Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Electrical Section / Code Enforcement, Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) administers electrician licensing in Arkansas. 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
Arkansas licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Electrician | A degree in electrical engineering plus 2 years of construction-related experience; OR 6 years of experience in the construction industry (both residential and commercial) including 2 years as a licensed journeyman electrician; OR a Board-approved combination of training and experience. | Written Board examination for the master electrician class (based on the National Electrical Code); offered at least every 6 months. | Examination fee $80.00; renewal $50.00 per year. |
| Journeyman Electrician | Completion of a 4-year electrical construction apprenticeship program approved by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (with a 'Released for Test/Completion' notice); OR, for applicants without a completed apprenticeship, 8 years (16,000 hours) of electrical construction experience or Board-approved training. Reciprocity path available for out-of-state journeymen licensed and in good standing for 1 year who were tested in the sister state. | Written Board examination for the journeyman class; offered at least every 6 months. | Examination fee $80.00; renewal $25.00 per year. |
| Industrial Maintenance Electrician | 4 years of experience under the supervision of an engineer, master electrician, journeyman electrician, or industrial maintenance electrician in the maintenance of electrical conductors and equipment; OR a Board-approved equivalent combination of training and experience. | Written Board examination for the industrial maintenance class; offered at least every 6 months. | Examination fee $50.00; renewal $25.00 per year. |
| Residential Master Electrician | 3 years of experience in the wiring of one- or two-family dwellings including 1 year as a licensed residential journeyman; OR a Board-approved equivalent. | Written Board examination for the residential master class; offered at least every 6 months. | Examination fee $80.00; renewal $50.00 per year. |
| Residential Journeyman Electrician | 2 years of experience in the wiring of one- or two-family dwellings; OR a 2-year Board-approved combination of training and experience (with a signed letter from the applicant's school verifying hours). | Written Board examination for the residential journeyman class; offered at least every 6 months. | Examination fee $80.00; renewal $25.00 per year. |
| Air Conditioning Electrician | 2 years of experience wiring HVACR equipment (may be shown by holding for 2 years a municipal HVACR electrician's license or a state HVACR Class A or Class B license); OR a Board-approved equivalent. | Written Board examination for the air conditioning class; offered at least every 6 months. | Examination fee $80.00; renewal $25.00 per year. |
| Specialist Sign Electrician | 2 years of experience working for an electrical sign company or licensed electrical licensee installing, maintaining and repairing electrically illuminated/operated signs and gaseous tubing; OR a Board-approved equivalent. (A now-expired exam-exemption path applied only to applicants who applied before September 1, 2009.) | Written Board examination for the specialist sign class; offered at least every 6 months. A separate examination is required for the parking-lot-lights endorsement. | Examination fee $80.00; renewal $25.00 per year. |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Arkansas gathers its exemptions in one section, Ark. Code Ann. § 17-28-102 (‘Construction and exemptions’), and they run against the chapter as a whole — that is, against every electrician license classification this page covers (master, journeyman, industrial maintenance, residential master, residential journeyman, air conditioning, and specialist sign electrician). The chapter does not apply to: (1) construction, installation, maintenance, repair, or renovation of transmission or distribution lines or facilities by any public utility, rural electric association or cooperative, or municipally owned utility — or by their duly authorized employees, agents, contractors, or subcontractors — when incidental to their business and covered by other nationally recognized safety standards (Ark. Code Ann. § 17-28-102(a)(1)); (2) in-plant work by industry’s own duly authorized employees on electric conductors, equipment, or facilities incidental to the industry’s business and covered by other nationally recognized safety standards — ‘industry’ is defined as manufacturing, processing and refining facilities, warehouses, distribution facilities, repair and maintenance facilities, agricultural facilities, and corporate and management offices on industrial sites (§ 17-28-102(a)(2), (f)); (3) telephone equipment, computer systems, or satellite systems work by telecommunications or information-systems businesses when the work is exclusively low-voltage for data, voice, or signaling — including fire alarm, security, and environmental-control systems that are not an integral part of a telecommunications system (§ 17-28-102(a)(3)); (4) any nonresidential farm building or structure (§ 17-28-102(a)(4)); and (5) construction and manufacture of manufactured homes covered by the federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act (§ 17-28-102(a)(5)). Homeowners are addressed separately: nothing in the chapter requires an individual to hold a license before doing electrical work on his or her own primary residence, except as otherwise required by state law, rules, or local ordinances (§ 17-28-102(b)). Two cross-trade carve-outs let other licensees do limited electrical work without an electrician’s license: a state-licensed HVACR licensee may run line-voltage power wiring from a disconnect box to an outdoor HVACR unit up to 75 feet from the equipment, in compliance with the state electric code (§ 17-28-102(c)(1)), and a licensed water well contractor may run power and control wiring from an existing disconnect box to water well equipment, but may not alter the electrical service to any building (§ 17-28-102(c)(2)). Hospital employees may perform minor repairs and minor alterations to existing electrical facilities in the normal course of their duties at a Department of Health-licensed hospital (§ 17-28-102(e)). A further exemption for billion-dollar industries applied only to projects commenced between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2003, and is now historical (§ 17-28-102(a)(6)). The license requirement itself acknowledges these carve-outs: no person may perform electrical work or hold out as an electrician ‘unless the person has first obtained a license … or the individual is exempted from licensing pursuant to the provisions of this chapter’ (§ 17-28-304).
Fees
Examination fees $80.00 (most classes) or $50.00 (industrial maintenance). Annual renewal/license fees: $50.00/yr (master, residential master) and $25.00/yr (journeyman, residential journeyman, air conditioning, industrial maintenance, specialist sign). Apprentice registration $10.00 (and $10.00 renewal). Restricted Lifetime Master or Journeyman license issuance $50.00. Electrical inspector license fee $50.00/yr. Late renewal within 36 months incurs a late fee equal to one year’s renewal fee plus $10.00 per calendar month past expiration. The initial licensing fee is waived for applicants who are on specified public assistance, were approved for unemployment within the last 12 months, or are below an income threshold.
Exam
The Board administers a written examination for each license class (master, journeyman, industrial maintenance, residential master, residential journeyman, specialist sign, air conditioning). Exams are offered at least every 6 months, are of uniform grade statewide, and test proficiency based on the National Electrical Code; exact content is at the Board’s discretion. Examination fees: $80.00 (master, journeyman, residential master, residential journeyman, air conditioning, specialist sign) or $50.00 (industrial maintenance).
Renewal & continuing education
Licenses expire on the last day of the month, one year after the date of issue. A license may be renewed for 1 year (in the last year of an NEC cycle), 2 years (second year of the cycle), or 3 years (first year of the cycle) by paying the per-year renewal fee. Late renewal is allowed within 36 months of expiration with a late fee. Electrical inspector licenses expire January 1 each year. Journeyman and master electricians must complete at least 8 hours of continuing education per National Electrical Code cycle (Board-approved classroom or other instruction on the NEC) before renewal; the NEC cycle begins January 1 of each NEC publication year. An apprentice who completes an apprenticeship and passes the journeyman exam is not required to obtain additional CE during that NEC cycle. Holders of a restricted lifetime master/journeyman license must complete the same 8 hours for any period in which they perform electrical work for pay. Electrical inspectors must complete 16 hours of CE each calendar year.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Electrical Section / Code Enforcement, Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing). Start at the official application page .