Massachusetts electrician license: hours, reciprocity and pay

A Massachusetts journeyman electrician license, the Certificate B, takes 8,000 hours over at least 4 years as an apprentice, 600 classroom hours and a state exam. A master's Certificate A takes a year holding the B plus 150 more classroom hours. The median Massachusetts electrician made $38.18 an hour in May 2025, per BLS.

Everything below is as of 2026, from Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 141, s. 3) and the board's rules in 237 CMR, which we read in the Legal Information Institute's copy. The Board of State Examiners of Electricians site blocked our reader, so confirm every detail with the board before you file. For the national picture, see electrician license requirements in every state.

01Massachusetts license facts at a glance

02Massachusetts license classes

Massachusetts issues four certificates under c. 141, s. 3. Two are for electrical work and two are for systems work like fire alarm and security.

The law says a journeyman's card "shall be carried on the person of the licensee and exhibited on request." Keep it in your wallet, not the truck. Master and systems contractor certificates hang in the shop instead.

03How you qualify for the Class B exam

Under 237 CMR 13.03, an apprentice needs three things on paper before applying.

1. 8,000 hours in no less than four years, under the direct supervision of a Massachusetts-licensed journeyman. Shop time in an approved public vocational program can count. Systems work under a systems technician counts for up to 4,000 hours.
2. 600 classroom hours, from a vocational school, licensed trade school, college or approved trade organization. Public vocational school hours count for no more than 300 of them.
3. A high school diploma or equivalent.

On top of that, 237 CMR 13.05 adds a 15-hour continuing education program on the Massachusetts Electrical Code before you apply. Two clocks run in the background: work experience more than 20 years old doesn't count, and education expires 20 years after you start the program.

The four-year floor, worked out

Hours alone won't get you there early. Say you run 6-10s for 50 weeks a year. That's 3,000 hours a year, so you'd pass 8,000 hours in about 2 years and 8 months. The rule still says no less than four years, so you wait. Our post on 6-10s and overtime pay covers what those hours do to your check in the meantime.

The master's Class A

Under 237 CMR 13.01, a master needs at least a year as a Massachusetts Class B holder, actively doing electrical work, plus 150 classroom hours. Rule 22.02 lists what those hours cover, including plan review and calculations, advanced code calcs, emergency systems, health care, hazardous locations and Massachusetts licensing and permit law.

04Coming in with an out-of-state license

Massachusetts has two routes, and they're very different.

Reciprocity, no exam. 237 CMR 15.01 lets the board license you without the exam only if your state has a written agreement with Massachusetts giving the same privilege back. For a Class B, you show the equivalent of the 600-hour course finished within ten years of applying, plus 8,000 hours in at least four years as an apprentice. Under 237 CMR 15.02, you send a notarized application, a certified Statement of Registration from your home board with its seal, and the fee by certified check or money order. If the board turns you down, it keeps the fee. And if you ever sat for a Massachusetts license exam before, this route is closed to you.

Licensed somewhere without an agreement. Under 237 CMR 13.09, if you got your license by exam in another state, held it at least a year and have been working under it, you can apply to sit for the equivalent Massachusetts exam. You document your schooling (transcripts, clock hours, which code it was based on) and your hours (employer letters with weekly hours and the qualifying officer's license number). The board decides whether it's equivalent and can deny part or all of the credit.

We couldn't read the board's current list of agreement states. Maine's board FAQ names Massachusetts on its journeyman and master reciprocity lists, but check the Massachusetts side before you count on it. Our electrician license reciprocity guide covers how these agreements usually work.

05CE and renewal

Every Massachusetts certificate expires on July 31 every third year. Under 237 CMR 17.01, you need 21 clock hours of CE in the three years before renewal.

• 15 hours on the Massachusetts Electrical Code (527 CMR 12.00), business and law, with a board-approved provider
• 6 hours of your choice in code, business, law, first aid, safety, the building code or related topics, from any provider

See our electrician CE requirements by state to compare Massachusetts with its neighbors. Confirm the current Massachusetts Electrical Code edition with the board.

06What does a Massachusetts electrician make?

The median Massachusetts electrician made $38.18 an hour in May 2025, $7.80 over the national median and the sixth-highest state median in the BLS data. 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.

Massachusetts had 17,810 electricians on payroll and a $79,420 median annual wage. Look at the top end. Boston's 90th percentile, $62.17, sits $13.98 above Worcester's, while the medians are about $2 apart. That gap shows up in the top tenth of the market, not the middle. Next door, the same survey put the median at $37.28 in Connecticut, $35.62 in Rhode Island and $30.21 in New Hampshire. Our journeyman electrician pay guide explains what moves a rate inside these ranges.

One national electrical contractor told us every hand they try to hire is getting pulled to data center work right now. When a big job opens near you, the market moves before the survey does, so check current numbers, not last year's.

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.

07Working the state lines

A lot of Massachusetts hands work into the neighbors. Each one runs its own system: see the New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut guides before you take a job across the line.

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