Electrician License Requirements in Arkansas
- Training hours
- —
- Upfront cost
- $160
- Exam
- Journeyman Electrician Examination, Master Electrician Examination
- Renewal cycle
- Every 1 year
- Issuing board
- Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
How to get licensed
- 1
Meet the prerequisites
Pass a criminal background check. Arkansas conducts a criminal-history review as part of licensure under Ark. Code Ann. §17-3-102/-103: an individual may petition the Board for a pre-licensure determination of whether their criminal record would disqualify them, and whether a waiver is available, before completing the full application. No general minimum-age requirement for a standard Master/Journeyman license was found in the Board's public rules (the only age references found were 18 for legal service of process, unrelated to licensure, and 65 as an eligibility criterion for the separate 'Restricted Lifetime Master or Journeyman Electrician' license for long-tenured licensees), so minAge is omitted rather than guessed. [1]
- 2
Complete approved training
Complete the required training. Arkansas has two qualifying paths for the base Journeyman Electrician license: (1) completion of a 4-year electrical construction apprenticeship program approved by the U.S. DOL Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, evidenced by a 'Notice of Apprenticeship Committee Action — Released for Test/Completion' form; or (2) for applicants who did not complete such an apprenticeship, 8 years (16,000 hours) of electrical construction experience or training approved by the Board, which may include military electrical experience. A Master Electrician license additionally requires 6 years of construction-industry experience including 2 years as a licensed journeyman, OR an electrical-engineering degree plus 2 years of construction-related experience, OR a Board-approved equivalent combination of training and experience. No single fixed hour figure applies across all paths, so 'hours' is left null rather than picking one route to represent the rest. [1]
- 3
Journeyman Electrician Examination
Pass the Journeyman Electrician Examination (fee: $80). Same $80 fee applies to the Master, Residential Master, Residential Journeyman, and Air Conditioning Electrician exams; the Industrial Maintenance Electrician exam is $50. Exams are offered at least every six months. The Board's public Administrative Rules do not name a third-party testing vendor or physical test-center operator — applicants apply through the Board's online licensing portal linked from its Electrical Inspection and Licensing page. [1]
- 4
Master Electrician Examination
Pass the Master Electrician Examination (fee: $80). Same fee and administration process as the Journeyman exam; see that entry's notes. [1]
- 5
Submit your application
Submit your application to Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing). [1]
- 6
Receive your license
Once your application is approved, Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) issues your Journeyman Electrician for Arkansas.
Fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee [1] | None specified |
| License fee [1] | None specified |
| Renewal fee [1] | None specified |
| Journeyman Electrician Examination [1] | $80 |
| Master Electrician Examination [1] | $80 |
| Examination fee — Master / Residential Master / Residential Journeyman / Air Conditioning / Specialist Sign Electrician [1] | $80 |
| Examination fee — Journeyman Electrician [1] | $80 |
| Examination fee — Industrial Maintenance Electrician [1] | $50 |
| Annual renewal — Master Electrician / Residential Master Electrician [1] | $50 |
| Annual renewal — Journeyman / Residential Journeyman / Air Conditioning / Industrial Maintenance / Specialist Sign Electrician [1] | $25 |
| Apprentice registration (annual renewal) [1] | $10 |
The Board's Administrative Rules (010.13-012(C)) list only a per-classification examination fee paid to the Board — no separate application fee or initial license-issuance fee is specified, so application and license are left null. 'renewal' is left null (not a single number) because the annual per-year renewal fee differs by classification ($50/year for Master and Residential Master, $25/year for the other five classes); see the breakdown above. A late fee equal to one year's renewal fee plus $10/month applies after expiration, and relicensing more than 36 months after expiration adds a $1,000 penalty.
Renewal & continuing education
Renew every 1 year. 8 continuing education hours required per cycle.
Licenses expire on the last day of the month, one year after issuance, and are renewed annually. Continuing education, however, is tracked on the state's 3-year National Electrical Code (NEC) publication cycle, not per annual renewal: journeyman and master electricians (all classes) must complete 8 hours of Board-approved NEC-related continuing education once per NEC cycle, with annual renewal fees prorated to 1, 2, or 3 years' worth of payment depending on where the license falls in the current cycle. An apprentice who completes their program and passes the journeyman exam is not required to obtain additional CE hours during that NEC cycle.
Reciprocity
Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.
No interstate compact — Arkansas instead publishes its own bilateral reciprocal-agreement lists on the Board's Electrical Inspection and Licensing page. Journeyman Reciprocal Agreement states: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming (Wyoming reciprocates a journeyman license only with an individual who completed a USDOL-approved apprenticeship of at least 576 classroom hours). Master Reciprocal Agreement states: Iowa, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas. The Board only reciprocates an original license from the issuing state on these lists (a reciprocated license cannot itself be reciprocated), and a Master license from the Journeyman-Agreement list can only be reciprocated as a Journeyman license in Arkansas, except Oregon and North Dakota, which have a Master-to-Master reciprocal agreement. Reciprocity applicants must show current good-standing licensure, at least 1 year holding that license, and that they were tested (not grandfathered) in the sister state.
1 state-approved training provider in Arkansas — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.
Cost calculator
- $80
- $80
Frequently asked questions
What classes of electrician license does Arkansas issue?
Seven: master electrician, journeyman electrician, residential master electrician, residential journeyman electrician, industrial maintenance electrician, air conditioning electrician, and specialist sign electrician. The Board also registers electrical apprentices.
How much experience is required for an Arkansas journeyman electrician license?
Completion of a 4-year DOL-approved electrical construction apprenticeship, or — without that apprenticeship — 8 years (16,000 hours) of electrical construction experience or Board-approved training.
How much does the Arkansas journeyman or master electrician exam cost?
$80 for Master, Journeyman, Residential Master, Residential Journeyman, and Air Conditioning Electrician; $50 for Industrial Maintenance Electrician.
Does Arkansas require continuing education for electricians?
Yes — 8 hours of Board-approved National Electrical Code continuing education once per 3-year NEC publication cycle, even though the license itself renews annually.
Does Arkansas offer reciprocity for out-of-state electricians?
Yes, through bilateral reciprocal agreements rather than a multi-state compact — a shorter list of states for a Master-to-Master reciprocal license (Iowa, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas) and a longer list for Journeyman reciprocity, with the applicant's out-of-state license needing to be an original (not itself reciprocated), current, and tested.
Sources
- [1] labor.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Electrical-Rules-April-2024.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11
- [2] labor.arkansas.gov/labor/code-enforcement/electrical-inspection-and-licensing/ — accessed 2026-07-11