How to become a licensed electrician in New Jersey

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

Licensing office New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (Division of Consumer Affairs) · (973) 504-6410 [2]

The license pathway in New Jersey

1. 1

   Class B Wireman

   • $100 application + $75 license
   • Every 3 years, $75; 15-hour NEC course including 1 hour of state law and rules

   For electrical workers who aren't apprentices, journeymen or contractors. You need a job with an electrical contractor business permit holder, who certifies that you'll work under a licensed contractor or Class A journeyman. A wireman can't supervise anyone. [5][11]

2. 2

   Class A Electrical Apprentice

   • $100 application + $150 license
   • Every 3 years, $150

   Required if you're enrolled in a four-year electrical apprenticeship registered with the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). You work within your apprenticeship under a licensed contractor or Class A journeyman. [6][11][22]

3. 3

   Class A Journeyman Electrician

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 576 hours of related instruction
   • $100 application + $150 license
   • Every 3 years, $150; 15 hours of NEC continuing education

   Can supervise electrical work for a contractor. You qualify with 8,000 hours of hands-on experience (at least 4,000 within the last five years) and 576 classroom hours, by holding a contractor license, or through alternative means the Board accepts. [1][3][11][13][14]

4. 4

   Electrical Contractor

   • 5 years of experience
   • Yes: three written sections (electrical contractor, business and law, alarm systems)
   • $100 application + $225 license; $150 business permit
   • Every 3 years, $225; 34 hours CE

   Needed to run an electrical contracting business, together with a business permit. You must be over 21 with a high school diploma or equivalent, and have five years of experience: a four-year USDOL apprenticeship followed by one year as a journeyman. [1][7][8][9][11][12][15]

Who needs a license in New Jersey

Until recently, New Jersey licensed only electrical contractors. The Board's FAQ (frequently asked questions), last updated in April 2024, still says "the electrical contractor license is the only category of electrical license available in New Jersey." That's no longer true.

P.L. 2021, c.479, signed January 18, 2022, created three licenses for workers: Class A journeyman electrician, Class A electrical apprentice and Class B wireman. Once the transition ends, the law says "no person shall perform electrical work who is not licensed as an electrical contractor, Class A journeyman electrician, Class A electrical apprentice, or Class B wireman."

The Board's rules for the new licenses took effect on June 2, 2025. The Board's home page now warns that "effective December 31st, 2027 any employee working in the field of electrical contracting will be required to demonstrate licensure" in one of those four categories. The law itself set a shorter transition (the 13th month after enactment), so the Board's date is the enforcement date to plan around. Confirm your situation with the Board at (973) 504-6410.

Some work is exempt from the contractor business permit, including minor repairs like replacing lamps and fuses, work under 10 volts, and work by a person on a home they live in. [1][2][4][5]

The license ladder

• Class B wireman: for anyone employed to do electrical work who isn't a contractor, journeyman or apprentice. You need a job with an electrical contractor business permit holder. You work under a licensed contractor or Class A journeyman and can't supervise others.
• Class A electrical apprentice: for anyone enrolled in a four-year electrical apprenticeship registered with the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). Working as an apprentice without this license counts as practicing without a license.
• Class A journeyman electrician: 8,000 hours of hands-on experience under the National Electrical Code (NEC), plus at least 576 classroom hours. At least 4,000 hours must fall within five years of your application. Time spent supervising, engineering, estimating or managing doesn't count. A journeyman can supervise electrical work for a contractor. The rule sets no journeyman exam.
• Electrical contractor: over age 21, high school diploma or equivalent, and five years in the trade: a four-year USDOL apprenticeship, then at least one year (2,000 hours) as a journeyman. You must pass a three-part exam. A contractor's business also needs a business permit.

[1][3][5][6][7][8]

The contractor exam

The Board's exam is written and given by a third-party vendor. It has three sections: electrical contractor (trade), business and law, and alarm systems. You must pass all three, and the Board gives exams at least four times a year.

If you fail a section, you must wait six months to retake it. If you fail the same section a third time, you lose your passing scores and must retake every section. Your application is closed if you don't sit for the exam within two years of approval, or don't pass every section within five years.

Applications go through phases. The Board estimates 1 to 2 weeks for its first review and 4 to 8 weeks to clear any problems, and it meets once a month. [4][9][10]

Fees and renewal

All New Jersey electrical licenses renew every three years. The Board's fee rule (amended June 2, 2025) sets:

• Application fee for any license: $100, nonrefundable.
• Class A journeyman: $150 initial license fee if paid in the first year of the three-year cycle ($100 in the second year, $50 in the third); $150 to renew.
• Class B wireman: $75 initial (then $50 and $25); $75 to renew.
• Class A apprentice: $150 initial (then $100 and $50); $150 to renew.
• Electrical contractor: $225 initial (then $150 and $75); $225 to renew. Business permit: $150 initial, $150 to renew.
• Late renewal within 30 days: $50. If you don't renew within 30 days, your license is suspended.

Continuing education (CE): journeymen and wiremen take a 15-hour course on the latest NEC each cycle. Contractors need 34 hours, including a 10-hour in-person course (nine hours of code and one of New Jersey law). Contractors skip CE in the cycle when they were first licensed. [1][5][11][12][13][14][15]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

Every route to the journeyman and contractor licenses runs through a USDOL-registered apprenticeship. While you're in one, you need a Class A apprentice license.

• Union: IBEW/NECA Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees (JATCs) run union programs. Find yours with the Electrical Training Alliance locator. Typical requirements are age 18, a high school education, a year of algebra and a passing aptitude test score.
• Open shop: the New Jersey IEC runs a four-year program with at least 576 classroom hours and 8,000 on-the-job hours, the same numbers the journeyman rule uses. It also offers an online "Fast Track" program for qualified journeypersons. ABC New Jersey lists electrician among its apprenticeships.
• State: the NJ Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship is the contact for the New Jersey Apprenticeship Network.

Compare the routes in union vs. non-union and electrician apprenticeships. [6][16][17][18][19][20]

If you're licensed in another state

The Board's FAQ answers plainly: "New Jersey does not have reciprocity with any other state." The 2021 law lets the Board, at its discretion, license people licensed elsewhere without an exam, but only where the other state offers New Jersey licensees equal reciprocity. The Board publishes no such agreements.

For short jobs, the Board can issue a temporary license without an exam to an out-of-state Class A journeyman, apprentice or wireman. You can get one per three-year cycle, and it covers up to 30 days of work; longer work needs a full license. A temporary journeyman must work under a licensed contractor and can't supervise. The fee is $75.

See our license reciprocity guide and reciprocity map. [1][4][11]

If you already work in the trade

If you already work for an electrical contractor without a license, the 2021 law gives you a path. If you held the old "qualified journeyman electrician" registration, it converts to a Class A journeyman license. An employee who isn't a contractor, journeyman or apprentice gets licensed as a Class B wireman.

Separately, people working on premises a company occupies, or employees of the state, a county, town or school district, may do electrical work there without a contractor permit. In most cases they must hold a Class A journeyman license; the law lists exceptions, such as certain civil service titles. [1]

Steps to get licensed in New Jersey

1. Get hired and get the right license for your role

   If you join a USDOL-registered four-year electrical apprenticeship, apply for a Class A electrical apprentice license. If you work for an electrical contractor outside an apprenticeship, apply for a Class B wireman license. Online applications are on the Board's applications page. [5][6][21]

2. Finish your apprenticeship hours and classes

   Build 8,000 hours of hands-on experience and at least 576 classroom hours. At least 4,000 of the hours must be within five years of when you apply for the journeyman license. [3]

3. Apply for the Class A journeyman license

   Submit the online Class A Journeyman application and the Class A Journeyman Work Certification form with the $100 application fee. After approval you pay the license fee ($150 in the first year of a three-year cycle). [3][10][11][21]

4. Work one year as a journeyman, then apply for the contractor exam

   After finishing a four-year USDOL apprenticeship, work at least 2,000 hours as a journeyman. Then apply to the Board for the contractor exam with the Electrical Contractors Work Experience Certification. [8][21]

5. Pass all three exam sections and get licensed

   Pass the electrical contractor, business and law, and alarm systems sections. Then pay the license fee and get a business permit to run your own contracting business. [1][9][10][11][12]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  IBEW/NECA joint apprenticeship (JATC) programs

  Union apprenticeships run by local Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees. Typical entry requirements are age 18, a high school education, one year of high school algebra and a qualifying aptitude test score; you apply to your local JATC. [16][17]

• Open shop

  New Jersey IEC apprenticeship

  A four-year program with at least 576 classroom hours and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training, recognized by the USDOL Office of Apprenticeship. Evening classes in Somerset, with first-year classes also at partner schools. [18]

• Open shop

  ABC New Jersey apprenticeship

  Associated Builders and Contractors' New Jersey chapter lists electrician among its apprenticeships. Applicants must be 18 or older; you submit a resume, take a placement test and are connected with member employers, who may enroll you after a 45-day probationary period. [19]

• State program

  NJ Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship

  The state's contact and technical resource for employers, schools and current or future apprentices in the New Jersey Apprenticeship Network. [20]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask