How to become an electrician: journeyman license cost and hours
Pick your state: the application, exam and license fees appear with the hours of supervised work the board asks for and the renewals that follow.
Electrician license fees in Texas
$108
paid to the state and its exam and fingerprint vendors
| Application and license | $30 |
| Exams | $78 |
| Training: 8,000 hours of supervised work | about 3.8 years |
| Renewals in 5 years, every 1 year | 5 × $30 = $150 |
Journeyman Electrician license. Fees read on official pages, October 20, 2026.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Journeyman Electrician license application | $30 |
| Journeyman Electrician exam, both portions (PSI) | $78 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the totals are built · fees read on board pages and exam handbooks, October 20, 2026
A journeyman electrician license costs between $84 and $260 in state and exam fees, with a median of $150 across the 9 states priced here. Maryland is the cheapest, Wisconsin the most expensive. The fees are small next to the time: California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin each require 8,000 hours of supervised work before a candidate may be licensed, which is about 3.8 years of full-time employment at 40 hours a week. Those are paid working hours as an apprentice or trainee under a licensed electrician or contractor, not school hours, although some states give limited credit for an electrical program. In Texas, an applicant pays $108 after 8,000 hours of on-the-job training; in California $175; in Wisconsin $260. Each failed exam is paid again, and the license must then be renewed every one to four years with continuing education.
From apprentice to journeyman
The journeyman license sits between the apprentice or trainee registration and the master or contractor license, and it is the credential most electricians work under. Getting there follows the same pattern in every state priced here. You register as an apprentice or trainee, work under a licensed journeyman, master or contractor while the hours accumulate, document them with your employers, then apply to the board, pass a code and theory exam and pay for the license. The order of the last steps varies: Alabama's board bills its examination together with the application, Texas lets candidates apply for the exam before the full total is reached, and South Dakota requires the license to be issued within a set period after you are told you passed.
The 8,000 hours are work, not school
7 of the 9 priced states set the same figure, 8,000 hours, and in every case it counts supervised employment in the trade. Texas asks for 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas master electrician and sets no classroom hours for a journeyman. California counts 8,000 hours of work for a C-10 electrical contractor across at least two listed categories, and workers who are not yet certified must register as electrician trainees enrolled in a state-approved school. Oklahoma wants 8,000 verifiable hours as a registered apprentice, half of them commercial or industrial, and accepts formal electrical education for part of the total. Minnesota states its rule in months of experience and credits a two-year post-high-school electrical course for up to one year. Washington adds basic classroom instruction to its trainee hours for the 01 journey level exam, and Wisconsin accepts either a registered apprenticeship of at least three years or four years of experience.
Alabama and Maryland print no hour minimum on the pages read: Alabama's statute sets none and its board lists no experience requirement for the exam, while Maryland's journeyperson requirement was not stated on the board pages. Apprenticeship programs that combine work and classes may charge for the classroom part; no board sets that price, so none appears here.
How long the supervised hours take at your pace
Electrician training in Texas
3.8 years
| Required hours | 8,000 |
| Months at that pace | 46.0 |
| First-license fees | $108 |
What the fees pay for
Every state charges for the exam and most add an application or license fee. Maryland is the lowest because its two lines are small: $65 to PSI for the master or journeyperson exam and $18.50 for the original license. Texas asks $30 for the application and $78 for both portions of the PSI exam. Minnesota bills $50 for the exam application and $48 for a two-year license that includes a board fee. South Dakota charges $60 for an application with a commission-written exam and $80 for the biennial license.
Wisconsin is the most expensive because it charges four times: a $35 application and a $100 credential fee to the Department of Safety and Professional Services, then a Pearson candidate fee of $95 plus a separate state exam fee for each sitting. Washington's $114.60 application includes the original certificate, and the PSI exam costs $75. California charges $75 to apply and $100 for each Pearson VUE sitting, first or retake. Oklahoma's fee schedule lists $25 to apply, $50 for the first license and $92 for each exam portion at PSI.
Exam fees alone range from $50 in Minnesota to $125 in Wisconsin per attempt. Failed candidates in Oklahoma and South Dakota must wait before a retest, and pay again; set the number of attempts in the calculator to see the effect.
States that license electricians locally
Not every state issues a journeyman license. In Florida, the state board licenses electrical contractors, and the statute provides that counties and municipalities are authorized to issue journeyman licenses. Ohio's Construction Industry Licensing Board issues contractor, or master, licenses only, and Missouri's statewide office licenses electrical contractors. A journeyman in those states deals with the city or county where the work is done, under local rules and fees that this site does not price.
Renewal, continuing education and reciprocity
Oklahoma and Texas renew every year, Texas for $30 with 4 hours of continuing education and Oklahoma for $75 with 12. Minnesota, South Dakota and Maryland use two-year cycles; California and Washington three; Wisconsin four, at $100 with 24 hours. California also requires proof of continued work in the industry to renew, alongside 32 hours of courses. Alabama renews yearly, but its renewal fee could not be read. A license does not travel on its own: California grants no reciprocity, Alabama recognizes journeyman licenses from Texas only, Maryland has agreements with Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia, and Wisconsin with Iowa and New Hampshire. The licensing time page compares how long each trade takes from start to license.
Journeyman electrician: the 9 states we could price
| State | Hours | First-license fees | Renewal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | not set | $84 | $19 every 2 yr | board |
| Minnesota | 8,000 | $98 | $53 every 2 yr | board |
| Texas | 8,000 | $108 | $30 every 1 yr | board |
| South Dakota | 8,000 | $140 | $80 every 2 yr | board |
| Alabama | not set | $150 | not read | board |
| Oklahoma | 8,000 | $167 | $75 every 1 yr | board |
| California | 8,000 | $175 | $100 every 3 yr | board |
| Washington | 8,000 | $190 | $93 every 3 yr | board |
| Wisconsin | 8,000 | $260 | $100 every 4 yr | board |