Iowa Electrical Examining Board (Department of Inspections, Appeals, & Licensing) administers electrician licensing in Iowa. 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
Iowa licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Iowa Electrical Examining Board 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice Electrician | Must be participating in a registered apprenticeship program. May be held for no more than six years from the original date of issuance (IAC 481-401.2(10)). | None for issuance; apprenticeship is the pathway toward a journeyman license. | $20 (1-year license) |
| Unclassified Person | Registration allowing supervised electrical work; used to accumulate hours toward other licenses (e.g., 1,000 hours in Iowa counts toward certain journeyman paths). | None | $20 (1-year license) |
| Residential Electrician | One of: 6,000 hours of experience as an apprentice electrician (may test at 5,000 hours but license issues at 6,000); OR 4,000 hours under direct supervision of a residential electrician/journeyman/master; OR 8,000 hours as a licensed unclassified person including at least 2,000 hours in residential wiring; OR completion of a registered residential electrician apprenticeship program (IAC 481-401.2(4)). | Board-approved residential electrician examination (administered by PSI; passing score 70 or higher). | $75 (3-year license) |
| Journeyman Electrician, Class A | Primary path: successful completion of a registered apprenticeship program AND four years of experience as an apprentice electrician, plus passing the journeyman exam within 24 months of application. Alternate paths exist for approved postsecondary program graduates (min. 6,000 hours licensed electrical work) and holders of another state's license (IAC 481-401.2(3)). | Board-approved supervised written journeyman electrician examination, score 70 or higher (administered by PSI; tested over the 2023 NEC as of Jan. 1, 2024). | $75 (3-year license) |
| Journeyman Electrician, Class B | Class B journeyman pathway per IAC 481-401.2(3); Class B is a limited/geographically restricted journeyman classification. See rule for specific route. | Board-approved supervised written journeyman examination (PSI; 2023 NEC). | $75 (3-year license) |
| Special Electrician | Limited-scope license (e.g., irrigation-system wiring or disconnect/reconnect work): pass a board-approved examination OR complete two years / 4,000 hours of documented experience in the specialty (IAC 481-401.2(5)). | Board-approved examination for the specialty (or documented-experience substitute). | $75 (3-year license) |
| Residential Master Electrician | Hold a current residential electrician (or higher) license, have 2,000 hours of verified experience as a residential or journeyman electrician, and pass the residential master examination (score 70+) (IAC 481-401.2(2)). | Board-approved residential master electrician examination, score 70 or higher (PSI). | $375 (3-year license) |
| Master Electrician, Class A | Primary path: completed one year of experience as a licensed journeyman electrician AND passed the board-approved master electrician examination with a score of 70 or higher. Alternate paths for out-of-state license holders and current Class B master electricians (IAC 481-401.2(1)). | Board-approved supervised written master electrician examination, score 70 or higher (PSI). | $375 (3-year license) |
| Master Electrician, Class B | Class B (limited) master classification per IAC 481-401.2(1); e.g., grandfathered/limited route requiring 16,000 hours cumulative experience as a master electrician (at least 8,000 since Jan. 1, 1998) with experience begun on or before Jan. 1, 1998. See rule for exact criteria. | Board-approved master electrician examination (PSI). | $375 (3-year license) |
| Electrical Contractor | For a person affiliated with an electrical contracting firm who is licensed as a Master Class A or B Electrician (or employs one) AND who is registered with DIAL as a contractor. | No separate exam beyond the underlying master license. | $375 (3-year license) |
| Residential Electrical Contractor | For a person licensed as a Master Class A or B or Residential Master electrician who is registered with DIAL as a contractor. | No separate exam beyond the underlying master/residential-master license. | $375 (3-year license) |
| Inactive Master Electrician | Inactive status available to a master electrician license holder whose license is due for renewal (IAC 481-401.2(12)). | N/A | $75 (3-year license) |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Iowa’s electrician licensing law carries its exemptions in Iowa Code § 103.22 (‘Chapter inapplicability’), and they apply to every license class issued under chapter 103. The chapter does not apply to licensed engineers, architects, landscape architects, manufactured/mobile home retailers or certified installers, or NCQLP lighting-certified professionals who are providing consultations and developing plans concerning electrical installations exclusively within their own profession (§ 103.22(1)). Employees of municipal utilities, electric membership or cooperative associations, investor-owned utilities, rural water associations or districts, railroads, telecommunications companies, franchised cable television operators, farms, or commercial or industrial companies are not required to hold licenses while performing manufacturing, installation, and repair work for their employer within the scope of their employment — though a farm ’employee’ does not include someone hired primarily to install a new electrical installation (§ 103.22(2)). Firms or individuals under contract to municipal utilities, cooperatives, or investor-owned utilities are exempt while performing work within the utility’s public service obligations (§ 103.22(3)). A person holding a valid local (political-subdivision) license based on substantially equivalent requirements may work within that jurisdiction’s limits without a state license (§ 103.22(4)). The chapter also does not apply to elevator and vertical-transportation work beyond the terminals of the controllers (§ 103.22(5)), to plugging in an appliance where approved electrical supply is already installed (§ 103.22(6)), or to liquefied-petroleum-gas technicians and well contractors working on their own regulated equipment and its connected accessory systems (§ 103.22(9)-(10)). Iowa exempts a homeowner performing work on the owner’s principal residence, provided the residence is an existing dwelling rather than new construction, is not an attached apartment, is no larger than a single-family dwelling, and qualifies for the homestead tax credit (§ 103.22(7)). Alarm-system installers acting under § 103.14 and persons installing class two or class three remote-control, signaling, or power-limited circuits, optical fiber, or communications cabling for voice, video, audio, and data are exempt (§ 103.22(11)). No license is required of any person — including state or political-subdivision employees — performing routine maintenance (§ 103.22(12)). Instructors presenting home-construction courses for community colleges, regents institutions, or school corporations are covered by a special provision (§ 103.22(13)), emergency work is permitted as determined by the board (§ 103.22(14)), and farm installations performed by a holder of a legal or equitable interest in the farm, the holder’s relative or employee, or the farm’s operator or manager require no license, no permit, and no inspection, so long as the farm building is not regularly open to the public for retail sales (§ 103.22(15)). The chapter may not require union membership as a condition of licensure (§ 103.22(8)).
Fees
Full 3-year-cycle fees (prorated monthly if issued for less than the full term): Electrical Contractor $375; Residential Electrical Contractor $375; Master Electrician Class A $375; Master Electrician Class B $375; Residential Master Electrician $375; Journeyman Class A $75; Journeyman Class B $75; Residential Electrician $75; Special Electrician $75; Inactive Master Electrician $75; Apprentice Electrician $20 (1-year); Unclassified Person $20 (1-year). Replacement license $15. Late renewal fee: 10% per month for the first 3 months after expiration. Fee waived for first-time applicants with household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.
Exam
Board-approved written examinations administered by PSI; tested over the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) as of Jan. 1, 2024; passing score of 70 or higher required for journeyman, master, residential, and residential master licenses.
Renewal & continuing education
3 years for journeyman, master, residential, special, contractor, and inactive-master licenses (current cycle 2026-2028); 1 year for apprentice and unclassified licenses. Renewal opens Oct. 1 (2026 renewal began Oct. 1, 2025); renew online at iowaelectrical.gov. 18 hours of board-approved continuing education per 3-year license, completed between issuance and renewal (IAC 481-403.201(103)). A license issued for less than a full 3-year period requires only 6 hours before renewal. Apprentice/unclassified 1-year licenses have no standing CE requirement.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Iowa Electrical Examining Board (Department of Inspections, Appeals, & Licensing). Start at the official application page .