Mississippi electrician license: who licenses, local cards, pay

Mississippi has no statewide journeyman electrician license. As of 2026, the Mississippi State Board of Contractors licenses electrical contractors, and cities and counties license individual electricians. The median Mississippi electrician made $29.26 an hour in May 2025, per BLS.

So the card that matters depends on where the job is and who holds the contract. The state rules below come from the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC). Local rules come from each city or county building department. Both change, so confirm with them before you count on anything here. For how Mississippi fits with the other states, see electrician license requirements in every state.

01Mississippi license facts at a glance

02Who licenses electricians in Mississippi?

Cities and counties do, for the individual hand. The state only licenses the contracting business, through MSBOC.

That puts you in the same spot as a journeyman in the other states without a statewide journeyman license. One town may test and card you. The next county over may not license individual electricians at all. A card from one city doesn't automatically count in another.

Before you start in a new town, call the building department and ask five things:

1. Do you license journeymen, or only contractors?
2. Which exam do you use, and on which NEC edition?
3. Do you accept a card from another Mississippi city or county?
4. Does a helper or apprentice have to register?
5. Does the card need CE to renew?

Write down who you talked to and the date. If an inspector asks later, that's your answer.

In a state where the card is local, your work history does more talking. One national electrical contractor told us the job ads all say "licensed journeyman," but what they actually need is a hand with 5 to 7 years who can run raceway, terminate and pull wire off a print. Keep a list of the jobs you've run and what you did on them.

03When does a contractor need a state license?

On commercial work, MSBOC says all contractors and subcontractors on jobs over $50,000, "including equipment installation," need a commercial license. On residential work, subcontractors doing residential electrical work have to be licensed by MSBOC, with no dollar floor named for them.

The board licenses commercial electrical work under its Electrical Work major classification. Residential Electrical is its own classification, limited to residential work, and it's test required. Every license renews every year.

Here's the part that touches a J-man. Each license has a Qualifying Party, the person who takes the exams. MSBOC says the qualifier "must be an owner, officer, or responsible managing employee," proven by a check stub or W-2. If the qualifier leaves, the company has 90 days to replace him or it faces a hearing on suspension.

So if a contractor asks you to be its qualifier, that's your exam on the line and a real job title. Price it that way. If you're thinking about running your own shop, our guide on going from journeyman to electrical contractor covers the jump.

04Does Mississippi accept an out-of-state license?

Only at the contractor level, and only for the trade exam. MSBOC waives its trade exam for licensees of certain state boards, and "All applicants are required to take the Mississippi Business and Law exam." None of this is journeyman reciprocity.

Louisiana's agreement with Mississippi ended, but MSBOC says it "will continue to recognize proof of passing examination scores from Louisiana." South Carolina's Residential Builders Commission licensees can get the residential electrical exam waived.

Two other doors exist. A master electrical contractor can take the NASCLA Accredited Electrical Examination instead of the Mississippi master electrical exam. And MSBOC says it recognizes out-of-state occupational licenses under the Universal Recognition of Occupational Licensure Act, Miss. Code Ann. 73-50-2, with a separate law for military families. Ask the board how that applies to your license before you file.

If you're coming from next door, our Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee guides cover what those states require.

05Code and CE

Mississippi adopts the NEC locally, so the edition on your job is whatever the city or county enforces. Mike Holt's state page, a secondary source, reports the state exam on the 2020 NEC while the state building code references the 2023 NEC. Confirm both with MSBOC and the local office.

For CE, MSBOC says each qualifying party on a residential license has to complete 2 credit hours from a board-approved provider to keep it. The page doesn't say how often, so ask MSBOC whether that's every yearly renewal. The board doesn't post a CE rule for commercial licenses, and city cards set their own. Confirm with whoever issued your card.

06What does a Mississippi electrician make?

The median Mississippi electrician made $29.26 an hour in May 2025, just under 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 one contractor will pay you.

Three things stand out. The Coast had more electricians on payroll than the capital, 2,010 to 1,210. The Gulfport-Biloxi median ran $4.87 above Jackson's (our math). And the Coast band is tight: $10.69 from the 10th to the 90th percentile, against $18.44 statewide.

The statewide median annual wage was $60,860. Next door, the medians were $26.78 in Alabama, $29.59 in Louisiana, $29.37 in Tennessee and $23.59 in Arkansas, same survey. Our journeyman electrician pay breakdown explains what moves a rate inside those 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.

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