Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

Every number the Board charges

NC Electrical License Fees and Renewal: Every Amount

This is the Board's own fee schedule, put in the order you meet the charges. It also covers the renewal period, the late fee and the one point where the Board's own pages describe the renewal date two different ways.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

What it costs to apply and sit

The application and examination fee is $125.00 for every classification, and the Board says it is not refundable. That single payment covers the application and the examination.

An examination review costs $25.00, and the Board publishes an Exam Review Application for it.

Re-applying after a failure uses the Re-Apply for Examination form on the forms page. The three month wait applies before the next attempt.

The annual license fee

• Limited: $100.00
• Intermediate: $150.00
• Unlimited: $200.00
• Each special restricted classification: $100.00

These come from the Board's fees and services schedule and match the figures on its licensing page.

The license fee is separate from the $125 you paid to sit. Passing the examination does not issue anything until the new license application and the fee arrive.

The other charges

• Late license renewal: $25.00
• Returned or bad check: $25.00
• Verification of license: $25.00
• Duplicate license: $15.00
• Permanent decorative certificate: $15.00
• Qualified individual patch: $6.00
• Licensee listing as a csv file: $50.00
• Examinee listing as a csv file: $50.00

Every one of those is printed on the Board's fee schedule.

The bonding statement is not a fee

Intermediate and Unlimited licenses need a statement of bonding ability to activate. The Board's application uses $60,001 at Intermediate and $150,001 at Unlimited.

What that costs you depends on your surety, not on the Board. Budget for it separately, and start the conversation before you file, because it is the item most likely to hold up an activation.

The renewal period, and the wrinkle in it

Renewal is annual. The Board's application and its continuing education page both describe a license period that runs July 1 to June 30.

The Board's licensing page also says a license expires one year from issuance. Those two readings do not give the same date for a license issued in, say, February, and we could not confirm which one governs. There is no dedicated renewal page on the Board's site to settle it.

So do not work it out from a web page. Read the renewal notice the Board sends and check the date on your own record in the ARLS login.

How to renew

Renewal runs online through the Board's ARLS system, and the Board also publishes a renewal form on its forms page.

Continuing education has to be done first. The Board's rule is that every listed qualified individual completes the required hours for each annual license period in order for the license to renew, so check your credits before you pay.

Miss the date and the late fee is $25.00. That is a flat charge rather than a running penalty.

Pausing and restarting a license

If you stop contracting, the Board publishes a Request Inactive Status Form rather than making you surrender the license. Coming back uses the License Reactivation Application.

Changing the company name uses the Company Name Change Application, and moving between classifications uses the License Upgrade or License Downgrade Application. All of them sit on the forms page.

Questions people ask

How much is the North Carolina electrical license application fee?

The application and examination fee is $125.00 for every classification, and the Board states it is not refundable. The annual license fee that follows is charged separately.

How much is an NC electrical license each year?

One hundred dollars for Limited, $150 for Intermediate, $200 for Unlimited and $100 for each special restricted classification. Those figures come from the Board's fee schedule and its licensing page.

What is the late fee for an NC electrical license renewal?

Twenty five dollars. The Board's fee schedule lists a late license renewal fee of $25.00, charged on its own rather than as a running penalty.

When does my North Carolina electrical license expire?

The Board's application and continuing education pages describe a license period from July 1 to June 30, while its licensing page says a license expires one year from issuance. We could not confirm which controls an individual license, so check your renewal notice and your record in the Board's online system.

Do I have to do continuing education before I renew?

Yes. The Board requires every listed qualified individual to complete continuing education for each annual license period in order to renew the license. Check your credits in the Board's public credit search before you pay.

How much does it cost to verify a North Carolina electrical license?

Twenty five dollars for a verification of license, and the Board publishes a License Verification Order Form for it. The free public license search is a separate thing and costs nothing.

What this page cites

• NCBEEC fees and services The full fee schedule, from the $125 application and examination fee to the $6 qualified individual patch. source
• NCBEEC licensing page Prints the annual license fee for each classification and says a license expires one year from issuance. source
• NCBEEC new license application Describes the July 1 to June 30 license period and the bonding statement amounts. source
• NCBEEC continuing education page Ties renewal to completed continuing education for each annual license period. source
• NCBEEC forms page Lists the renewal form, the inactive status request, the reactivation and the upgrade and downgrade applications. source