How to become a licensed electrician in Hawaii

Journeyman level 10,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) · (844) 808-3222 [4][9]

The license pathway in Hawaii

1. 1

   Apprentice or helper (no license)

   An apprentice, electrician's helper or other unlicensed person may do electrical work only under a licensed journey worker or supervising electrician who oversees the work and is physically present at the project site the whole time. [2][3]

2. 2

   Maintenance Electrician (EM)

   • 1 year of experience
   • 80 hours of electrical academic coursework (or 2 years of schooling with 1,000 hours of hands-on lab)
   • Yes: 50 questions, 120 minutes, 70% to pass (PSI)
   • $40 application + $95 exam
   • Every 3 years by June 30

   Covers keeping existing electrical systems in repair, not new installations or work that needs a permit. You need a year of electrical maintenance work plus 80 hours of approved coursework, or two years of electrical schooling. [1][2][4][8]

3. 3

   Journey Worker Electrician (EJ)

   • 10,000 hours on the job
   • 5 years of experience
   • 240 hours of electrical academic coursework accepted by a University of Hawaii community college
   • Yes: 70 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass; open book, NEC provided (PSI)
   • $40 application + $95 exam; license fee $102-$306
   • Every 3 years by June 30; $306 active; NEC update course or exam

   The license to perform electrical work in Hawaii. You need at least five years full-time and 10,000 hours in residential or commercial wiring under a journey worker or supervising electrician, the 240-hour coursework, age 18 and a passing exam score. [1][4][8][9][10]

4. 4

   Supervising Electrician (ES)

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: 70 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass (PSI)
   • $40 application + $95 exam
   • Every 3 years by June 30

   Lets you direct and supervise electrical work. You need four years as a licensed journey worker electrician, or equivalent experience such as four years licensed at that level in another state with substantially equivalent rules. [1][2][4][8][18]

5. 5

   C-13 Electrical Contractor (Contractors License Board)

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: Business and Law (80 questions, 75% to pass) plus the C-13 trade exam (PSI)
   • $50 application; $80 per trade exam
   • Every 2 years by September 30 of even years

   The license to contract for electrical jobs. It needs four years of supervisory experience in the last ten years. If the contractor's managing person isn't a licensed electrician, the company must employ licensed electricians to do the work. [5][11][12][19][20]

Who needs a license in Hawaii

Hawaii's rules say anyone who performs electrical work needs a journey worker electrician license, and anyone who directs or supervises electrical work needs a supervising electrician license. Narrower licenses cover specialty (low-voltage, alarm and communications) work, industrial work and maintenance.

The rules exempt a few groups, such as people working for a utility regulated by the public utilities commission, federal employees on the job, and people who repair electrical appliances.

An electrician's license doesn't let you contract for jobs. Contracting takes a separate license from the Contractors License Board. [2][4]

Working as a helper or apprentice

You don't need a license to learn the trade. State law says an apprentice or trainee doesn't need a license while working under the supervision of an appropriately licensed person.

The board's rule spells out what supervision means: the licensed journey worker or supervising electrician oversees, reviews and is responsible for the work, and is "physically present and available at the project site at all times" while the apprentice or helper works.

A separate law requires at least half of the people doing electrical work for an electrical contractor on a construction site to be licensed, and they must wear their license on the site. See our helper jobs guide. [2][3][5]

The license ladder and hours

Since July 1, 2013, Hawaii's law sets these minimums:

• Journey worker electrician (EJ): 5 years full-time, not less than 10,000 hours, in residential or commercial wiring under a journey worker or supervising electrician, plus 240 hours of electrical coursework. Minimum age 18.
• Supervising electrician (ES): 4 years as a licensed journey worker electrician, or equivalent experience.
• Journey worker specialty electrician (EJS): 3 years and 6,000 hours, plus 120 hours of coursework.
• Journey worker industrial electrician (EJI): 4 years and 8,000 hours of industrial electrical work, plus 200 hours of coursework.
• Maintenance electrician (EM): 1 year of electrical maintenance work plus 80 hours of coursework, or 2 years of schooling with at least 1,000 hours of hands-on lab work.

The coursework must be done at, or accepted by, a University of Hawaii community college. Honolulu Community College keeps a list of approved programs and reviews others. See journeyman vs. master for how this compares. [1][4][6]

The exam

The board approves your application first; applications are due at least seven days before a board meeting, and the board usually meets in February, April, June, August, October and December. Your approval to test lasts two years.

PSI Services gives the electrician exams. Its candidate bulletin (dated March 2024) lists the journey worker electrician exam at 70 questions in 180 minutes, with 70% to pass. It is open book: the test center provides the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC, the national wiring rulebook). The exam fee is $95. The supervising electrician exam is also 70 questions in 180 minutes.

The board's application form sends you to PSI to register, but an older note on the same form still says Prometric provides the code book. The board's exam page and PSI's bulletin show PSI as the current vendor. [4][7][8]

Fees and renewal

You pay a $40 application fee, then $95 to PSI for the exam. After you pass, the license fee depends on where you are in the three-year licensing cycle: $306 in the first year, $204 in the second and $102 in the third.

Every electrician license renews by June 30 every three years (2026, 2029, 2032). The on-time active renewal is $306. Before renewing, licensed electricians other than maintenance electricians must take an NEC update course approved by the community colleges or pass an NEC update exam. If your license was issued within a year of the renewal date, you skip that requirement once. [4][8][9][10]

Becoming an electrical contractor

To bid and contract for electrical work, you need a C-13 electrical contractor license from the Contractors License Board. It requires age 18, four years of supervisory experience in the last ten years, passing the Business and Law exam and the trade exam, and liability and workers' compensation insurance.

If the contractor's responsible managing employee isn't a licensed electrician, the contractor must employ licensed electricians to do the electrical work. [5][11][12]

If you're licensed in another state

The board's application says plainly: "Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction." You apply, qualify and pass Hawaii's exam like any applicant.

Out-of-state experience can still count. Your supervisors sign Experience Verification forms; if you worked in a state that licenses only contractors, the board accepts a form signed by the licensed contractor. For the supervising level, being licensed as a journey worker or supervising electrician for four years in a place with substantially equivalent requirements counts as equivalent experience. Your out-of-state coursework must be reviewed and accepted by Honolulu Community College. More in our reciprocity guide.

Military spouses: state law (HRS 436B-14.7) gives a temporary license to the spouse of an active-duty service member transferred to Hawaii who has held a license in good standing elsewhere for at least a year, if the licensing board finds the other state's requirements equal to or higher than Hawaii's. It lasts no more than five years in total or the length of the member's orders. We found no general universal license recognition law in Hawaii's professional and vocational licensing act (HRS chapter 436B). [2][4][13]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships in Hawaii

The union route is the Hawaii Electricians Training Fund, run with IBEW Local 1186. Its inside wireperson program is 10,000 hours of paid work plus 800 classroom hours and prepares apprentices for the journey worker exam. Applicants must be 18, have a diploma or GED, show a year of algebra (or finish the NJATC Tech Math course), and pass the industry aptitude test.

The open-shop route is ABC Hawaii, which runs apprenticeships in electrical and four other trades. You work full time for a member employer and attend class two nights a week.

More: electrician apprenticeships, union vs. non-union and the aptitude test. [14][15][16]

Steps to get licensed in Hawaii

1. Get hired as a helper or join an apprenticeship

   Apply to the IBEW Local 1186 or ABC Hawaii apprenticeship, or get hired by an electrical contractor to work under a licensed electrician. [2][15][17]

2. Build 10,000 hours under a licensed electrician

   Work at least five years full-time, and not less than 10,000 hours, in residential or commercial wiring under a journey worker or supervising electrician. Each licensed electrician you worked under signs a notarized Experience Verification form. [1][4]

3. Finish 240 hours of electrical coursework

   Complete coursework accepted by a University of Hawaii community college (DC and AC theory, code, grounding, motors, transformers and more). An approved apprenticeship certificate also counts. [1][4]

4. Apply to the board

   Send the application with a $40 fee at least seven days before a board meeting; meetings are usually every other month. [2][4][7]

5. Pass the PSI exam

   After approval, register with PSI and pay $95. Your eligibility lasts two years. [7][8]

6. Pay the license fee and renew every three years

   Pay the license fee after you pass. Renew by June 30 every three years with proof of an NEC update course or a passed update exam. [4][9][10]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  Hawaii Electricians Training Fund (IBEW Local 1186 inside wireperson)

  Union apprenticeship on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island: 10,000 hours of paid work and 800 classroom hours, designed to prepare you for the journey worker electrician exam. [14][15]

• Open shop

  ABC Hawaii electrical apprenticeship

  Open-shop apprenticeship: you work full time for a member employer and attend classes two nights a week, earning Honolulu Community College credit. [16][17]

• State program

  Hawaii DLIR registered apprenticeship

  The state Workforce Development Division registers Hawaii's apprenticeship programs, lists construction programs and posts recruitment notices. [21]

• School

  University of Hawaii community colleges (240-hour coursework)

  Honolulu Community College reviews electrical coursework for the license; the community colleges on each island offer the courses. [4][6]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask