How to become a licensed electrician in Montana

Journeyman level 8,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Montana State Electrical Board (Department of Labor & Industry) · (406) 444-6880 [13]

The license pathway in Montana

1. 1

   Registered apprentice

   • At least 144 hours a year recommended under state law; Montana IEC requires 576 classroom hours

   You work under a licensed electrician on an apprenticeship agreement registered with DLI. The licensing law doesn't apply to you while you're a registered apprentice. [3][20][25][26]

2. 2

   Residential electrician

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • Yes: at least 50 questions on the NEC and Montana law, open book, 70% to pass (PSI)
   • $190 application; $140 renewal every two years
   • Every two years (July 15, even years); 16 hours CE

   Wiring in residential buildings with fewer than five living units. You qualify with a completed residential apprenticeship or 4,000 hours of residential experience. [2][4][9][12][27]

3. 3

   Journeyman electrician

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • Yes: at least 60 questions on the 2020 NEC and Montana law, open book, 70% to pass (PSI)
   • $190 application; $140 renewal every two years
   • Every two years (July 15, even years); 16 hours CE

   You qualify with a completed registered apprenticeship or 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience, no more than half of it residential. There's also a 20,000-hour route for electrical maintenance workers. [2][4][9][12]

4. 4

   Master electrician

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • Yes: at least 80 questions on the NEC and Montana law, open book, 75% to pass (PSI)
   • $190 application; $140 renewal every two years
   • Every two years (July 15, even years); 16 hours CE

   Needs 8,000 hours of journeyman-level experience planning, laying out or supervising electrical work (or an electrical engineering degree plus 2,000 hours). A master can be the responsible electrician for an unlimited electrical contractor. [4][6][12]

5. 5

   Electrical contractor

   • $210 original license; $210 renewal every two years
   • Every two years (July 15, even years)

   A business license. You show workers' compensation and unemployment insurance coverage and name a responsible electrician: a master for an unlimited license, or a journeyman for a limited one under the Board's rule. [3][4][15]

Who needs a license in Montana

Montana law says a person may not "engage in or work at the business or trade of" electrician, residential electrician, journeyman, master or electrical contractor until they hold a license or permit from the Department of Labor & Industry. You must carry your license on the jobsite.

The law has exemptions. It doesn't apply to an apprentice working under a licensed electrician, to students doing class or lab work in a college electrician program, to work on your own home, to regular maintenance electricians working on their employer's premises, or to electrical work involving 90 volts or less.

Homeowners and licensees still need an electrical permit from the state Building Codes Program or a certified local government. [1][3][5]

The license ladder

• Registered apprentice: no license; you work under a licensed electrician on a registered apprenticeship agreement.
• Residential electrician: a completed residential apprenticeship or 4,000 hours in residential buildings with fewer than five living units. Exam of at least 50 questions.
• Journeyman electrician: a completed registered apprenticeship or 8,000 hours of practical experience. Exam of at least 60 questions. Since May 2024 the Board's rule says no more than 50% of that experience may be residential.
• Master electrician: 8,000 hours of journeyman-level experience planning, laying out or supervising work, or an electrical engineering degree plus 2,000 hours. Exam of at least 80 questions.

A third journeyman route covers 20,000 hours in electrical maintenance, at least 8,000 of them practical experience, with your employer's written certification. [2][3][4][6]

Recent change: finish your apprenticeship

House Bill 497, effective on approval in 2025, rewrote the journeyman section. It now accepts "completion of an approved apprenticeship program under Title 39, chapter 6, or a substantially equivalent program in the electrical trade," and it removed the separate route for a union or trade association training program.

It also defined "legally obtained practical experience" and said the term "does not include experience obtained during an apprenticeship that was not completed." If you leave an apprenticeship partway through, those hours don't count toward the 8,000.

The Board's journeyman checklist (revised July 2024) still lists the old union training route. The statute controls; confirm with the Board if this affects you. [2][7][8]

The exam

The Board approves your application first; then PSI sends an admission letter and you schedule your exam. Montana test centers are in Belgrade, Big Timber, Billings, Helena, Kalispell and Missoula. The Board's exam page says exams are based on the 2020 NEC (National Electrical Code). Montana's Building Codes Program lists the 2023 NEC as effective September 26, 2026, so confirm the exam's code edition with the Board before you buy a code book.

All exams are open book. You may bring an NEC book with tabs and your own notes, a basic non-programmable calculator, Montana's electrical statutes and rules, and the "Printreading" book named in the rule. The passing score is 70% for residential and journeyman exams and 75% for master.

You have one year from approval to pass. If you fail twice, you must attend an approved 8-hour code seminar before retaking. Exam fees are set by the testing company and paid to it. [4][5][9][10][11]

Fees and renewal

• Application for a license by exam: $190 (includes the original license).
• Application by endorsement or reciprocity: $190.
• Contractor original license: $210.
• Renewal every two years: $140 for residential, journeyman and master; $210 for contractors.

All licenses expire July 15 of even-numbered years, and renewal opens 60 days before. You need 16 hours of continuing education (CE) during each two-year renewal cycle, at least 8 on NEC updates. The Board amended its rule to say this effective February 7, 2026; the older rule text in the Board's 2024 booklet said sixteen hours "for each year in the renewal cycle." Graduates of approved apprenticeships are exempt in their first cycle. [4][12][13][14]

Electrical contractor license

To contract electrical work you need an electrical contractor license. You must prove workers' compensation and unemployment insurance coverage (or an independent contractor exemption) and name a responsible electrician.

The Board's contractor page says a master electrician must be the responsible party. Its rule also allows a limited contractor license with a journeyman as the responsible electrician, and state law allows journeyman supervision for residential buildings with fewer than five units. Ask the Board which license fits your work. [3][4][15]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

Montana Registered Apprenticeship registers apprentices for employers across the state and issues the completion certificate the Board accepts. It has hour books for both inside wireman and residential wireman apprentices.

Union programs are run by IBEW/NECA committees; use the Electrical Training Alliance locator to find the Montana program. The open-shop Montana IEC runs a four-year program, and MSU-Northern offers online related training for electrical apprentices. See union vs. non-union and electrician apprenticeships. [16][17][18][19][20][21]

If you're licensed in another state

Montana's endorsement law lets you get a license if you hold an active license in good standing from a jurisdiction whose qualifications are "substantially equivalent" to Montana's. The department publishes which states qualify. As of its August 2026 list, journeyman licenses from 20 states qualify (including Idaho, Washington, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado), master licenses from 5 states, and residential licenses from 4.

If your state isn't on the list, the Board's checklist says you take Montana's exam; state law also lets the board consider whether your actual qualifications and work experience make up the difference, so ask the Board. Military members, spouses and veterans relocating to Montana can get a license from a substantially equivalent state, or a temporary license while finishing requirements. See our reciprocity guide and reciprocity map. [4][8][22][23][24]

Steps to get licensed in Montana

1. Get hired and registered as an apprentice

   Apply to electrical contractors or a union or IEC program. Your employer registers you with Montana Registered Apprenticeship, and you log your hours in an hour book. [16][17]

2. Complete the apprenticeship or 8,000 hours

   Finish the apprenticeship and get DLI's completion certificate, or document 8,000 hours of legally obtained experience (at least half commercial, industrial or institutional) on the Board's Experience Verification Affidavit, signed by your employers. [2][4][8][16]

3. Apply to the Electrical Board

   Apply online through the Board's journeyman page with the $190 application fee. The Board must approve you before you can test. [4][8][13]

4. Pass the PSI exam

   After approval you get an admission letter and schedule with PSI. The exam is open book, and you need 70%. You have one year from approval to pass. The Board's exam page names the 2020 NEC, but the state adopted the 2023 NEC on September 26, 2026, so confirm the edition with the Board. [9][10][11]

5. Renew every two years

   Licenses expire July 15 of even-numbered years. Complete 16 hours of CE during each renewal cycle, at least 8 on NEC updates; new apprenticeship graduates are exempt for their first renewal cycle. [12][13][14]

Where to get the hours

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

• State program

  Montana Registered Apprenticeship

  The state apprenticeship agency in the Department of Labor & Industry. You apply directly to employers; the employer registers you, and DLI issues the completion certificate you need for the license. [16][17]

• Union

  IBEW/NECA joint apprenticeship (JATC) programs

  Union inside wireman and residential apprenticeships run by local committees. Typical requirements are age 18, a high school education, one year of algebra, a qualifying aptitude test score and being drug free. Find the Montana program with the locator. [18][19]

• Open shop

  Montana Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC)

  A four-year program with at least 576 classroom hours and 8,000 documented on-the-job hours. Classes meet one night a week in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls and Missoula, or online. [20]

• School

  MSU-Northern Apprenticeship Education

  Online related-training courses for apprentices working for an approved electrical or plumbing firm in Montana, recognized by DLI's apprenticeship program. [21]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask