Tennessee · electrician licensing · verified July 2026
Tennessee electrician license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, Tennessee is a hybrid state: the Board for Licensing Contractors issues a statewide Contractor license with the CE (electrical) classification, required for any electrical project of $25,000 or more, and a Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE) license for projects under $25,000 in the roughly 65 counties where the State Fire Marshal's Office handles electrical permits and inspections. There is no state journeyman or master electrician license, local governments may issue their own electrician (journeyman/master) licenses and set their own requirements for sub-$25,000 work in their jurisdictions.
Do you need a license to work as an electrician in Tennessee?
Tennessee regulates this trade at the contractor level rather than licensing individual electricians.
The Board's LLE packet states: local government may have their own electrician license for projects less than $25,000 and issue permits for inspections, such as journeyman/master, so always check the municipality first (e.g., major metro jurisdictions run their own electrical permitting and licensing programs). There are no out-of-state reciprocal (exam waiver) agreements for the LLE. Statutory authority: Tenn. Code Ann. Title 62, Chapter 6. A local business tax license from the Department of Revenue is also required for LLE work.
What licenses does Tennessee issue?
The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce & Insurance) 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.
| License | On-the-job hours | Classroom hours | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contractor - CE Electrical classification (electrical contractor) | not published | not published | Yes |
| Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE) | not published | not published | Yes |
Source: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce & Insurance) (tn.gov). Verified July 2026.
What exam does Tennessee require?
LLE Trade Exam. Administered by PSI Exams per the Board's June 2025 application packet; the Board's website states Prov (provexam.com) administers Board exams beginning July 1, 2026.
Business and Law Exam (contractor license). Administered by Prov as of July 1, 2026 (previously PSI).
Electrical (CE) Trade Exam (contractor license). Administered by Prov as of July 1, 2026 (previously PSI).
How much does a Tennessee electrician license cost?
Tennessee 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 fee$250
- Initial license feeset per license class
- Renewal fee (recurring)$200
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: 2 years (biennial) for both the Contractor license and the LLE
Continuing education: None for the LLE (explicitly stated in the Board's application packet). No continuing-education requirement is stated on the contractor renewal form reviewed; verify with the Board for the CE classification.
Source: renewal requirements (tn.gov). Verified July 2026.
How does the apprenticeship route work?
Tennessee has no state apprentice registration or state journeyman license, so apprenticeship hours do not feed a state electrician license. Apprenticeship credentials and hours matter at the local level where cities/counties issue journeyman or master electrician cards, and as experience documentation for the Board's contractor (CE) application. No experience is required to sit for the state LLE exam.
Which states does Tennessee have license reciprocity with?
Tennessee appears in 4 published reciprocal licensing agreements for this trade, covering Alabama, Nevada, North Carolina, 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 Tennessee 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.
How does Tennessee 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | not published | Contractor level only |
| Alabama | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Arkansas | not published | Statewide |
| Georgia | not published | Statewide |
| Kentucky | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Mississippi | not published | Contractor level only |
| Missouri | not published | City or county |
| North Carolina | not published | Statewide |
| Virginia | not published | Statewide |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors - Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors - LLE Application packet (Rev. Jun 2025)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors - Contractor license requirements
- TN Contractor's License Renewal form ($200 biennial)
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: Utah, Vermont, West Virginia.
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 Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce & Insurance) before making decisions. Not legal advice.