Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

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North Carolina Electrician License: Requirements 2026

North Carolina licenses electrical contracting businesses and certifies the individual who stands behind them. There is no state journeyman card and no state apprentice card. Everything below comes from the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, the licensing law in Chapter 87 and the Board's rules.

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What the state actually licenses

The license belongs to the business. G.S. 87-43 says no person, partnership, firm or corporation may engage in electrical contracting in North Carolina without a license in the right classification from the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors.

The individual side of it is the qualified individual. G.S. 87-41.1 defines that person as someone who has passed the Board's examination and been certified, and a listed qualified individual as the one whose name sits on a contractor's license with the duty and authority to supervise and direct the work.

So two things are issued, and they are not the same thing. The company holds the license. A named person holds the certification that makes the license work.

There is no state journeyman or master license

The Board's classification list carries Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited and seven special restricted classifications. None of them is a journeyman license, a master license or an apprentice registration.

That surprises people who move here from a state that issues cards to individuals. In North Carolina the word journeyman shows up in three other places instead: as an experience credit category in the Board's rules, as the completion card from a registered apprenticeship, and as a City of Raleigh certificate.

None of those three is a state license, and none of them lets you contract on your own.

Who can do electrical work without holding anything

G.S. 87-43.1 lists the exemptions, and one of them covers most working electricians. A person doing the work as a bona fide employee of a licensee of the Board is exempt, which is how thousands of people wire buildings here for pay with nothing in their own name.

Homeowners get their own exemption. The same statute exempts a person doing electrical work on property they own, for their own benefit, when the property is not intended at the time for rent, lease or sale.

Read both narrowly. The employee exemption runs through your employer's license, so it ends the day that license does.

The classifications and what each one allows

The Board prints three main classifications. Limited covers a single project up to $60,000 with equipment rated at a maximum of 600 volts, and the annual license fee is $100. Intermediate covers a single project up to $150,000 at $150 a year. Unlimited covers any project regardless of value at $200 a year.

The statute prints higher numbers than the Board's site does. G.S. 87-43.3 reads $100,000 for Limited and $200,000 for Intermediate, and leaves the value to be established by the Board, and the Board's own 2025 application still uses bonding statements built on $60,001 and $150,001. The same two sources split on voltage: the Board's page caps Limited equipment at 600 volts and the statute caps it at not more than 1,000 volts. We could not confirm which figure the Board enforces today, so both are on this page and on the classification page.

Seven special restricted classifications sit beside those three at $100 a year each: Residential Dwelling, Fire Alarm and Low-Voltage, Plumbing and Heating and Air Conditioning, Swimming Pool, Groundwater Pump, Electric Sign and Elevator.

The experience the Board asks for

Hours are counted as a total with a floor of primary experience inside it. The examination application and the Board's rules set them by classification.

• Limited: at least 3,000 hours, of which at least 2,000 are primary
• Intermediate: at least 5,750 hours, of which at least 5,000 are primary
• Unlimited: at least 9,000 hours, of which at least 8,000 are primary
• Special restricted classes: at least 3,000 hours, of which at least 2,000 are primary

Primary experience is time spent directly on the installation of electrical wiring and equipment governed by the National Electrical Code, or work directly related to it. The rules credit journeyman electricians, foremen, superintendents, estimators, inspectors, maintenance electricians and military electricians at E-4 and above at 100 percent, and count 2,000 hours as one creditable year.

The path, in order

1. Get hired by a licensed electrical contractor. The employee exemption in G.S. 87-43.1 covers you while you learn.
2. Log hours. Keep dates, addresses and the type of work, because the Employer Statement form asks your employer to certify them.
3. Reach the hour floor for the classification you want.
4. File the examination application with two character statements and the $125 application and examination fee. Unlimited applicants add two Supervise and Direct statements.
5. Sit the PSI examination and score at least 70.
6. File the new license application with the annual license fee, and with a statement of bonding ability if the classification is Intermediate or Unlimited.
7. Get listed as the qualified individual on the license, then take the Board's free four hour Laws and Rules class within 12 months.

Nothing in that list requires a degree. Age 18 and a filed application are the stated minimums on the examination application.

The examination in one paragraph

PSI runs the examinations for the Board. The Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited papers are 100 multiple choice questions with a maximum of six hours, and the pass mark is a grade of 70 out of 100.

You carry two books at most. The 2020 National Electrical Code is required on every examination, and the 2013 edition of NFPA 72 goes in for some classifications. The licensing law, the Board's rules and the NASCLA business guide are closed book references, and the Lighting and Power Plans are printed at the back of the handbook.

The Board does not run a preparation class and will not recommend one. Its published advice is to read the Examination Information Handbook end to end and to work from the subject matter scope inside it.

What it costs

The fee schedule is short. The application and examination fee is $125 for every classification and it is not refundable. An examination review is $25.

The annual license fee is $100 for Limited, $150 for Intermediate, $200 for Unlimited and $100 for each special restricted classification. Late renewal adds $25.

Smaller items sit under those: $25 to verify a license, $15 for a duplicate, $15 for a decorative certificate and $6 for a qualified individual patch.

Keeping the license once you have it

Renewal is annual. The Board's application and continuing education pages describe a license period that runs July 1 to June 30, while the licensing page says a license expires one year from issuance. We could not confirm which controls your own certificate, so check your renewal notice and the Board's online renewal login rather than assuming.

Continuing education is tied to the person, not the company. Every listed qualified individual has to complete it for each annual license period before the license renews.

The hours are eight for Unlimited, Intermediate, Limited and Residential Dwelling, and four for the other special restricted classes, with at least half of them taken in person.

Questions people ask

Do I need a license to do electrical work in North Carolina?

Not if you are a bona fide employee of a business licensed by the Board. G.S. 87-43.1 exempts that work, so the license sits with your employer. You need a license of your own once you contract for electrical work yourself.

Is there a journeyman electrician license in North Carolina?

Not at state level. The Board's classification list has Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited and seven special restricted classes, and no journeyman card. The City of Raleigh runs a separate journeyman certificate through its own Electrical Examining Board.

How many hours do I need for a North Carolina electrical license?

It depends on the classification. Limited asks for 3,000 hours with 2,000 of them primary, Intermediate for 5,750 with 5,000 primary, and Unlimited for 9,000 with 8,000 primary. The Board counts 2,000 hours as one creditable year.

How much does a North Carolina electrical contractor license cost?

The application and examination fee is $125 and it is not refundable. After you pass, the annual license fee is $100 for Limited, $150 for Intermediate and $200 for Unlimited, and $100 for each special restricted classification.

What is a listed qualified individual?

It is the person named on a contractor's license who has passed the Board's examination and carries the duty and authority to supervise and direct the electrical work. G.S. 87-43 requires at least one of them to be regularly on active duty at each separate place of business.

Can a homeowner do their own wiring in North Carolina?

G.S. 87-43.1 exempts a person doing electrical work on their own property for their own benefit when the property is not intended at the time for rent, lease or sale. Mecklenburg County restates that rule and adds that a homeowner acting as their own trade contractor has to install the work personally. Permits and inspections still apply.

How old do I have to be to sit the examination?

Eighteen. The examination application lists a minimum age of 18, a duly filed application and written statements from at least two people attesting to good character.

What this page cites

• G.S. 87-43 Requires a license in the applicable classification before anyone engages in electrical contracting, and puts a listed qualified individual at each place of business. source
• G.S. 87-43.1 Lists the exemptions, including the bona fide employee of a licensee and the homeowner working on their own property. source
• NCBEEC licensing page Prints the three main classifications, the seven special restricted classes and the annual license fee for each. source
• NCBEEC examination application Sets the age, the character statements and the experience hours by classification, and the $125 non refundable fee. source
• 21 NCAC 18B Defines primary and secondary experience, the credit percentages and the grade of 70 needed to pass. source
• NCBEEC fee schedule Carries every fee the Board charges, including the $25 late renewal fee. source