Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from California's official board.
Two separate credentials: DIR certifies individual electricians; CSLB licenses the electrical contracting business. CSLB has enforced the certification law since July 1, 2009.
| Requirements | Two separate credentials, with two separate fee and examination regimes. INDIVIDUAL CERTIFICATION (DIR / Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Electrician Certification Unit). Fees: $75 application plus $100 examination, $175 in total and non-refundable; replacement card $30. Eligibility hours are set by California Code of Regulations, Title 8, section 291.1, and all hours must be worked for a C-10 electrical contractor: General Electrician 8,000 hours spread across at least two work areas, with per-area caps of 300 hours stock room and material handling, 3,000 residential wiring, 6,000 commercial wiring, 6,000 industrial wiring, 1,500 voice-data-video installation, 750 underground conduit, 1,500 troubleshooting and maintenance, 600 finish work and fixtures and 600 fire/life safety and nurse call; Residential Electrician 4,800 hours (caps: 300 stock room, 4,800 residential wiring, 150 VDV, 300 underground conduit, 600 troubleshooting and maintenance, 600 finish work, 300 fire/life safety); Voice Data Video Technician 4,000 hours on NEC Articles 725, 770, 800, 810 and 820 work (caps: 300 stock room, 4,000 installation, 750 troubleshooting and maintenance, 300 trade-specific VDV training); Fire/Life Safety Technician 4,000 hours on NEC Article 760 work, or NICET Level II or above in Fire Alarm Systems (caps: 300 stock room, 4,000 installation, 750 troubleshooting and maintenance, 300 nurse call, 300 proprietary training); Nonresidential Lighting Technician 2,000 hours of nonresidential lighting maintenance and retrofit (caps: 150 stock room, 1,750 fixture maintenance, 1,500 retrofit installation, 500 troubleshooting and repair). The certification examination is delivered by computer, multiple choice, and is OPEN BOOK - the reference materials are provided at the test site rather than brought by the candidate. A minimum score of 70% is required to pass. Length by classification: General Electrician 100 questions in 4 hours; Residential Electrician 80 questions in 3 hours; Fire/Life Safety Technician, Voice Data Video Technician and Nonresidential Lighting Technician 50 questions in 2 hours each. The examination is written to the National Electrical Code and the other references named in the classification's content outline; the DIR FAQ does not name the NEC edition, which is published on the test information page for the classification. An uncertified person may work only as a registered electrician trainee, which requires registration with the division and proof of enrolment in a state-approved school, and the trainee must work under the constant supervision of a certified electrician. An applicant who falsely claims certification is barred from the certification examination for seven years. C-10 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR (CSLB). Four years of journey-level or higher experience, the CSLB Law and Business examination and the C-10 trade examination, and a $25,000 contractor bond before an active license issues (a $25,000 bond of qualifying individual is additionally required where the license is qualified by a responsible managing employee, or by a responsible managing officer owning under 10% of the voting stock; a disciplinary bond of at least $25,000 and up to ten times the contractor bond applies to reinstatement after revocation). The C-10 trade examination is weighted planning and estimating 28%, rough wiring 27%, finish wiring and trim 11%, startup, troubleshooting and maintenance 16%, and safety 18% (percentages approximate, for examinations scheduled on or after June 1, 2024); its reference list is built on the 2025 California Electrical Code, 2025 California Energy Code and 2025 California Fire Code (Title 24), the American Electricians' Handbook and Photovoltaic Systems. CSLB SIDE - fees, from CSLB's published fee list: application for an original license $450 (non-refundable); initial license fee, which covers the first two-year period, $200 sole owner / $350 non-sole owner; additional classification on an existing license $230; replacing the qualifier $230; adding personnel or a limited partner $125 each; license reactivation $450 sole owner / $700 non-sole owner; joint venture application $800; asbestos certification $125; hazardous substance removal certification $125; home improvement salesperson registration $200; duplicate certificate $25; business name change $100; certified license history $67. Fingerprinting is $32 to the Department of Justice plus $17 to the FBI plus the Live Scan rolling fee. Examination fees are paid directly to PSI and are no longer processed by CSLB. CSLB experience rule: at least four years of experience in the classification applied for, credited only at journey level or as a foreman, supervising employee, contractor or owner-builder. CSLB defines a journeyman as a fully qualified experienced worker, as opposed to a trainee, helper, labourer, assistant or apprentice, who can perform the trade without supervision, or a person who has completed an apprenticeship program. Up to three of the four years may be credited to schooling or apprenticeship under 16 CCR 825, but at least one year must be practical experience: a maximum of 1.5 years for an A.A. degree in building or construction management; a maximum of 2 years for a four-year degree in accounting, architecture, business, economics, mathematics, physics or a trade-related field, a professional law degree, or substantial related college coursework; and a maximum of 3 years for a Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship from an accredited apprenticeship program or union certification, or a four-year degree in construction technology or management or related engineering. Official sealed transcripts must be sent to CSLB for the credit to be evaluated. EXAMINATION. PSI delivers CSLB's examinations by computer at 20 locations in California and 21 nationwide, 8:00am-5:00pm Monday to Saturday. Every applicant sits two examinations, Law and Business plus the trade examination. Both are CLOSED BOOK - no reference materials may be used - and multiple choice with four choices and one best answer; a calculator is provided and there is no penalty for guessing. Each examination is allowed 3.5 hours. CSLB does not publish the passing percentage: it states that candidates are informed at the test site of the percentage of correct answers needed to pass. At the end of the session the candidate is handed a printed pass/fail report; a passing report does not show the overall score, while a failing report shows the overall score and the performance by section. A failed examination may be retaken after 21 calendar days, provided the application has not passed its 18-month void date. |
| Reciprocity | California splits into two tracks. For the individual electrician certification there is no reciprocity: the Department of Industrial Relations Electrician Certification Unit states that an out-of-state license makes an applicant eligible to sit the California certification examination, but the applicant must still be tested and certified in California, and out-of-state electricians must be certified before they start working in California with no grace period. For the C-10 electrical CONTRACTOR license, the Contractors State License Board does publish reciprocity, with Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and North Carolina. CSLB requires that the contractor have held an active license in good standing in one of those reciprocal states for the previous five years and that the classification appear on CSLB's reciprocal classifications list. On that list, Arizona's C-11 Electrical maps to California's C-10 Electrical and Nevada's C-2d Low Voltage maps to California's C-7 Low Voltage Systems; the list shows no electrical-specific classification mapping for Louisiana, Mississippi or North Carolina, so the C-10 route in practice runs through Arizona. |
| Renewal | DIR CERTIFICATION - every three years. The renewal fee is $100 per certificate. Renewal requires 32 hours of further electrical education from an approved Educational Provider or from a state or federally approved apprenticeship program relevant to the type of certification, plus documentation of at least 2,000 hours worked in the industry during the previous three-year period. The renewal application must be postmarked or received 30 days before the certification period ends; a certification that is allowed to lapse cannot be reinstated by paying a fee - the holder must retake the entire certification examination. C-10 CONTRACTOR LICENCE (CSLB) - every two years, expiring two years from the last day of the issue month. Renewal fees from CSLB's fee list, with the C-10 carrying a $20 surcharge over every other classification: active timely $450 sole owner and $700 non-sole owner, or $470 and $720 for a C-10; active delinquent $675 sole owner and $1,050 non-sole owner, or $695 and $1,070 for a C-10; inactive timely $300 sole owner and $500 non-sole owner; inactive delinquent $450 and $750. There is no state continuing-education requirement for the contractor license itself. |
| Notes | Two separate credentials: DIR certifies individual electricians; CSLB licenses the electrical contracting business. CSLB has enforced the certification law since July 1, 2009. |
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Sources: www.dir.ca.gov, www.dir.ca.gov, www.dir.ca.gov, www.dir.ca.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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