Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

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Florida Electrician License: Requirements and the Path

Florida licenses electrical contractors at the state level and leaves journeyman cards to counties and cities. This page lays out both halves, the experience each one wants, the exam, and the money, with the statute or the board page behind every number.

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What Florida licenses, and what it doesn't

Florida licenses electrical contractors. The Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board sits inside the Department of Business and Professional Regulation at 2601 Blair Stone Road in Tallahassee, and it issues licenses under Chapter 489, Part II of the Florida Statutes with the rules in Division 61G6 of the Florida Administrative Code.

There's no state journeyman license and no state master license. Section 489.5335 speaks about journeyman licenses only as something counties and municipalities issue, which is why a Florida journeyman card carries a county name on it.

Working for somebody else is a separate question from contracting. Section 489.503 exempts an employee who works inside the scope of the license held by the certificate holder or registrant who employs them, with permission, and who doesn't claim credentials they don't hold.

Certified or registered: the two tiers

Certified licenses let the holder contract anywhere in Florida. Registered licenses are limited to the jurisdiction whose local competency card the person holds, as the board's own FAQ page puts it.

The certified letters are EC for the electrical contractor, EF for Alarm System Contractor I, EG for Alarm System Contractor II and ES for the certified specialty contractor. The registered side runs ER, EY or EH, EZ or EI, ET and EJ, all marked limited to a specific jurisdiction on the board page.

The two tiers are two different starts. Certification starts with the state exam under s. 489.511. Registration starts with a county or city competency card and then a state application, form ECLB 3, which DBPR describes as the way to register your county or city competency card so you can work as a contractor in that jurisdiction.

The county journeyman card

The journeyman card is county law, and s. 489.5335 sets the floor every county has to meet. A county or city may license a journeyman in the electrical and alarm trades if the applicant scores at least 75 percent (70 percent for exams before October 1, 1997) on a proctored journeyman Block and Associates examination or another proctored exam the board approves, finishes either a registered state approved apprenticeship or at least 12,000 hours of on the job training, and finishes building code coursework approved by the Florida Building Commission for the discipline, or shows proof of it within six months.

The same section says counties and municipalities must recognize a person as a journeyman if another Florida county or municipality issued that journeyman license. So a card earned in one county travels, even though the county you move to may still ask you to file paperwork.

Counties then add rules of their own. Miami-Dade asks for three years of proven experience or the education equivalent, with no more than half of it education, plus an exam. Broward asks for four years of practical electrical maintenance experience and a passing grade of 75 percent. Pinellas asks for four years and passes at 70 percent. Hillsborough works from a four year apprenticeship or a test score from an approved agency. Orange County issues no card at all and checks the state license instead.

The specialty categories

Specialty licenses cover one slice of the trade. The board page lists elevator specialist as class code 066, utility line electrical specialist 068, low voltage system specialist 069, residential electrical contracting 043, maintenance of electrical fixtures 065, electrical advertising signs 067, and Two-Way Radio Communications Systems.

The board's Know Your Scope chart names the certified specialty scopes as residential electrical, utility line, lighting maintenance, sign, limited energy systems and two-way radio. The registered ET covers the same ground inside one jurisdiction.

The rules live in rule chapter 61G6-7, where 61G6-7.001 covers specialty electrical contractors, effective 9/25/2024, and 61G6-7.002 covers the scope of certification for certified electrical contractors.

The experience the state exam asks for

Section 489.511 says any person at least 18 years old may sit the certification examination, then sets the qualifying paths, each measured inside a lookback window:

• Three years of proven management experience in the trade, or the education equivalent, within six years, with no more than half of it education.
• Four years as a supervisor or contractor in the trade within eight years, or equivalent military experience.
• Six years of broad training, technical education or supervisory experience within twelve years, or equivalent military or government service.
• Three years licensed as a professional engineer qualified in electrical engineering, within twelve years.
• Any combination of those adding to six years.

The board's FAQ adds the split by category: EC applicants need 40 percent of the experience in three phase work, EF needs 40 percent in fire alarms and EG needs 40 percent in alarms that are not fire alarms. Alarm applicants under the statute need at least 40 percent in commercial fire alarm systems.

The exam, in short

Pearson VUE delivers the Florida electrical contractor exams as computer based tests, and DBPR says candidates can schedule within 72 hours after approval. The exam has two parts, technical and safety plus business.

The candidate information booklet, marked effective February 2026, gives the business exam 50 questions in 2.5 hours and the unlimited electrical, residential, alarm, limited energy, sign, lighting maintenance and utility line exams 100 questions in 5 hours each. Both sections pass at 75 percent, and the exams are open book.

The approved reference list puts the exam on the 2023 edition of NFPA 70, with the 2026 edition scheduled to become the reference on August 21, 2027. Passing scores stay good for three years from the exam date.

What it costs

From the board's FAQ: the certified examination application is $263.25, the computer based exam fee paid to the vendor is $123.75 and a retake is $67.25. An initial certified license on active status is $296.00 and an initial registered license is $151.00, with an extra county registration at $25.00.

Application fees are not refundable. Section 489.509 caps what the board can charge, with the initial application and examination for electrical contractors capped at $400 and registration applications capped at $150.

Certified applicants also carry a money test of their own. The ECLB 1 checklist asks for a personal credit report, a business credit report and a financial statement showing a net worth of at least $10,000, plus exam scores no older than three years.

Renewal and continuing education

Licenses renew every two years and expire on August 31 of each even numbered year. The board says two things have to happen before the deadline: finish the continuing education and pay the renewal fee.

Renewal runs $296 for a certified active license, $121 for a registered active license and $51 for either on inactive status, with a $25.00 delinquent fee.

Continuing education is 11 hours a cycle for electrical contractors and 7 hours for alarm and specialty contractors. Section 489.517 sets classroom hours of at least 50 minutes each, and the 61G6-9 rules govern providers, courses and records.

The path, in order

1. Get hired by a licensed contractor and start logging hours. Your employer's license covers your work under s. 489.503.
2. Enroll in a registered apprenticeship if you can. Florida's state apprenticeship agency is the Department of Education Office of Apprenticeship, and programs are listed through the Apprenticeship Finder.
3. Take your county journeyman exam once you meet that county's experience rule. The card proves your level and travels to other Florida counties under s. 489.5335.
4. Build the four years as a supervisor or contractor that s. 489.511 wants, or one of the other statutory paths.
5. Apply on form ECLB 8 to sit the certification exam, pass both parts at 75 percent, then apply for the license on form ECLB 1 with the credit reports, the net worth and the insurance.
6. Or take the registered route: earn a local competency card, then file ECLB 3 to register it with the state for that jurisdiction.

Questions people ask

Does Florida have a state journeyman electrician license?

No. The state licenses electrical contractors only, and s. 489.5335 treats journeyman licensing as something counties and municipalities do. Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Duval all run their own journeyman cards, and the rules differ by county.

Do I need a license to work as an electrician in Florida?

Not to work for somebody who holds one. Section 489.503 exempts employees acting inside the scope of their employer's license, with permission. You need a license of your own to contract, and s. 489.516 says nobody who is not certified or registered may engage in the business of contracting in the state.

How do I get an electrical contractor license in Florida?

Meet one of the experience paths in s. 489.511, apply on form ECLB 8 to sit the exam, pass the technical and business parts at 75 percent, then file the license application with credit reports, a $10,000 net worth and proof of insurance. The other route is a county competency card registered with the state on form ECLB 3.

How long does it take to get licensed in Florida?

The statute's four year path counts four years as a supervisor or contractor in the trade, taken inside an eight year window. County journeyman cards come sooner: three years of experience in Miami-Dade, four years in Broward and Pinellas.

What is the difference between a certified and a registered contractor?

A certified license works anywhere in Florida. A registered license works only in the jurisdiction whose competency card it is built on, and only for the type of work that card covers, unless further local licenses are added.

How much does a Florida electrical contractor license cost?

The exam application is $263.25, the exam sitting is $123.75 to the vendor and a retake is $67.25. The initial certified license is $296.00 and the initial registered license is $151.00, with renewal every two years at $296 certified or $121 registered.

How much do electricians make in Florida?

O*NET, republishing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, gives a Florida median of $27.52 an hour or $57,250 a year for electricians. Metro medians run from $24.43 an hour in the Orlando area to $28.19 in the Miami area.

What this page cites

• Section 489.5335, Florida Statutes Sets the county journeyman floor: a proctored exam at 75 percent, an apprenticeship or 12,000 hours, code coursework, and recognition of cards from other Florida counties. source
• Section 489.511, Florida Statutes Sets the age of 18 and the experience paths for the certification examination. source
• Section 489.503, Florida Statutes Lists who may do electrical work without a license, including employees of a licensee. source
• ECLB licensing page The board's own page with the license types, the fees, the renewal date and the continuing education table. source
• ECLB frequently asked questions Prints the fee schedule, the insurance minimums and the experience paths in plainer words. source
• Candidate information booklet Question counts, times, the 75 percent pass mark and the open book rules for the Florida exams. source
• Approved reference list Names the 2023 NEC as the code the exam questions reference, with the 2026 edition arriving August 21, 2027. source