Hawaii · electrician licensing · verified July 2026

Hawaii electrician license requirements

Do you need a license to work as an electrician in Hawaii?

Hawaii licenses electricians statewide, so one credential is valid across the whole state.

The electrician license does not allow contracting for electrical work, a separate contractor license under HRS Chapter 444 (Contractors License Board) is required. Hawaii explicitly states it 'does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction.' Application fee is $40 up front; license fees are due only after board approval and exam passage. Governing law: HRS Chapter 448E and HAR Chapter 16-80.

What licenses does Hawaii issue?

The Board of Electricians and Plumbers, Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) issues the credentials below for this trade. Boards often list further classes for specialties and business licenses; these are the ones this page covers.

Hours are what each class asks for on its own terms. Where a senior class shows fewer than a journeyman, the board is counting time served after the earlier license rather than from the start; the prerequisite column says which.

Source: Board of Electricians and Plumbers, Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) (cca.hawaii.gov). Verified July 2026.

Journey Worker Electrician (EJ): 5 years (minimum 10,000 hours) in residential or commercial wiring, verified by licensed electricians

Journey Worker Industrial Electrician (EJI): 4 years (minimum 8,000 hours) in industrial electrical work

Journey Worker Specialty Electrician (EJS): 3 years (minimum 6,000 hours) in the specialty trade

Maintenance Electrician (EM): 1 year of electrical maintenance work (or 2 years trade schooling with at least 1,000 hours hands-on lab)

How many hours do you need in Hawaii?

Hawaii requires 10,000 hours of on-the-job experience for a Journey Worker Electrician (EJ) license, plus 240 classroom hours. At a 40-hour week the on-the-job portion is roughly 5 years of full-time work.

What exam does Hawaii require?

Hawaii electrician licensure examination (based on the National Electrical Code; open code book). Administered by PSI Services (registration via PSI's Hawaii trades program after board approval).

How much does a Hawaii electrician license cost?

Getting a Journey Worker Electrician (EJ) license in Hawaii costs $346 in board fees, before any training. That is the application fee and the initial license fee charged once, for an applicant licensed at the start of the fee cycle, with renewal charged separately below. No board publishes this total, so it is added up here from the schedule it does publish. An exam is required and its fee is not in that figure, because no amount for it appears in the board material this page is built from. Check the board's current fee schedule before budgeting.

• Application fee$40
• Initial license fee$306
• Renewal fee (recurring)$306

How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?

Renewal period: 3 years (triennial), expiring June 30 of each renewal year (2026, 2029, 2032) (renewal fee $306 active / $12 inactive; restoration within 1 year $406 active)

Continuing education: Continued competency required at each triennial renewal for all electrician classifications except maintenance electricians: either complete an approved course on National Electrical Code updates (Honolulu Community College approved to develop and teach) or pass a board-prescribed open-book NEC update examination administered by Prometric. Licensees issued a new license within one year of the renewal date are exempt for their first renewal only.

How does the apprenticeship route work?

The board does not register apprentices; trade experience is earned under licensed electricians and documented with notarized Experience Verification forms signed by each supervising licensee. A certificate of completion of an approved apprenticeship program is accepted as verification of the required electrical academic coursework (e.g., the 240 hours for Journey Worker Electrician), and Honolulu Community College verifies apprenticeship, collegiate, or military training for coursework equivalency.

Which states does Hawaii have license reciprocity with?

Hawaii's board states it does not reciprocate. Out-of-state licensees qualify and test on the same terms as in-state applicants.

How does Hawaii compare nationally?

24 states publish an explicit hour figure for this trade, and they range from 8,000 to 10,000 hours. Hawaii's 10,000 hours is the longest requirement of any of them. The full comparison is on the hours by state table.

Sources and verification

Other states with published requirements for this trade: Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire.

Price the whole path with the license cost estimator, or weigh earning against paying for school with the apprenticeship comparison. Back to electricians overview.

Licensing requirements change between our verification sweeps. This page is informational only, so confirm current requirements with Board of Electricians and Plumbers, Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) before making decisions. Not legal advice.