Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05
New Hanover County
Wilmington NC Electrician License: Classes and Exam Site
Wilmington has the clearest published apprenticeship price in the state and a PSI test center in the city. The license behind both is the state's, and Cape Fear Community College issues the journeyman card people ask about here.
Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed
On this page
The license a Wilmington electrician needs
The license is the state's, not the city's. G.S. 87-43 says no person, partnership, firm or corporation may engage in electrical contracting in North Carolina without a license in the applicable classification from the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, and there is no state journeyman or apprentice card underneath it.
If you work for somebody else, G.S. 87-43.1 exempts a bona fide employee of a Board licensee, so your employer's license covers your work. If you want to contract in your own name, the route is hours, the $125 application and examination fee, a grade of 70 on the examination and then the license application with its annual fee of $100 to $200.
What the city and county handle
Permits and inspections are local, licensing is not. We did not read a Wilmington or New Hanover County permitting page this session, so this page does not say whether either asks for anything beyond the state license.
Call the local inspections office to check. The code enforced is the statewide one, and the Office of State Fire Marshal lists the 2020 North Carolina Electrical Code as current, effective November 1, 2021.
Where to train in Wilmington
- Cape Fear Community College Electrical Apprenticeship, run in partnership with ApprenticeshipNC through the Department of Labor. Four years, an estimated 624 hours of class time by the end, running each year from late August through March or April, using the Mike Holt curriculum across four levels with monthly written and performance tests. The cost is $185.00 per student per level plus textbooks, classes are limited to 20 to 25 students and places go first come first served. The college says apprentices receive their ApprenticeshipNC journeyman card and certificate on completion, and it also offers a one week Electrical Assistant introductory course.
- Cape Fear Community College Electrical Systems Technology, offered as a certificate, a CTE pathway, a diploma and an Associate in Applied Science. Training covers AC and DC theory, wiring practices, programmable logic controllers, industrial motor controls, the National Electrical Code, energy management and alternative energy systems. The program director is William Thompson on (910) 362-7147.
The journeyman card at the end is a completion credential from a registered apprenticeship. It is not a state license, and it does not let you contract on your own.
The test center
The Examination Information Handbook lists the Wilmington PSI site at 311 Judge's Road, Suite 8D, Judges Road Business Park, Wilmington, NC 28405.
Approval opens a 90 day authorization period, and an appointment can be cancelled and rescheduled without losing the fee if PSI has the notice two days before the date. Missing it forfeits the fee.
References have to be softbound, spiral or hardbound. Loose leaf books are refused, and temporary tabs such as sticky notes or stapled tabs have to come out before testing.
What the work pays around Wilmington
O*NET OnLine, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, gives a median of $26.00 an hour or $54,080 a year for electricians in the Wilmington metro, below the statewide median of $27.31 an hour.
The BLS May 2025 metro release for Wilmington puts construction and extraction occupations at 4.9 percent of local employment, the largest share of the eight metros on this site, with a mean hourly wage of $26.00.
The two figures measure different things. The first is a median for electricians, and the second covers every construction and extraction occupation in the metro, so do not read them as a range for the same job.
Your next move in Wilmington
The apprenticeship calendar decides your year here. Cape Fear runs from late August, places are first come first served and classes cap at 20 to 25 students, so register early rather than in August.
Get the job first either way, and check the employer on the Board's public search. Approved North Carolina apprenticeship time credits at 100 percent as secondary experience toward a Board classification later.
Questions people ask
How much is the Cape Fear electrical apprenticeship?
The college lists $185.00 per student per level plus textbooks, across four levels over four years. Classes are limited to 20 to 25 students and places are first come first served.
Does Cape Fear issue a journeyman card?
The college says apprentices receive their ApprenticeshipNC journeyman card and certificate on completion of the four year program. That is a completion credential from a registered apprenticeship, not a state contracting license.
Where is the PSI test center in Wilmington?
The Board's Examination Information Handbook lists it at 311 Judge's Road, Suite 8D, Judges Road Business Park, Wilmington, NC 28405.
Do I need a Wilmington city electrician license?
The state Board license is the one the statute requires. We did not read a Wilmington or New Hanover County permitting page this session, so we cannot say whether either asks for anything of its own. Call the local inspections office to check.
How much do electricians make in Wilmington?
O*NET OnLine, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, gives a median of $26.00 an hour or $54,080 a year for the Wilmington metro. The BLS May 2025 release puts all construction and extraction occupations there at a mean of $26.00 an hour and 4.9 percent of local employment.
Can I tab my code book for the exam in Wilmington?
Not with temporary tabs. The handbook says references must be softbound, spiral or hardbound, that loose leaf books are not allowed, and that sticky notes or stapled tabs have to be removed before testing. Highlighting, underlining and notes written before the session are allowed.
Thirty free questions, timed, with the working shown
Every miss comes back with the arithmetic worked out and the code section named, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.
All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.
What this page cites
- Cape Fear Community College apprenticeship Publishes the four year length, the class hours, the cost per level and the credential issued at completion. source
- Cape Fear Community College Electrical Systems Technology Publishes the credentials offered, the subject coverage and the program director's contact. source
- Examination Information Handbook Lists the Wilmington PSI site, the book binding and tab rules and the cancellation window. source
- O*NET OnLine local wages for 47-2111 Gives the Wilmington median for electricians, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. source
- BLS Wilmington metro release, May 2025 Gives the construction and extraction mean hourly wage and its share of local employment. source
The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.