Maryland State Board of Electricians (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing) administers electrician licensing in Maryland. 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
Maryland licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Maryland State Board of Electricians 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 | At least 7 years engaged regularly and principally in providing electrical services under the direction and supervision of a master electrician (or a similarly qualified governmental-unit employee). The Board may allow up to 3 years' credit for an approved comparable formal course of study; work in an approved electrician apprenticeship program (Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning or federal Office of Apprenticeship) is credited toward the requirement. (Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-304(b)) | Yes — written exam administered by PSI Examination Services; passing score 70% | Original license $25.00; renewal $31.50 (COMAR 09.09.01.03, effective July 1, 2025). Exam fee $65.00 paid to PSI. |
| Journeyperson Electrician | At least 4 years engaged regularly and principally in providing electrical services under the direction and supervision of a master electrician (or a similarly qualified governmental-unit employee). Work in an approved electrician apprenticeship program is credited toward the requirement. (Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-304(c)) | Yes — written exam administered by PSI Examination Services; passing score 70% | Original license $18.50; renewal $18.50 (COMAR 09.09.01.03, effective July 1, 2025). Exam fee $65.00 paid to PSI. |
| Apprentice Electrician | No stated experience or exam requirement; an apprentice must be supervised at all times by a licensed master or journeyperson electrician and may not perform electrical work independently. | No | Original license $12.00; renewal $12.00 (COMAR 09.09.01.03, effective July 1, 2025). |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Maryland’s Electricians Act (Bus. Occ. & Prof. Title 6, rewritten effective July 1, 2021) concentrates its exemptions in §6-303, and they apply to the State Board of Electricians licenses generally (master, journeyperson, and apprentice electrician). Maryland does not require: a public utility company to employ a State-licensed electrician, or a utility employee to hold a State license, while providing electrical services to a company facility that is regulated by the Public Service Commission and located on premises, roadways, or rights-of-way in which the company has a lawful interest (§6-303(1)-(2)); or a State electrician license for a person who is licensed or registered under Bus. Occ. & Prof. Title 18 to provide security system services and acting within that license’s scope, who holds a Bus. Occ. & Prof. Title 12 license (the State Board of Plumbing’s plumbing and gas fitting licenses) and is acting within its scope, who holds a Business Regulation Title 9A license (the State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors) and is acting within its scope, or who provides wireless security systems in compliance with Business Regulation Title 19, Subtitle 9 (§6-303(3)). Two structural features of the Act function like exemptions and are worth stating. First, the unlicensed-practice prohibition reaches only paid work: under §6-607 an individual may not provide, attempt, or offer to provide electrical services ‘for compensation’ without an appropriate license, and §6-101(c) defines engaging in the business of providing electrical services as providing them ‘for compensation’ — Title 6 contains no express homeowner exemption, but uncompensated work falls outside the statute’s prohibition (local permit, inspection, and code requirements still apply, and §6-103(f) preserves local building-law requirements). Second, licensing is county-implemented: under §6-301 each county and municipality either requires the State license or maintains its own registration system with qualifications at least as stringent as the State’s, so which credential is demanded on a given job also depends on the local jurisdiction. There is no supervised-unlicensed-helper exemption in the current Act — §6-605 requires every individual employed to provide or assist in providing electrical services to hold a State master, journeyperson, or apprentice license, with at least one licensed master or journeyperson present at each job site.
Fees
Original license: Master $25.00, Journeyperson $18.50, Apprentice $12.00. Renewal: Master $31.50, Journeyperson $18.50, Apprentice $12.00. Reinstatement $28–$126 depending on lateness; reactivation $63.00; Letter of Good Standing $50.00 (COMAR 09.09.01.03, effective July 1, 2025). Exam fee $65.00 paid to PSI. All Board fees are non-refundable.
Exam
Master and Journeyperson applicants must pass a written examination administered by PSI Examination Services (testing centers in Baltimore, College Park, Hagerstown, Lanham, and Salisbury). Passing score is 70%; the Board gives exams at least twice a year. The exam fee is $65.00, paid directly to PSI. Apprentices are not examined.
Renewal & continuing education
Two-year term. A State license expires on the first June 30 in an odd-numbered year after its effective date and may be renewed for additional 2-year terms; renewal requires payment of the renewal fee, completion of continuing education, and proof of insurance (Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-310).
How to apply
Applications are handled by Maryland State Board of Electricians (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing). Start at the official application page .