Electrician continuing education requirements by state

Most states that license journeymen want 8 to 24 hours of continuing education per renewal, much of it on the NEC, over a cycle of 1 to 4 years. Colorado wants 24 hours every 3 years. Iowa wants 18 every 3 years with 6 on the code. Wisconsin wants 24 over a 4-year term. Michigan only asks for a class after a new code adoption.

The table below is as of 2026, from each board's own page or rule where we could check it. Rows marked "confirm" weren't checked against the board's own page, so call the board before you count on them. Boards change hours when they adopt a new code, so check with your board before you renew. If you're still working toward the card, start with how to get your journeyman license.

01CE hours by state, journeyman level

Each state name links to its board or its rule.

States with no statewide journeyman license don't set CE for journeymen, but local cards can. Kansas law sets 12 hours every two years, or 6 a year, for locally licensed electricians, half of it on the code. North Carolina's CE applies to contractor qualifiers, not hands. The list of states with no statewide journeyman license shows who licenses there instead.

02How to read your number

Look at three things on your board's page: the hours, the period, and how many must be on the code.

• Per year vs per cycle. Connecticut's 4 hours is every year. Iowa's 18 is spread across a 3-year license. Over 3 years that's 12 in Connecticut and 18 in Iowa.
• Code hours. Minnesota wants 12 of 16 on the code. Washington wants 8 code update hours and 4 on Washington's electrical law and rules (RCW 19.28 and WAC 296-46B). A 16-hour safety class won't cover a code requirement.
• Board-approved courses only. Arkansas counts only courses its board approved, and the course provider's roster is "the only document acceptable" as proof. North Dakota says every course, "classroom, webinar, online and correspondence, must be board approved."
• First renewal breaks. Connecticut says no CE before your first renewal. Minnesota says none in the first year of a master license. Arkansas apprentices who finish and pass the journeyman exam owe nothing more that NEC cycle.

03Can you do it online?

Most boards take online hours from approved providers, but a few cap them.

South Dakota's rule allows "only 8 hours" of its 16 from pre-approved online courses, per the South Dakota Electrical Commission. The other 8 can't come from online courses. North Carolina's contractor qualifiers can do 4 of their 8 yearly hours online. For every other state, check your board's approved provider list before you pay for a course, because a course that isn't on the list counts for nothing.

04Do CE hours from one state count in another?

Sometimes, and only when the board says so in writing.

• Montana accepts CE approved by its reciprocal states (confirm).
• Rhode Island lets out-of-state licensees submit their own state's 15-hour credit if it meets Rhode Island's rules and that state accepts Rhode Island certificates (confirm).
• North Dakota wants reciprocity applicants from a state with no CE to show a North Dakota approved 8-hour code class.
• Wyoming wants anyone who failed a Wyoming exam to hold the home license 3 years and show 16 hours of CE, 8 on the code, before reciprocating.

If you carry cards in two or three states, keep a separate log for each board. One NEC update class can count in several states only if each board approved it. Our guide to moving your license to another state covers the rest of a multi-state setup.

05What a lapse costs

Miss the deadline and some boards charge a late fee, while others make you test again.

Wyoming is the hard one. The Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety tells a hand whose reciprocated card lapses, "you are not eligible to reciprocate your license again." He tests. Lose that card and you lose the shortcut for good.

06New code, new class

A new NEC adoption is when CE rules bite hardest.

Minnesota's Board of Electricity adopted the 2026 NEC effective August 17, 2026, and moved licensing exams to it on September 8, 2026. Arkansas has adopted the 2026 NEC too. Michigan only requires a code update course "within one year of new code being adopted," so a Michigan hand can go years with no CE and then owe a class on a deadline. When your state adopts a new code, take the update class early. You'll want it on the job before the inspector does.

07A renewal checklist that works

Five minutes a year keeps you off the retest list.

1. Write your license expiration date in your phone with a 90-day reminder.
2. Pull your board's CE page and note hours, code hours and any online cap.
3. Take courses only from the board's approved list, and keep every certificate.
4. Check that the provider reported your hours if your board tracks them online (Arkansas uses StateReporting.com).
5. Renew before the deadline, not in the grace period. Grace periods cost money and Wyoming's runs out in 45 days.
6. If you hold a reciprocal card, renew it first. It's the one you can't get back.

Some shops pay for CE and code books and some don't. Ask before you take a new job, the same way you'd ask about the truck. Our license requirements by state has the rest of each state's rules.

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