Oregon Building Codes Division (BCD), Department of Consumer and Business Services administers electrician licensing in Oregon. 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
Oregon licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Oregon Building Codes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Journeyman Electrician (J) | (1) Completion of an approved apprenticeship program in Oregon; OR (2) official transcripts verifying 576 hours of classroom training plus verification of 8,000 hours of on-the-job experience obtained outside of Oregon (minimum 1,000 hours in each of residential, commercial, and industrial; 300 percent rule applies); OR (3) verification of 16,000 hours of on-the-job experience obtained outside of Oregon (minimum 2,000 hours in each category; 300 percent rule applies). | 52 questions, 3 hours, open book. | $100 |
| General Supervising Electrician (S) | (1) Be currently licensed as an Oregon journeyman electrician and provide verification of an additional 8,000 hours of on-the-job journeyman experience; OR (2) meet the qualifications to be licensed as an Oregon journeyman electrician and provide verification of an additional 8,000 hours of on-the-job journeyman experience (300 percent rule applies). | 4 hours, 2-section exam: 52 code questions and 12 calculation questions, open book. | $100 |
| Limited Residential Electrician (LR) | (1) Completion of an approved apprenticeship program in Oregon; OR (2) official transcripts verifying 288 hours of classroom training plus verification of 4,000 hours of on-the-job residential experience obtained outside of Oregon (300 percent rule applies); OR (3) verification of 8,000 hours of on-the-job residential experience obtained outside of Oregon (300 percent rule applies). Works under the supervision of a general supervising electrician; scope limited to one- and two-family or multifamily dwellings not exceeding three floors above grade. | 52 questions, 3 hours, open book. | $100 |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Oregon’s electrical licensing exemptions are collected in ORS 479.540, and they apply to the individual electrician licenses this page covers (General Journeyman, General Supervising, Limited Residential) as well as, in specified subsections, to electrical contractor licensing and to permits. Owner exemption: a person is not required to obtain a license to make an electrical installation on residential or farm property owned by the person or an immediate family member, if the property ‘is not intended for sale, exchange, lease or rent’ (ORS 479.540(1)); the work must still meet code, and on residential property that IS for rent, lease, sale, or exchange the exemption narrows to maintenance of the existing electrical installation only — no new installations or substantial alterations (ORS 479.540(1)(b)). The Building Codes Division’s licensing clarification (June 2016) interprets that narrower scope as replacing light switches, thermostats, outlets, light fixtures, door bells, communications devices, and ballasts, and states that replacing a service, panels, sub-panels, meter bases, or breaker boxes is a substantial alteration requiring a licensed individual; an unlicensed landlord or landlord’s agent may only replace an existing garbage disposal, dishwasher, or electric water heater of 30 amps or less. Utility exemptions: no electrical contractor license is required for installations made by a public utility, consumer-owned utility, telecommunications carrier, competitive telecommunications provider, or municipality for generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity on property it owns or manages (ORS 479.540(2)(d)); a person whose sole business is generating or selling electricity needs no license to transform, transmit, or distribute electricity from source to the service head (ORS 479.540(3)); and the electrical law as a whole does not apply to utility-owned electrical products and installations integral to utility equipment (ORS 479.540(5)). Business-premises exemption: an electrical contractor license is not required for an installation made by a person on the person’s own property in connection with the person’s business (ORS 479.540(2)(c)) — note this subsection waives the contractor license, not individual licenses. Other carve-outs: motor-vehicle ignition/lighting systems and utility metering devices (ORS 479.540(2)(a)-(b)); housing authority regular maintenance staff repairing or replacing light fixtures, switches, ballasts, outlets, or smoke alarms in housing-authority housing (ORS 479.540(4)(a), permit also waived by (6)(a)); temporary demonstrations, and utility-style street lighting or outdoor transmission/distribution systems installed by qualified employees of licensed electrical contractors (ORS 479.540(4)(b)); railroad communication and signal systems (ORS 479.540(9)(a)); FCC-licensed broadcast systems not part of a building’s permanent wiring (9)(b)); telecommunications work on the provider side of the demarcation point and limited customer-side installations — generally up to 10 telecommunications outlets, with dwellings treated more permissively (ORS 479.540(9)(c)-(h)); factory/vendor/owner authorized agents installing or reassembling industrial electrical equipment (excluding hazardous locations, fire-rated penetrations, and connection to a power source) (ORS 479.540(8)); cable television installations, exempt from permit and electrical-contractor-license requirements (ORS 479.540(18)); recreational vehicles (ORS 479.540(21)); and structures exempt under ORS 455.312(1). Holders of limited maintenance specialty or limited pump installation specialty contractor licenses (and their listed employees) need no journeyman or supervising electrician license for work authorized under those licenses (ORS 479.540(14)). Permit-only relief (not license exemptions) exists for maintenance work under master permits at industrial plants and commercial buildings, emergency industrial work with a permit filed within five days, minor installations under board-authorized installation labels, and owner maintenance on family residential property (ORS 479.540(6), (7), (15), (16)). Government employees are NOT exempt: ORS 479.545 states no person is exempted ‘solely on the basis the person is employed by an agency of this state.’
Fees
License fee is $100.00 for the General Journeyman (J), General Supervising (S), and Limited Residential (LR) licenses. Journeyman renewal fee is $100. Each changed or reprinted (duplicate/replacement) license costs $10.00 via form 440-2523.
Exam
Written, open-book exams administered after application approval and issuance of a Letter of Authorization (exam must be scheduled within 60 days). General Journeyman (J): 52 questions, 3 hours. General Supervising (S): 4 hours, 2 sections — 52 code questions plus 12 calculation questions. Limited Residential (LR): 52 questions, 3 hours. BCD provides a list of approved exam materials upon approval.
Renewal & continuing education
Every three years, on October 1. A renewal notice is mailed approximately six weeks before expiration. General Journeyman (J): 24 hours per renewal cycle. General Supervising (S): 24 hours per renewal cycle. Limited Residential (LR): 16 hours per renewal cycle. Details at oregon.gov/BCD/ce/Pages/electrical.aspx.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Oregon Building Codes Division (BCD), Department of Consumer and Business Services. Start at the official application page .