To work as an electrician in Illinois, you need a license from the city or county where you work. Illinois doesn't issue a statewide license to individual electricians.
Starting Nov 2026.
To work as an electrician, the City of Chicago issues the Supervising Electrician License.
To work as an electrician, the City of Springfield issues the Springfield Electrical License.
The Springfield Electrical Commission must approve your application before the city issues the license.
Go to the City of SpringfieldPeoria's Electrical Contractor License is for electrical contractors who pull permits in Peoria, and the City of Peoria issues it to a person, not to a business. Ask the City of Peoria whether you need a license to work for an employer.
Rockford's Electrical Contractor Registration is for businesses. Ask the City of Rockford whether you need a license to work for an employer.
Ask the building department in the city or county where you will work which license you need.
Dates are estimates. Each city sets its own rules, and they change across a city line.
An apprenticeship is a paid job with training. You work for an employer and you learn the trade on the job. Illinois has 76 registered electrician apprenticeship programs. The median wage is $21.52 an hour at the start and $51.00 an hour at the end.
The programs with the most active apprentices
Each city or county has its own license and its own rules. Ask the building department in the city or county where you will work.
Each office sets the experience you need and the exam you must pass.
City of Chicago
City of Springfield
The Springfield Electrical Commission must approve your application before the City of Springfield issues the license.
Chicago, Springfield, Peoria and Rockford don't list classroom hours, a set number of job hours or a list of other states' licenses they recognize.
Apply to the office that issues the license, and pay its fees when you apply.
If you take electrical work in your own name, you may need a license from the city where the job is.
City of Chicago
City of Chicago
City of Springfield
City of Peoria
City of Rockford
$47.87an hour
$99,560 a year, full time
Half of the electricians on a payroll in Illinois earn more than $47.87 an hour, and half earn less. The middle half earn $35.35 to $56.47. The lowest-paid 10% earn $23.67 or less, and the highest-paid 10% earn $59.45 or more.
These figures cover everyone on a payroll as an electrician in Illinois, from apprentices to people with decades in the trade, so they aren't a starting wage. The survey counts 23,120 jobs and doesn't include self-employed electricians. The yearly figure is for full-time work all year, which is 2,080 hours.
If you hold a license from another state, ask the office that issues the license where you will work whether it recognizes your license.
Yes. You can start as an apprentice and learn the trade on the job.
Half of the electricians on a payroll in Illinois earn between $35.35 and $56.47 an hour. These figures don't include overtime pay.
Yes. The highest-paid 10% of electricians on a payroll in Illinois earn more than $123,660 a year before overtime.
The dates in Your license are worked out from the years of experience each city requires.
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Alerts for: Electrician in Illinois
