Question On Requirements For License

MinConst

MD or any others.
I would like to know what requirements there are for obtaining a license electrician? Is there required schooling? Apprenticeship?
Thanks

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Paul
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mdshunk

The requirements vary A LOT from state to state. Electrician Licensing is generally done at the state level, but not always. The actual educational and work requirements vary from state to state, as do the requirements for professional liability insurance and continuing education to keep your license active once you have it. Some states require nothing more than you taking a test, while others want documented education (perhaps completion of a recognized apprenticeship program) and documented work experience under another licensed master electrician before you're permitted to take the test.

My own state (PA) is the one big exception, in that they do not license electrician's at the state level. All electrician licensing is done at the local (municipality, town) level, with over 2,000 seperate electrician licenses available in my state. Stupid, huh? Luckily, many reciprocate with each other. In towns in my state with no licensing requirements, anyone at all can call themselves an electrician.

Maryland, for instance, licenses electricians at the county level. Some state's licenses will reciprocate with each other.

There are many types of licenses available, all with subtle differences. Journeyman, Master, Contractor, and Administrator are among the types of licenses offered by some states. The differences between some of them are not all that clear to me, and they mean different things in different states.

I most often think of "journeyman" as being a person who has finished the Union's apprenticeship program. An electrician who is a journeyman electrician with the union may not be actually licensed. "Journeyman" doesn't necessarily mean "licensed", although the person may be.

Clear as mud, eh? If there's one state in particular that you're interested in, I've compiled most of the requirements for most every state. I could post the one you're interested in if you want.

If the electrician works for a company or companies all his career, he might work for 20-30 years and never need to be licensed. In many jurisdictions, as long as someone on the job is licensed, all the other workers are okay without licenses. It is quite often that you'll run into a long time electrician with a company who never needed to be licensed himself. The license, in my opinion, is not a measure of the person's skill or workmanship. It is a reasonable measure of his knowledge.

MinConst

Thanks MD. I'm interested in NY. Not the City. Onondoga country is my residence. I'd like to see what you have.

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Paul
Minichillo's Construction
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I will never leave you hanging!

mdshunk

Interestingly, New York State also has no statewide electrician licensing requirements. All the licensing is done at the county or town level. You can confirm this at:

State Dept. of Labor
Division of Safety & Health
License & Certificate Unit
Building 12, Room 161
Albany, NY 12240
(518) 457-2735 Fax (518) 485-8530
www.labor.state.ny.us

Among the counties and towns in New York that do license electricians, the Experior test is most often used. Much of New York State seems to have no electrician licensing requirement.

Onondaga County has no licensing requirement, but the city of Syracuse does. To sit for the Master's Test in Syracuse, you need to have a minimum of ten years experience directly related to the electrical industry. At least five years you must have been working directly on the installation and maintenance of electrical systems and three of those five years shall have been on new construction of commercial and/or industrial work. They also have a "limited" license, and a special license for heaters.

The Electrical Examing Board for the City of New York writes their own test. NYC license holders can work in all five boroughs. Their requirements are pretty stiff. You need to have either a bachelor's degree in engineering plus 3-1/2 years under a licensed electrician, or vocational school plus 5-1/2 years under a licensed electrician, or no schooling plus 7-1/2 years under a licensed electrician.

MinConst

Thanks MD,

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Paul
Minichillo's Construction
Website
I will never leave you hanging!

Speedy Petey

Marc knows more about NYS than I do.

In my county, Ulster, there are a few cities and villiages that require licenses. Some reciprocate, some do not. Other than that, as Marc said, nothing else requires one.
Greene just above us does actually have a county wide license.
Dutchess is contemplating a $500 a year "license", JUST for Dutchess.

NYS is weird with regard to licensing. Then again, it is NY. We cannot agree on anything and EVERYONE wants a piece of the cake.

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MinConst

So Speedy,
Seeing you are close in location. What requirements did you need to satisfy to get licensed?
Thanks for the input also.

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Paul
Minichillo's Construction
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I will never leave you hanging!

mdshunk

Many people are unaware that Speedy worked in lower Manhattan for Thomas Edison, helping him wire the city for the Edison Electric Lighting Company. Because of this, he's grandfathered. You see, back in 1882, they didn't have licenses yet. Speedy went on to Menlo Park, New Jersey where he was dubbed one of the "wizards of Menlo Park". In his retirement in Ulster County, he does service calls and small jobs, but still longs for the excitement of the Edison days gone by.

jbfan

So! Speedy helps sway the public from DC to AC way back in the day!!!

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Speedy Petey

Yes, I admit that was me.


I am licensed in the City of Kingston. They required 5 years proof of field work. Actually, since I knew/know the head inspector (and licensing board member) I didn't need to show proof, he already knew.

I will say, this is somewhat BS. I met (briefly worked with) a guy who was an alarm installer, nothing more. The board in thier infinite wisdom allowed this as field experience. This guy knew how to read the code book so he barely squeaked by passing the test.
Here he is, a licensed electrician with basically NO field experience.

This is one of my beefs with the State of NY. We DO need a better standard for licensing and competency.

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