Sign inJoin the list
  1. Home
  2. Electrician
  3. Kentucky

How to become an electrician in Kentucky

To work as an electrician in Kentucky, you need your own license from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC). The license belongs to you and not to your employer. As an apprentice, you don't need a license, but you work under a licensed electrician or master electrician who is on the site.

See your steps Find an apprenticeship

Your ladder

Dates if you start in Nov 2026 and work 40 hours a week.

  1. ApprenticeStart here
  2. Electrician8,000 hours on the job
  3. Master Electrician16,000 hours on the job
  4. Electrical ContractorRun your own business

First: start as an apprentice.

Find an apprenticeship

Dates are estimates, worked out from the hours on the job each license requires and the hours a week you pick.

Your steps

Steps for: New to the trade. The dates follow your ladder. Change where you are, your start month or your hours a week at the top of the page.

  1. Step 1, Start here

    Start as an apprentice

    An apprenticeship is a paid job with training. You work for an employer and you learn the trade on the job. Kentucky has 43 registered electrician apprenticeship programs. The median wage is $16.00 an hour at the start and $33.30 an hour at the end.

    The programs with the most active apprentices

    See all 43 programs

  2. Step 2,

    Complete the hours for your license

    Each license requires its own hours on the job.

    • Electrician license: 8,000 hours on the job
    • Provisional Electrician license: 12,480 hours on the job
    • Master Electrician license: 16,000 hours on the job

  3. Step 3,

    Apply for your license

    Apply to DHBC for the license you qualify for.

Other electrician licenses

Electrician

Hours on the job
8,000
Exam
$80
Fee
$100

The Electrician license requires 8,000 hours on the job.

What this license lets you do: “You work for a licensed electrical contractor, building, changing or repairing electrical systems that supply heat, light or power.”

About the exam: “180 minutes · 80 questions · 70% to pass · open book · exam fee $80.00 · offered in English, Español. Items in this exam have been selected to comply with the 2023 edition of the National Electric Code. Exams may also be taken remotely from home.”

The application fee is $100.

You must pass the exam named "Journeyman Electrician (2023 edition)". The exam costs $80.

You renew the Electrician license every 2 years. The renewal costs $100. You need 12 hours of continuing education for each renewal.

The $100 covers a 2-year license. Your first license runs to your birth month, 13 to 24 months away, so the first fee is $54 to $100.

The $80 is Prov's fee, paid to Prov. A NASCLA or Pearson VUE exam has its own fee.

The official wording of the requirement
Electrician“You need 8,000 hours of verifiable work in the electrical trade, counted from your 16th birthday. Any one of these stands in for 4,000 of those hours: a training course the department accepts (at least 288 classroom hours, or a registered electrical apprenticeship), an associate degree or diploma in electrical technology, or two years of teaching electrical technology at a college. So do the first two years of a four-year training program, but you must finish the program within four years of getting your license or the license is revoked. Supervised military experience can count toward the hours. You prove the hours with tax records, a notarized letter from your employer, or an affidavit from your union, contractor or training program.”

Provisional Electrician

Hours on the job
12,480
Fee
$50

The Provisional Electrician license requires 12,480 hours on the job.

What this license lets you do: “For one year, you have the same rights and responsibilities as a licensed electrician.”

The application fee is $50.

You don't need to take an exam for the Provisional Electrician license.

You don't need to renew the Provisional Electrician license.

The 12,480 hours are 6 years at 2,080 hours a year, the 2 figures the law sets.

The official wording of the requirement
Provisional Electrician“You need six years of verifiable work in the electrical trade since your 16th birthday, with 2,080 hours in each of those years. The license lets you work as an electrician for one year and can't be renewed. To keep working after that, you pass the electrician exam during that year, pay the fee and get the regular Electrician license. If you don't pass in time, the provisional license ends and you can't get another one.”

Master Electrician

Hours on the job
16,000
Exam
$80
Fee
$200

The Master Electrician license requires 16,000 hours on the job.

What this license lets you do: “You take responsible charge of electricians and supervise and direct their work building, installing, changing or repairing electrical systems for heat, light or power.”

About the exam: “240 minutes · 100 questions · 70% to pass · open book · exam fee $80.00 · offered in English, Español. Items in this exam have been selected to comply with 2023 edition of the National Electric Code.”

The application fee is $200.

You must pass the exam named "Master Electrician (2023 edition)". The exam costs $80.

You renew the Master Electrician license every 2 years. The renewal costs $200. You need 12 hours of continuing education for each renewal.

The $200 covers a 2-year license. Your first license runs to your birth month, 13 to 24 months away, so the first fee is $108 to $200.

The $80 is Prov's fee, paid to Prov.

The official wording of the requirement
Master Electrician“You need 16,000 hours of verifiable work in the electrical trade, counted from your 16th birthday. You don't have to hold the Electrician license first. A training course the department accepts, or two years of teaching electrical technology at a college, stands in for 4,000 of those hours. An associate degree or diploma in electrical technology stands in for 6,000. Supervised military experience can count toward the hours.”

To run an electrical business

This is the license for running an electrical business.

Electrical Contractor

Exam
$80
Fee
$400

What this license lets you do: “You run the business: you design, plan, supervise, contract for or take responsibility for installing, changing or repairing electrical systems for heat, light or power, and you employ the electrical workers who do it.”

About the exam: “90 minutes · 40 questions · 70% to pass · open book · exam fee $80.00 · offered in English, Español. This exam covers business practices, law and Project Management in accordance with Kentucky Electrical Licensing Law 815 KAR 35 and Kentucky Lien Law.”

The application fee is $400.

You must pass the exam named "Electrical Contractor (Business, Law and Project Management)". The exam costs $80.

You renew the Electrical Contractor license every 2 years. The renewal costs $400. You need 12 hours of continuing education for each renewal.

The $400 covers a 2-year license. Your first license is prorated, so the first fee is $217 to $400.

The $80 is Prov's fee, paid to Prov.

The official wording of the requirement
Electrical Contractor“You hold a Kentucky master electrician license yourself or employ a full-time Kentucky master electrician, who can serve only one contractor. You pass the business and law exam. A business names an owner, officer, director or full-time employee to take the exam for it.”

Take the exam

LicenseExam
ElectricianJourneyman Electrician (2023 edition)Prov, NASCLA or Pearson VUE gives the exam.
Master ElectricianMaster Electrician (2023 edition)Prov, NASCLA or Pearson VUE gives the exam.
Electrical ContractorElectrical Contractor (Business, Law and Project Management)Prov or Pearson VUE gives the exam.

You take the exam for the license you apply for.

What electricians earn in Kentucky

$28.71an hour

$59,720 a year, full time

Half of the electricians on a payroll in Kentucky earn more than $28.71 an hour, and half earn less. The federal wage survey puts the yearly figure at $59,720.

These figures cover everyone on a payroll as an electrician in Kentucky, from apprentices to people with decades in the trade, so they aren't a starting wage. The survey counts 11,030 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 one of the states listed for a license, you may be able to use your license to qualify in Kentucky.

Kentucky licenseRecognized from
Electrician licenseVirginia and West Virginia
Master Electrician licenseOhio, Virginia and West Virginia
Electrical Contractor licenseOhio

Electrician license: If you hold an active Virginia or West Virginia journeyman or master electrician license, you can use it to apply to DHBC. You can get the Electrician license. Send a copy of your license when you apply. Also send a letter of good standing from your home state.

Master Electrician license: If you hold an active Virginia or West Virginia master electrician license, you can use it to get the Master Electrician license. You apply to DHBC for it. Or you may hold an active Ohio electrical contractor license. If so, DHBC gives you the Master Electrician license. You get the Electrical Contractor license too. If you use an Ohio license, you must also send proof of insurance.

Electrical Contractor license: If you hold an active Ohio electrical contractor license, you can use it in Kentucky. DHBC gives you the Electrical Contractor license. You get the Master Electrician license too. Send proof of your insurance. It must show that you have liability and workers' compensation insurance. You may want to use your Kentucky licenses in Ohio. If so, you need a master electrician license and a contractor license from Kentucky. You must pass the exams in Kentucky to get both of them.

These states recognize a license from Kentucky.

Kentucky licenseRecognized by
Electrician license and Master Electrician licenseVirginia
Electrical Contractor licenseOhio

Questions

Can you become an electrician with no experience?

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

Kentucky electrician apprenticeships

How much do most electricians earn in Kentucky?

Half of the electricians on a payroll in Kentucky earn between $22.37 and $37.46 an hour. These figures don't include overtime pay.

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

The highest-paid 10% of electricians on a payroll in Kentucky earn more than $85,260 a year before overtime, so most electricians earn less than $100,000 a year from regular hours.

Contact the licensing office

Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Constructiondhbc.ky.gov/newstatic_info.aspx?static_id=344

Words to know

Apprentice
Someone who learns the trade on the job, working under a licensed worker.
Journeyman
The license level after apprentice. Some states write journeyperson, journeyworker or journey level.
Master
A higher license level, for a worker with more years in the trade. It often lets you supervise others.
JATC
A Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, an apprenticeship program run together by a union and contractors.
Continuing education
Classes you take to keep your license.
Reciprocity
An agreement that lets you use a license from one state to get a license in another.
Prov
A company that runs licensing exams for state and city offices.
Pearson VUE
A company that runs licensing exams at its own test centers.
NASCLA
The National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies, which gives a contractor exam that some states accept.
Notarized
Signed in front of a notary public, who checks your ID and stamps the form.
Affidavit
A written statement that you swear is true.
Median
The middle figure. Half of the workers earn more, and half earn less.

Sources

18
  1. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, electrician licensing, the licensing office
  2. Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, KRS 227A.020(6), "Prohibitions -- Local licensing programs."
  3. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, electrician licensing, the licensing office (second page)
  4. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  5. Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, 815 KAR 35:060 Section 9(1), "Licensing of electrical contractors, master electricians, and electricians."
  6. Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, KRS 227A.010(6), "Definitions for KRS 227A.010 to 227A.140."
  7. Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, KRS 227A.040(4), "Powers and duties of department."
  8. Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, KRS 227A.060(3)(b), "Qualifications for licensure -- Provisional license."
  9. Prov, electrician licenses, exam and fees
  10. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, electrician licenses, experience, exam and licenses from other states
  11. Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, electrician licenses, licenses from other states
  12. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, electrician licensing, license names
  13. Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, Electrical Contractor, licenses from other states
  14. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, electrician licensing
  15. Prov, electrician licensing
  16. Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, KRS 227A.100(2), "Fees -- Application for renewal or reinstatement of license."
  17. Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, electrician licensing (second page)
  18. U.S. Department of Labor national apprenticeship data, extract of August 17, 2026

Get an email when it matters

Pick what you want to hear about. You get one short email when it happens.

Alerts for: Electrician in Kentucky

Email me when

One email when it happens. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe any time. You must be 13 or older. Under 18, a parent or guardian must agree to the terms for you.