North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) administers electrician licensing in North Dakota. 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
North Dakota licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the North Dakota State 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 | 8,000 hours of experience (may not be obtained in less than 3 years) registered as an apprentice electrician under the supervision of a contracting master or master of record; up to 2,000 hours credit may be granted for a graduate of a 2-year-or-more electrical school accepted by the board. | Required. Journeyman exam: Closed book 1 hour + Open book 3.5 hours. Based on fundamental electricity, ND laws/rules/wiring standards, and the current edition of the NEC. Passing grade 70%. | $25.00 application (exam) fee. A separate additional fee is required to issue the license after passing (amount not published on the source pages reviewed). |
| Master Electrician | One (1) year's experience as a licensed journeyman with at least 2,000 hours working as a licensed journeyman under the supervision of a contracting master electrician or master of record (application form states a 10,000-hour minimum, or one year and 2,000 hours if an ND journeyman). Three categories: contracting master, master of record, non-contracting master. | Required. Master exam: Closed book 1 hour + Open book 3.5 hours. Based on fundamental electricity, ND laws/rules/wiring standards, and the current edition of the NEC. Passing grade 70%. | $50.00 application (exam) fee. A separate additional fee is required to issue the license after passing (amount not published on the source pages reviewed). |
| Class B Electrician | 18 months and 3,000 hours experience in farmstead or residential wiring in one-family or two-family dwellings, under the supervision of a master or Class B electrician (commercial wiring experience not credited); 1,000 hours credit for a graduate of a 2-year electrical school approved by the board. Class B may work only in contracting status and only for farmstead/residential wiring in a city of 2,500 or fewer population. | Required. Class B exam: Closed book 1 hour + Open book 3.5 hours. Based on fundamental electricity, ND laws/rules/wiring standards, and the current edition of the NEC. Passing grade 70%. | $40.00 application (exam) fee. A separate additional fee is required to issue the license after passing (amount not published on the source pages reviewed). |
| Provisional (Military Spouse) | Not separately detailed on the qualifications pages reviewed. | Offered as an application category on the exam application form. | $0.00 application fee. |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
North Dakota’s electrician licensing chapter (N.D.C.C. ch. 43-09, covering the master, journeyman, Class B, and power limited electrician licenses issued by the State Electrical Board) exempts six classes of persons outright in N.D.C.C. 43-09-16, which provides that they ‘are not required to be licensed by and are not subject to regulation by the board’: (1) employees of public utilities engaged in manufacturing and distributing electrical energy, while doing work directly pertaining to that function — but this exemption ’terminates at the first point of service attachment,’ except for installing, testing, and maintaining electric meters and measuring devices; (2) employees, independent contractors, or subcontractors of telecommunications carriers (as defined in N.D.C.C. 57-34-01) and satellite or cable systems providers, acting within the scope of employment or contract; (3) employees, independent contractors, or subcontractors of household-appliance dealers (room air-conditioners, clothes dryers, dishwashers, freezers, garbage disposals, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, water heaters, and similar appliances) while installing and connecting such appliances to an existing electrical receptacle; (4) a manufacturing firm’s representative installing or modifying controls or wiring solely on industrial machinery for the firm’s own use, performed by or under the direction of a registered professional engineer who issues a state-accepted evaluation kept with the equipment; (5) an individual installing a ’nonelectrical system’ (a defined term at N.D.C.C. 43-09-01(12) covering certain NEC Class II/III circuits); and (6) an individual installing a power limited system within a residential dwelling, or one installed with a factory connector or cord powered by an existing receptacle. Separately, N.D.C.C. 43-09-26 places coal-mine installations under federal MSHA jurisdiction: the board’s jurisdiction and the chapter’s requirements ‘do not apply to installations, wiring, apparatus, or equipment that are part of a coal mine permitted by the public service commission.’ North Dakota has NO express homeowner exemption in chapter 43-09; what functions as one is the scope of the license requirement itself — N.D.C.C. 43-09-09(1) requires a license only of a person who undertakes or plans ’to undertake with another person’ electrical wiring work (contracted work), a scope the board’s own licensing page repeats (‘undertakes or offers to undertake with another’), so self-performed work not undertaken for another falls outside the licensing requirement while remaining subject to the board’s inspection jurisdiction over all electrical installations (N.D.C.C. 43-09-22). Apprentices are handled by registration rather than exemption: an individual may serve as an apprentice under a licensed master or power limited electrician, but may not work on any installation without the personal supervision of a licensed electrician (N.D.C.C. 43-09-18).
Fees
Application (exam) fees: Master $50.00; Class B $40.00; Journeyman $25.00; Provisional-Military Spouse $0.00. A separate additional fee is required to issue the license after passing the exam (amount not published on the pages reviewed). Annual renewal fees: Master $50.00; Power Limited Electrician $50.00; Class B $40.00; Journeyman $25.00. Expired licenses require a reinstatement fee equal to the annual fee.
Exam
Administered by the North Dakota State Electrical Board (in-house; applicant must be approved before scheduling and receives an invitation listing available test dates). Must test within 6 months of receiving the invite. Exam covers fundamental electricity, ND laws/rules/wiring standards, and the current edition of the National Electrical Code. Passing grade 70%. Formats: Master/Journeyman/Class B = Closed 1 hr + Open 3.5 hrs; PLE Open = 4.5 hrs. Re-exam waiting periods by score: 60-69 none, 50-59 three months, 0-49 six months. Example 2026 exam dates listed: December 14-15, 2026.
Renewal & continuing education
Annual. Journeyman licenses expire March 31 each year. Master, Class B, and Power Limited Electrician licenses expire April 30 each year. Renewals open January 1. 8 hours of continuing education per renewal period, of which a minimum of 4 hours must be code-related; must be board-approved and reported to the board by the provider. Credits may be deposited for up to two license renewal periods.
How to apply
Applications are handled by North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB). Start at the official application page .