New York · Electrical licensing · official-source guide
New York licenses no electricians at state level. The Department of State's Division of Licensing Services regulates 35 occupations and electrician is not one of them, and the state says local governments enforce the building code. The real license is municipal. In New York City the Department of Buildings issues the master electrician license, and only a master or special electrician may file for an electrical permit.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-12. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Start with what the state does license. The Department of State's Division of Licensing Services says it oversees the licensure, registration and regulation of 35 occupations throughout the state, and it prints the whole list: beauty enhancement, real estate, security and secured services, and a miscellaneous group running from notaries to bedding manufacturers. Electrician does not appear anywhere on it. The Department's public licensee search names the license types it can search, and electrician is not among those either. The other state licensing body is the State Education Department's Office of the Professions, which publishes the list of New York State licensed professions. That list covers architecture, engineering, land surveying, interior design and 30-odd health professions. Electrical contracting is not one. What the state does run is the code. The Division of Building Standards and Codes administers the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and the Energy Code, contained in Title 19 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. The Division states the enforcement arrangement in one sentence: generally every city, town, village and county administers and enforces building codes within its jurisdiction, and the State is responsible for property in the custody of a State agency. The code books moved recently. Section 1219.2 of 19 NYCRR defines the current set as the 2025 Building Code of New York State, the 2025 Residential Code, the 2025 Existing Building Code, the 2025 Fire Code, the 2025 Fuel Gas Code, the 2025 Mechanical Code, the 2025 Plumbing Code and the 2025 Property Maintenance Code, all published July 2025. The Department of State's Notice of Adoption sets the effective date at December 31, 2025, and says that from that date permit applications must comply with the 2025 Uniform Code. One piece is on hold: the Department reports that the 2025 provisions barring fossil-fuel equipment in new buildings, at 19 NYCRR Section 1240.6 and Subpart 1229-2, are suspended by court order and are neither effective nor enforceable. So the code is statewide and the license is not. Where you work decides who licenses you, and whether anyone does.
Sourcesdos.ny.gov 1dos.ny.gov 2op.nysed.gov 3dos.ny.gov 4dos.ny.gov 5dos.ny.gov 6dos.ny.gov 7
The Department of Buildings issues two electrical licenses. Its licensing page states the difference in one line each. Master electricians are licensed to perform electrical work as an independent contractor in or on any buildings, lots, or parts thereof in New York City. Special electricians are licensed to perform electrical work in or on specific buildings, lots or parts thereof. Section 28-429.1 of the Administrative Code, added by Local Law 128 of 2024 with an effective date of December 21, 2025, makes it unlawful for any person to perform electrical work unless that person is a licensed master electrician or is working under the direct and continuing supervision of one. Two exceptions are written in. Low voltage electrical work may be performed by qualified persons as defined in the New York City Electrical Code. And electrical work may be performed by licensed special electricians, or by people working under their direct and continuing supervision. Section 28-429.5 says a master electrician license and seal shall be issued only to an individual, and that nobody may hold a master and a special electrician license at the same time. A master electrician who takes employment as a special electrician has to deactivate the master license and seal and change over. The seal matters commercially. Section 28-429.2 requires a seal bearing the holder's full name, license number and the legend licensed master electrician, and requires the licensee who performed the work to personally sign and seal every application and document filed under the code.
If you are reading this to decide which license to chase, read Section 28-430.7.1 first. A special electrician's license shall not authorize the holder to engage in or carry on the business of performing electrical work as an independent contractor. That is the whole point of the distinction. Section 28-430.5 says the special electrician's license shall plainly indicate the address or addresses of the building, buildings, or parts thereof for which it is issued. Section 28-430.7 says a special electrician shall be principally engaged in performing electrical work in or on the buildings authorized by the license, determines the method of doing the work, and has sole responsibility for supervising and directing the employees of the owner, lessee or manager who perform it. The same section bars a special electrician from supervising individuals who are not employees of that owner, lessee or manager. The Commissioner may issue more than one special license for a building where that is judged necessary for proper operation and maintenance. The experience bar is the same seven years. The only difference in Section 28-430.3.1 is the inspection-credit route, where a special electrician applicant may be credited up to three years of satisfactory experience against the master electrician's cap of 2.5 years. Section 28-430.9 allows a change of license type from special to master where the Commissioner determines the special electrician meets the master qualifications. Section 28-430.8 requires a place of business at a specified address in the city where the Department can reach the licensee.
Sourcesnyc.gov
Section 28-429.3.1, and the Department of Buildings page that repeats it, give four routes. All four end at the same place: at least two of the years must have been obtained in New York City, and the work must have been done with your tools, under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master or special electrician in the United States. Route one is seven years of experience within the 10 years prior to application, on the installation, alteration and repair of wiring and appliances for light, heat and power in or on buildings or comparable facilities. Route two is a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or appropriate engineering technology from an accredited college or university, plus at least three years of that same experience within the five years prior to application. Route three is completion of an apprenticeship program registered with the New York State Department of Labor specializing in electrical wiring, installation and design or applied electricity, plus at least five years of experience within the 10 years prior to application. Route four credits inspection work. Employment by a government agency, private inspection agency or other entity acceptable to the Commissioner whose duties primarily involve inspecting electrical work for code compliance is credited at 50 percent of the years served within the prior 10 years, capped at 2.5 years for a master electrician. The balance of the seven years has to be tool work, and for that balance the 10 year window does not apply. The Department also requires applicants to be at least 18, able to read and write English, fit to perform the work, and of good moral character.
Candidates must pass both a written and a practical exam before submitting a background application. Both are paid for through the License Exam Application and Payment function on the DOB NOW Public Portal, by eCheck or credit card, and a DOB NOW account is not needed to pay. The written exam comes first and costs $585.00. The Department says it is multiple choice, covers New York City Electrical Codes, rules and regulations, allows no reference materials, and has a passing score of 70 percent. Results are given at the test site on the day. The practical exam is applied for separately after the written is passed and costs $530.00. Results arrive by mail roughly three to four weeks later. Exams are administered at multiple locations throughout New York State, and scheduling instructions come by email within two to three weeks of the application being accepted. Two deadlines follow. Candidates have 24 months from the date of the written exam notification to pass the practical. Then applicants have one year from the date of the practical examination notification to submit the background application through DOB NOW: Licensing. A third deadline waits at the end. You have one year from the date of approval in DOB NOW to pick up the license card, and failing to do so closes the application as a denial and sends you back to the start. Section 28-430.6 allows the Commissioner to waive the examination requirement where the application is on behalf of a City agency and the applicant's experience is comparable in type and duration.
The Department of Buildings license types page gives the same schedule for both electrical licenses: license fee $310.00, renewal fee $60.00, original seal fee $50.00, seal renewal fee $30.00, late renewal fee $310.00, and a license term of one year. The renewal page gives a different late figure. It lists renewal fees of $60.00 for the license and $30.00 for the seal, a total renewal fee of $90.00, and late fees of $400.00, payable at the time of renewal through the online portal, together with a notarized affidavit on the electrician's letterhead bearing the Department-issued seal explaining why the licensee is renewing late. Both figures are published by the same agency and this page reports both rather than choosing. Exam fees moved recently too. The Department's licensing fee chart, marked as of 11/22, shows an electrician written exam at $525.00 and a practical at $350.00. The master and special electricians page carries an update notice stating that the LIC41 written exam application fee is now $585 and the LIC42 practical exam application fee is now $530. The higher pair are the current figures on the application instructions. There is also a term question. Section 28-401.11 says that except as otherwise provided in the code or by rule, licenses issued by the Commissioner expire three years from issuance. The Department publishes a one year term for both electrical licenses.
The Department of Buildings requires all electrician businesses to carry General Liability, Workers' Compensation and Disability insurance. The general liability figure is published on the licensing insurance guidelines page: each occurrence must be a minimum of one million dollars. The insurance producer or broker must provide an original signed and notarized Certification by Broker. Accepted general liability forms are Acord 25 in the 2013/04, 2014/01 and 2016/03 versions. Workers' compensation is accepted on form U26.3 from the New York State Insurance Fund only, on C105.2 (09/17), or on GSI 105.2 (02/02) for participation in workers' compensation. Disability insurance is accepted on DB 120.1 in the 09/17, 10/17 and 01/18 versions or DB 120.2 (10/17), and the policy number and Federal Employer Identification Number must appear on the certificate. If there are no employees in the company, an Affidavit of Exemption from Workers' Compensation and Disability Insurance may be submitted, using New York State form CE-200, Certificate of Attestation of Exemption. The Department will not accept that route from general contractors or safety registration applicants. The certificate itself has to be right or it bounces. Every certificate must carry the license, registration or tracking number, the business name, address and phone number matching Department records, a certificate holder box reading NYC Department of Buildings, Attn: Licensing and Exams Unit, 280 Broadway, New York, NY 10007, and typed information. Handwritten corrections are not accepted, workers' compensation and disability cannot ride on the general liability Acord 25, and artisan certificates cannot be provided.
Section 28-429.7 turns the personal license into a business. Every applicant must establish a place of business within the City of New York, and must name the master electrician who serves as the responsible representative. Three rules there catch people out. A master electrician business must be a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation and must be principally engaged in performing electrical work in the city under a master electrician's license. No individual, corporation, partnership or other business association may conduct an electrical contracting business in New York City, or employ the name electric or electrical in its business name, unless it is a master electrician business registered with the Department. And the Commissioner issues a firm number to every master electrician business, which must be included on all permit applications and other documents filed with the Department. Section 28-429.7.1 allows only one responsible representative per business, and says under no circumstances shall any one licensee represent more than one business at any one time. That representative files for, supervises, directs and is fully responsible for the work. The Department's application instructions add the paperwork. The licensee must be an officer, partner or sole proprietor, the business must have a place of business in New York City complying with zoning, and corporate documents must include an all-purpose clause stating the corporation is formed to do electrical work and bid on electrical contracts. Section 28-401.18 bars a post office box or virtual office. Section 28-429.7.4 revokes the business approval automatically if the responsible representative's license lapses.
Master and special electricians renew in DOB NOW: Licensing, which needs an NYC.ID account. Two documents go with the renewal. The first is LIC62, the physical exam form, completed by a physician within 90 days prior to renewal. The second is the continuing education certificate. The Department states that as of January 1, 2016 all master and special electrician license renewals require successful completion of a Department-approved course of at least eight hours, and the licensee must submit a copy of the original certificate from an approved school. There is a corporate trap in the same instructions. A licensed master electrician with a corporation or other entity registered with the New York State Department of State must have an active business to complete the renewal. If the business is not active in the state's Division of Corporation and Business Entity Database the license will not be renewed, and the corporation must be the same corporation held when the licensee last went before the Electrical Board. Section 28-401.12 requires renewal applications at least 30 days but not more than 90 days before expiry, treats anything filed inside 30 days as late, and says failure to renew cancels the license on expiry, at which point the seal must be surrendered immediately. Section 28-401.13 allows late renewal within one year of expiry without examination, subject to the late fee. After that year there is no late renewal to apply for. The card arrives by mail within 30 days of approval.
Section EC 84.2 of the New York City Electrical Code requires any owner or authorized agent who intends to erect, install, add to, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical system regulated by the code, or to cause such work to be done, to first apply for construction document approval under Chapter 1 of Title 28 and obtain the required permit. Section EC 84.5 is the one worth knowing. Whenever a master electrician business or special electrician files an application for a permit covering electrical work installed by an unlicensed or unauthorized person, it is their duty to specify that fact on the application. Section EC 84.7 requires a statement, signed and sealed by the master or special electrician, that the building owner or their authorized representative has authorized the work in writing, on any application relating to energizing electrical wiring, appliances or power generating equipment or to work producing a new or amended certificate of occupancy. Any application involving energizing a meter needs a further signed and sealed statement about the intended use of that meter. Section EC 84.6 limits meters in small residential buildings: a one-family residence gets one utility meter, and a building with two or more dwelling units gets one per unit plus one for common areas where smoke detecting devices are installed throughout those areas. Section EC 86.1 makes electrical work under a permit subject to Department inspection, except minor electrical work as defined in Section 28-101.5, and puts the duty to schedule it on the permit holder.
Sourcesnyc.gov
This is the rule most New York City electrical contractors have never read, and it governs your vehicles, your website and your letterhead. Section 28-429.7.2 Identification: all business vehicles, advertising, websites, and stationery used in connection with a master electrician business shall display prominently the full name of the licensee, the words N.Y.C. licensed electrician, the licensee's number, and the licensee's business address. If the business is conducted under a trade name, or by a partnership or corporation, the trade name, partnership, or corporate name shall be listed immediately above the full name or names of the licensed master electricians registered at that business. Section 28-429.7.3 governs the premises. At the place of business there must at all times be a prominently displayed permanent sign stating the name of the license holder, the license number and the words licensed electrician or licensed electrical contractor on a plate glass window, or an outside sign of permanent construction readily visible to pedestrians, or, in an office or commercial building, the names on the entrance door or a main floor bulletin board. Where offices are shared, each business must distinguish its identity from the others. What you may not say is Section 28-429.1(2). It is unlawful to falsely represent authorisation to perform electrical work, or to use in any advertising the words master electrician, licensed electrician, electrical contractor, or any words of similar meaning, on any sign, card or letterhead or in any other manner, unless authorized. Section 28-401.18.2 adds a posted photocopy of the license near the entrance.
Sourcesnyc.gov
The license itself is the first thing at risk. Section 28-401.19 gives the Commissioner power to suspend or revoke a license or certificate of competence and to impose a fine not to exceed $25,000 for each finding of violation, and to order the holder to repair damage resulting from the act or omission. Contract work by holders of special electrician's licenses appears as item 19 on that list of grounds. Unlicensed electrical work carries its own figure. Section 28-202.1 sets the minimum civil penalty and the minimum fine for a violation of Section 27-3017 of the New York City Electrical Code at $4,800, sets the maximum fine at $25,000, and allows that violation to be punished, in addition to or instead of the fine, by imprisonment of not more than one year. The general ranges sit behind that. Section 28-202.1 sets civil penalties of not less than $2,500 and not more than $25,000 for each immediately hazardous violation, not less than $1,000 and not more than $10,000 for each major violation, and not more than $500 for a lesser violation. Section 28-203.1 makes an immediately hazardous violation a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $25,000 or imprisonment of not more than one year or both. Section 28-202.2 and Section 28-203.2 both provide that each day a violation continues is a separate and distinct offence. Section 28-401.16 separately bars letting anyone else use your license.
New York City does not adopt the state code for electrical work. Section 28-1101.1 of the Administrative Code adopts the 2020 edition of the National Fire Protection Association NFPA 70 National Electrical Code as the minimum requirements for the design, installation, alteration or repair of electric wires and wiring apparatus in the city, subject to amendments set out in Section 28-1101.3. Those amendments are cited as the New York City amendments to the 2020 National Electrical Code, and the two together are the New York City Electrical Code. The Department of Buildings states that the 2025 New York City Electrical Code took full effect on December 21, 2025, and describes it as the amendments to the General Administrative Provisions in Title 28 plus the New York City specific amendments to the 2020 edition of NFPA 70. The amendments are added as new sections EC 80 through EC 87. Section EC 80.1 says the code may be cited as the New York City Electrical Code, NYCEC or EC, and that all section numbers are deemed to be preceded by EC. Section EC 80.2 sets the scope at installation, alteration, maintenance, repair or demolition of electric wires and wiring apparatus for light, heat, power, signaling, communication, alarm or data transmission. Section 28-1101.2 keeps it moving. No later than the third year after the effective date, and every third year after that, the Commissioner must submit proposed amendments to the City Council to bring the code up to date with the latest edition of NFPA 70.
Buffalo licenses electricians separately, and the city is blunt about where its general contractor license stops. The Buffalo contractor application states that a City of Buffalo contractor license does not allow for plumbing, heating, cooling or electrical work, and repeats it in capitals: this application does not allow for electrical, plumbing or HVAC work to be performed. Electrical licensing runs through the Department of Permit and Inspection Services electrical division at 65 Niagara Square, Room 312, and the Examining Board of Electricians. The master electrician application guide, written by the board and approved by the Commissioner, sets out the requirements. Ten years, or 21,000 hours, of experience in electrical construction, proved by notarized affidavits from employers, broken down as four years or 8,000 hours as an apprentice to become a journeyman and six further years or 12,500 hours as a journeyman. Affidavits must show at least one job per year for the last five years. The exam is not the city's own. Applicants must supply a letter from the International Code Council showing a passing score of 75 percent or higher on the R-16 master electrician exam, which the guide says is based on the 2023 NEC, taken within one year of the application. Previous G16 results were accepted with exam dates up until February 1, 2026. The application fee is $100.00, non-refundable, and a further $100.00 is charged on any resubmission after an incomplete application. Applicants must be an officer of their company, must carry general liability and workers' compensation certificates with a 10 day cancellation clause to the city, or a CE-200 exemption, and every applicant including out of state applicants must attend an in-person interview.
Buffalo licenses journeymen as well. The journeyman electrician application sets the minimum qualification at five years working under a licensed master electrician, as an employee of that master electrician and not working for yourself, with each master electrician listed and the hours worked certified by that master electrician in a notarized affidavit. Proof is accepted three ways: a New York State journeyman electrician license or card, a passing International Code Council exam score together with five years of relevant work experience, or, at the discretion of the board, alternate proof of qualifications including a passing score from an exam administered by the City of Buffalo. The permit fees are published by the electrical division and split into two schedules. Flat fees apply only where no drawings or plans are required by the Building Code of New York State. There is a $50 application fee plus one of the following: $50 for any new electrical work at a one-family dwelling or at one apartment of a two-family dwelling, $75 for work at both apartments of a two-family dwelling, $50 for a meter release for the first meter, $75 per low voltage system plus $5.00 per termination, or $75 for electrical site work not tied to a building project. Where drawings or plans are required, fees are area-calculated: a $50 application fee, plus a plan review fee of $50 or $0.0025 multiplied by square footage and a use multiplier, whichever is greater, plus a permit and inspection fee of $50 or $0.0275 by the same method, plus $25 for each electric meter installed. The division warns that electrical work performed without permits is subject to removal of finishes, non-release of service meters, and fines.
There is one New York State license an electrical contractor genuinely can need. The Department of State licenses the Security or Fire Alarm Installer, defined as a person who holds themselves out as able, or offers or undertakes, to install, service or maintain a security or fire alarm system to detect intrusion, break-in, movement, sound or fire. Term of licensure is two years. The requirements are an application and fee, being 18 years old, proof of fingerprint completion, completion of at least 81 hours of qualifying education, and passage of an alarm installer examination. The education is four 15-hour modules and one 21-hour module covering installation standards, control panels and alarm transmission, security systems, fire technology, and service and maintenance. There are no continuing education requirements at this time. The Department publishes a master electrician waiver, and the fee schedule carries the discount that goes with it: $200 for an initial application without examination, $185 after examination, $100 renewal, and $50 for local jurisdiction applicants who are master electricians, with a $50 renewal for the same group. Late renewal adds $60 and the written exam is $15. For verification, the Department of State's licensee search covers alarm installers but not electricians. In New York City, customers and general contractors use the Department of Buildings Check License and Registration Status page, which runs the skilled trades licensee, general contractor and registrant search. Buffalo publishes its own licensed contractors list through the Office of Licenses.
Sourcesdos.ny.gov 1dos.ny.gov 2dos.ny.gov 3nyc.gov 4buffalony.gov 5
These are common details other guides publish about New York, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. The Department of State's Division of Licensing Services regulates 35 occupations and electrician is not among them, and the State Education Department's list of licensed professions does not include it either. Licensing is municipal.
The Department of Buildings. It issues a master electrician license for work as an independent contractor anywhere in the city, and a special electrician license limited to named buildings.
Seven years within the 10 years before application, with at least two of those years obtained in New York City. A bachelor's degree in electrical engineering cuts it to three years within five, and a New York State registered apprenticeship cuts it to five years within ten.
Seventy percent on the written exam, which is multiple choice, covers New York City electrical codes, rules and regulations, and allows no reference materials. Results are given at the test site on the day.
The master and special electricians page states the written exam application fee is now $585 and the practical exam application fee is now $530. An older Department fee chart marked as of 11/22 shows $525 and $350.
General liability with a minimum of one million dollars each occurrence, plus workers' compensation and disability insurance. A company with no employees may file New York State form CE-200 instead of the last two.
Yes in New York City. Since January 1, 2016 every master and special electrician renewal requires a Department-approved course of at least eight hours, evidenced by the original certificate from an approved school.
The Department of Buildings publishes a one year term for both electrical licenses. Section 28-401.11 of the Administrative Code sets a three year default for licenses generally, except as otherwise provided in the code or by rule.
In New York City, yes. Section 28-429.7.2 requires all business vehicles, advertising, websites and stationery to display prominently the licensee's full name, the words N.Y.C. licensed electrician, the license number and the business address.
Only what you hold. Section 28-429.1(2) makes it unlawful to use in any advertising the words master electrician, licensed electrician, electrical contractor or words of similar meaning unless you are authorized under the chapter.
The 2020 edition of NFPA 70, adopted by Section 28-1101.1 with New York City amendments. The Department of Buildings says the 2025 New York City Electrical Code took full effect on December 21, 2025.
Yes. The Examining Board of Electricians licenses master electricians and journeymen, and the city contractor license explicitly does not cover electrical work. A Buffalo master electrician needs ten years or 21,000 hours and a passing ICC R-16 exam score.
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