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How to become an electrician in Arizona

To work as an electrician for an employer in Arizona, you don't need a state license of your own. The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licenses the electrical business and not the electricians it employs.

Find an apprenticeship What the business needs

Your ladder

  1. ApprenticeStart here
  2. C-11 ElectricalRun your own business

First: work for a licensed business or join an apprenticeship.

Find an apprenticeship

Arizona licenses electrical contractors, not individual electricians.

Your steps

  1. Step 1, Now Start here

    Work for a licensed business or join an apprenticeship

    You can work for a licensed electrical business without a state license of your own.

    A city or county can still require a license of its own.

    An apprenticeship is a paid job with training. You work for an employer and you learn the trade on the job. Arizona has 47 registered electrician apprenticeship programs. The median wage is $17.50 an hour at the start and $30.00 an hour at the end.

    The programs with the most active apprentices

    See all 47 programs

  2. Step 2,

    Get a contractor license to run your own business

    If you want to run an electrical business, the business needs the C-11 Electrical license or the CR-11 Electrical license from ROC.

    What the business needs

To run an electrical business

These are the licenses for running an electrical business.

C-11 Electrical

Exam
$127
Fee
$100

The qualifying party needs 4 years of practical or management experience in the trade, and at least 2 of the 4 years must be in the last 10 years. The qualifying party is the person who qualifies for the license on behalf of the business. Accredited technical training can count for up to 2 of the 4 years. The Arizona Registrar of Contractors waives the experience documents for a qualifying party who has held the same classification in Arizona before.

The application fee is $100. The C-11 Electrical license costs $480.

You must pass the AZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classification. The exam costs $127.

You renew the C-11 Electrical license every 2 years. The renewal costs $480.

The $127 covers 2 exams: $61 for the statutes and rules exam and $66 for the trade exam. You pay the testing companies and not the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. If you take the NASCLA electrical exam instead of the trade exam, the total is $177.

CR-11 Electrical

Exam
$127
Fee
$100

The qualifying party needs 4 years of practical or management experience in the trade, and at least 2 of the 4 years must be in the last 10 years. The qualifying party is the person who qualifies for the license on behalf of the business. Accredited technical training can count for up to 2 of the 4 years. The Arizona Registrar of Contractors waives the experience documents for a qualifying party who has held the same classification in Arizona before.

The application fee is $100. The CR-11 Electrical license costs $380.

You must pass the AZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classification. The exam costs $127.

You renew the CR-11 Electrical license every 2 years. The renewal costs $650.

The $127 covers 2 exams: $61 for the statutes and rules exam and $66 for the trade exam. You pay the testing companies and not the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. If you take the NASCLA electrical exam instead of the trade exam, the total is $177.

Take the exam

LicenseExam
C-11 ElectricalAZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classificationGmetrix gives the statutes and rules exam. PSI gives the trade exam, and NASCLA gives the electrical exam that you can take instead.
CR-11 ElectricalAZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classificationGmetrix gives the statutes and rules exam. PSI gives the trade exam, and NASCLA gives the electrical exam that you can take instead.

You take the exam for the license you apply for.

What electricians earn in Arizona

$29.36an hour

$61,060 a year, full time

Half of the electricians on a payroll in Arizona earn more than $29.36 an hour, and half earn less. The federal wage survey puts the yearly figure at $61,060.

These figures cover everyone on a payroll as an electrician in Arizona, from apprentices to people with decades in the trade, so they aren't a starting wage. The survey counts 21,140 jobs. The figures don't include self-employed electricians.

The yearly figure is for full-time work all year, which is 2,080 hours.

Use a license from another state

If you hold a license from another state, ask ROC whether it recognizes your license.

These states recognize a license from Arizona.

Arizona licenseRecognized by
C-11 Electrical licenseCalifornia

Questions

Can you become an electrician with no experience?

Yes. You can start as an apprentice and learn the trade on the job.

Arizona electrician apprenticeships

How much do most electricians earn in Arizona?

Half of the electricians on a payroll in Arizona earn between $23.25 and $37.05 an hour. These figures don't include overtime pay.

Can an electrician earn $100,000 a year in Arizona?

The highest-paid 10% of electricians on a payroll in Arizona earn more than $89,600 a year before overtime, so most electricians earn less than $100,000 a year from regular hours.

Contact the licensing office

Arizona Registrar of Contractorsroc.az.gov/license-classifications

Words to know

Apprentice
Someone who learns the trade on the job, working under a licensed worker.
JATC
A Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, an apprenticeship program run together by a union and contractors.
Reciprocity
An agreement that lets you use a license from one state to get a license in another.
PSI
A company that runs licensing exams for state and city offices.
NASCLA
The National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies, which gives a contractor exam that some states accept.
Median
The middle figure. Half of the workers earn more, and half earn less.

Sources

11
  1. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1122(E)(1)
  2. Arizona Registrar of Contractors, electrician licensing, the licensing office and license names
  3. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1101(B)
  4. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1151
  5. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  6. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1101.01
  7. Arizona Registrar of Contractors, electrician licenses, exam
  8. Arizona Registrar of Contractors, electrician licenses, exam and fees
  9. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1123.01(B)
  10. Contractors State License Board, C-11 Electrical, licenses from other states
  11. U.S. Department of Labor national apprenticeship data, extract of August 17, 2026

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