Idaho Electrical Board (Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, DOPL) administers electrician licensing in Idaho. 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
Idaho licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Idaho Electrical 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyman Electrician | Register and hold an active apprentice registration, then either (a) 8,000 hours of work experience as an apprentice making electrical installations AND satisfactory completion of a 4-year sequence of instruction approved by the Idaho Division of Career-Technical Education, OR (b) 16,000 hours of electrical experience. | NASCLA journeyman examination, administered through PSI; must be passed before applying to DOPL. | License $55; renewal $45; reinstatement $55 (3-year term). Plus $15 application fee. |
| Master Electrician | Must have held an active Journeyman license for 4 years. A master electrician does not need to also hold a journeyman license. | NASCLA master examination; must be passed before applying to DOPL. | License $65; renewal $45; reinstatement $55 (3-year term). Plus $15 application fee. |
| Provisional Journeyman Electrician | Completed 16,000 hours of electrical experience but has not yet passed the journeyman examination. | Not yet passed (interim license pending exam). | License $55; renewal $45 (6-month term). Plus $15 application fee. |
| Residential Electrician | 4,000 hours of work experience as an apprentice (installations as defined in Idaho Code 54-1003A(3)) AND satisfactory completion of a 2-year sequence of instruction approved by the Idaho Division of Career Technical Education and the Idaho Electrical Board. | Examination designated by the Board. | |
| Apprentice (registration) | Registration only; work experience is accrued under supervision toward journeyman/residential licensure. | None to register. | Registration $15; renewal $15; reinstatement $15 (1-year term). |
| Electrical Contractor | Not stated on the pages reviewed (rules 54.39.10.100.05 require a Board-designated examination). | Examination designated by the Board. | License $125; renewal $100; reinstatement $125 (1-year term). Plus $15 application fee. |
| Limited Contractor | Not yet sourced from the board's pages. | Not yet sourced from the board's pages. | License $125; renewal $100; reinstatement $125 (1-year term). |
| Limited Electrical Installer | 4,000 hours of work experience in the same limited category. | Not fully sourced from the board's pages. | License $55; renewal $45; reinstatement $55 (3-year term). |
| Limited Trainee | Registration only (limited category). | None to register. | Registration $30; renewal $25; reinstatement $30 (3-year term). |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Idaho’s exemptions live in Idaho Code § 54-1016. Nothing in the chapter applies to regulated utilities, telephone companies, rural telephone cooperatives, or municipal communications utilities and their employees installing or maintaining communication circuits; to electrical public utilities and their employees installing and maintaining wiring, circuits, apparatus, and equipment for the utility or as part of its plants, lines, or system; or to modular buildings built in Idaho for installation out of state (§ 54-1016(1)). The licensing provisions (which cover every license class on this page, journeyman through contractor) do not apply to: a property owner performing noncommercial electrical work in the owner’s primary or secondary residence, associated outbuildings, or the land the buildings sit on — except that homeowner installations of grid-connected renewable power generation are subject to a preplan review under local policies before a permit is purchased (§ 54-1016(2)(a)); a person regularly employed as a maintenance electrician doing electrical maintenance on the employer’s own premises, limited to maintenance and like-for-like replacement of fixtures, conductors, equipment, and apparatus (§ 54-1016(2)(b)); telephone and electrical utilities (and their subsidiaries and employees) working on customer-owned facilities under the utility’s exclusive control, doing customer-requested repair work, or doing emergency repair work (§ 54-1016(2)(c)-(f)); a fire department employee acting in official capacity who replaces, maintains, or repairs a hard-wired smoke or carbon monoxide alarm at a homeowner’s request in a one- or two-family dwelling, if annually trained in electrical safety (§ 54-1016(2)(g)); limited electrical contractors/installers replacing or installing a fire alarm communication device (DACT) (§ 54-1016(2)(h)); and 501(c)(3) nonprofits chartered to build houses (including religious corporations) and their volunteers performing electrical installations for a single-family dwelling (§ 54-1016(2)(i)). Licensed HVAC contractors and certified plumbers may, without an electrical license, install limited electrical circuitry within defined bounds — water-heater connections from an in-sight disconnect within 50 feet, HVAC equipment connections, ductless space heaters, ventilating fans (except ducted range hoods in residences), and, for HVAC licensees, 24-volt-or-less control wiring for equipment of five tons or less (§ 54-1016(3)); limited-energy licensees have a parallel 50-foot outlet-connection allowance (§ 54-1016(3)(d)). Apprentice registration requirements do not apply to high school students in a board-recognized educational program performing residential installations under constant on-the-job supervision of a licensed residential or journeyman electrician, with a permit obtained; those hours do not count toward apprentice work requirements (§ 54-1016(6)). Neither local jurisdictions nor the state fire marshal may amend these exemptions or adopt conflicting rules (§ 54-1016(7)).
Fees
Application fee: $15 (all license applications). License fees (license / renewal / reinstatement / term): Apprentice $15/$15/$15 (1 yr); Contractor $125/$100/$125 (1 yr); Provisional Journeyman $55/$45/N/A (6 mo); Journeyman $55/$45/$55 (3 yr); Master $65/$45/$55 (3 yr); Limited Contractor $125/$100/$125 (1 yr); Limited Installer $55/$45/$55 (3 yr); Limited Trainee $30/$25/$30 (3 yr).
Exam
Examinations are administered through PSI (online scheduling at test-takers.psiexams.com/idcon/test; PSI 855-340-3713). The journeyman and master licenses require the NASCLA examination. Applicants must pass the appropriate exam before applying to DOPL. Other license types require an examination designated by the Board.
Renewal & continuing education
Varies by license type: Journeyman, Master, Limited Installer and Limited Trainee = 3 years; Contractor, Limited Contractor and Apprentice = 1 year; Provisional Journeyman = 6 months.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Idaho Electrical Board (Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, DOPL). Start at the official application page .