North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC) administers electrical contractor licensing in North Carolina. 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 North Carolina the state credential is an electrical contractor license, not an individual electrician license — the NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors licenses the CONTRACTOR (the business and its qualified individual), not the electricians it employs. A search for a “North Carolina electrician license” maps to that contractor license. “Electrician license,” “journeyman electrician license” and “electrician certification” are common informal names for the contractor credential.
License types & fees
| Type | Experience | Exam | Fee | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limited (L) | Limited exam (100 multiple-choice questions, 6 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Single electrical contracting project not exceeding $60,000 in value, on which the equipment or installation is rated at not more than 600 volts. | |
| Intermediate (I) | Intermediate exam (100 multiple-choice questions, 6 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $150/year license fee | Single electrical contracting project not exceeding $150,000 in value. Statement of bonding ability required to activate the license. | |
| Unlimited (U) | Unlimited exam (100 multiple-choice questions, 6 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $200/year license fee | Any electrical contracting project regardless of value. Statement of bonding ability required to activate the license. | |
| Special Restricted - Residential Dwelling (SP-SFD) | Special Restricted exam (40 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Limited phase of electrical contracting work; full scope defined in Section .0800 of the Board rules (Title 21 NCAC 18B). | |
| Special Restricted - Fire Alarm/Low-Voltage (SP-FA/LV) | Fire Alarm/Low Voltage exam (50 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Limited phase of electrical contracting work; full scope defined in Section .0800 of the Board rules (Title 21 NCAC 18B). | |
| Special Restricted - Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning (SP-PH) | Special Restricted exam (40 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Limited phase of electrical contracting work; full scope defined in Section .0800 of the Board rules (Title 21 NCAC 18B). | |
| Special Restricted - Swimming Pool (SP-SP) | Swimming Pool exam (25 multiple-choice questions, 1 hour, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Limited phase of electrical contracting work; full scope defined in Section .0800 of the Board rules (Title 21 NCAC 18B). | |
| Special Restricted - Groundwater Pump (SP-WP) | Special Restricted exam (40 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Limited phase of electrical contracting work; full scope defined in Section .0800 of the Board rules (Title 21 NCAC 18B). | |
| Special Restricted - Electric Sign (SP-ES) | Special Restricted exam (40 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Limited phase of electrical contracting work; full scope defined in Section .0800 of the Board rules (Title 21 NCAC 18B). | |
| Special Restricted - Elevator (SP-EL) | Special Restricted exam (40 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, open book, PSI). Passing grade 70. | $125 application & exam fee; $100/year license fee | Limited phase of electrical contracting work; full scope defined in Section .0800 of the Board rules (Title 21 NCAC 18B). |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
North Carolina licenses electrical CONTRACTORS (the business credential issued by the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors), not individual journeyman electricians, and the exemptions in G.S. 87-43.1 apply to that electrical contracting license (Article 4 of Chapter 87). The Article does not apply: (1) to installing, constructing, or maintaining facilities for providing electric service to the public ahead of the point of delivery of electric service to the customer (the utility-side carve-out); (2) to telephone, telegraph, or signal system work by public utilities or their corporate affiliates when the work pertains to the services those utilities furnish; (3) to any person working as a bona fide EMPLOYEE of a Board licensee — this is why individual electricians working for a licensed electrical contractor need no state license of their own; (4) to temporary electrical equipment and wiring used by contractors in connection with construction work; (5) to businesses that regularly employ one or more electricians or mechanics to install, maintain, alter, or repair electrical wiring, devices, appliances, or equipment on their OWN property used in conducting their business, when the property is not intended at the time for rent, lease, sale, or gift (the in-plant/maintenance-staff carve-out); (5a) to any person doing electrical work on that person’s own property for that person’s own benefit, when the property is not intended at the time for rent, lease, or sale (the property-owner carve-out — note it is not limited to residences); (6) to State institutions and private educational institutions that maintain a private electrical department; (7) to replacing lamps and fuses, installing and servicing cord-connected appliances and equipment that plug into permanently installed receptacles, and servicing appliances connected to a permanently installed junction box — but not to installing the permanent receptacles or the junction box itself; (8) to bonding of corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) gas piping systems as required by the North Carolina Fuel Gas Code; (9) to installing, maintaining, or replacing load control devices or equipment by an electric power supplier (or its contracted electrical contractor) under a Utilities Commission-approved program, subject to supervision by a licensed electrical contractor; (10) to certified well contractors running electrical wires from the well pump to the pressure switch; and (11) to certified on-site wastewater contractors wiring the wastewater pump to the control panel for the wastewater system.
Fees
Application & exam fee (all classifications): $125.00. License fees (annual): Limited $100, Intermediate $150, Unlimited $200, Special Restricted classifications $100 each. Late license renewal: $25. Exam review: $25. Verification of license: $25. Duplicate license: $15. NSF/bad check: $25.
Exam
Administered by PSI at test centers statewide. Computer-based and open book (NEC 2020 and NFPA references permitted). Minimum passing grade of 70; score given same day. Limited/Intermediate/Unlimited: 100 questions, 6 hours. Fire Alarm/Low Voltage: 50 questions, 3 hours. Special Restricted (SP-SFD, SP-PH, SP-ES, SP-EL, SP-WP): 40 questions, 3 hours. Swimming Pool: 25 questions, 1 hour. Application & exam fee $125; optional exam review $25 (one review of a failed exam allowed).
Renewal & continuing education
Annual. All licenses expire one (1) year after the date of issuance. Renewal notices are sent approximately 60 days before expiration. A $25.00 administrative (late) fee applies to renewals received after the expiration date. Unlimited / Intermediate / Limited / SFD licenses: 8 hours CE per annual license period (8 classroom hours OR 4 classroom + 4 online). Special Restricted licenses (EL/ES/FA-LV/PH/SP/WP): 4 hours CE per annual license period (4 classroom OR 2 classroom + 2 online). At least one-half of CE hours must be earned by in-person classroom or seminar attendance (effective for renewals on or after July 1, 2008).
How to apply
Applications are handled by North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC). Start at the official application page .