New Hampshire · Electrical licensing · official-source guide
New Hampshire licenses the individual electrician by grade through the Electricians' Board at the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, and licenses the corporation or partnership separately under RSA 319-C:10. A journeyman needs 8,000 apprentice hours, 600 education hours and a 110 question examination at 70 percent. Continuing education is 15 hours tied to each new edition of NFPA 70.
State-level license
Yes
Public lookup
Not published
Verified against agency sources on 2026-09-12. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
New Hampshire licenses the electrician, not just the company. RSA 319-C:1 says no electrician installation shall be made for compensation unless made by an electrician or other person licensed by the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. The Electricians' Board sets the standards. RSA 319-C:4 gives it five appointed members: two master electricians, one journeyman electrician and two public members, each appointed by the governor with the approval of the council to a five year term, with no member serving more than three terms and no member serving more than 16 years in total. The state fire marshal or a designee sits as an ex officio member but does not vote. Public members must never have been in the electrical trade, never have been the spouse of someone in it, and must have had no material financial interest in electrical services during the five years before appointment. RSA 319-C:6 requires at least four regular meetings a year. The board's rulemaking power in RSA 319-C:6-a reaches applicant qualifications, how applicants are examined, the criteria for renewal including continuing education, ethical standards, and the applicable version of the National Electrical Code. The office is at 7 Eagle Square, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, and board licensing is reached at OPLCLicensing4@oplc.nh.gov.
Sourcesgc.nh.gov 1oplc.nh.gov 2
The board's own page lists what it issues: apprentice, journeyman, master, high and medium voltage, and business entity for corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships. The statute defines each. A master electrician under RSA 319-C:2, V is a person either employed by another master electrician, or who as a business hires or employs another to do electrical work, or who without hiring anyone makes electrical installations as a principal or auxiliary business for their own account. A journeyman under RSA 319-C:2, IV installs wires, conduits, apparatus, fixtures and other electrical equipment and must be employed by a New Hampshire licensed master electrician or by an entity licensed under RSA 319-C:10. An apprentice learns and assists under the direct supervision of a master or journeyman, and RSA 319-C:7, IV requires apprentices to register with the office. A high and medium voltage electrician works on distribution systems operating over 600 volts, from the source of supply to the first disconnecting means. The company license is separate and real. RSA 319-C:10 lets the office license corporations and partnerships engaged in the business of making electrical installations, provided one or more officers or employees directly in charge of the business affairs is a licensed master electrician. Elec 303.01 adds a certificate of good standing from the New Hampshire secretary of state, and covers foreign corporations doing business in the state.
RSA 319-C:3 lists thirteen exceptions and they matter commercially, because each one is work a licensed contractor cannot assume is theirs. The chapter does not apply to persons under the jurisdiction of the public utilities commission, the Federal Communications Commission or the Interstate Commerce Commission making installations in the course of that employment, nor to work by a utility company in rendering its authorized service. Electrical work in or about industrial or manufacturing plants or generating plants, performed by people in the regular employ of the plant, is outside it. So is work on other property owned or controlled by the operators of those plants where the work is supervised by an electrical engineer in their employ. Mines, pipeline systems, ships, railway rolling stock, automotive equipment and portable sound equipment are excluded, as is manufacture, test or repair of electrical equipment in the manufacturer's own plant. Regular employees of owners or lessees doing incidental electrical work are excluded, and RSA 319-C:2, III-c defines incidental electrical work as a job of minor consequence which occurs by chance and does not need calculations. Students in approved vocational and apprenticeship programs are excluded under supervision. Elevator and accessibility lift mechanics licensed under RSA 157-B:8-a are excluded for defined equipment. RSA 319-C:15, II lets a homeowner make installations in a single family residence they own and occupy.
Sourcesgc.nh.gov
RSA 319-C:7, II sets three requirements for a master or journeyman license: completion of 8,000 hours of service as an apprentice electrician, not less than 600 hours of education meeting board criteria, and passing the board approved examination. Elec 304.01 fills in the detail. The 8,000 hours must be practical or field experience as an apprentice to a journeyman or master licensed by the board. The education requirement is met in one of three ways: 600 hours of electrical schooling including a minimum of 24 hours on electrical safety, taken in courses of 150 hours each including a minimum of 6 hours on electrical safety, or an associate or higher degree in an electrical curriculum; or 10 years of experience as a journeyman or master licensed in another jurisdiction; or having previously taken the New Hampshire journeyman or master examination. School time can shorten the field requirement. Elec 304.01(b) lets the board credit documented practical experience up to a maximum of 2,000 hours for prescribed courses at New Hampshire community technical colleges, New Hampshire Technical Institute, National Joint Apprenticeship Schools run by the IBEW and NECA, vocational schools approved by the state board of education, and accredited out of state schools. Time credited for schooling and time worked part time during full time study cannot be accumulated concurrently.
New Hampshire does not let an applicant sit the master examination first. Elec 304.01(f) requires each applicant for a master license to pass the journeyman examination and then obtain 2,000 hours of field experience as a journeyman performing electrical installations as defined in RSA 319-C:2, III before being allowed to take the master examination. That is a full year of licensed journeyman work on top of the 8,000 apprentice hours. The master license is what carries a company. RSA 319-C:10 makes the corporate or partnership license conditional on a licensed master electrician being directly in charge of business affairs, and Elec 303.01(e) requires every corporation or partnership performing electrical installations to have a currently licensed New Hampshire master electrician directly in charge of all aspects of its electrical installations. Elec 303.01(g) then issues the corporation or partnership identification card and license to that master. RSA 319-C:7, III makes the consequence blunt: in the case of a firm or corporation, the license is void upon the death of, or the severance from the company of, the person who passed the examination. Elec 404.02 requires the office to be told within 30 days of a change in the master electrician responsible for a corporation or partnership.
Elec 305.01 sets the paper. The journeyman examination consists of 110 questions: 50 based on the National Electrical Code, 50 based on practical electrical installations as defined in RSA 319-C:2, III, and 10 based on RSA 319-C and the administrative rules. The master examination consists of 125 questions: the same 50 code questions and 50 practical questions, plus 25 on the statute and rules. The relicensing examination is 20 questions on the code. Practical questions are based on the current edition of the American Electricians Handbook published by McGraw-Hill. For examinations taken after 1 January 2018 all code questions are based on the edition of NFPA 70 adopted by New Hampshire under RSA 155-A:1, IV, so the state building code drives the exam. Elec 305.02 sets the passing grade at 70 percent. Examinations are held by appointment with a testing entity under Elec 305.03, and candidates are notified of approval by mail. RSA 319-C:8 lets a candidate who fails be re-examined at their own expense as often as they wish, but an applicant who has not passed within one year of the office receiving the application must file a new written application and pay the required fees again. Elec 305.04 sets the application fee at $50 for a journeyman or master application and $25 for a relicensing application, and states that no refunds are granted.
Fees sit in Plc 1002.13, the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification's fee table for the professions regulated by the Electricians' Board. A journeyman electrician license costs $110 for two years, whether initial, renewal or reinstatement after expiration. A master electrician license costs $198 for two years on the same basis. An electrical or high and medium voltage electrical corporation or partnership license costs $137 for two years. A high and medium voltage electrician license costs $198 for two years, and a high and medium voltage electrician trainee license costs $66 for 12 months. A third party electrical inspector license, level 1 or level 2, costs $200 for two years. Electrician apprentice registration, initial or renewal, is listed at $33 for 12 months. On top of the license fee, Elec 305.04 charges $50 to process a journeyman or master application and $25 for a relicensing application. One figure conflicts between two primary sources. Plc 1002.13 lists apprentice registration, initial or renewal, at $33. Elec 401.02 says apprentice and high and medium voltage trainee identification cards shall be renewed one year from the date the card is issued and include the $30.00 renewal fee. Both rules are in force as published, and the conflict is reported here rather than resolved.
Elec 401.01 renews master, journeyman, high and medium voltage and corporate or partnership licenses two years from the date of issuance, with the fee in Plc 1002.13. Elec 401.02 renews apprentice and high and medium voltage trainee identification cards on the last day of the month one year from the date the card is issued. RSA 310:8, II says licenses issued by the office are valid for two years from issuance except apprentices licensed for one year, and that this supersedes any conflicting term in a board's own statute. Renewal applications, the fee and supporting documents must be filed on or before expiration, and holders of an expired license are not authorized to practice until it is reinstated. An expired license lapses one year from expiration, and after that the holder cannot renew but may apply to reinstate. The office must give at least two months notice before expiry, and RSA 310:8, IV says failure to receive that notice does not relieve the licensee of the obligation. Elec 401.04 lets renewal be denied, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, for noncompliance with the continuing education requirements of Elec 403, for any act warranting discipline under Elec 405, for reasons that would have justified denying an initial application, or for failing to give complete or accurate information on the renewal.
New Hampshire ties continuing education directly to NFPA 70 rather than to a fixed annual quota. RSA 319-C:6-c tells the board to adopt rules on continuing education for all licensees for training and compliance with the latest published edition of the National Electrical Code, and requires each licensee to show proof of completion within 12 months from the January 1 following the publication date of the latest version of NFPA 70. Proof is furnished to the office by the continuing education provider, not by the licensee. Failure to complete it renders the electrician's license invalid until the licensee demonstrates the requisite hours to the board. Elec 403.01 sets the number: each journeyman or master electrician shall obtain 15 hours of instruction on the changes to the latest published edition of NFPA 70, of which at least one hour must cover changes to RSA 319-C, to the board's rules, and to the installation concerns published on the board's website. The provider must record proof of completion with the board within seven days of the course ending. Every code cycle each provider files a resume, a copy of the provider's electrician license, and a Request for Course Approval form covering the outline, instructors, hours, locations and certificate contents. Apprentices have their own rule: Elec 403.02 requires 30 hours of classroom instruction a year after the fifth renewal of the apprentice card.
Elec 402.01 grades the way back by how long the license has been dead. A master or journeyman license not renewed within one year of its expiration date must either meet the requirements of the section and pass the licensing examination in Elec 305, or apply to take the master or journeyman examination matching the expired license. The applicant files the information required for an initial approval, a statement of previous licensure with dates and license number, and proof of continuing education. Lapsed over one year and up to three years, the licensee must take a 15 hour course on the National Electrical Code. Lapsed between three and six years, that 15 hour course plus either a 45 hour course on the code or proof of working as an electrician, licensed as required, in another jurisdiction. Lapsed between six and ten years, the 15 hour course plus either a 90 hour code course or the same out of state proof. Lapsed over ten years without licensure in another state, the applicant retakes and passes the examination for initial licensure. Elec 402.02 puts a licensee on inactive status on written request with proof of Armed Forces service, and returns them to active status on the renewal fee plus proof of current continuing education. Elec 402.03 makes a revoked license reapply and re-examine after five years.
Sourcesgencourt.state.nh.us
New Hampshire caps supervision by statute and repeats it in rule, and the numbers decide how you crew a job. RSA 319-C:2-a says a journeyman electrician shall directly supervise no more than one apprentice in the first year following their initial date of licensure, and may have two apprentices under direct supervision from the first anniversary of that date. On a work site each journeyman may have two apprentices under direct supervision, to a maximum of three journeymen per work site, and each additional journeyman may have one apprentice. Each master electrician on a work site may have two apprentices under direct supervision, to a maximum of six master electricians per work site, and each additional master may have one apprentice. The number of licensed electricians with two apprentices each on one work site shall not exceed six. Elec 404.05 restates all of it and adds the inspection duty: installations performed by a journeyman shall be periodically inspected by the master electrician from whom they take direction, and the master shall perform a final inspection of the journeyman's completed installation. Apprentice work must be directly supervised at all times. Installations made by an apprentice with an expired card, or without direct supervision, are recorded in the apprentice's file for the board to consider when that person applies for a license.
New Hampshire does not publish a list of reciprocal states for electricians. The Electricians' Board rules in Elec 100 through 400 contain no reciprocity provision at all. What applies instead is RSA 310:17, the general license reciprocity section covering every profession at the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. It says that notwithstanding any other state law to the contrary, the office shall issue licenses to professionals who present evidence of an active license in good standing from another jurisdiction, in accordance with rules adopted by the executive director, provided that the jurisdiction's licensing requirements are substantially similar to New Hampshire's, as determined by the executive director in consultation with the boards. An applicant seeking a license by endorsement must undergo a criminal history records check if one would otherwise be required for an initial application in that profession, and everyone licensed this way is subject to the jurisdiction of the state licensing body. RSA 310:16 runs a parallel route for military service members, spouses and veterans. Two provisions inside the electricians' rules also recognise out of state work without being reciprocity: Elec 304.01(a)(2)(b) accepts 10 years of experience as a journeyman or master licensed elsewhere in place of the 600 education hours, and Elec 402.01 accepts proof of licensed work elsewhere in place of the longer code courses on reinstatement.
The display rule is in the statute and it is specific. RSA 319-C:7, III says all persons licensed by the office shall receive a certificate which must be publicly displayed at the principal place of business of that electrician, or, if there is no such place of business, must be carried on the person and displayed at any time upon request to any electrical inspector appointed by the board. The certificate specifies the name of the person licensed, who in the case of a firm must be one of its members or employees and in the case of a corporation one of its officers or employees who passed the examination. RSA 319-C:5, V lets any state, city or town building official or code enforcement officer who performs electrical inspections check the license or identification card. What New Hampshire does not do is regulate the contents of your advertising. Neither RSA 319-C nor the Elec rules require a license number on vehicles, signage, estimates or a website. The advertising rule that does apply is RSA 310:13, which treats advertising oneself as engaging in a profession licensed by the office, without being licensed, as unlawful practice, and lets the office ask to see the license of anyone who advertises that way at their place of business.
Two penalty tracks run at once. RSA 319-C:15, I makes it a misdemeanour if a natural person, and a felony if any other person, to make electrical installations without being licensed, to employ an unlicensed person other than an apprentice to make electrical installations while in the electrical business, to procure a license wrongfully or fraudulently, to violate any provision of the chapter or any board rule, or to represent oneself wrongfully or fraudulently as licensed. The felony exposure for a company rather than an individual is the part contractors miss. The administrative track is RSA 310:13. After notice and an opportunity to be heard, and on an affirmative finding of unlawful practice, the board may impose a fine not to exceed the amount of any gain or economic benefit derived from the violation, or up to $10,000 for each offence, whichever amount is greater. Each violation of unlicensed or unlawful practice is a separate offence. The board, the attorney general, or a prosecuting attorney of any county or municipality where the act took place may bring an action to enjoin it, and an injunction without bond is available. For licensees, RSA 310:12, I-a(e) caps administrative fines at $3,000 per offence, or $300 for each day a continuing offence runs, whichever is greater.
Sourcesgc.nh.gov 1gc.nh.gov 2
New Hampshire adopts the code by statute rather than by board rule. RSA 155-A:1, IV defines the New Hampshire building code as the adoption by reference of the International Building Code 2024, the International Existing Building Code 2024, the International Plumbing Code 2024, the International Mechanical Code 2024, the International Energy Conservation Code 2018, the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code 2024 and the International Residential Code 2024, and the National Electrical Code 2023 published by the National Fire Protection Association, as reviewed and recommended by the state building code review board, including all amendments reviewed and approved by that board as of 10 October 2025 and ratified by the legislature under RSA 155-A:10. The most recent amendments to that section took effect on 1 July 2026. Elec 404.04 binds licensees to it: all electrical installations performed by licensees, apprentices and trainees shall comply with the requirements of RSA 155-A:1, IV as amended by the building code review board. There is a conflict worth knowing before you quote a job. The City of Manchester's building codes page states that effective 1 July 2024 the department enforces the 2021 editions of the International Building, Residential, Mechanical, Plumbing, Existing Building and Swimming Pool and Spa Codes, the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, and the 2020 edition of the National Electrical Code with state and local amendments. Both are published as they stand here.
RSA 155-A:2, I applies the state building code to all buildings constructed in New Hampshire, and RSA 155-A:4 requires a permit before starting work. Where a municipality has adopted an enforcement mechanism under RSA 155-A:3 the permit follows the local process, and no permit may be issued that would not result in compliance with the state code. RSA 155-A:3, II reserves permit issuance and fees to municipalities but says no amendments to the technical requirements of the state code are permitted. Where there is no local enforcement agency, RSA 155-A:7 lets the state fire marshal enforce on written request of the municipality. Manchester's electrical permit application asks the applicant for a license number and expiry date, and prices the work at $0.015 of estimated cost for new construction, additions, renovations, alterations, repairs or replacements, with low voltage and control wiring at $10 up to $2,000 of estimated cost, $75 from $2,001 to $25,000, and $0.005 above that. Signs are $10 each. A $30 minimum fee plus a $25 application fee makes $55. Verification is the weak point. OPLC's license verification page routes self service verification through VeriDoc for six named boards only, acupuncture, chiropractic, medicine, naturopathic, nursing and podiatry, and directs requests for all other boards to OPLC. RSA 319-C:13 keeps the board's record of licensees open for inspection during office hours.
Sourcesgc.nh.gov 1manchesternh.gov 2oplc.nh.gov 3gc.nh.gov 4
These are common details other guides publish about New Hampshire, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Electricians' Board at the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification licenses the individual by grade under RSA chapter 319-C, and licenses the contracting company separately under RSA 319-C:10. RSA 319-C:1 bars any electrician installation for compensation unless made by a licensed person. Apprentices register with the office under RSA 319-C:7, IV.
RSA 319-C:7, II requires 8,000 hours of service as an apprentice electrician plus not less than 600 hours of education, then the board examination. Elec 304.01 requires the 600 hours to include a minimum of 24 hours on electrical safety, taken in 150 hour courses with at least 6 safety hours each, or an associate or higher degree in an electrical curriculum.
Elec 304.01(f) requires a master applicant to pass the journeyman examination and then obtain 2,000 hours of field experience as a journeyman performing electrical installations before being allowed to take the master examination. The master examination is 125 questions against the journeyman's 110, with 25 questions on RSA 319-C and the rules.
Elec 305.01 sets the journeyman exam at 110 questions: 50 on the National Electrical Code, 50 on practical installations, 10 on the statute and rules. The master exam is 125 questions with 25 on statute and rules. Practical questions come from the current American Electricians Handbook. Elec 305.02 sets the passing grade at 70 percent.
Plc 1002.13 charges $110 for a two year journeyman license, $198 for a two year master license, $137 for a two year corporation or partnership license, and $198 for a two year high and medium voltage electrician license. Apprentice registration is listed at $33 for 12 months. Elec 305.04 adds a $50 application processing fee, or $25 for relicensing.
Elec 403.01 requires each journeyman or master electrician to obtain 15 hours of instruction on the changes to the latest published edition of NFPA 70, including at least one hour on changes to RSA 319-C, the rules and the board's published installation concerns. RSA 319-C:6-c requires completion within 12 months from the January 1 following publication of that NFPA 70 edition.
RSA 319-C:6-c says failure to complete the continuing education renders the electrician's license invalid until the licensee demonstrates to the board that the requisite hours are done. Elec 401.04 also lets renewal be denied for noncompliance with Elec 403 after notice and an opportunity for hearing. The provider reports completion to the board within seven days of the course ending.
RSA 155-A:1, IV names the National Electrical Code 2023 as part of the state building code, with amendments approved by the state building code review board as of 10 October 2025. The City of Manchester's building codes page still states the 2020 edition of the National Electrical Code with state and local amendments, effective 1 July 2024. Both are reported as published.
There is no electrician specific reciprocity list. RSA 310:17 requires the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification to issue licenses to applicants holding an active license in good standing from a jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially similar to New Hampshire's, as determined by the executive director in consultation with the boards, with a criminal history check where one would otherwise be required.
No rule in RSA 319-C or the Elec rules requires it. What is required is display: RSA 319-C:7, III makes the certificate be publicly displayed at the principal place of business, or carried on the person and shown on request to any electrical inspector. RSA 310:13 makes advertising oneself as licensed, without a license, unlawful practice.
RSA 319-C:15 makes unlicensed electrical installation a misdemeanour if a natural person and a felony if any other person, and covers employing unlicensed people and falsely representing licensure. RSA 310:13 lets the board fine up to the economic benefit gained or $10,000 per offence, whichever is greater, with each violation a separate offence, plus injunctive relief.
Not through a self service search for this trade. OPLC's license verification page routes verification through VeriDoc for six boards only: acupuncture, chiropractic, medicine, naturopathic, nursing and podiatry. Requests for all other boards go to OPLC. RSA 319-C:13 keeps the board's record of licensed persons open for inspection during office hours.
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