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I have a Bachelor in electrical engineering, a lot of hands-on experience with electrical work, and I'm very familiar with NEC 2011 and electrical codes. Can I do residential electrical work without being certified? I heard that I only need to be certified if I work for a contractor. The certification seems to require 3-4 years apprenticeship and 8000 hours of training. Can anyone shed some light on this?

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4  
This will depend on the rules in your locality. Call your city/county/state/province/country and ask. – Niall C. Sep 9 '11 at 3:35
This type of question is why the FAQ asks you to put your country of residence in the question. – staticsan Aug 31 '12 at 3:38

8 Answers

up vote 12 down vote accepted

I am quite sure you will find that in Ca., just like most other states, you need to have a licence to do electrical work for hire. Fixing minor things like replacing a light fixture or a broken switch does not fall into this category, however adding circuits, doing anything in a panel, or upgrading services certainly does. You would never be able to acquire any type of liability insurance as a contractor to do any kind of electrical work without a license, nor would you be able to pull a permit for a homeowner. The three stages of progression to become licensed are first, apprentice, then test for a journeyman's licence, then finally a Master. Only a master can pull permits or supervise the training of the lower two classes. This process can take years. I would caution you sternly, basic knowledge of codes and theory is not a substitute for practical knowledge/experience and proper guidance from a seasoned professional. Working in the trade as a unlicensed contractor could cause you a lot of grief and possible legal problems as well. I would suggest contacting your Secretary of State's department or website for licensing requirements.

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Thanks shirlock, Why do i have to go thru all this again when i already have a bachelor in electrical engineering and over 4 years with hands on electrical work and codes. Apprentice Seems redundant. – Hussein Sep 10 '11 at 0:56
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EE is not the same as being an electrician, although it will certainly get you on the fast track in terms of comprehension. An EE is to an electrician what an engineer is to a ironworker. What the ironworker is doing is dependent on the engineer's design, but the engineer can't necessarily do the ironworker's job. If you have done a lot of electrical work on your own home, you might be able to find an electrician that's willing to hire you and pay you pretty decently on the grounds that you are an EE with some electrical experience, but you most likely still have much to learn. – Michael Sep 10 '11 at 4:11
You might also look into getting credit for some of the hours that you've worked on electrical. You say that you are very familiar with the NEC, so perhaps some of the work that you've done that made you familiar with it would count towards becoming a journeyman or master. Bottom line, though, is that I would put in at least 50% of the required hours in the field under a master even if you could technically count hours from an old job as credit. – Michael Sep 10 '11 at 4:14
In addition to being licensed, depending on the locality you may even require your work to be inspected by a governing agency before you are done the job. – shufler May 24 '12 at 19:46
Licensing trumps Engineering any day of the week where US state and local licensing apply. What makes sense to an electrical engineer must coincide with the NEC and your local planning office interpretation. Also, plan on doing your apprenticeship where union rules apply. For hire work requires it, even if it's handyman level. OTOH for private, non rental, just get your permits and talk to your local planning office about local requirements as to who is able to do the work. – Fiasco Labs Apr 15 at 15:07
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up vote 5 down vote

While I agree with Shirlock, and I personally call an electrician for most things, running a new circuit is fine as long as you pull a permit and do it properly.

To answer the actual question, in most localities, you are allowed to pull an electrical permit on your OWN residence, "own" defined as the primary residence that you occupy and you have filed a homestead exemption for with your property tax appraisal district. You are NOT allowed to pull a permit for another person's property or work on that property except with a helper's card under the supervision of a journeyman or master.

I would happily become a licensed electrician, but the requirements for becoming a journeyman are 4,000 hours as a helper (that's 2 years of labor at generally minimum wage), and to become a master takes an additional four years as a journeyman... if you're employed for 40 hours a week on an actual job, which is not typically the case. If the requirements were a little lower, I could see doing it, but I already have a four year degree. Lack of ability to get licensed without spending six years at it are, in my opinion, one of the reasons that so much electrical work is done unpermitted and not to code.

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This is not an answer as much as a discussion. – Jay Bazuzi Sep 9 '11 at 16:49
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@Jay : parts of it might be, but the info about being allowed to pull a permit on your own property is an answer that hadn't been previously provided. (DA01 was similar, but didn't mention needing to get a permit) – Joe Sep 9 '11 at 20:30
Thanks karl, this is exactly what i was thinking. I have already done 4 years of electrical engineering and earned a bachelor, and have extensive knowledge and hands on experience with electrical work and NEC codes. 4 years apprenticeship is like redoing this all over again. I wish they can just give you a written and hands on exam to see if you qualify. I heard there is such thing called grandfather's clause, where you can just take a test, but i don't think that is available in California. – Hussein Sep 10 '11 at 0:53
I'm sure it is different in many states, but here in Maine, an owner cannot pull a permit that involves any service work, A Master has to pull the permit or the utility will not connect service. Many electric utilities across the country have similar rules. Also, now the last electrician that works in a home can be held liable for damages caused by faulty wiring etc, it it was in his/her ability to see and identify such fault even it that is not the task they were hired to do. Strange but true. – shirlock homes Sep 10 '11 at 14:44
Yeah, I'd never work on the service interconnect. That's precisely what electricians are for. – Karl Katzke Sep 10 '11 at 14:54
up vote 4 down vote

There is a list of Licensing requirements in various parts of the U.S. at Mike Holt's web site.

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up vote 4 down vote

I know in Maine you can do many types of residential electrical work for hire using a "handyman" license. You might want to check the requirements in your state..maybe you can side step some of your difficulties this way.

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We don't handyman license in California. Also to my understanding, you cannot do work over $500 with handyman license. – Hussein Sep 12 '11 at 18:44
I am a GC in Maine, and there is no such thing as a "handyman's licence". As a matter of fact, other than electricians, plumbers, oil burner and gas techs, there are no licenses for other tradesman. – shirlock homes Apr 15 at 20:23
up vote 3 down vote

It depends on where you reside. In MN, you are supposed be licensed if you're doing work on anyone's house other than your own.

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up vote 1 down vote

It depends on the state or city in which you live. In Indiana you are not required to have a license in most counties but you must prove experience and be insured. Being an EE doesn't qualify you to do the work. We had an EE burn up a control panel he was working on and it took the electrician 4 days to rewire the whole panel. There is no real argument here: the answer is with the state law and code or your county code and what they require. NEC doesn't care what you think, only that you abide by their rules and codes. By the way, a county can demand stricter electrical codes then the NEC, they just can't allow less then the NEC requires.

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up vote 1 down vote

In Utah you can become a Master Electrician with an Electrical Engineering degree and 1 year work experience as a licensed apprentice.

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up vote 0 down vote

In St. Louis we can take a test to get certified. The test is pretty easy (I mean electricians need to pass this) and costs about $50. Not sure if this sort of scenario is available in your area but if I were you I would get some credentials so you can sign off on home inspections and make more $$.

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