Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Rhode Island's official board.
Statewide licensing via DLT Board of Examiners of Electricians.
| Requirements | HOURS. Board rule 260-RICR-30-15-7 sets the experience by certificate class. Certificate B, the journeyperson electrician, requires at least 8,000 hours (four years) of experience as a registered apprentice. Certificate A, the electrical contractor, requires at least 12,000 hours (six years) of experience and possession of a Rhode Island Certificate B held for two years. The limited classes are built on 4,000 hours over a period of not less than two years as a registered limited apprentice: this figure governs Certificate F (burner person) and the limited journeyperson classes, including fire alarm installer BF and sign installer CF. Certificate D (limited maintenance) is governed by R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-6-24(c). DLT's own Electrician Application Instructions restate the thresholds in years: every Rhode Island electrical contractor test requires verification of at least six years of experience in the trade plus a Rhode Island journeyperson's license valid for at least two years before applying for the contractor's examination; every electrical journeyperson test requires verification of at least four years of experience plus 576 hours of related instruction approved by the Department of Labor and Training. APPLICATION STEPS, from the DLT packet, in order: (1) attach a legible copy of government-issued photo identification; (2) complete, sign and notarise the last two pages of the application packet; (3) pay the non-refundable $75.00 processing fee by check or money order payable to the R.I. Department of Labor & Training (credit cards are accepted in person only); (4) attach a separate notarised statement on company letterhead, signed by a present or past employer, listing all work-related experience in detail; (5) out-of-state applicants attach a valid copy of the out-of-state electrician trade license and an official license verification from that state - computer printouts of verification are refused; (6) Rhode Island indentured apprentices attach the Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship issued by the DLT Apprenticeship Office; (7) apprentices attach a notarised letter on company letterhead with the date of hire and job description and a completed, signed company ratio sheet. Incomplete applications are not processed and are returned. EXAMINATION. The Board of Examiners of Electricians conducts the examination, which is completed in writing and may include practical demonstrations, and the content is drawn from the National Electrical Code adopted by the Rhode Island State Building Code Standards Committee. A score of at least 70% is required to pass; a candidate scoring 60% or above may request an examination review. Examinations are given on a first-come, first-served basis and space is limited. The DLT electrician packet does not state a question count or a time limit (the parallel plumbing packet does state its question count), and no candidate information bulletin for the electrician examinations was found on dlt.ri.gov as of 2026-09-07. FEES, from the Non-Refundable Processing Application Fee schedule in DLT's electrician application packet - a $75.00 application fee plus a two-year license fee invoiced only after a passing score of 70 or greater: Electrical Contractor A $75 application / $240 license; Burner Contractor E $75 / $240; Fire Alarm Contractor AF $75 / $240; Electrical Sign Contractor SCF $75 / $240; Lightning Protection Contractor LPC $75 / $200; Burner Person F $75 / $72; Fire Alarm Installer BF $75 / $72; Sign Installer CF $75 / $72; Lightning Protection Installer LPI $75 / $72; out-of-state Journeyperson Electrician B $75 / $72 and out-of-state Limited Maintenance Journeyperson M $75 / $72. Classes marked NO TEST carry a license fee only: Corporation Electrical Contractor AC $200, Corporation Oil Burner Contractor EC $200, Corporation Fire Alarm Contractor AFC $200, Sign Contractor Lightning Protection $200, Limited Electrician Manufacturers C $240 and Limited Electrician Non-Manufacturers D $240. Apprentice classes (oil burner, fire alarm, sign installer, lightning protection) carry no test and a $20 one-year fee. |
| Reciprocity | Rhode Island does not publish a reciprocity or endorsement route that waives the Rhode Island examination for electricians; neither R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-6 nor Board rule 260-RICR-30-15-7 contains a reciprocity section. What the rule provides instead is an out-of-state examination pathway. Under 260-RICR-30-15-7.7(D), an out-of-state applicant who holds a contractor's license or a journeyperson's license is allowed to sit the Rhode Island journeyperson's examination; an out-of-state applicant who holds a contractor's license plus a Rhode Island journeyperson's license for two years and 12,000 hours (six years) of experience is allowed to sit the Rhode Island contractor's examination. |
| Renewal | Biennial. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-6-20 and Board rule 260-RICR-30-15-7.13, every certificate and license issued by the Division of Professional Regulation is renewable on the licensee's birthday for a period of two years; § 5-6-16 ties the expiration to whether the licensee's birth year is odd or even. Continuing education, the Rhode Island 15-hour code update: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-6-20.1 requires at least fifteen (15) clock hours of board-approved continuing education as a condition of renewal, and Board rule 260-RICR-30-15-7.14(B) repeats the fifteen-hour requirement. The subject matter is fixed by statute: § 5-6-20.1 requires the curriculum to be drawn from the currently adopted edition of the National Electrical Code and the International Code Council national codes. DLT's own renewal form is titled 'Certificate of Completion for 15 hours 2023 NEC Code Update' (form rev. 01/26, Professional Regulations Unit), so the current cycle is the 2023 NEC; the form carries fields for both the Master Electrician and the Journeyperson license number and cites Section 5-6-20.1 on its face. Instructors and inspectors must be Rhode Island licensed electrical contractors (Class A number recorded on the certificate), and providers and instructors must be approved by both the Board of Examiners and the building commissioner's office (§ 5-6-20.1); DLT publishes separate approved-provider lists for in-person and online 2023 Electrical Code Update courses. The original certificate must be submitted with the renewal, no license is renewed unless the licensee submits verification of completion (§ 5-6-20.1). The mandatory CE requirement is limited to Class A and Class B electricians (§ 5-6-20.1; rule 7.14(A) states it as Certificate A and Certificate B); rule 7.14(C) allows out-of-state residents to take National Electrical Code courses. Biennial fees under § 5-6-16 are $240 for the Class A electrical contractor license (the same $240 applies to Class C limited-premises, Class E burner contractor, Class AF fire alarm contractor, SCF electrical sign contractor, Class D limited-maintenance and LPC lightning-protection contractor) and $72 for the Class B journeyperson electrician license (the same $72 applies to Class F burnerperson, Class BF fire alarm installer, Class CF sign installer, LPI lightning-protection installer and the sign renovation electrical license). A delinquent renewal carries a $12.00 per-month administrative assessment, and a license not renewed within two years of expiration is forfeited, the holder must reapply and pass an examination (§ 5-6-20). A certificate or license will not be renewed while a penalty or fine is outstanding with the Division (rule 7.13). |
| Notes | Statewide licensing via DLT Board of Examiners of Electricians. |
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Sources: dlt.ri.gov, webserver.rilegislature.gov, webserver.rilegislature.gov, webserver.rilegislature.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
RI's register has not been re-collected in 57 days, so this page will not change tonight and the figure above stands as of August 10, 2026. Every other market ATI tracks refreshes nightly: track one and see which contractors just got licensed, added a trade, or dropped off, and pull the full record on any of them. ATI is in private beta; apply for access.