Mississippi · electrician licensing · verified July 2026
Mississippi electrician license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, Mississippi has no statewide journeyman or master electrician license for individuals; individual electrician credentials, where required, are issued at the city/county level. At the state level, the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) licenses electrical CONTRACTORS: a commercial Certificate of Responsibility with the Electrical classification is required for commercial work of $50,000 or more, and under Miss. Code Ann. 73-59-3 any subcontractor performing electrical work on a residential project must hold a residential license from the board no matter the dollar amount.
Do you need a license to work as an electrician in Mississippi?
Mississippi regulates this trade at the contractor level rather than licensing individual electricians.
Reciprocity (trade-exam waiver only; all applicants still take the Mississippi Law & Business exam) covering electrical work exists with the Alabama Electrical Board, North Carolina Electrical Contractors Board, Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Electrical among covered trades), and South Carolina boards (electrical exams). Broader MSBOC reciprocity agreements with AL/AR/CA/FL/GA/NC/SC/TN cover other classifications; the former Louisiana agreement was terminated though MSBOC still recognizes passing LA exam scores. Commercial threshold ($50,000; $5,000 for fire protection) is from the board's official Commercial Laws and Rules (Miss. Code Ann. 31-3-1 definitions); residential builder threshold is $50,000 (new) / $10,000 (remodeling), but electrical subcontractors on residential projects need a license at ANY amount per the 2022-revised residential law.
What licenses does Mississippi issue?
The Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) issues the credentials below for this trade, alongside one that is issued by cities or counties rather than the state. 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.
| License | On-the-job hours | Classroom hours | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Certificate of Responsibility - Electrical Work classification | not published | not published | Yes |
| Residential license - electrical subcontractor | not published | not published | Yes |
| Journeyman/Master Electrician (municipal level only) | not published | not published | Yes |
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) (msboc.us). Verified July 2026.
What exam does Mississippi require?
Mississippi Law & Business Management exam (required of all applicants; open book). Administered by PSI.
Electrical trade exam (for the Electrical classification; open book). Administered by PSI (NASCLA Master Electrical Examination accepted as a multi-state alternative).
Source: examination page (msboc.us). Verified July 2026.
How much does a Mississippi electrician license cost?
Mississippi sets its fees per license class rather than as one figure for the trade, so no single total would be true of every applicant. The published items are below exactly as the board sets them.
- Application feeset per license class
- Initial license feeset per license class
- Renewal fee (recurring)set per license class
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: Annual, licenses are valid for one year from date of issuance
Continuing education: Residential license qualifying parties must complete 2 credit hours per year from a board-approved provider (Miss. Code Ann. 73-59-11; applies to licenses issued on or after July 1, 2015). No CE requirement stated for commercial Certificate of Responsibility holders.
Source: renewal requirements (msboc.us). Verified July 2026.
How does the apprenticeship route work?
Mississippi has no state apprentice registration or hour-tracking for electricians. MSBOC licensure is business-level: the qualifying party demonstrates hands-on experience (e.g., listing at least 3 completed electrical jobs) and passes the exams; there is no statutory OJT/classroom hour requirement. Registered apprenticeship in Mississippi runs through USDOL Office of Apprenticeship programs, and apprenticeship hours matter mainly for municipal journeyman/master exams where local jurisdictions require them.
Which states does Mississippi have license reciprocity with?
Mississippi appears in 4 published reciprocal licensing agreements for this trade, covering Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina. Boards write these as agreements between two states rather than as a one-way list, and some publish the list while their counterpart does not, so this counts every agreement naming Mississippi from either side. Recognition is never automatic: the board you apply to decides, and most require the original license to have been earned by examination and to be in good standing.
Source: reciprocity agreement (msboc.us). Verified July 2026.
How does Mississippi compare to neighboring states?
Requirements stop at the state line, which matters if you live near one or expect to move. Here is what the neighboring states ask of the same trade.
| State | Journeyman hours | Licensing model |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | not published | Contractor level only |
| Alabama | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Arkansas | not published | Statewide |
| Louisiana | not published | Contractor level only |
| Tennessee | not published | Contractor level only |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- Apply For A License | Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Testing | MSBOC (PSI exams, Law & Business + trade exams, NASCLA)
- Reciprocity | MSBOC
- Continuing Education | MSBOC
- MSBOC Residential Laws and Rules (Miss. Code Ann. 73-59-1 et seq. + Rule 3.4 Fee Schedule)
- MSBOC Commercial Laws and Rules (Miss. Code Ann. 31-3-1 et seq.)
Last verified July 2026. Found an error? Report it and it will be corrected and logged on the corrections page.
Other states with published requirements for this trade: Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico.
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 Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) before making decisions. Not legal advice.