How to get an electrician license in Oregon

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

Licensing office Oregon Building Codes Division (BCD), Department of Consumer and Business Services · 503-373-1268 [1][3]

The license pathway in Oregon

1. 1

   Electrical apprentice

   • Set by your program (e.g. 180 hours a year in the Portland-area NECA-IBEW program)

   You register in a state-approved apprenticeship program and BCD issues an electrical apprentice license. You work under licensed electricians while you take related classes. [2][4]

2. 2

   Limited residential electrician (LR)

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • Oregon apprenticeship, or 288 hours with out-of-state experience
   • Yes, 3 hours, 52 questions, open book
   • $100
   • Every 3 years; 16 hours CE (8 code change) plus Oregon rules and law course

   An optional limited license for wiring dwellings up to three floors above grade, working under a general supervising electrician. Out-of-state applicants show 4,000 hours of residential experience plus 288 classroom hours. [1][6][8]

3. 3

   General journeyman electrician (J)

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 576 hours (out-of-state route); Oregon apprenticeship otherwise
   • Yes, 3 hours, 52 questions, open book
   • $100
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE incl. 8 code change, plus 4-hour Oregon rules and law

   Lets you make any electrical installation, generally under a general supervising electrician. You qualify by completing an approved Oregon apprenticeship, or with 8,000 hours and 576 classroom hours from out of state. [1][4][5][6][8]

4. 4

   General supervising electrician (S)

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • Yes, 4 hours, 64 questions, open book
   • $100
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE incl. 12 code change, plus 4-hour Oregon rules and law

   Oregon's master-level license. You need 8,000 hours of experience as a journeyman after the J license. The S can plan and lay out work, signs permits and is the only person who can direct work on an electrical service. [1][5][6][8]

5. 5

   Electrical contractor

   • $125 per year for each place of business

   The business license. The contractor must continuously employ at least one full-time general supervising electrician (with some exemptions), and also needs a Construction Contractors Board license and bond. [4][5]

Who licenses electricians in Oregon

Electrical licenses in Oregon come from the Building Codes Division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. Besides the general journeyman (J) and general supervising (S) licenses, BCD issues limited licenses for narrower work: limited residential (LR), limited maintenance (LME), manufacturing plant (PJ and PS), limited energy technician (LEA and LEB), renewable energy technician (LRT), sign, stage and building maintenance electricians.

Questions about licensing go to BCD's licensing staff at (503) 373-1268 or license.bcd@dcbs.oregon.gov. [1][3]

The license ladder: apprentice, journeyman, supervising electrician

Apprentice. Oregon law gives an electrical apprentice license to a person registered as an electrical apprentice under the state apprenticeship law.

General journeyman (J). The law requires at least four years of experience as an apprentice or its equivalent, including at least 1,000 hours wiring single- or multifamily homes, plus a written exam. In practice BCD accepts completion of an approved Oregon apprenticeship. Applicants from outside Oregon can instead show official transcripts for 576 classroom hours and 8,000 hours of experience with at least 1,000 hours each in residential, commercial and industrial work, or 16,000 hours of experience.

General supervising (S). This is Oregon's master-level license. You need 8,000 hours of journeyman-level experience on top of journeyman qualifications, and an exam. The S directs and supervises installations, signs permits and is the only person who can direct work on an electrical service.

Limited residential (LR). A shorter path for home wiring: an Oregon apprenticeship, or 4,000 hours of residential experience and 288 classroom hours from out of state. Under state law, an LR who then works two years as an LR and two more years as an apprentice in commercial and industrial work can qualify for the J exam. [1][4][5]

The exam

The J exam is 3 hours and 52 questions; the S exam is 4 hours and 64 questions. Both are open book, using the approved testing materials BCD lists.

Once BCD approves your application, it mails you a Letter of Authorization. You schedule the exam yourself with the testing site you chose and must test within 60 days of the letter. Test sites are mostly community colleges, including Portland Community College (Sylvania), Chemeketa (Salem), Central Oregon Community College (Bend) and Rogue Community College (White City). The site sends your exam to BCD for grading, and results arrive by mail in about two weeks. If you fail, you wait 30 days before retaking it.

The 2026 Oregon Electrical Specialty Code, based on the 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC), took effect Oct. 1, 2026. Confirm with BCD which code edition your exam uses. [1][3][6][7]

Fees and renewal

The application fee for a J, S or LR license is $100; limited energy, sign, stage, building maintenance and renewable energy licenses are $50. Fees are nonrefundable. Under state law the J and S fee covers a three-year license.

Licenses renew on a fixed statewide cycle: BCD lists the next renewal date for all J licenses as Oct. 1, 2027, and for all S licenses as Oct. 1, 2028. Each three-year cycle you need approved continuing education (CE):

• General journeyman: 24 hours, including 8 hours of code change.
• General or limited supervising: 24 hours, including 12 hours of code change.
• Limited residential: 16 hours, including 8 hours of code change.

All of these also need a 4-hour Oregon rules and law course on top of the code-change hours. Classes can be in person, online or by correspondence if approved. [1][4][6][8]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

Oregon's apprenticeship programs are registered by the BOLI Apprenticeship and Training Division.

The union route in the Portland area is the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center, whose Inside Electrician standard runs 8,000 on-the-job hours. Applicants must be at least 17 to apply and 18 at registration, have a high school diploma (2.00 GPA), qualifying GED or associate degree, and one year of high school algebra with a C or better. Related training is at least 180 hours a year.

The main non-union route is IEC of Oregon, which runs inside electrical and limited residential apprenticeships. In the Salem area it partners with Chemeketa Community College, where the program is 4 years with 8,000 on-the-job hours and entry-level apprentices earn at least $19.94 an hour. [2][9][10][11][12]

If you're licensed in another state

Oregon has reciprocity agreements for the general journeyman (J) license with Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, and for the general supervising (S) license with Arkansas and Utah. BCD says it only signs these with states that have substantially similar licensing.

To qualify, your license must be current with no violations in the past three years, you must have qualified for it through work experience and passed that state's exam with 75% or better (for the J license, the rule also accepts the qualifications and minimum score set in the reciprocal agreement), you must have worked at least 1,000 hours under it, and you can't have failed the Oregon exam for that license in the past two years. For J reciprocity, BCD also says you must have qualified through four years of apprenticeship education (at least 576 classroom hours) and 8,000 hours under a licensed journeyman. Washington applicants must have completed an Oregon or Washington apprenticeship and passed Washington's exam.

Apply with the Reciprocal Electrical License Application; the fee is $100. If your state isn't on the list, you can apply under the out-of-state experience rules and take the Oregon exam. [1][6][13][14]

Electrical contractor license

An electrical contractor license lets a company do electrical installations for others. It is in addition to the license and bond required by Oregon's Construction Contractors Board. The contractor must continuously employ at least one full-time general supervising electrician, except where exempt, and that supervising electrician signs permits and can supervise for only one contractor. The state fee is $125 a year for each place of business. [4][5]

Career changers: military and other experience

BCD evaluates military training and experience case by case; it must match the license criteria and be documented by supervising officials or other reliable records. Experience from outside Oregon must be lawful where you gained it.

Apprenticeship programs set their own entry rules. The NECA-IBEW Inside Electrician program, for example, asks for a minimum age, a diploma, GED or associate degree, and a year of algebra. Check each program's requirements. [2][6]

Steps to get licensed in Oregon

1. Join a registered apprenticeship

   Apply to a BOLI-registered electrical program such as the NECA-IBEW training center or IEC of Oregon. Once registered, you qualify for BCD's electrical apprentice license. [2][4][11]

2. Finish 8,000 hours and the classroom work

   Complete the program's on-the-job hours and related classes. The NECA-IBEW Inside Electrician program, for example, needs 8,000 hours and at least 180 class hours a year in its early years. [2]

3. Apply to BCD for the J license

   Send the application with the $100 fee. BCD mails you a Letter of Authorization listing your test site and the approved testing materials. [3][8]

4. Schedule and take the exam within 60 days

   Book your exam with the testing site, usually a community college. Results come by mail in about two weeks; if you fail you must wait 30 days to retest. [3]

5. Renew every three years

   Complete 24 hours of approved continuing education, including 8 hours of code change and a 4-hour Oregon rules and law course, and pay the renewal fee. [4][6]

Where to get the hours

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

• State program

  Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), Apprenticeship and Training Division

  The state agency that registers and supports apprenticeship programs in Oregon. [9]

• Union

  NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center (Portland)

  Joint union-employer program sponsored by NECA and IBEW. Its Inside Electrician apprenticeship is 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and leads to the J license. Applicants must be 17 to apply and 18 to register. [2][10]

• Union

  IBEW/NECA training centers (Electrical Training Alliance locator)

  Find the union inside-wireman training center for other parts of Oregon. [15]

• Open shop

  Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) of Oregon

  Non-union association that runs inside electrical and limited residential apprenticeships, including programs for the Roseburg and Bend areas. [11]

• School

  Chemeketa Community College, Inside Wire Electrician

  Chemeketa partners with IEC of Oregon on a BOLI-registered 4-year apprenticeship with 8,000 on-the-job hours; apprentices can also earn a Chemeketa certificate. [12]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask