District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Occupational and Professional Licensing Administration - Board of Industrial Trades administers electrician licensing in District of Columbia. 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
The District of Columbia licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection 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 Apprentice | No experience required (must be enrolled/employed; Employment Verification or School Enrollment) | None | Application $65.00 + License $110.00 (up to 2 years) |
| Electrician Journeyman (Low and Regular Voltage) | 4 years / 8,000 work hours (exam path). Documents: Tax Records, Employment Verification Letter, and NEC Code Class Certificate taken within 2 years. Journeyman exam may be waived with proof of completion of a nationally-certified apprenticeship program. | Required (open-book; NEC 2011 and Ugly's Electrical Reference). Waivable via completed nationally-certified apprenticeship. Reciprocity: the application-instructions PDF lists Virginia licensees only, while DLCP's Industrial Trades page states Maryland and Virginia journeymen are eligible -- the two official sources conflict; confirm with the Board (letter of good standing required either way). | Application $65.00 + License $110.00 (up to 2 years) |
| Electrician Master (Low and Regular Voltage) | 8 years / 16,000 work hours (exam path). Documents: Tax Records, Employment Verification Letter, and NEC Code Class Certificate taken within 2 years. | Required (open-book; NEC 2011 and Ugly's Electrical Reference). Reciprocity available for Maryland and Virginia licensees (by exam, letter of good standing). | Application $65.00 + License $120.00 (up to 2 years) |
| Electrician Contractor (All types) | Not specified in the board's application instructions | Application $65.00 + License $120.00 (up to 2 years) |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
The District of Columbia’s electrician licensing law contains few exemptions. Within the electricians part itself, work on conveyances is carved out of the definition of electrical practice: an ’electrician’ is one who works on electrical wiring, equipment, conductors, or systems ’except elevators, platform lifts, stairway chair lifts, manlifts, conveyors, escalators, dumbwaiters, material lifts, automated people movers, and other related conveyances’ (D.C. Code § 47-2853.91(a)), and the part expressly does not apply to an elevator contractor or elevator mechanic licensed under part F-i who is performing work incidental to that elevator license (§ 47-2853.91(b)). The subchapter-wide exemptions in § 47-2853.03 then apply to electricians as to all Subchapter I-B occupations: the prohibition on unlicensed practice does not apply to a person employed in the District by the federal government while acting in the official discharge of the duties of employment (§ 47-2853.03(f)(1)), or to a person licensed in a state who is called into the District for consultation, a demonstration, or to teach a course, provided the work is done in affiliation with a comparably DC-licensed person or at a licensed educational institution (§ 47-2853.03(f)(2)). A person enrolled in a recognized training program, school, or college may practice as part of a course of instruction under the supervision of a DC-licensed practitioner or qualified teacher, at a District, federal, or program-approved facility, following board procedures (§ 47-2853.03(b)); and a person who has filed an initial application and is awaiting action on it may practice under the supervision of an appropriately licensed person at an appropriate facility (§ 47-2853.03(c)). The District’s law has no homeowner exemption, no minor-work dollar threshold, and no utility or in-plant maintenance carve-out: those classes of exemption, common in the states, do not appear in the electricians part or in the subchapter’s scope section, and even apprentice electricians must hold a DC apprentice license.
Fees
application: $65.00; temporary_license_journeyman: $110.00 (up to 60 days); initial_license: apprentice: $110.00 (up to 2 years); journeyman_all_types: $110.00 (up to 2 years); master_all_types: $120.00 (up to 2 years); contractor_all_types: $120.00 (up to 2 years); renewal: apprentice: $110.00 (up to 2 years); journeyman_all_types: $110.00 (up to 2 years); master_all_types: $155.00 (up to 2 years); contractor_all_types: $180.00 (up to 2 years); late_renewal: $50.00; examination_reexamination: See 17 DCMR 3500.3; reinstated_license: Apprentice $110.00; Electrician (all types) $110.00; Master (all types) $155.00; Contractor (all types) $180.00; inactive_status: Journeyman (all types) $110.00; Master (all types) $155.00; duplicate_license: $30.00; verification_of_records: $30.00; note: Per D.C. Official Code 47-2853.10, application fees for initial licensing, certification, registration, renewal and reinstatement are non-refundable.
Exam
Open-book trade exam administered by PSI (schedule at psiexams.com or by phone 1-855-557-0616). Study references: National Electrical Code (2011) and Ugly’s Electrical Reference. A NEC Code Class Certificate taken within 2 years is required documentation for the Journeyman and Master exam paths.
Renewal & continuing education
Biennial - all electrician licenses expire November 30 of odd-numbered years (regardless of when obtained)
How to apply
Applications are handled by District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Occupational and Professional Licensing Administration - Board of Industrial Trades. Start at the official application page .