How to get an electrician license in Kentucky: the official requirements
The Electrician License license, the experience and training it takes, the exam and how to apply, from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction.
In Kentucky, the state electrical license for individual electricians is issued by the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. The Electrician license (the journeyman-level license; the exam for it is the Journeyman's Electrical Exam), issued by the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, whose Electrical Division licenses electricians and electrical contractors. The Department also issues a Master Electrician license. Experience and training: 8,000 hours of experience in the electrical trade since your sixteenth birthday, verified by a notarized letter from your employer or by the signed last page of your 1040 tax form listing your job title as electrician. Instead, you may send proof of completing 2 years of a 4-year approved apprenticeship program (finishing the rest within 4 years of licensing). A 288-classroom-hour approved apprenticeship program or an associate's degree in electrical technology substitutes for 4,000 hours. Licensing exam: The Journeyman's Electrical Exam, taken with PROV, NASCLA or Pearson VUE; you send a copy of your passing results with your application. How to apply: Send the Department a completed Electrical License Application (Form EL-3) with your passing exam results, proof of experience, a recent passport-sized color photo and the nonrefundable application fee.
Kentucky electrician license requirements
| Requirement | Kentucky |
|---|---|
| License you apply for | The Electrician license (the journeyman-level license; the exam for it is the Journeyman's Electrical Exam), issued by the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, whose Electrical Division licenses electricians and electrical contractors. The Department also issues a Master Electrician license. |
| Apprentice or trainee registration | Not stated in the official source we read. Check with the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. |
| Experience and training | 8,000 hours of experience in the electrical trade since your sixteenth birthday, verified by a notarized letter from your employer or by the signed last page of your 1040 tax form listing your job title as electrician. Instead, you may send proof of completing 2 years of a 4-year approved apprenticeship program (finishing the rest within 4 years of licensing). A 288-classroom-hour approved apprenticeship program or an associate's degree in electrical technology substitutes for 4,000 hours. |
| Classroom hours | Education may replace part of the experience: an approved apprenticeship-training program of at least 288 classroom hours, or an associate's degree or diploma in electrical technology, each substitutes for 4,000 hours. |
| Licensing exam | The Journeyman's Electrical Exam, taken with PROV, NASCLA or Pearson VUE; you send a copy of your passing results with your application. |
| How to apply | Send the Department a completed Electrical License Application (Form EL-3) with your passing exam results, proof of experience, a recent passport-sized color photo and the nonrefundable application fee. |
| Background check | The application asks whether you have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor; if you answer yes, you may not receive an electrical license at that time and should contact the Licensing Branch. |
| State fees | Electrician license: $100 for a two-year period (the first license may be pro-rated by birth month); biennial renewal $100. Exam vendor fees are separate. |
| License term | Two years; electrical licenses issued or renewed since July 15, 2024 are biennial, and renewal falls in your birth month every two years. |
| Continuing education | Renewal requires proof of completing continuing education under 815 KAR 2:010. |
Where the official source we read does not state something, the table says so rather than guessing. Fees shown are the licensing authority's own. Fees charged by exam vendors, schools, apprenticeship programs, fingerprint vendors and application portals are not included.
This page covers the electrical license issued by the state. Cities and counties can have their own registration, permit or license rules; ask the local building department where you will work.
How to get licensed in Kentucky
- Build 8,000 hours of electrical work experience after your sixteenth birthday, or complete approved apprenticeship or electrical technology education that substitutes for part of it.
- Get a notarized letter from your employer verifying your work experience.
- Pass the Journeyman's Electrical Exam with PROV, NASCLA or Pearson VUE.
- Send Form EL-3 with your passing results, experience proof, a passport-sized color photo and the fee to the Department.
- Renew every two years in your birth month with proof of continuing education.
Go further
Requirements state by state.
Open →CareerHow to become an electricianThe career path, nationally.
Open →PayElectrician salary in KentuckyWhat electricians earn.
Open →CareerElectrician career guideThe job, skills and outlook.
Open →ResumeElectrician resumeHow to present your hours and licenses.
Open →InterviewElectrician interview questionsWhat hiring managers ask.
Open →Disclosure: TryHired makes HIRED, a paid job-search program, so we have a conflict of interest when we mention it. Everything on this page is free to use without buying anything.
Questions people ask
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How this page is built
Each fact on this page comes from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (sources named below), read on the dates shown, with the exact wording we relied on kept on file. Requirements and fees change; the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction's current instructions govern. We re-read each state's sources every six months (next review by May 10, 2027).
- Not legal advice.
- Licensing rules can change. Verify current requirements with the issuing agency.
- Fees shown are the licensing authority's own. Fees charged by exam vendors, schools, apprenticeship programs, fingerprint vendors and application portals are not included.
- This page covers the electrical license issued by the state. Cities and counties can have their own registration, permit or license rules; ask the local building department where you will work.
- This page covers the individual license named above. Master, contractor, specialty, sign, residential, limited and out-of-state (reciprocity) licenses have their own rules.
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Electrical New Application Checklists (KRS 227A.060 & 815 KAR 35:060; 080; 090), 2.4.25, official source, read Nov 9, 2026.
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Form EL-3 Electrical License Application with Fee Schedule (October 2024), official source, read Nov 9, 2026.
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Notice to Electrical Licensees: 2024 RS House Bill 444, Biennial Electrical Licenses (May 3, 2024), official source, read Nov 9, 2026.
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Electrical Division, official source, read Nov 9, 2026.
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Form DHBC L-1 Licensing Renewal Application (April 2023), official source, read Nov 9, 2026.