Vermont electrician license: levels, hours, reciprocity, pay

Vermont licenses a journeyman electrician who finishes an apprenticeship verified by the Vermont Apprenticeship Council, or equivalent training the board accepts, and passes the exam. By state law, a journeyman licensed in good standing in another state for at least 3 years gets a Vermont card without testing. The median Vermont electrician made $30.49 an hour in May 2025, per BLS.

Everything below is as of 2026, from the Vermont Division of Fire Safety, Electricians' Licensing Board and Title 26, Chapter 15 of the Vermont Statutes. Rules change, so confirm with the board before you apply. For a side-by-side with other states, see electrician license requirements by state.

01Vermont license facts at a glance

02What Vermont law asks of a journeyman

The statute is short. Under 26 V.S.A. 903 you either show the Vermont Apprenticeship Council's verification that you completed an apprenticeship in electrical wiring, with instruction and practice, or show "equivalent training and experience, within or outside this State, acceptable to the Board." Then you pass the exam.

Notice what's missing: an hour count. The statute doesn't put a number on the apprenticeship, so the board decides what "equivalent" means for each applicant. If you trained outside a Vermont program, call the board before you apply and ask what records it wants. Pay stubs, W-2s and a letter from each shop listing your hours and the work are a safe start.

A licensed journeyman works under the direction of a master and can supervise an apprentice or helper employed by a master. Vermont also issues Type-S specialty journeyman licenses.

One Vermont quirk: under 26 V.S.A. 910, no license is required for electrical work in a building with no more than two dwelling units. The card matters most on commercial work and bigger residential buildings. Confirm with the board how that applies to your work.

03The exam

Vermont tests through Prov. Per Mike Holt Enterprises' state page, the journeyman exam is 90 questions in 4 hours and the master is 105 questions in 5 hours, both with a practical skills portion, and the board has to approve your experience before you can register. That's secondary, so confirm with the board.

The board's own application carries the note: "If testing, we are now on to the 2023 NEC!" Study the 2023 code. Our journeyman electrician exam guide covers how to prepare.

04Getting to master

Under 26 V.S.A. 902, a master needs a Vermont journeyman license held at least 2 years, or comparable experience and training the board accepts, plus the master exam. A master can design, install, repair and maintain electrical installations and employ other licensed electricians and helpers.

05Moving a card into Vermont

Vermont has three doors for licensed hands from elsewhere, all in 26 V.S.A. 906.

1. Reciprocity. The board issues a master or journeyman license to someone licensed by a state "whose standards are equivalent," if that state grants Vermont licensees the same privilege. Mike Holt lists agreements with Maine and New Hampshire; confirm with the board. Vermont is also a member of NERA, the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance, per South Dakota's commission.
2. Endorsement after 3 years. The board "shall issue a license to master and journeyman electricians who have been licensed in good standing" in another U.S. jurisdiction "for at least three years," whether or not that state has an agreement.
3. Military. A service member or veteran designated a 12R electrician (or equivalent) with at least 8,000 hours and four years of active-duty field work gets a journeyman license.

The 3-year rule is the one to plan around. Say you topped out 2 years ago in a state with no Vermont agreement. You can test now, or wait a year and apply by endorsement with no exam. Utah and South Dakota want an out-of-state card held 1 year, so Vermont's door opens later. But it's written into the statute and it opens for any U.S. state.

The law also lets the board ask for stricter terms for a specific jurisdiction if 3 years there doesn't protect the public, so check how the board treats your state. New England moves are covered in our New Hampshire electrician license guide, Maine electrician license guide and Massachusetts electrician license guide. How agreements work nationally is in our electrician license reciprocity guide.

06CE, renewal and fees

A Vermont license runs 3 years and expires on the last day of a month the board picks. To renew, journeymen and masters need 15 hours of board-approved NEC instruction in the preceding 36 months. Type-S holders need 8 hours in their specialty.

Everyone also completes the Vermont energy goals module, up to 2 hours, at first licensure and at renewal. The fee is $115 for a journeyman and $150 for a master per 3-year term, with $25 added if you renew a lapsed license within a year. Mike Holt notes you have to finish earlier NEC-cycle updates before taking the newest one; confirm with the board. Other states' CE rules are in our electrician CE requirements by state roundup.

07What does a Vermont electrician make?

The median Vermont electrician made $30.49 an hour in May 2025, right at the national median of $30.38. The top 10% made $63.50 or more. 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.

That top end is the odd part. Vermont's 90th percentile is $33.01 an hour above its median, and $11.33 above the national 90th percentile, while the median is only 11 cents over. Only Washington and California had a higher state 90th percentile in the survey. The mean, $35.27, sits well above the median too, which tells you a group of high earners is pulling the top up.

BLS doesn't say who they are. With only 1,270 electricians on payroll statewide, a small group of top earners moves the number a lot. The practical read: the middle of the Vermont market pays about like the rest of the country, and the top 10% gets paid like the top 10% in New York ($63.29) or Massachusetts ($61.64). Next door, the same survey has New Hampshire at a $30.21 median, Massachusetts at $38.18 and New York at $37.86.

Our journeyman electrician pay guide covers what puts a hand at the top of a range instead of the middle.

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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