Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

Twenty questions, twenty sources

North Carolina Electrician Questions: Answered and Cited

The wording follows what people actually search for. The answers are ours, and each one is tied to the Board's own page, the licensing law, the examination handbook or the Office of State Fire Marshal. Where the state's sources disagree, we say so instead of picking one.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

Do I need a license to do electrical work in North Carolina?

Not while you work for somebody else. G.S. 87-43.1 exempts a person doing electrical work as a bona fide employee of a licensee of the Board, so your employer's license is what covers you.

You need one of your own the moment you contract for electrical work in your own name. G.S. 87-43 puts that duty on the person, partnership, firm or corporation engaging in electrical contracting, and the license comes from the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors.

Is there a journeyman electrician license in North Carolina?

Not from the state. The Board's classification list runs Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited and seven special restricted classes, and no journeyman card sits in it.

The word turns up in three other places: as a 100 percent experience credit category in the Board's rules, as a completion card from a registered apprenticeship, and as a City of Raleigh certificate examined by a city board. None of those is a state license.

Can I do my own electrical work on my house in North Carolina?

G.S. 87-43.1 exempts a person installing, maintaining, altering or repairing electrical work on property they own, for their own benefit, when the property is not intended at the time for rent, lease or sale.

Mecklenburg County restates that rule and adds that a homeowner acting as their own trade contractor has to install the electrical work personally, has to be named on the deed and has to live in the home as a primary residence. Permits and inspections still apply wherever you are.

Which states have electrical license reciprocity with North Carolina?

Ten: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The Board publishes a separate application packet for each one.

The waiver covers the written technical examination, not everything. The South Carolina packet still requires a 25 question examination on North Carolina laws, rules and business practices with a passing score of 70 percent.

What is a qualified individual on a North Carolina electrical license?

G.S. 87-41.1 defines a qualified individual as a person who has passed the Board's examination and been certified. A listed qualified individual is one whose name appears on a contractor's license and who carries the specific duty and authority to supervise and direct that licensee's electrical contracting.

G.S. 87-43 then requires at least one listed qualified individual to be regularly on active duty at each separate place of business. That is why a branch office cannot run on a license alone.

What are the North Carolina electrical license classifications?

Three by project value and seven by work type. Limited covers a single project up to $60,000 with equipment rated at a maximum of 600 volts at $100 a year, Intermediate up to $150,000 at $150 a year, and Unlimited any value at $200 a year.

The seven special restricted classes at $100 a year each are Residential Dwelling, Fire Alarm and Low-Voltage, Plumbing and Heating and Air Conditioning, Swimming Pool, Groundwater Pump, Electric Sign and Elevator. G.S. 87-43.3 prints higher figures for the first two, $100,000 and $200,000, with the words as established by the Board attached, so ask the Board before bidding between the two sets of numbers.

How many hours do I need for a North Carolina electrical license?

Limited asks for at least 3,000 hours with at least 2,000 of them primary. Intermediate asks for 5,750 with 5,000 primary. Unlimited asks for 9,000 with 8,000 primary.

Each special restricted classification asks for 3,000 hours with 2,000 primary, and five of them also want verification of employment with a related business. The Board treats 2,000 hours as one creditable year.

What counts as primary experience for the North Carolina exam?

The Board's rules define it as working experience gained while engaged directly in the installation of electrical wiring and equipment governed by the National Electrical Code, or in work activities directly related to it.

Journeyman electricians, foremen, superintendents, estimators, inspectors, engineers with project supervision, maintenance electricians and military electricians at E-4 and above are credited at 100 percent. Full time instructors are credited at 80 percent.

Does an apprenticeship count toward the hours?

Yes, as secondary experience. Apprentices in approved North Carolina programs are credited at 100 percent and apprentices in other programs at 80 percent.

Secondary hours fill the gap between the primary floor and the total, not the floor itself. Students completing courses in the National Electrical Code are credited at 50 percent, engineers without supervisory responsibility at 50 percent, utility servicemen at 20 percent and utility linemen at 10 percent.

How much does a North Carolina electrical license cost?

The application and examination fee is $125.00 for every classification, and the Board says it is not refundable. An examination review is $25.00.

The annual license fee after that is $100.00 for Limited, $150.00 for Intermediate, $200.00 for Unlimited and $100.00 for each special restricted classification. Late renewal adds $25.00.

How many questions is the North Carolina electrical exam?

One hundred multiple choice questions with a maximum of six hours for the Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited classifications.

The Fire Alarm and Low-Voltage paper is 50 questions in a maximum of three hours. The other special restricted papers are 40 questions in three hours, and Swimming Pool Bonding is 25 questions in one hour.

What is the passing score on the North Carolina electrical exam?

Seventy. The Board's rules put it as a minimum grade of 70 out of a possible score of 100 on any qualifying examination, and the Board's examinations page states the same.

The same 70 percent applies to the 25 question laws and rules paper that reciprocity applicants sit.

Is the North Carolina electrical exam open book, and which books can I take in?

Partly. The required reference for every examination is the National Electrical Code, 2020 edition, and it is the only book most candidates carry.

The handbook also allows NFPA 72 in the 2013 edition for Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited, SP-SFD and SP-FA/LV. Nothing else goes in. The licensing law in Chapter 87 Article 4, the Board's rules in 21 NCAC 18B and the NASCLA Contractors' Guide to Business, Law and Project Management in its North Carolina Electrical Edition are closed book study references, and the Lighting and Power Plans are printed at the back of the handbook for Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited.

Can I tab or highlight my code book for the North Carolina exam?

Highlighting, underlining and annotating are allowed if you do them before the examination session. Writing during the exam is prohibited.

Temporary tabs are not allowed. The handbook names sticky notes and stapled tabs and says they have to be removed before testing. References also have to be softbound, spiral or hardbound, so loose leaf books are refused at the door.

How long do I wait to retake the North Carolina electrical exam?

Three months. The handbook says a person who fails will not be eligible to take another examination in the same classification until three months after the date of the failed examination, and the Board's examinations page states the same rule as a 90 day wait.

Re-applying uses the Board's Re-Apply for Examination form on its forms page, and the fee is charged again.

Where are the PSI test centers in North Carolina?

Seven sites, from the Examination Information Handbook: Asheville at 1306 C Patton Avenue, Charlotte at 5701 Westpark Dr #202, Fayetteville at 3724 Sycamore Dairy Road Suite 128, Greenville at 2404 South Charles Blvd Suite B, Raleigh at 5711 Six Forks Road Suite 208, Wilmington at 311 Judge's Road Suite 8D and Winston-Salem at 1540 Westbrook Plaza Drive Suite 103.

There is no site in Greensboro, Durham or Cary, so candidates there travel to Raleigh or Winston-Salem.

Which NEC edition does North Carolina use?

The state enforces the 2020 North Carolina Electrical Code, which is the 2020 NEC with state amendments. The Office of State Fire Marshal marks it Current Code, effective November 1, 2021.

The examination follows the same edition. The Board's handbook requires the National Electrical Code, 2020 edition, for every paper.

When does my North Carolina electrical license expire and how do I renew?

Renewal is annual and runs through the Board's online system, with a renewal form also published on the forms page. The late renewal fee is $25.00.

Two Board pages describe the date differently. The application and the continuing education page describe a license period from July 1 to June 30, while the licensing page says a license expires one year from issuance. We could not confirm which governs an individual license, so read your renewal notice and your own record rather than a web page.

How much continuing education does a North Carolina electrical license need?

Eight hours for each annual license period for Unlimited, Intermediate, Limited and SP-SFD, and four hours for the other special restricted classes. Half of the hours can be online and half have to be in person classroom or seminar attendance.

The duty falls on every listed qualified individual, and the license does not renew until the hours are done. The Board runs a free four hour Laws and Rules class that covers the classroom half, and newly listed qualified individuals have to take it within 12 months.

How much do electricians make in North Carolina?

O*NET OnLine, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, puts the statewide median for electricians at $27.31 an hour, or $56,800 a year.

Metro medians on the same page run from $21.95 an hour in Pinehurst-Southern Pines to $29.98 in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area. Across the eight metros this site keeps city pages for, the spread is narrower: $26.00 in Wilmington up to $28.47 in Durham-Chapel Hill, with Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia at $28.41 and Greensboro-High Point at $28.07. BLS publishes its own May 2025 metro releases, but those cover the whole construction and extraction group rather than electricians alone.

What this page cites

• G.S. 87-43 and G.S. 87-41.1 Put the license on the business and define the qualified individual and the listed qualified individual. source
• G.S. 87-43.1 Exempts the bona fide employee of a licensee and the homeowner working on their own property. source
• NCBEEC licensing page Prints the classifications, their project value limits and the annual license fee for each. source
• 21 NCAC 18B Defines primary and secondary experience, the credit percentages and the grade of 70 needed to pass. source
• Examination Information Handbook Gives the question counts, the references allowed, the marking rules, the retake wait and the seven test centers. source
• NCBEEC fees and services Carries every fee, from the $125 application and examination fee to the $25 late renewal fee. source
• Office of State Fire Marshal, state electrical code Marks the 2020 North Carolina Electrical Code current from November 1, 2021 and the 2023 code as delayed. source
• O*NET OnLine local wages for 47-2111 Publishes state and metro median wages for electricians, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. source