Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Hawaii's official board.
The board states plainly that an electrician's license does not allow the holder to contract for electrical work: a contractor's license under HRS Chapter 444 is required for that. The academic coursework component is a hard gate on every journey worker and maintenance classification under HRS 448E-5(b), and coursework earned outside Hawaii must be reviewed and accepted by a University of Hawaii Community College.
| Requirements | At least 18 years old. Journey Worker Electrician (EJ): 5 years but not less than 10,000 hours of residential or commercial wiring, plus 240 hours of electrical academic coursework conducted by or accepted by a University of Hawaii Community College. Journey Worker Industrial (EJI): 4 years / 8,000 hours plus 200 coursework hours. Journey Worker Specialty (EJS): 3 years / 6,000 hours plus 120 coursework hours. Maintenance Electrician (EM): 1 year of maintenance work plus 80 coursework hours. Supervising levels require 4 years (ES), 3 years (ESI) or 2 years (ESS) as the corresponding licensed journey worker. Experience is documented on notarized Experience Verification forms signed by each licensed electrician supervising the work, and every applicant must pass the Hawaii licensure examination. Application fee $40. |
| Reciprocity | The board's own requirements form states that Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction. For the supervising categories only, out-of-state licensure of at least 4 years may be accepted as equivalent experience where the other jurisdiction's requirements are substantially equivalent. |
| Renewal | Triennial, on or before June 30 (electrician renewal years 2026, 2029, 2032). Continued competency at renewal requires either an approved community college course on National Electrical Code updates or a passing score on the board-prescribed open-book NEC update examination; maintenance electricians are exempt. Failure to restore within one year of expiration terminates the license. |
| Notes | The board states plainly that an electrician's license does not allow the holder to contract for electrical work: a contractor's license under HRS Chapter 444 is required for that. The academic coursework component is a hard gate on every journey worker and maintenance classification under HRS 448E-5(b), and coursework earned outside Hawaii must be reviewed and accepted by a University of Hawaii Community College. |
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Sources: cca.hawaii.gov, cca.hawaii.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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