Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

County law

Journeyman Electrician License Florida: County Cards

Florida's journeyman card comes from a county or a city, and s. 489.5335 sets the floor all of them work from. This page gives that floor, the recognition rule that moves a card across county lines, and what each county in our eight cities asks for.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

The state does not issue one

DBPR licenses electrical contractors. It has no journeyman license, no master license and no card that says journeyman on it.

Section 489.5335 is titled journeyman, reciprocity and standards, and every sentence in it is about journeyman licenses issued by counties and municipalities. So when a Florida job ad asks for a journeyman card, it means a county one.

While you hold no license of your own, s. 489.503 covers your work as an employee inside the scope of your employer's license.

The floor every county works from

A county or municipality may issue a journeyman license in the electrical and alarm system trades to somebody who does all three of these:

1. Scores at least 75 percent on a proctored journeyman Block and Associates examination or another proctored examination the board approves. The threshold was 70 percent for exams taken before October 1, 1997.
2. Finishes a registered, state approved apprenticeship, or accumulates at least 12,000 hours of on the job training.
3. Finishes building code coursework approved by the Florida Building Commission for the discipline, or provides proof of completion within six months after certification.

The section carries no fee provisions and no exceptions of its own, which is why the fees and the paperwork differ so much from one county to the next.

A card from one county travels

The same section says counties and municipalities must recognize a person as a journeyman in the electrical and alarm system trades if that person was issued a journeyman license in the trade by a county or municipality in Florida.

Counties put their own process around that. Broward says it reciprocates with all Florida counties and asks the originating county to send the exam score, the testing agency name and the county in a sealed letter. Palm Beach County asks that the experience be equal to or above its own, that exam scores be at least 75 percent, that the scope of work be substantially similar and that the applicant hold a current license in the originating jurisdiction.

Recognition isn't the same as skipping the file. Expect to apply, pay and show your card.

Miami-Dade County

The Construction Trades Qualifying Board runs under Chapter 10 of the Miami-Dade County Code in two divisions, and Division B handles electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Division B meets Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon, monthly through 2026 with an August recess, at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW 1st Street, 18th floor.

The county's electrical license page names four journeyman levels: journeyman electrician, journeyman burglar alarm, journeyman fire alarm and journeyman sign electrician. Qualifying takes three years of proven experience in the trade or craft, or the education equivalent, or a mix, with no more than half of it education, plus an examination. Cards are issued by the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, Contractor Licensing, at the Herbert S. Saffir Permitting and Inspection Center, 11805 SW 26 Street.

Exams run through Prov. The county's exam description document gives the journeyman electrician exam 75 questions in 3 hours, referencing the 2017 edition of NFPA 70 and the American Electrician's Handbook, 16th edition. That's three cycles behind the 2023 NEC the state contractor exam uses, so study the edition the county names.

Broward County

Broward's Building Code Division processes certificates of competency at 2307 W. Broward Boulevard, Suite 300, Fort Lauderdale, and runs license seminars on the first Wednesday of every month at 9 a.m.

The journeyman packet lists nine classifications: electrical journeyman, electrical journeyman fire alarm systems, electrical journeyman limited energy systems, solar photovoltaic systems specialty journeyman, maintenance electrician, mechanical journeyman, plumbing journeyman, insulation journeyman and sheet metal journeyman. Electrical and maintenance electrician applicants need at least four years of practical electrical maintenance experience, and the specialty electrical categories need at least three years. Applicants file notarized affidavits from licensed employers with W-2 forms matching the period, and approved applicants are sent to the testing agency, where a passing grade of 75 percent is required.

The packet still prints a $115 electrical fee, but that figure is superseded. The notice of fee increases in Broward's contractor packet sets the journeyman application at $225.00 and the renewal at $120.00, effective January 1, 2025, none of it refundable.

Palm Beach County

The Construction Industry Licensing Board of Palm Beach County issues its journeyman certificate of competency through Contractors Certification at 2300 N Jog Road, West Palm Beach, and covers journeyman electrician and journeyman plumber.

The application gives three experience paths: a four year apprentice program that includes four years of work experience, a two year apprenticeship plus three more years of supervised experience, or six years of full time practical work under a certified electrical contractor. Testing runs through GITS or Prov, a passing grade of 75 percent is needed on each exam, and exams must be taken in Palm Beach County within 60 days of board approval.

The application fee is $100.00 in total, with $50.00 due at submission to start the review, and an approved applicant has thirteen months to finish the remaining requirements before the file goes void.

Hillsborough County

Hillsborough issues a journeyman electrician certificate of competency through Development Services, applied for on HillsGovHub. The county states the general rule plainly on its contractor licensing page: local jurisdictions may issue local licenses for types that mirror a DBPR license.

The certificate page says the certificate does not permit the holder to perform work or enter into contracts on their own, so holders work under a licensed contractor. The file wants the certificate of completion from a four year apprenticeship, test score documentation if the exam is already taken, and the journeyman verification of construction experience form.

Fees run $50 to start the application, which is not refundable, $100 on acceptance and a $70 one time registration. Once issued, the registration does not expire. The county page names no exam vendor and no passing score, so ask before you book anything.

Pinellas County

The Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board certifies journeymen and says a person has to be certified by the board to work in the county. The office is at 440 Court Street, first floor, Clearwater, and the board keeps a contractor search of its own.

The journeyman application covers air conditioning, sheet metal, electrical, plumbing and pipe fitting. Electricians need four years, counted as a four year apprenticeship, four years of full time employment at 2,000 hours a year, or a combination adding to 8,000 hours. The exam is open book, prepared for the board by an independent testing agency, with multiple choice, fill in and true or false questions. Candidates bring their own references and no study aids, sittings usually run about six hours with a lunch break, and a passing grade is 70 percent. The application fee is $75.00 and is not refundable.

Pinellas also asks its contractors for 14 hours of continuing education in every odd numbered year, with a September 30 renewal deadline.

Duval County and Jacksonville

Jacksonville's Construction Trades Qualifying Board works under Chapter 62 and Chapter 342 of the municipal ordinances, regulates 12 construction trade categories including electrical, and issues certificates of competency in categories that include contractor, master craftsman, journeyman craftsman, serviceman, installer, specialty subcontractor, alarm contractor registration, welding craftsman and maintenance craftsman.

The board has 16 mayor appointed members and meets the second Wednesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the Civil Service Board Room, 231 E Forsyth Street, Suite 410. Application fees run $10 to $75, biennial renewals run $50 to $160 by certificate type, and examination fees run $65 to $150. The $180 on the same list is the alarm contractor registration fee, not an application fee.

The board's own site at contrades.coj.net holds the license lookup and the category list, but the list did not render for us, so the journeyman electrician requirements and fees in Duval are unconfirmed here. Call the board at (904) 255-7970 before you plan around a number.

Counties that issue no card

Not every Florida county runs a journeyman program. Orange County's Division of Building Safety page describes permits, plan review, inspections and code enforcement, and points readers at the DBPR database to verify a state license. We found no county journeyman card or competency certificate program described on it. The City of Orlando registers state certified, state registered and limited specialty contractors, and issues no electrician license of its own.

Lee County is a third pattern. Its list of certificates still carries journeyman electrician, but the county's phase out FAQ says the local contractor certificate expired on September 30, 2022 under HB 735 and that journeyman certificates continue and would be handled administratively. No codified process page was found, so ask Lee County Contractor Licensing directly.

Who writes the county exams

Section 489.5335 names a proctored journeyman Block and Associates examination or another proctored exam the board approves, which is why county packets name outside vendors rather than a state test.

Miami-Dade uses Prov. Palm Beach names GITS and Prov. Broward names Global Independent Testing Services and Prov for its contractor exams. Pinellas says an independent testing agency prepares its open book exam.

Passing marks differ too. The statute floor is 75 percent, Broward and Palm Beach print 75 percent, and Pinellas prints 70 percent for its journeyman exam. Read the packet for the county you are testing in and use the code edition that packet names.

What the card does and does not do

A journeyman card proves your level. It doesn't let you contract. Hillsborough says the certificate does not permit the holder to perform work or enter into contracts independently, and s. 489.516 says nobody who is not certified or registered may engage in the business of contracting in Florida.

What a card does do is open the registered contractor route. A county competency card is the base for a registered license, and DBPR describes form ECLB 3 as the way to register a county or city competency card with the state.

Questions people ask

Is there a state journeyman electrician license in Florida?

No. Florida licenses electrical contractors through DBPR, and s. 489.5335 leaves journeyman licensing to counties and municipalities. The card you carry names the county that issued it.

What does Florida law require for a county journeyman license?

Three things under s. 489.5335: at least 75 percent on a proctored journeyman Block and Associates exam or another board approved proctored exam, either a registered state approved apprenticeship or at least 12,000 hours of on the job training, and Florida Building Commission code coursework, or proof of it within six months.

Does a journeyman card from one Florida county work in another?

Yes. Section 489.5335 says counties and municipalities must recognize a person as a journeyman if a Florida county or municipality issued that license. You still file with the new county: Broward asks for a sealed letter with your exam score from the issuing county, and Palm Beach asks that your experience and 75 percent score match its own standard.

How many years do I need for a journeyman card in Miami-Dade?

Three years of proven experience in the trade or craft, or the education equivalent, or a mix with no more than half of it education, plus the exam. That is the county's own rule, and it doesn't read the same as the statute's 12,000 hour floor, so ask the board how it treats your file.

What is on the Miami-Dade journeyman electrician exam?

The county's exam description document gives 75 questions in 3 hours through Prov, referencing the 2017 edition of NFPA 70 and the American Electrician's Handbook, 16th edition. The state contractor exam uses the 2023 NEC, so the two are not studying the same book.

Can I pull permits with a journeyman card?

No. Permits belong to the contractor's license. Hillsborough says its certificate does not permit the holder to perform work or enter into contracts independently, and s. 489.516 bars anybody who is not certified or registered from the business of contracting.

Which Florida counties issue journeyman electrician cards?

Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Duval all do among the ones we cover. Orange County does not, and the City of Orlando registers state licensed contractors instead of issuing its own.

What this page cites

• Section 489.5335, Florida Statutes The journeyman standards counties work from and the rule that a card from one Florida county must be recognized in another. source
• Miami-Dade electrical licenses The county's journeyman and master levels and the three year experience rule. source
• Broward journeyman packet Nine journeyman classifications, four years of experience, employer affidavits with W-2 forms and a 75 percent pass mark. source
• Palm Beach County journeyman application Three experience paths, GITS and Prov testing, 75 percent, and the 60 day and thirteen month deadlines. source
• PCCLB journeyman application Four years or 8,000 hours, an open book exam, a 70 percent pass mark and the $75 fee. source
• Hillsborough journeyman certificate The apprenticeship and test score documents, the fees and the limit on what the certificate allows. source
• Miami-Dade exam descriptions 75 questions in 3 hours through Prov, referencing the 2017 NEC. source