North Carolina Electrician PrepLicense, exam and code, in one place

Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

Forsyth County

Winston-Salem NC Electrician License: Classes and Exam

Winston-Salem has a PSI test center inside the city and a community college program a few minutes from it. The city's inspections division enforces the statewide code and does not describe a license of its own.

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On this page
  1. The license a Winston-Salem electrician needs
  2. What the city handles
  3. Where to train in Winston-Salem
  4. The test center
  5. What the work pays around Winston-Salem
  6. Your next move in Winston-Salem
  7. Questions people ask
  8. What this page cites

The license a Winston-Salem 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 handles

The Winston-Salem Inspections Division reviews plans and issues permits for electrical, mechanical, plumbing and building activities consistent with the codes adopted by the State of North Carolina. Its contact details are 336-727-2624 and askinspect@cityofws.org.

No city issued electrical license is described on that page. It is silent on the question rather than saying none exists, so ask the division if a contract asks you for a city card.

The code being enforced is the statewide one. The Office of State Fire Marshal lists the 2020 North Carolina Electrical Code as the current code, effective November 1, 2021.

Where to train in Winston-Salem

Course work in the National Electrical Code credits at 50 percent as secondary experience under the Board's rules, so a college program shortens the paperwork rather than replacing the hours.

Union training in the Piedmont exists, but the local's own pages would not load for us this session, so no Winston-Salem training center is named here that we have not read.

The test center

The Examination Information Handbook lists the Winston-Salem PSI site at 1540 Westbrook Plaza Drive, Suite 103, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. Greensboro candidates often sit here.

Approval opens a 90 day authorization period. A cancellation protects your fee only if PSI has the notice two days before the scheduled date, and missing an appointment forfeits it.

Bring two forms of valid, non expired, signature bearing identification, one with a photograph. Student and employment IDs are not accepted.

What the work pays around Winston-Salem

O*NET OnLine, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, gives a median of $26.97 an hour or $56,100 a year for electricians in the Winston-Salem metro, a little below the statewide median of $27.31 an hour.

The BLS May 2025 metro release for Winston-Salem puts construction and extraction occupations at 3.8 percent of local employment with a mean hourly wage of $25.25.

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 Winston-Salem

Check the employer before the program. The Board's public search shows whether a company holds a current license, and the exemption that covers your work runs through it.

Then count your hours against a classification. Limited asks for 3,000 hours with 2,000 primary, which is the usual first target.

Questions people ask

Do I need a Winston-Salem city electrician license?

The state Board license is the one the statute requires. The city's Inspections Division describes permits and inspections consistent with the codes adopted by the state and does not describe a license of its own. Call 336-727-2624 if a contract asks you for a city card.

Where is the PSI test center in Winston-Salem?

The Board's Examination Information Handbook lists it at 1540 Westbrook Plaza Drive, Suite 103, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. Greensboro candidates often sit here as well.

What electrical program does Forsyth Tech run?

Electrical Systems Technology at 2100 Silas Creek Parkway, offered as a certificate over one to two semesters part time and as a one year diploma. The diploma positions graduates as on the job trainees or apprentices.

How much do electricians make in Winston-Salem?

O*NET OnLine, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, gives a median of $26.97 an hour or $56,100 a year for the Winston-Salem metro. The BLS May 2025 release puts all construction and extraction occupations there at a mean of $25.25 an hour.

Does a college certificate count toward the license hours?

Partly. The Board's rules credit students completing courses in the National Electrical Code at 50 percent as secondary experience. The primary experience floor inside each classification still has to come from the work itself.

Which NEC edition does the exam use?

The 2020 edition. The Board's Examination Information Handbook lists the 2020 National Electrical Code as the required reference for every examination, and the state's current code is the 2020 North Carolina Electrical Code.

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What this page cites

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Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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