Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT), Division of Workforce Regulation and Safety — Board of Examiners of Electricians (Professional Regulation Unit) administers electrician licensing in Rhode Island. 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
Rhode Island licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyperson Electrician (Certificate B) | 8,000 hours (4 years) of experience as a registered apprentice, plus 576 hours of related instruction approved by DLT (per application instructions). Applicant must submit notarized employer letter(s); indentured apprentices need a Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship from the DLT Apprenticeship office. | Written examination based on the National Electrical Code edition adopted by the RI State Building Code Standards Committee; passing score 70%. | $75 non-refundable exam/application processing fee; $72 two-year license fee upon passing (min age 18). |
| Electrical Contractor / Master (Certificate A) | 12,000 hours (6 years) of experience AND must have held a Rhode Island Certificate B (journeyperson) license for two years. Minimum age 21. | Written examination; passing score 70%. | $75 non-refundable exam/application processing fee; $240 two-year license fee upon passing. Firm/corporate certificate (Corporation Electrical Contractor, AC): $100 fee / $200 two-year license (no test). |
| Limited-Premises License (Certificate C) | Issued to non-manufacturing entities (municipalities, schools, hospitals, colleges, etc.) that regularly employ licensed electricians, for repair/maintenance of existing wiring on a specific premise; not for new construction. One license per address. | No test. | $240 two-year license fee. |
| Limited-Maintenance License (Certificate D) | Authorizes repair/maintenance of existing electric wires, devices, appliances and equipment on a specific premise (non-manufacturing). One license per address. | No test. | $240 two-year license fee. |
| Limited-Maintenance Journeyperson (Certificate M) | Per R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 5-6-24(c). Also used by out-of-state maintenance journeypersons. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $72 two-year license fee. |
| Burner Contractor (Certificate E) | Restricted to installation/servicing of domestic (home) oil and gas heating equipment. Min age 21. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $240 two-year license fee. Corporation Oil Burner Contractor (EC): $200 two-year license (no test). |
| Burner Person (Certificate F) | Restricted to domestic oil/gas heating equipment. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $72 two-year license fee. |
| Fire Alarm Contractor (Certificate AF) | Min age 21. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $240 two-year license fee. Corporation Fire Alarm Contractor (AFC): $200 two-year license (no test). |
| Fire Alarm Installer (Certificate BF) | Minimum 4,000 hours over not less than 2 years as a registered limited apprentice; notarized employer letter of hours. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $72 two-year license fee. |
| Electrical Sign Contractor (Certificate SCF) | Min age 21. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $240 two-year license fee. |
| Electrical Sign Installer (Certificate CF) | Minimum 4,000 hours over not less than 2 years as a registered limited apprentice. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $72 two-year license fee. |
| Lightning-Protection Contractor (Certificate LPC) | Per R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 5-6-11(d) and 5-6-24(d). | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $200 two-year license fee. |
| Lightning-Protection Installer (Certificate LPI) | Minimum 4,000 hours over not less than 2 years working for a recognized lightning protection company; affidavit/notarized employer letter required. | Written examination. | $75 exam/application processing fee; $72 two-year license fee. |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Rhode Island’s electrician licensing law (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-6, which creates every certificate this page covers — Certificate A contractor, Certificate B journeyperson, and the limited certificates) lists its exemptions in R.I. Gen. Laws sec. 5-6-29, ‘Persons and work exempt.’ The chapter does not apply to: electric and gas utilities — electrical work and equipment for generation and primary distribution of current, and the secondary distribution system up to and including the meters, where integral to a system owned and operated by an electric light and power company, and equivalent work integral to a gas company’s system (sec. 5-6-29(a)(1)); telecommunications and cable — signal and communications work integral to a communication system owned and operated by a municipality, a telegraph or telephone company, or a regulated community antenna television (CATV) system or its subcontractors, including telephone-company wiring on the load side of the last fused distribution point (sec. 5-6-29(a)(2)); electrical work and equipment in mines, ships, railway rolling stock, or automotive equipment (sec. 5-6-29(a)(3)); manufacturers — work involved in the manufacture, test, or repair of electrical equipment in the manufacturer’s plant, excluding wiring other than that required for testing (sec. 5-6-29(a)(4)); laboratory installations of exposed electrical wiring for experimental purposes only (sec. 5-6-29(b)); homeowners — the chapter ‘does not forbid the installation of electrical work in a single-family or two-family dwelling on the immediate premises of the dwelling by the owner of the dwelling if living on, or about to live on, the premises’ (sec. 5-6-29(c)); licensed hoisting engineers excavating for and installing underground conduits, though they are expressly prohibited from installing electrical wiring or making service connections (sec. 5-6-29(d)); and DEM-registered onsite wastewater treatment system businesses for operation, installation, maintenance, servicing, and testing of those systems and their components — but not wiring or equipment maintenance between the electric meter and the system (sec. 5-6-29(e)). Two further carve-outs sit in the licensing sections themselves: the license requirement in sec. 5-6-2(a)(1) is ’exclusive of low-voltage wiring for heating/refrigeration equipment’ (HVAC-incidental low-voltage wiring), and sec. 5-6-3 provides that unlicensed persons may plug in properly designed devices and appliances (microwaves, refrigerators, ranges, televisions, light bulbs and the like) into properly installed circuits. Separately, sec. 5-6-2(b) — the provision requiring permit work to be done by licensees — does not apply to owner-occupied single-family homes, except for removing and reattaching electrical meters. Rhode Island has no dollar-threshold or minor-work exemption, and no general exemption for government employees or in-plant industrial maintenance staff (the manufacturer exemption covers only work on the manufacturer’s own products in its plant).
Fees
Non-refundable application/exam processing fee: $75 (per exam application). Two-year license fees on passing: Contractor/Master (A) $240; Journeyperson (B) $72; Limited-Premises (C) $240; Limited-Maintenance (D) $240; Burner Contractor (E) $240; Burner Person (F) $72; Fire Alarm Contractor (AF) $240; Fire Alarm Installer (BF) $72; Sign Contractor (SCF) $240; Sign Installer (CF) $72; Lightning-Protection Contractor (LPC) $200; Lightning-Protection Installer (LPI) $72; Limited-Maintenance Journeyperson (M) $72. Corporation certificates (AC/EC/AFC) $200 two-year (no test), plus a $100 firm/corporate certificate fee. Passing applicants (score 70+) are invoiced for the license fee.
Exam
Written examination administered by the Board of Examiners of Electricians, based on the National Electrical Code edition adopted by the RI State Building Code Standards Committee (with RI amendments). Passing score: 70% average. Certain licenses (e.g., corporation certificates, Limited-Premises C, Limited-Maintenance D) require no test.
Renewal & continuing education
2 years. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 5-6-20, all licenses/certificates are renewable on the birthday of the licensee for a period of two (2) years. A license is not renewable while any penalty or fine remains outstanding. 15 hours of board-approved continuing education per renewal, required as a condition of license renewal (R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 5-6-20.1). Mandatory CE is limited to Certificate A (contractor) and Certificate B (journeyperson) electricians. Courses are typically the 15-hour electrical code update; out-of-state licensees without access to board-approved courses may take a National Electrical Code course plus obtain the RI amendments from the RI Building Code Commission.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT), Division of Workforce Regulation and Safety — Board of Examiners of Electricians (Professional Regulation Unit). Start at the official application page .