Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Labor Standards and Safety, Mechanical Inspection Section administers electrician licensing in Alaska. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.
What it’s called
Alaska licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development and held by the electrician personally (not only by the contractor, as in some states). “Electrician license,” “journeyman electrician license,” “master electrician license” and “electrician certification” are common informal names for the individual credential. The exact license tiers, fees, and any separate electrical-contractor license are set out in the license types and requirements below.
License types & fees
| Type | Experience | Exam | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician Journeyman (Certificate of Fitness) | 8,000 hours of verified experience per 8 AAC 90.160 and 8 AAC 90.890 | Open-book exam on the 2020 National Electrical Code; 4-hour limit; 70% required to pass | $50 nonrefundable application fee + $200 certificate fee (certificate fee not charged until after testing is completed) |
| Residential Wireman (Certificate of Fitness) | 4,000 hours of verified experience per 8 AAC 90.164 and 8 AAC 90.890 | Open-book exam on the 2020 National Electrical Code; 4-hour limit; 70% required to pass | $50 nonrefundable application fee + $200 certificate fee (certificate fee not charged until after testing is completed) |
| Power Lineman Journeyman (Certificate of Fitness) | 8,000 hours of verified experience per 8 AAC 90.162 and 8 AAC 90.890 | Open-book exam on the Lineman & Cableman's Handbook (13th ed.) and the 2017 National Electrical Safety Code; 4-hour limit; 70% required to pass | $50 nonrefundable application fee + $200 certificate fee (certificate fee not charged until after testing is completed) |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Alaska’s certificate of fitness statute contains one express exemption, and the reach of the requirement is bounded by the scope of the state’s electrical wiring standards — both limits apply to all three certificates this page covers (Electrician Journeyman, Residential Wireman, and Power Lineman Journeyman certificates of fitness). The express exemption: employees of small rural electric utilities. AS 18.62.010 requires a certificate of fitness for work performed subject to the standards of AS 18.60.580, ’except that a certificate of fitness may not be required of employees of an electric utility that does not have within its service area any portion of a city or unified municipality having more than 2,500 population.’ The scope limits: first, the electrical safety statutes ‘cover only new installations and alterations to existing installations’ (AS 18.60.640(a)), and by regulation, work subject to those standards ‘does not include electrical maintenance’ (8 AAC 90.105(b)) — the department defines electrical maintenance as replacing or repairing electrical utilization equipment or devices with equipment having the same electrical and mechanical characteristics, provided the replacement needs no alteration to install and does not change the circuit load; replacing conduit, other wiring methods, or conductors in any length is installation, not maintenance, and does require a certificate (8 AAC 70.035). Second, the wiring standards to which the certificate requirement attaches apply ’to all installations of new electrical wiring and alterations to existing electrical wiring in all “public structures” … and any place of employment’ (8 AAC 70.010); the statute defines public structures as buildings such as hotels, resident housing with more than one rental unit, restaurants, taverns, lodging houses, children’s homes, auditoriums, town halls, or structures designed or used for public assembly (AS 18.60.660(4)). The certificate requirement is also framed in terms of employment — ‘a person may not be employed without a certificate of fitness to perform the work’ (AS 18.62.010). Alaska’s certificate chapter (AS 18.62) contains no homeowner exemption clause and no dollar threshold; trainees working under supervision are not exempt but hold their own trainee-level certificate of fitness, which since the statute’s current form requires indenture in a registered apprenticeship program (AS 18.62.020(d), 8 AAC 90.165).
Fees
$50 nonrefundable application fee + $200 certificate fee (total $250). The $200 certificate fee is not charged until after testing is completed. Payable by card (AMEX/Visa/Mastercard/Discover) or by two checks payable to DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Certificate and renewal certificate fees are the same and may be prorated if issued for less than the full term (8 AAC 90; application form v.20250902).
Exam
Department-administered exams offered on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks (also via DOL Job Centers and Alaska plumbing/electrical union halls). All electrical exams are open book with a 4-hour maximum time limit; a score of at least 70% is required to pass. A failing candidate must wait 30 days from the last exam before re-testing. Electrician Journeyman and Residential Wireman test on the 2020 National Electrical Code; Power Lineman Journeyman tests on the Lineman & Cableman’s Handbook (13th ed.) and the 2017 National Electrical Safety Code. Application must be approved before a test is scheduled. Authority: 8 AAC 90.115.
Renewal & continuing education
Journeyman-level certificates (Electrician Journeyman, Residential Wireman, Power Lineman Journeyman) are valid for two years; trainee-level certificates are valid for six years. Renewal may be requested up to 90 days before expiration. A certificate can be renewed up to two years after its expiration date; beyond that, re-testing is required. (8 AAC 90.180) Electrician Journeyman renewal requires at least 16 hours of approved continuing education completed within the 24-month period before renewal: at least 8 hours must cover significant changes/updates to the National Electrical Code (adopted by AS 18.60.580 and 8 AAC 70.025), and no more than 8 hours may be industry-related. Authority: 8 AAC 90.192(b).
How to apply
Applications are handled by Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Labor Standards and Safety, Mechanical Inspection Section. Start at the official application page .