Nebraska State Electrical Board / Nebraska State Electrical Division (NSED) administers electrician licensing in Nebraska. 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
Nebraska licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Nebraska State Electrical Board / Nebraska State Electrical Division 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice Electrician (registration) | No experience required to register; must work only under direct on-the-job supervision of a licensee (max ratio 3 apprentices per licensee). Registration and apprentice years count as verifiable experience toward a journeyman license upon board approval. | None (registration only, no exam) | Registration fee: $35.00 if issued in an even-numbered year, $70.00 if issued in an odd-numbered year |
| Journeyman Electrician | At least four years (8,000 hours) of verifiable experience in the electrical trade acceptable to the board. One year of credit given for a two-year post-high-school Associate's degree in electrical technology; military experience credit may apply. Less than 4,000 hours gained in Nebraska results in a 'Restricted' license that cannot reciprocate to other states. (See Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2113.) | Required. Covers 2023 National Electrical Code, Basic Electricity/Theory, Nebraska State Electrical Act, Blueprint Reading, and Emergency/Fire Alarm Circuits. Passing awards 6 CE hours toward renewal. | Application fee $90.00; License fee $37.50 (even-numbered year of issue) or $75.00 (odd-numbered year) |
| Electrical Contractor | Either (a) graduate of a four-year electrical engineering course at an accredited college/university plus at least one year of experience as a licensed journeyman electrician, or (b) at least one year of experience as a licensed journeyman electrician, in each case acceptable to the board. | Required (same exam subject areas as other license types except apprentice). | Application fee $180.00; License fee $187.50 (even-numbered year of issue) or $375.00 (odd-numbered year) |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Nebraska’s State Electrical Act exemptions are enumerated in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2121, and they apply to all licenses issued under the act (journeyman electrician, electrical contractor, and related classes). Property owners are exempt: the act does not prohibit an owner from performing work on the owner’s principal residence — if it is no larger than a single-family dwelling — or on farm property, excluding commercial or industrial installations or installations in public-use buildings or facilities, and does not require the owner to be licensed (§ 81-2121(5)). In-house and utility crews are exempt: employees of municipal corporations, public power districts, public power and irrigation districts, electric membership or cooperative associations, public utility corporations, railroads, telephone or telegraph companies, and commercial or industrial companies performing manufacturing, installation, and repair work for their employer need no state license while acting within the scope of their employment (§ 81-2121(1)). Holders of a valid city or political-subdivision electrical license are exempt from the state license while working only within that jurisdiction, so long as the local license meets the act’s requirements (§ 81-2121(2)). The act does not cover elevators, moving walks, dumbwaiters, and other vertical transportation beyond the terminals of the controllers (§ 81-2121(3)), does not require a license to plug an appliance into an already-installed approved outlet (§ 81-2121(4)), and does not prohibit a pump installation contractor or supervisor licensed under the Water Well Standards and Contractors’ Practice Act from wiring pumps and pumping equipment at a water well location to the first control (§ 81-2121(7)). Separately, a directional boring contractor may install underground conduit on the load side of the meter under the direct supervision of a Class A master electrician, journeyman electrician, or Class B journeyman electrician employed by an electrical contractor (§ 81-2144). The act’s core prohibitions in § 81-2108 also apply only to wiring or installing ‘for another,’ which is why the owner exemption in § 81-2121(5) governs own-property work; apprentice registration under the act is a supervised entry path, not an exemption. Effective July 18, 2026, LB 889 added a family exemption to the act’s criminal provision: under § 81-2143(2) as amended, the prohibition on performing electrical work without a proper license is not construed to prohibit a person from performing electrical work — without a license — for the person’s parent, stepparent, spouse, descendant, grandparent, brother, sister, cousin, uncle, or aunt, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption or marriage.
Fees
Journeyman: $90.00 application + $37.50/$75.00 license (even/odd year). Electrical Contractor: $180.00 application + $187.50/$375.00 license. Apprentice registration: $35.00/$70.00 (even/odd year). Per-year (two-year period) issuance/renewal license fees (2025-2026): Electrical Contractor $187.50, Class A Master $187.50, Class B Electrical Contractor $187.50, Class B Master $187.50, Journeyman Electrician $37.50, Class B Journeyman $37.50, Residential Wireman $37.50, Fire Alarm Installer $37.50, Heating/AC/Refrigeration $37.50, Irrigation $37.50, Sign Installer $37.50, Apprentice Registration $35.
Exam
Administered via PSI. Examination for all license types except Apprentice Registration covers (but is not limited to): 2023 National Electrical Code, Basic Electricity/Theory, Nebraska State Electrical Act, Blueprint Reading, and Emergency Circuits including Fire Alarm Circuits. Successfully passing the exam awards 6 hours of continuing-education credit toward license renewal. Retesting waiting periods governed by Board Policy 37 (eff. Jul 11, 2025); application approval governed by Policy 36 (eff. Nov 8, 2019).
Renewal & continuing education
Biennial. All electrical licenses and apprentice registrations issued by the State Electrical Board expire December 31 of even-numbered years. Renewal notices mailed as a courtesy on October 15 of even-numbered years. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2118 as amended by LB 889 (effective July 18, 2026), renewal runs October 1 through November 30 of even-numbered years at the regular license or registration fee; a late-renewal window runs December 1 through December 31 of even-numbered years at the fee plus ten percent of the renewal fee. Once a license or registration has expired, it can no longer be renewed — the holder must apply for a new license or registration. (As of July 2026 the board’s License Renewal page still describes the pre-LB 889 rule — renewal up to three months after expiration at 10% per month, then a new exam — but the amended statute controls.) 12 hours of board-approved continuing education per renewal cycle, at least 6 of which must be on the National Electrical Code. CE is not required to renew an apprentice registration. Passing a licensing exam awards 6 CE hours toward renewal.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Nebraska State Electrical Board / Nebraska State Electrical Division (NSED). Start at the official application page .