How to get an electrician license in Washington

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

Licensing office Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), Electrical Program · 360-902-5269 [1][10]

The license pathway in Washington

1. 1

   Electrical trainee

   • 48 hours of basic trainee classes every 2-year renewal
   • $48.10 online or $56.00 by mail/in person
   • Every 2 years; $59.20 online or $67.90 by mail

   Your first certificate. It lets you learn the trade on the job under the supervision of a certified electrician. To work toward the 01 certificate you must also be registered in an approved apprenticeship. [4][5][9][10]

2. 2

   Specialty electrician

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • 48 hours for 4,000-hour specialties (24 hours for 2,000-hour specialties)
   • Yes, specialty exam through PSI
   • $114.60 application
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE

   Covers one kind of work, such as residential (02), limited energy (06) or nonresidential maintenance (07). Six specialties take 4,000 hours; eight take 2,000. [1][3][9]

3. 3

   General journey level electrician (01)

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 96 hours of basic classroom instruction
   • Yes, open book, PSI; 70% on each section
   • $114.60 application
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE incl. 8 code update and 4 RCW/WAC

   Lets you do all types of electrical and telecommunications installations. You qualify by finishing an 8,000-hour approved apprenticeship, with at least 4,000 hours of new commercial or industrial work. [1][2][7][9]

4. 4

   Master electrician

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes, master exam through PSI
   • $204.60 exam application (includes original certificate)
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE; $175.70 online

   After 4 years as a certified 01 journey level electrician you can take the master exam. A master electrician can work with the tools and can be assigned as the administrator for an electrical contractor. [2][6][9]

5. 5

   Electrical contractor

   • $353.90 per 2-year license by mail or in person
   • Every 2 years; $306.20 if renewed fully online

   The business license. You need a UBI number, an assigned administrator or master electrician, a $4,000 surety bond (or savings assignment) and, if you hire employees, a workers' compensation account. [9][14]

Who needs an electrician certificate in Washington

To work in the electrical construction trade in Washington, you must have a valid electrician certificate issued by L&I. The trade includes installing and maintaining wiring and equipment for light, heat or power, and remote control, signaling, power-limited and communication systems.

There are two main kinds of certificate: the general journey level (01) certificate, which covers all types of electrical and telecommunications installations, and specialty certificates, which cover one kind of work. Washington has 14 specialty categories. [1]

The license ladder: trainee, journey level, master

Trainee. Everyone starts with an electrical training certificate. You must be at least 16, work under the supervision of a certified electrician on the same jobsite, and renew the certificate every 2 years. Each renewal needs 48 hours of approved basic trainee classes. In general, one 01 journey level electrician can supervise one trainee on 01 work.

Journey level (01). To sit the exam you must finish an 8,000-hour electrical apprenticeship approved under Washington law. At least 4,000 of those hours must be new industrial or commercial installations, and no more than 4,000 can come from specialty work. You also need 96 hours of basic classroom instruction.

Master electrician. (State law calls it a master journey level electrician certificate.) After holding a 01 certificate for at least 4 years (or a specialty certificate for 2 years, for a specialty master), you can take the master exam. A master can work with the tools and can be assigned as the administrator who answers for an electrical contractor's work.

Experience you gain illegally does not count, for example working without a valid training certificate, working out of ratio, or working for an unlicensed contractor. [2][3][4][5][6]

What changed on July 1, 2026

State law has required an approved apprenticeship for the 01 exam since July 1, 2023, but L&I's rule allowed a temporary exception. Trainees who had 3,000 hours of lawful experience (or had finished a two-year training school program) before July 1, 2023 could qualify with 8,000 hours of experience without finishing an apprenticeship. That exception only applied if L&I received the exam application and documents before July 1, 2026.

If you are starting now, plan on the apprenticeship route for the 01 certificate. Specialty certificates do not require an apprenticeship. [2][3][4]

The exam

L&I approves you to test, and PSI gives the exam. All Washington electrical exams are open book. You may bring the National Electrical Code (NEC, the national wiring rulebook), printed copies of Washington's electrical law (chapter 19.28 RCW) and rules (chapter 296-46B WAC) in a three-ring binder, and published reference books with only highlighting, underlining and permanent tabs.

The 01 electrician exam has two sections: NEC and theory (about 60 questions, 3 hours) and Washington laws and rules (about 17 questions, 1 hour). PSI's bulletin (October 2025) says questions are based on the 2020 NEC, and L&I's exam page lists the 2020 edition of the NEC as the code book to bring. You must score 70% on each section.

You have one year from your approval letter to pass. You can retake only the sections you failed, waiting at least 14 days between attempts; after three failures of a section in a year, you wait 90 days between attempts. Schedule with PSI online or by phone at (855) 834-8751. [7][8]

Fees and renewal

L&I's fees (rule effective July 1, 2026):

• Trainee certificate: $48.10 online or $56.00 by mail or in person; renewal $59.20 online or $67.90 by mail.
• Journey level, specialty or reciprocal certificate application: $114.60 (includes the original certificate).
• Journey level or specialty renewal: $92.60 online or $106.40 by mail; late renewal costs about twice as much.
• Master electrician exam application: $204.60; master renewal $175.70 online.

PSI's exam fee is separate. PSI bills electrician exams by the hour, from $45 for one hour to $105 for seven hours; a 4-hour sitting is $75.

Electrician certificates renew every 3 years and expire on your birthdate. You need 24 hours of approved continuing education (CE, required classes for license holders), including 8 hours of code update and 4 hours of RCW/WAC. A certificate expired more than 90 days can't be renewed; you must retest. [1][8][9]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships in Washington

L&I's apprenticeship page lists the approved 01 programs by county. They include joint apprenticeship and training committees (JATCs) such as the Puget Sound, Northwest Washington and Southwest Washington Electrical JATCs, and the LU 112 - NECA Electrical Apprenticeship Committee. The Puget Sound JATC's state-approved standards describe it as an IBEW/NECA JATC, sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (the electricians' union) and the National Electrical Contractors Association. The Construction Industry Training Council of Washington (CITC) runs a Construction Electrician program for all counties, and some programs are open only to one company's employees. For union programs elsewhere in the state, use the Electrical Training Alliance locator.

The Puget Sound Electrical JATC's Inside Wireman program runs 8,000 hours, and applicants must be 18. The CITC program also runs 8,000 hours, requires applicants to be 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent, and sets at least 144 hours a year of instructor-led classroom training.

If you already hold certain 4,000-hour specialty certificates, apprenticeship programs must credit 4,000 hours toward completion. [10][11][12][13]

If you're licensed in another state

Oregon. L&I's electrician page lists one reciprocal agreement, with Oregon. If you hold an Oregon general journeyman (J) license earned through an 8,000-hour apprenticeship with at least 576 classroom hours and an Oregon exam, or an Oregon general supervising (S) license earned by exam, you may apply for a reciprocal 01 certificate. You are not eligible if you failed the Washington 01 exam in the last two years.

Other states. You can still qualify to take the Washington 01 exam with an 8,000-hour apprenticeship completed elsewhere that is equivalent to a Washington one, an out-of-state journeyman license earned by exam in a state requiring 8,000 hours, or 16,000 hours of out-of-state experience. In each case 4,000 hours must be new commercial or industrial work. Apply with the Out-of-State Application for Electrical Examination; L&I says there is no online option. [1][2]

Contractor license

To run an electrical contracting business you need an electrical contractor license from L&I. Requirements: a UBI business number, an assigned administrator or master electrician, an original $4,000 electrical contractor surety bond (or assignment of savings) and a workers' compensation account if you hire employees. The license renews every 2 years and costs $353.90 by mail or in person ($306.20 to renew fully online).

An administrator certificate needs no experience to test for, but it does not let the holder do electrical work. All work must be done by certified electricians. [7][9][14]

Career changers: school and military credit

A two-year electrical program at a public community or technical college, or an approved nonprofit trade school, can substitute for up to two years of work experience toward the 01 exam. You still need two more years of commercial or industrial work. L&I publishes the list of approved training schools.

Veterans who worked 8,000 hours as electricians in a construction battalion may qualify for the 01 exam. Other military electrical experience may count toward a specialty exam, or toward apprenticeship hours if the program's committee approves. L&I charges no fee to evaluate military experience; call (360) 902-5269 with questions. [2][10][15]

Steps to get licensed in Washington

1. Get an electrical training certificate

   Apply online with L&I for a trainee certificate. You must be at least 16 and have a Social Security number or ITIN. The fee is $48.10 online. [4][9]

2. Join an approved 01 apprenticeship

   Contact a program on L&I's (01) program list. Programs choose their apprentices, and an employer must be a training agent for the program. [10]

3. Work 8,000 supervised hours and take classes

   Finish the apprenticeship's 8,000 hours, including 4,000 hours of new commercial or industrial work, and 96 hours of basic classroom instruction. Renew your trainee certificate every 2 years with 48 class hours. [1][2][4]

4. Apply to L&I for the exam

   Your training director sends an Affidavit of Experience. Mail it with the In-State Application for Electrical Examination and the $114.60 fee. [9][10]

5. Schedule and pass the PSI exam

   After L&I approves you, schedule with PSI within one year of your approval letter. You need 70% on each section. [7]

6. Renew every 3 years

   Renew by your birthdate with 24 hours of approved continuing education, including 8 hours of code update and 4 hours of RCW/WAC. [1]

Where to get the hours

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

• State program

  L&I list of approved (01) electrical apprenticeship programs

  L&I keeps the list of approved 01 programs by county, union and non-union. To do 01 work, trainees must be registered in an approved Washington, Oregon or Montana program. [10]

• Union

  Puget Sound Electrical JATC (IBEW/NECA)

  Joint apprenticeship and training committee (JATC) serving King, Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties. Its Inside Wireman program leads to the 01 certificate and runs 8,000 hours. [10][11][16]

• Union

  IBEW/NECA training centers (Electrical Training Alliance locator)

  Find the union inside-wireman training center for your part of Washington. [13]

• Other

  Construction Industry Training Council of Washington (CITC), Construction Electrician

  CITC, a state-licensed vocational trade school for the construction industry, sponsors an 8,000-hour Construction Electrician (01) program approved by the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council, covering all counties. Applicants must be 18. [10][12]

• School

  L&I-approved electrical training schools

  Approved two-year programs, such as the 01 programs at Bates Technical College (Tacoma) and Perry Technical Institute (Yakima), can count toward part of the required experience. [2][15]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask