Electrician License Requirements in Hawaii
- Training hours
- 10000 hrs
- Upfront cost
- $346
- Exam
- Hawaii Journey Worker Electrician Examination
- Renewal cycle
- Every 3 years
- Issuing board
- Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division)
How to get licensed
- 1
Meet the prerequisites
Pass a criminal background check. The Board's application bulletin does not state a minimum age requirement, so minAge is recorded as null. A criminal-history disclosure is mandatory on the application; any 'yes' answer to a criminal-conviction question requires a signed statement, court documents, and a current Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (and out-of-state, if applicable) criminal history record check dated within 6 months. A Social Security Number is also required for licensure. [1]
- 2
Complete approved training
Complete 10000 hours of training at a state-approved program. Per the Board's current (2026-06) 'Requirements for Examination and License' bulletin: Journey Worker Electrician (code EJ) requires 5 years but not less than 10,000 hours of experience in residential or commercial wiring, PLUS satisfactory completion (accepted by a University of Hawaii Community College) of 240 hours of electrical academic coursework covering DC/AC theory, codeology, grounding, motors, motor control, transformers, and test instruments (HRS 448E-5(b)). This supersedes older 4-year/8,000-hour figures found on third-party sites, which appear outdated. Other electrician tiers exist with lower thresholds: Journey Worker Industrial Electrician (4 yrs/8,000 hrs + 200 coursework hrs), Journey Worker Specialty Electrician (3 yrs/6,000 hrs + 120 coursework hrs), Maintenance Electrician (1 yr + 80 coursework hrs or 2 yrs schooling/1,000 lab hrs), and Supervising Electrician (4 yrs as a licensed Journey Worker Electrician). This record covers the Journey Worker Electrician tier as the primary first-independent-work credential. [1]
- 3
Hawaii Journey Worker Electrician Examination
Pass the Hawaii Journey Worker Electrician Examination. Open-code-book written exam based on the National Electrical Code; the testing center supplies the NEC code book The Board's application bulletin confirms candidates are sent an Examination Registration Form to submit directly to PSI with the exam fee, but does not itself state the dollar amount; third-party sources report figures ranging $75-$95, which could not be confirmed on an official page during this research, so fee is recorded as null. Applicants must first be approved by the Board before scheduling with PSI. [1]
- 4
Submit your application
Submit your application to Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) with the $40 application fee. [1]
- 5
Receive your license
Once your application is approved, Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) issues your Journey Worker Electrician License for Hawaii.
Fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee [1] | $40 |
| License fee [1] | $306 |
| Renewal fee [1] | $306 |
| Hawaii Journey Worker Electrician Examination [1] | None specified |
Application fee is a flat $40 (non-refundable), due with the initial application. License fee (due only after passing the exam) is up to $306 for a full 3-year (triennial) term, prorated down depending on which year of the triennium the applicant is licensed in (e.g. $204 in year 2, $102 in year 3 of a comparable schedule published for plumbers on the same bulletin). Renewal fee is the same $306 (active status) per triennial cycle; a lower $12 fee applies to inactive status.
Renewal & continuing education
Renew every 3 years.
Electricians renew triennially by June 30 (current cycle years 2026, 2029, 2032). The Board requires a continuing-competency (CC) component tied to the current National Electrical Code edition each cycle, but its own continuing-education page does not state a specific hour count, so ceHours is recorded as null; contact Honolulu Community College or the Hawaii Electricians Training Fund for the current CC curriculum.
Reciprocity
No reciprocity or endorsement route was found.
The Board's own application bulletin states explicitly: 'IMPORTANT: Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction.' Out-of-state experience can still count toward Hawaii's own experience requirement (via an Experience Verification form signed by a licensed electrician or, in some cases, a licensed contractor), and applicants must submit License Verification forms for any license ever held elsewhere, but there is no expedited endorsement/reciprocity pathway and no multi-state compact for this occupation.
2 state-approved training providers in Hawaii — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.
Cost calculator
- $40
- $306
Frequently asked questions
How many hours of experience does Hawaii require for a Journey Worker Electrician license?
5 years, and not less than 10,000 hours, of residential or commercial wiring experience, combined with 240 hours of University of Hawaii Community College-accepted electrical academic coursework.
Does Hawaii offer reciprocity for electricians licensed in other states?
No. The Board's own application bulletin states Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction. Out-of-state experience can count toward the Hawaii experience requirement with proper verification, but there is no direct endorsement pathway.
Who administers the Hawaii electrician exam?
PSI Services LLC, after the Board approves the application. The exam is open-code-book and based on the National Electrical Code; the testing center provides the code book.
What does it cost to apply for a Journey Worker Electrician license in Hawaii?
A $40 non-refundable application fee is due with the initial application. If the exam is passed, a license fee of up to $306 is due, prorated based on where you fall in the 3-year licensing cycle.
How often does a Hawaii electrician license need to be renewed?
Every 3 years (triennially), by June 30 of the renewal year, with a continuing-competency component tied to the current National Electrical Code edition.
Sources
- [1] cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/electrician/application_publication/ — accessed 2026-07-11
- [2] cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/electrician/electrician-continuing-competency-requirements/ — accessed 2026-07-11