Mississippi Electrical Contractor License — Requirements, Fees & Exam

Mississippi licenses the contractor (the business and its qualifying individual), not individual electricians. PSI exam — verified from Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC).

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) (official site) and last verified July 22, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

Licensing authority: Mississippi State Board of Contractors – the state's contractor licensing authority. It licenses electrical CONTRACTORS (businesses, through a designated qualifying party), not individual journeyman/master electricians.
Who must hold a state license: A commercial license (certificate of responsibility) is required for any public or private construction contract of $50,000 or more, including electrical work: Miss. Code Ann. §31-3-1 exclusion (a) exempts only a contract 'less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00).' Electrical work has no reduced trigger — it falls under the general $50,000 threshold. (The lower $5,000-public and $10,000-private figures in §31-3-1(g)-(h) apply specifically to FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS, not to general electrical work.) A residential license is required to build a residence costing more than $50,000, or to remodel/improve an existing residence for more than $10,000 (Miss. Code Ann. §73-59-1).
Application: Submit the commercial or residential application to MSBOC. It must be signed, dated, and notarized; un-notarized applications are returned.
Exams: All applicants take the Mississippi Law & Business Management Exam; a trade exam (Electrical / Residential Electrical) is required for the classification. Exams are administered by PSI and are open book. Optional NASCLA Master Electrical Exam is accepted by multiple states for multi-state licensing.
Board review & issuance: After passing required exams the application goes to the board; once approved the license is issued in about five working days and is valid for one year.
Individual electricians (journeyman/master): Mississippi does not issue a statewide individual journeyman or master electrician license. Where an individual electrician credential is required it is issued at the municipal level; check with the city/municipality where the work is performed.

Legal basis

Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) administers electrical contractor licensing in Mississippi. 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

In Mississippi the state credential is an electrical contractor license, not an individual electrician license. The Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) licenses electrical CONTRACTORS. A search for a “Mississippi electrician license” maps to that contractor license; an employed electrician working under a licensed contractor needs no separate state license. “Electrician license” and “journeyman electrician license” are common informal names for the contractor credential.

License types & fees

Type	Experience	Exam	Fee
Commercial license – Electrical (major classification)	Applicant must document project experience demonstrating competency in the Electrical classification on the notarized application (Section 4: Classification and Experience). No fixed year/hour count is published on the board's application or classifications pages.	Mississippi Law & Business Management Exam (required of all applicants) plus the Electrical trade exam. A Trade or NASCLA-accredited exam is accepted for the Electrical classification. All exams administered by PSI, open book.	$400.00 commercial application (see fee schedule); $100.00 per additional classification
Residential Electrical license	Applicant must document experience in residential electrical work on the notarized residential application. No fixed year/hour count published.	Mississippi Law & Business Management Exam plus the Residential Electrical trade exam, administered by PSI (open book).	$50.00 residential application

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

Mississippi’s state-level electrical credentials are contractor licenses issued by the State Board of Contractors, so the exemptions attach to those two licenses; the state issues no individual journeyman or master electrician license (that is municipal). For the COMMERCIAL license (certificate of responsibility, Electrical classification, Miss. Code Ann. Title 31, ch. 3): the statute’s definition of ‘contractor’ excludes any owner of a dwelling or other structure to be constructed, altered, repaired or improved and not for sale, lease, public use or assembly, and persons operating under a Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board permit (§ 31-3-1). The chapter then exempts, among others: any contract or undertaking of less than $50,000 (§ 31-3-1(a)) — the dollar floor below which no commercial certificate is required for electrical work; federal-aid highway projects (§ 31-3-1(b)); residential projects occupied by 50 or fewer families and not more than three stories (§ 31-3-1(c)); residential subdivision development (§ 31-3-1(d)); new commercial construction not exceeding 7,500 square feet and two stories when undertaken by a licensee under the residential law, § 73-59-1 et seq. (§ 31-3-1(e)); microwave telecommunications towers (§ 31-3-1(f)); and fire protection system contracts under $5,000 on public projects or $10,000 on private projects (§ 31-3-1(g)-(h)). For the RESIDENTIAL license (residential builders and remodelers law, Miss. Code Ann. § 73-59-1 et seq., under which the Residential Electrical remodeler classification is issued): the license triggers only above the statutory thresholds — building a residence costing more than $50,000 or remodeling costing more than $10,000 (§ 73-59-1(b)-(c)) — and § 73-59-15 exempts: agricultural buildings, buildings used for agricultural purposes, buildings constructed as a community effort, and tenant houses; any person doing construction or improvement on his own residence or acting as his own general contractor on it; work for a relative by consanguinity or direct affinity under the owner-occupant’s supervision, when not for sale, rent, public use or assembly; property owners supervising construction on their own property for their own use; holders of a commercial certificate of responsibility for general construction; nonresident holders of a general-construction license or certificate; and any person building two or fewer single residences in a year in a county or municipality that requires no building permit or local certification, provided the residences are not built for sale. The own-residence and family exemptions are capped: one permit application or one single residence per year, with a rebuttable presumption of building for sale beyond that (§ 73-59-15(2)). Individual electricians working as employees need no state credential of any kind — where an individual electrician license is required, it is issued at the city or county level.

Fees

Commercial application $400.00; Commercial renewal $400.00 (late fee $50.00); Additional classification $100.00; Residential application $50.00; Residential renewal $100.00 (late fee $10.00); Reciprocity/verification $25.00; Request for waiver of exam $50.00; Change in qualifying party $25.00; Inactive/active status transfer $25.00 each; Duplicate license $50.00 (Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2016).

Exam

Mississippi Law & Business Management Exam (all applicants) + Electrical / Residential Electrical trade exam; administered by PSI, open book. NASCLA-accredited Electrical exam accepted for the commercial Electrical classification; optional NASCLA Master Electrical Exam for multi-state licensing.

Renewal & continuing education

Annual. Licenses are valid for one year and must be renewed annually. A commercial or residential license may be processed as a late renewal for up to 180 days after expiration; after 180 days a new application is required. Residential license: each qualifying party must complete 2 credit hours of board-approved continuing education per year to maintain the license (Miss. Code Ann. §73-59-11; applies to residential licenses issued on/after July 1, 2015). No continuing-education requirement is published for commercial licenses.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC). Start at the official application page .

Frequently asked questions

Who issues electrician licenses in Mississippi?

Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) issues electrician licenses in Mississippi. You apply through the board’s official application page (linked above).

How much does an electrician license cost in Mississippi?

What exam do you need to pass for an electrician license in Mississippi?

How often do you renew an electrician license in Mississippi?

Is continuing education required to renew an electrician license in Mississippi?

Residential license: each qualifying party must complete 2 credit hours of board-approved continuing education per year to maintain the license (Miss. Code Ann. §73-59-11; applies to residential licenses issued on/after July 1, 2015). No continuing-education requirement is published for commercial licenses.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Mississippi.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: July 22, 2026.

LicensingAtlas states licensing and certification requirements categorically from official sources. It is a reference, not legal or career advice, and requirements change frequently — confirm details with the issuing board before you act.