Maine electrician license: levels, hours, reciprocity, pay

A Maine journeyman electrician license takes at least 8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice or helper plus a 576-hour program of study, then an 80-question exam you pass at 70%. The card costs $150 for two years. The median Maine electrician made $36.24 an hour in May 2025, about $6 over the national median, per BLS.

Everything below is as of 2026, from the Maine Electricians' Examining Board in the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Rules change, so confirm with the board before you file anything. For how Maine compares with everywhere else, see electrician license requirements in every state.

01Maine license facts at a glance

02Every license level Maine issues

Maine licenses electricians statewide, from the helper on up. The board issues master, limited, journeyman, journeyman-in-training, apprentice and helper licenses, plus a single-family dwelling certification for owners wiring their own new house. Licensees over 70 can hold a "senior" version of the master, journeyman or helper card for $20.

The part travelers miss: helpers are licensed too. The board's FAQ says to get a helper license "immediately after commencing employment." That's $25 plus a $21 background check, good for two years. Apprentices also hold a license, and to get one you have to be registered in a 4 to 5 year apprenticeship with the U.S. Department of Labor or a recognized state agency.

03How you qualify for the journeyman exam

There are four roads, and the hour count changes with each one. Per the board's journeyman license page:

1. Hours plus school. 8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice or helper, plus a 576-hour program. The 576 hours are 45-hour courses in Electricity I, Electricity II, Math I, Controls I and the current NEC, plus 351 hours of electives.
2. Approved apprenticeship. 8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice under direct supervision, the 576-hour apprenticeship program and a 45-hour NEC course. You can sit for the exam once you finish the coursework and have 4,000 hours in.
3. Applied technology high school. Graduate a 2-year electrical program, then work 7,000 hours under a master and take a 45-hour NEC course.
4. Maine community college or Department of Corrections program. Graduate, work 4,000 hours and take a 45-hour NEC course. You can test at graduation.

On the community college road, there's a middle step. Pass the journeyman exam, log 2,000 hours, and the board issues a journeyman-in-training license ($150 for two years) while you finish your time.

The hours are counted as a licensed apprentice or helper. If you worked in Maine without a helper card, talk to the board before you count those hours.

The exam

Prov runs Maine's exams. The journeyman test is 80 multiple-choice questions, the master test 100 and the limited test 50, and 70% passes all three. You need board approval before you schedule. The board's exam page is blunt about it: scores from anyone who tests before approval "will be null and void."

04Master license in Maine

A master needs 4,000 hours as a journeyman or 12,000 hours of electrical experience, plus a separate 576-hour program. That one adds Electronics I, Controls II, Motors, Blueprint Reading, Transformers and 126 hours of degree-related courses. The master or limited electrician pulls the permit from the board before an installation starts, and a master can have one helper working with him at a time.

05Which states reciprocate with Maine?

As of 2026, Maine's own pages don't agree on the list, so we won't name states here. The journeyman license page lists six states. The board's FAQ lists twelve for journeymen, and some of those states say on their own boards that they reciprocate with no one. The master page lists two states, and the FAQ lists four.

What the license page does spell out are the conditions. You file a sworn application, you passed a written exam in the other state, and you've been "actively engaged in work as an electrician for a minimum of six years." The FAQ puts the paper reciprocity application at $171, and you mail proof of your current license with it. Limited, helper and apprentice licenses have no reciprocity.

That six-year rule is the line to check first. A journeyman who topped out three years ago in a reciprocal state may still be short. Call the board with your state and your years before you plan a move. Our electrician license reciprocity guide explains how these agreements work, and if you're working the whole region, the New Hampshire and Vermont guides cover the rules next door.

One national electrical contractor told us agencies kept sending them hands with apprentice licenses billed as journeymen. In Maine that's easy to catch. Every apprentice and helper in Maine carries a state license with its level on it, so expect a contractor to look your card up before day one.

06CE and renewal

Every Maine license runs two years from the date you were first licensed. To renew a journeyman or master card, you finish a 15-hour course on the current National Electrical Code as adopted by the board. Renewal is $150. Up to 90 days late costs another $50, and up to 2 years late costs $100. Our CE requirements by state post lines Maine up against other states.

07What does a Maine electrician make?

The median Maine electrician made $36.24 an hour in May 2025, $5.86 over the national median of $30.38. These are BLS OEWS straight-time wages for all electricians, apprentices included. They leave out overtime, per diem and benefits, and they're market data, not what any contractor will pay you.

Maine had 3,780 electricians on payroll and a $75,380 median annual wage. The bottom of the range stands out. Maine's 10th percentile, $26.05, sits $5.55 above the national 10th percentile. Maine licenses its helpers and apprentices, but the data doesn't say why the floor is higher. Next door, the same survey put the median at $30.21 in New Hampshire and $38.18 in Massachusetts. Our journeyman electrician pay guide explains what moves a rate inside these ranges.

Run your Pay Check to see what electricians with your license make near you. Takes about a minute and your boss never hears about it.

FAQFAQs