Virginia · electrician licensing · verified July 2026
Virginia electrician license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, Virginia licenses electricians statewide as 'tradesmen' through the Board for Contractors at DPOR, with Journeyman and Master Electrical tiers. Journeyman licensure uses a sliding scale of experience plus formal vocational training (e.g., 4 years + 240 hours of training, down to 8 years with no training), and Master requires 1 year as a licensed journeyman or 9 years of experience. Anyone performing electrical work valued over $1,000 also needs a Virginia contractor (business) license.
Do you need a license to work as an electrician in Virginia?
Virginia licenses electricians statewide, so one credential is valid across the whole state.
Application fee on the current form (v8, 07/01/2026) is $171.75 ($150 base fee per 18VAC50-30-90 plus the Technology Fee of $7.25/year enacted by 2026 HB 30); card exchange method is $131.75. Renewal fee is $160 per 18VAC50-30-120.G (technology fee applies additionally at transaction). Reciprocity per the Board's official agreement list: DC (journeyman + master), Kentucky (journeyman + master), West Virginia (journeyman + master), Maryland (master only), Ohio (master only), and Alabama and North Carolina electrical contractor licenses map to the VA master exam reciprocity; reciprocal applicants still complete Virginia application requirements. Working on projects over $1,000 requires a separate Virginia Contractors (business) license. 18VAC50-30-40 was repealed April 1, 2025; current qualifications are in 18VAC50-30-39.
What licenses does Virginia issue?
The Virginia Board for Contractors (Tradesmen Program), Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyman Electrical Tradesman (ELE) | not published | 240 | Yes |
| Master Electrical Tradesman (ELE) | not published | not published | Yes |
Source: Virginia Board for Contractors (Tradesmen Program), Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) (dpor.virginia.gov). Verified July 2026.
Journeyman Electrical Tradesman (ELE): 4-8 years of practical experience depending on vocational training hours (240/160/80/40/0), or degree paths (1-2 years), or apprenticeship completion
What exam does Virginia require?
Virginia Journeyman Electrical examination. Administered by PSI. Exam fee $100.
Virginia Master Electrical examination. Administered by PSI. Exam fee $125.
How much does a Virginia electrician license cost?
Getting a Journeyman Electrical Tradesman (ELE) electrician license in Virginia costs $272 in board fees, before any training. That is the application fee and the exam fee charged once, with renewal charged separately below. No board publishes this total, so it is added up here from the schedule it does publish.
- Application fee$171.75
- Exam fee$100
- Renewal fee (recurring)$160
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: 3 years (electrician tradesman licenses expire three years from the last day of the month of issuance, 18VAC50-30-120.A)
Continuing education: 3 hours of board-approved continuing education per trade designation (electrical) relating to building code changes, required for renewal (18VAC50-30-120.C; Va. Code 54.1-1133)
How does the apprenticeship route work?
Completing a Virginia registered apprenticeship program approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry qualifies the applicant for the journeyman license and exempts them from the journeyman examination (18VAC50-30-50.B); out-of-state apprenticeship completion is also an accepted application method. The 'Apprenticeship Program' application method uses the same $171.75 fee on form A501-2710EXLIC.
Which states does Virginia have license reciprocity with?
Virginia appears in 7 published reciprocal licensing agreements for this trade, covering Alabama, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia. 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 Virginia 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 (dpor.virginia.gov). Verified July 2026.
How does Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | not published | Statewide |
| Kentucky | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Maryland | not published | Statewide |
| North Carolina | not published | Statewide |
| Tennessee | not published | Contractor level only |
| West Virginia | not published | Statewide |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- DPOR Tradesmen Program
- Tradesman Exam & License Application (A501-2710EXLIC, v8 07/2026)
- Board for Contractors Individual License and Certification Regulations (18VAC50-30)
- Board for Contractors Reciprocal Licensing/Examination Agreements
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: Wyoming, Alaska, Arkansas.
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 Virginia Board for Contractors (Tradesmen Program), Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) before making decisions. Not legal advice.