   The qualifying party needs four years of practical or management experience in electrical work, with at least two in the last ten years. Accredited technical training can replace up to two of the four years. [2][3]

3. Pass the Statutes and Rules Exam

   Take the online, open-book Statutes and Rules training course and exam through Gmetrix ($61). It can't be waived for out-of-state applicants. [5][6]

4. Pass the electrical trade exam

   Take the C-11, R-11 or CR-11 trade exam online or at a test center through PSI ($66), or the NASCLA electrical exam ($116) instead. You need at least 70%. [5][6]

5. Set up the business, bond and background checks

   Form the business (LLCs and corporations register with the Arizona Corporation Commission), get a license bond, and get a background check for everyone named on the application. Background checks expire after 90 days. [5][7]

6. Apply to the ROC

   Submit the license application through the ROC online portal or by mail with exam results, bond, ID and fees. [5][6]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train electricians in or for Arizona, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  Phoenix Electrical JATC (IBEW Local 640)

  Union inside wireman apprenticeship in the Phoenix area. Applications are online; you must be at least 18 when you start and have a high school diploma or GED. [8][9]

• Union

  Tucson Electrical JATC (IBEW Local 570)

  Union electrical apprenticeship program for the Tucson area. [10]

• Union

  IBEW/NECA JATC locator

  Find other union inside wireman and outside lineman programs in Arizona. [17]

• Open shop

  IEC of Arizona apprenticeship

  A four-year Independent Electrical Contractors program with 576 classroom hours and 8,000 on-the-job hours while you work for a member contractor. Applications are handed out in person during set office hours. [11]

• State program

  Arizona registered apprenticeship (Department of Economic Security)

  The Arizona Department of Economic Security runs the state's registered apprenticeship program. The ROC does not offer apprenticeships itself. [12]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask