Massachusetts · Electrical licensing · official-source guide
Massachusetts licenses electricians through the Board of State Examiners of Electricians in the Division of Occupational Licensure. It licenses the individual as journeyman or systems technician and licenses the business through the master and systems contractor certificates, plus a separate business licence. A journeyman needs 8,000 clock hours over four years and 600 classroom hours.
State-level license
Yes
Public lookup
Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-12. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Massachusetts licenses electricians at state level through the Board of State Examiners of Electricians, which sits inside the Division of Occupational Licensure under the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The board works out of One Federal Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02110-2012, and takes calls at (617) 701-8786 and email at electricians.board@mass.gov. The governing statute is Massachusetts General Laws chapter 141, and the board itself is created under chapter 13. Its regulations are 237 CMR, split into chapter 12.00 on definitions, 13.00 on eligibility criteria for initial licensure, 14.00 on examinations, 15.00 on licensure without examination, 16.00 on business and other licence procedures, 17.00 on mandatory continuing education, 18.00 on rules governing practice, 22.00 on required electrical education, and 23.00 on insurance requirements for limited liability corporations and limited liability partnerships. Installation standards come from a different body. The Massachusetts Electrical Code is 527 CMR 12.00, promulgated by the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations under chapter 143, section 3L, and sitting with the Department of Fire Services rather than with the examiners. Enforcement is shared. Section 5 of chapter 141 charges the examiners and the inspectors of wires in each city and town with enforcing the chapter, and gives them all necessary powers to require compliance, including the power to institute and prosecute proceedings in the superior court department of the trial court.
Sourcesmass.gov 1mass.gov 2malegislature.gov 3malegislature.gov 4mass.gov 5
Chapter 141, section 3 names four licences and the letters are how the trade refers to them. Certificate A is the master electrician's licence. Certificate B is the journeyman electrician's licence. Certificate C is the systems contractor's licence. Certificate D is the systems technician's licence. The split between A and C follows the split between electrical work and systems work. Systems means a fire warning, security or other inherently power limited system, wire, conduit or device that conducts or consumes electricity and is electrically or electronically activated, and the statute defines fire warning systems and security systems separately at section 1. Certificate A is issued to any person, firm or corporation engaged in or about to engage in the business of installing wires, conduits, apparatus, devices, fixtures or other appliances and systems, provided that the person, a member of the firm or an officer of the corporation has passed the examination before the state examiners and has held a Certificate B licence for at least twelve months. Certificate C works the same way off a Certificate D licence. Certificates B and D are issued to individuals who pass the examination, and authorise them to work as journeyman electrician and systems technician. One point catches new business owners. Holding Certificate A or Certificate C does not entitle the holder individually to engage in or perform the actual work of installing. It entitles the holder to conduct business as a master electrician or as a systems contractor. The certificate that lets you personally pull cable is B or D.
Ask whether a state licenses the individual or the contracting business and Massachusetts answers both, twice over. The individual grades are Certificate B and Certificate D, tied to a named person who passed the examination. Certificates A and C are issued in the name of a person, firm or corporation, and section 3(5) says each shall specify the name of the person, firm or corporation licensed and the name of the person passing the examination by which that entity is authorized to enter upon or engage in business. On top of that, the Division of Occupational Licensure runs a separate electrical and systems business licence application. Applications are limited to business entities that have, or are contracted with, a Massachusetts licensed master or systems contractor as Licensee of Record, and the entity must be registered with the Secretary of the Commonwealth's corporations division. The application fee is $221 per licence, payable online. Under 237 CMR 16.00 the application is attested under the pains and penalties of perjury by the master electrician or systems contractor who will be the Licensee of Record. A single licensee may cover more than one entity, but must satisfy the board that he or she can ensure each business entity is fully compliant. If the Licensee of Record leaves, the business has 15 days to submit a new application and may continue operating for up to 60 days in total, provided it meets the stated conditions including keeping employees validly licensed. Certificates are not assignable or transferable under section 4.
Sourcesmalegislature.gov 1mass.gov 2mass.gov 3malegislature.gov 4
237 CMR 13.00 sets the eligibility criteria and the numbers are specific. For a journeyman electrician licence, Certificate B, you need a minimum of 8,000 clock hours of work experience gained in no less than four years, plus 600 clock hours of classroom instruction, plus a high school diploma or its equivalent. The board's application page adds that the work is done under a licensed Massachusetts journeyman. For a master electrician licence, Certificate A, you need at least one year of experience as the holder of a Massachusetts journeyman electrician licence, plus 150 clock hours of classroom instruction. That 150 hours is the Massachusetts Master Electrician Program and it is named as a requirement again in the reciprocity route. For a systems technician licence, Certificate D, you need a minimum of 4,000 clock hours of work experience gained in no less than two years, plus 300 clock hours of education, plus a high school diploma or equivalent, with the work done under a licensed Massachusetts systems technician or journeyman electrician. For a systems contractor licence, Certificate C, you need at least one year of experience as the holder of a Massachusetts systems technician licence, plus 75 clock hours of classroom instruction. There is one requirement that applies to every applicant and surprises people at the counter: all applicants must complete a 15-hour continuing education program based on the Massachusetts Electrical Code at the time of application. Initial education providers are approved by the board and listed separately from continuing education providers.
PSI administers the Massachusetts electrician examinations and publishes the candidate bulletin the board links from its licensing page. Every licence takes two parts and every part is open book. The journeyman electrician trade knowledge part is 80 questions with 180 minutes allowed, and you need 56 correct, which is 70 percent. The journeyman applied part is 30 questions with 60 minutes and needs 21 correct. The master electrician trade knowledge part is 90 questions with 240 minutes and needs 63 correct. The master business and law part is 50 questions with 120 minutes and needs 35 correct. The systems technician trade knowledge part is 70 questions with 180 minutes and needs 49 correct, and the applied part is 60 questions with 120 minutes and needs 42 correct. The systems contractor trade knowledge part is 60 questions with 120 minutes and needs 42 correct, and the business and law part is 50 questions with 120 minutes and needs 35 correct. The pass mark is 70 percent throughout. The questions sit on the current adopted edition of the National Electrical Code as amended by Massachusetts. Chapter 141, section 2 requires the examiners to hold frequent examinations in Boston and, twice each year, examinations in at least five other convenient places in the commonwealth. Section 9 attaches the full penalty scale to misstatements: anyone applying for a journeyman or systems technician licence who misstates experience or qualifications, and anyone who subscribes to or vouches for that misstatement, is subject to the penalties in section 5.
Sourcestest-takers.psiexams.com 1mass.gov 2malegislature.gov 3malegislature.gov 4
Massachusetts bundles the examination and the application into one payment, and the board's application page breaks the bundle down. A journeyman electrician application is $226 in total, made up of a $60 processing fee, an $80 trade examination fee and $86 in Massachusetts fees. A veteran waiver brings that to $195. A master electrician application is $276 in total, made up of a $75 processing fee, an $80 trade examination fee and $121 in Massachusetts fees, with a veteran figure of $210. A systems technician application is $226, or $195 for veterans. A systems contractor application is $276, or $210 for veterans. Re-examination costs $135 for both portions combined. The licence fee itself is paid at the test centre once you pass, and the PSI bulletin gives it as $104 for a journeyman or systems technician and $155 for a master or systems contractor. The electrical and systems business licence is a separate $221 per licence, paid online. Reciprocity has its own pricing, covered further down. Renewal is cheaper than initial licensure. The board's renewal page lists $117 each for master electricians and $78 each for journeyman electricians and systems technicians. Under chapter 141, section 10, fees and fines collected under the chapter are paid to the commonwealth. Section 3(6) also puts the order of payment in statute: you apply with an examination fee, and you pay a further fee before the licence is issued once you pass.
Sourcesmass.gov 1test-takers.psiexams.com 2mass.gov 3mass.gov 4malegislature.gov 5malegislature.gov 6
Massachusetts runs a three year licence and a single common expiry date, which is unusual and which means the whole trade renews together. Chapter 141, section 3(7) says each Certificate A and Certificate C expires on July thirty-first every third year, and may be renewed by the same person, firm or corporation acting by one or more of its members or officers, without further examination, on payment of a fee, with the application made during that month. Section 3(8) puts Certificates B and D on identical terms. The board's renewal page confirms the July 31st expiration date and gives the fees as $117 each for master electricians and $78 each for journeyman electricians and systems technicians. If you miss it, section 3(7) provides for a deferred renewal. The person named may receive a deferred renewal on payment of the fee increased by such additional fees as would have been payable had the licence been continuously renewed, and that deferred renewal expires on July thirty-first of the ensuing three year period. The statute adds a warning that matters for liability: a renewed licence does not constitute its holder a licensee for any period preceding its issue, so the gap stays a gap. Military service is protected. Any certificate expiring while the holder is in the military or naval service of the United States is renewed without further examination on payment of the prescribed fee at any time within four months after discharge. Renewal also requires evidence of completed continuing education under 237 CMR 16.00.
The continuing education rule is 237 CMR 17.00 and it is tied to the code cycle rather than to a calendar. Each licensee of the board, as a condition of licence renewal, must present evidence satisfactory to the board that in the three-year period before renewal he or she has completed 21 clock hours of continuing education. Of those 21, 15 clock hours must be on topics related to 527 CMR 12.00, the Massachusetts Electrical Code amendments, business, law and related topics. The board's provider guidance splits the same total a second way: 15 hours on Massachusetts Electrical Code updates and National Electrical Code changes delivered by board-approved continuing education providers, and 6 hours of professional development covering subjects such as electrical code, business, law, first aid, safety and building code and related topics, which need not come from an approved provider. The 21 hours and the 15 hour code component do not vary by licence grade, but the content does. For master and journeyman electricians the courses focus on 527 CMR 12.00 and other laws and regulations as they pertain to electrical work. For systems contractors and systems technicians the courses focus on the applicable chapters of 527 CMR 12.00, the adopted version of NFPA 72, and other laws and regulations as they pertain to systems work. The three year cycle is one Massachusetts Electrical Code cycle, which is why a code change and a renewal deadline tend to land together. The board publishes searchable lists of approved continuing education providers and approved initial education providers.
Massachusetts does not attach an insurance figure to the licence itself. It attaches one to the permit, which for a working contractor is the tighter constraint. Chapter 141, section 8 says that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no permit for the performance of electrical work under chapters 141 and 143 shall be issued by any city or town unless the licensee provides proof of liability insurance, including completed operation coverage, issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in the commonwealth, or a bond or other type of indemnity against liability providing substantially equivalent coverage. That is where a bond is accepted in Massachusetts: as an alternative to the liability policy at the permit counter, not as a separate board requirement. The statute leaves one escape hatch. In lieu of the insurance requirement, the permit issuing authority shall accept the signature of the owner or the owner's agent on the uniform application for a permit for work to be performed by electricians. 237 CMR 16.00 pulls the same requirement into business licensing, requiring the business to maintain the valid liability insurance coverage required by chapter 141, section 8. Where a dollar figure does appear is 237 CMR 23.00, which covers limited liability corporations and limited liability partnerships holding an electrical licence. The coverage must be at least $50,000.00 multiplied by the number of individual licensees employed by or who are officers of the LLC, or an aggregate amount of at least $150,000.00 multiplied by that number. An LLP faces the same figures and may also use designated segregated funds through a trust deposit, bank escrow, letters of credit or insurance company bonds.
Massachusetts sets its supervision ratio in the statutory definition rather than burying it in a rule, and it is one to one. Chapter 141, section 1 defines a master electrician as a person, firm or corporation having a regular place of business who, by the employment of journeymen or apprentices, performs the electrical work, provided that no journeyman electrician so employed shall have more than one apprentice under his supervision, and provided further that not more than one such apprentice shall be employed for each journeyman electrician. The systems contractor definition repeats it for systems technicians and their apprentices. 237 CMR 18.01(7) restates the rule for practice: a journeyman electrician shall have no more than one apprentice under his or her direct supervision or employ, and a systems technician may supervise only one apprentice provided that apprentice works for the same employer. Section 8 covers in-house electricians. Electricians regularly employed by a business that is not a Certificate A holder may install wiring, conduits and appliances or make repairs only on the premises and property of that business, provided they hold journeyman licences, and that employer may employ learners or apprentices under the same one to one limit. There is a partnership rule that catches two licensed journeymen going into business together. Under 237 CMR 18.01(1), two or more journeyman electricians shall not associate as partners or otherwise engage in the business without obtaining the necessary master electrician licence. The board's own FAQ puts it more bluntly: only a master can get a business licence, and a journeyman practising alone can only practise under the name on the licence.
Sourcesmalegislature.gov 1mass.gov 2malegislature.gov 3mass.gov 4
Massachusetts runs the narrowest reciprocity arrangement of the three northern New England and mid-Atlantic states covered on this site. The board has an agreement with New Hampshire and no other state. It will accept New Hampshire journeyman and master licences only if they were obtained by passing an examination in New Hampshire, which excludes a New Hampshire licence that was itself obtained by reciprocity. The fees are $208 for a journeyman and $310 for a master, both non-refundable. Applications go through the Division of Occupational Licensure's ePLACE online portal and the board asks for supporting documentation including a licence verification letter, a CORI authorization form, a photo, and proof of disciplinary or criminal history where applicable. Master applicants face two extra conditions that surprise reciprocity candidates. They must demonstrate completion of the Massachusetts 150-hour Master Electrician Program, and they must hold a current Massachusetts journeyman electrician licence. In practice that means a New Hampshire master reciprocates in two steps rather than one. One cross-border wrinkle is worth flagging. The Maine Electricians' Examining Board's own frequently asked questions page lists Massachusetts among the states Maine has a reciprocity agreement with, for both master and journeyman grades, while the Massachusetts board's reciprocity page names only New Hampshire. Those two state agencies do not agree, and both statements are reported here rather than one being preferred. Confirm with both boards before you pay a fee. 237 CMR 15.00 is the regulation covering licensure without examination.
Massachusetts does not adopt the National Electrical Code raw. It amends it and republishes the result as the Massachusetts Electrical Code at 527 CMR 12.00, promulgated by the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations rather than by the electricians board. The authority is chapter 143, section 3L, which directs the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations to make, promulgate and from time to time alter, amend and repeal rules and regulations relating to the installation, repair and maintenance of electrical wiring and electrical fixtures used for light, heat and power in buildings subject to sections 3 to 60 and the state building code. Those rules must be in accordance with generally accepted standards of engineering practice and designed to provide reasonably uniform requirements of safety in relation to life, fire and explosion. Before promulgating, the board must hold a public hearing advertised in at least one newspaper in each of Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Fall River, Lowell and Lynn, at least ten days beforehand. The rules take effect when deposited with the state secretary. The current edition is built on the 2026 edition of NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code, with effect from April 24, 2026, and the Commonwealth layers its own amendments on top to address Massachusetts situations. The state directs users to the National Fire Protection Association website to read the base code at no charge. The three year continuing education cycle is deliberately one Massachusetts Electrical Code cycle, so the 15 code hours you take each cycle track these amendments.
Chapter 141, section 5 sets an escalating fine scale that starts higher than most states. Any person, firm or corporation, or an employee of one, and any representative, member or officer of such a firm or corporation individually, who enters upon or engages in the business and work defined in the chapter without having complied with it, shall for the first offence be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $1,500. A second offence carries a fine of not less than $1,500 and not more than $2,000. Each subsequent offence carries a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $2,500, or imprisonment in the house of correction for six months, or both. Note that the statute reaches officers individually, not only the entity. Section 9 extends the same penalties to anyone who misstates experience or qualifications on a journeyman or systems technician application, and to anyone who subscribes to or vouches for that misstatement. There is a separate and smaller penalty attached to permits. Under chapter 143, section 3L, no person shall install for hire any electrical wiring or fixtures subject to that section without first, or within five days after commencing the work, giving notice to the inspector of wires by mailing or delivering a permit application form prepared by the board. Any person failing to give that notice shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars. Section 4 adds the licence consequence: certificates may, after hearing, be suspended or revoked by the examiners on failure or refusal to comply with their rules and requirements, or for other sufficient cause.
Sourcesmalegislature.gov 1malegislature.gov 2malegislature.gov 3malegislature.gov 4
Massachusetts writes its display rules into both the statute and the practice regulation, and they differ by certificate. Chapter 141, section 3(9) says holders of Certificate A and Certificate C shall keep their certificates of registration displayed in a conspicuous place in their principal offices or places of business. Holders of Certificate B and Certificate D are furnished with evidence of licensure in card form or otherwise, which shall be carried on the person of the licensee and exhibited on request. So a master hangs the certificate in the office and a journeyman carries the card on the job. Advertising is governed by 237 CMR 18.01(2). A licensee shall only engage in the electrical or systems trade or otherwise conduct business in the name printed on his or her licence. Signs and advertisements for master electricians, journeyman electricians and systems contractors must show the licence type and number. Telephone directory listings are the one carve-out, and need only carry the name and telephone number without the licence number. The board states the same rule for consumers in its electricians fact sheet: a master or journeyman electrician's licence type and number must be shown on any sign, listing or advertisement. Read those two together and the practical rule for a contractor is that your vehicle lettering, yard signs, website and printed advertisements should carry the certificate letter and the number, and the business name you advertise under must match the name printed on the licence.
No Massachusetts city issues its own electrician licence, because chapter 141 licenses the trade statewide. What every city and town does have is an inspector of wires. Chapter 166, section 32 says a city or town shall, by ordinance, vote or by-law, appoint an inspector of wires, and that the inspector shall be a licensed electrician. Two or more cities or towns may form a district and appoint a shared inspector with the same powers and duties. That inspector supervises every wire over or under streets or buildings and every wire within or supplied from buildings subject to chapter 143 and the state building code, and must see that all laws and regulations relating to wires are strictly enforced. The permit process is uniform statewide. 237 CMR 18.01(4) requires master electricians, journeyman electricians and systems contractors to comply with the uniform state electrical permit process under chapter 143, section 3L and 527 CMR 12.00, and states that systems technicians cannot file permit applications independently, only on behalf of the employing master electrician or systems contractor. You give notice to the inspector of wires first, or within five days after commencing the work, using the permit application form prepared by the board. You then notify the inspector in writing on completion, and the inspector must give written approval or disapproval within five days. A notice of disapproval must specify the part of the work disapproved together with a reference to the rule or regulation violated, which gives you something concrete to correct.
Consumers and search engines both use the state lookup, so it is worth knowing exactly where your record lives and what it shows. Massachusetts runs two licence verification platforms and electricians are on the older one. The Division of Occupational Licensure directs electrician verification to the ePLACE portal, at the licensee lookup page on the elicensing21.mass.gov domain, while other boards sit on the newer eLIPSE search. Alongside electricians, professional engineers, land surveyors, veterinary medicine practitioners and private occupational school operators are also on the ePLACE portal. The board's consumer fact sheet gives customers a second route: call the board at (617) 701-8786 to verify licensure, how long the person has been licensed, and complaint history. It tells consumers to ask for proof of liability insurance, noting insurance is required by state law, and to ask to see the permit, describing the permit as the customer's guarantee that the work will be inspected and that the professional is responsible for the work performed. Expect both requests on a residential job and have the certificate and the permit copy ready. The board also publishes its disciplinary actions through the Division of Occupational Licensure, and runs a complaint process against occupational board licensees. The fact sheet is even-handed about that process, telling consumers that dissatisfaction alone is not proof of incompetence or sufficient grounds for disciplinary action. Licence verification letters and certified licence history documents are available from the board on request for contractors who need to prove standing elsewhere.
Sourcesmass.gov 1mass.gov 2elicensing21.mass.gov 3mass.gov 4
These are common details other guides publish about Massachusetts, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Board of State Examiners of Electricians, in the Division of Occupational Licensure, licenses electricians statewide under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 141 and 237 CMR. No city or town issues its own electrician licence.
Both. Certificates B and D are individual licences. Certificates A and C are issued to a person, firm or corporation and name the individual who passed the examination. There is also a separate electrical and systems business licence at $221 per licence.
Certificate A is the master electrician's licence, Certificate B the journeyman electrician's licence, Certificate C the systems contractor's licence and Certificate D the systems technician's licence. Holding A or C lets you conduct business but not personally perform the installation work.
A minimum of 8,000 clock hours of work in no less than four years under a licensed Massachusetts journeyman, plus 600 clock hours of classroom instruction and a high school diploma or equivalent, under 237 CMR 13.00.
Hold a Massachusetts journeyman electrician licence for at least twelve months, complete 150 clock hours of classroom instruction, and pass the two-part master examination. Chapter 141, section 3 sets the twelve month requirement and 237 CMR 13.00 sets the hours.
A journeyman application is $226 in total and a master application is $276, each bundling processing, trade examination and Massachusetts fees. Both licences take two open book parts and require 70 percent. Re-examination is $135 for both portions combined.
Every third year, expiring on July 31, for all four certificates. Renewal fees are $117 each for master electricians and $78 each for journeyman electricians and systems technicians. A deferred renewal is available on payment of the fees that would have been due.
21 clock hours in the three years before renewal, of which 15 must be on topics related to 527 CMR 12.00, the Massachusetts Electrical Code amendments, business, law and related topics. The board's guidance splits the balance as 6 hours of professional development.
Chapter 141, section 8 bars any city or town from issuing an electrical permit unless the licensee shows proof of liability insurance including completed operation coverage, or a bond or indemnity providing substantially equivalent coverage. The owner's signature on the uniform permit application is accepted in lieu.
The Massachusetts Electrical Code at 527 CMR 12.00 is based on the 2026 edition of NFPA 70, effective April 24, 2026, with Massachusetts amendments. It is promulgated by the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations under chapter 143, section 3L.
Only New Hampshire, and only where the New Hampshire journeyman or master licence was obtained by passing a New Hampshire examination. Fees are $208 for a journeyman and $310 for a master. Maine's board separately lists Massachusetts among its own reciprocal states.
Under chapter 141, section 5, a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $1,500 for a first offence, $1,500 to $2,000 for a second, and $2,000 to $2,500 or six months in the house of correction, or both, for each subsequent offence.
We can review the local market, your current search visibility, and paid-search fit before recommending any marketing work.