How to become an electrician in the District of Columbia

The path in the District of Columbia, step by step

The District of Columbia licenses electrical work at the state level through the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Board of Industrial Trades. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Build 4 years of experience for journeyman, or finish a nationally certified apprenticeship.
2. Build 8 years or 16,000 work hours for master and take an NEC code class within 2 years of applying.
3. Apply online with DLCP and pay the $65 application fee.
4. Schedule and pass the open book PSI exam, or apply by reciprocity if you hold a Maryland or Virginia license by exam.
5. For your own business, register the company, name a designated master, and file the company and master bonds with the contractor application.
6. Renew by November 30 of each odd numbered year.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: electrical license in District of Columbia.

Finding an apprenticeship in the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the District of Columbia State Apprenticeship Agency as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Most electricians learn the trade in a 4 or 5 year apprenticeship. Each year brings about 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus some classroom instruction.

License levels and exams in the District of Columbia

The license to aim for: Master Electrician (and an Electrical trade contractor license for the business).

Trade exam. Yes. Journeyman and master exams are open book, based on the National Electrical Code and Ugly's Electrical Reference, and scheduled through PSI. Finishing a nationally certified apprenticeship can waive the journeyman exam.

Keeping it. Every two years. Electrician licenses expire November 30 of odd numbered years.

Coming from another state. Journeyman and master electricians licensed by exam in Maryland or Virginia can get a DC license through reciprocity without taking the exam.

What the the District of Columbia license costs

The fees the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Board of Industrial Trades lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in the District of Columbia

The median electrician in the District of Columbia earned $37.97 an hour in May 2025, 7th of 51 states, with 2,440 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in the District of Columbia earned under $29.44 an hour and a tenth under $24.97. At the top, a quarter earned over $58.68 and a tenth over $60.48.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: electrician salary in District of Columbia.

Jobs ahead in the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 1,750 in 2022 to 1,950 in 2032, a change of 11.4%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 180 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 11.4% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 28th of the 50 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group electricians.

Starting your own electrician business in the District of Columbia

To contract on your own in the District of Columbia, the license is the Master Electrician (and an Electrical trade contractor license for the business).

Bond. For regular voltage work, a $4,000 company bond and a $2,000 master bond. For low voltage work, $2,000 and $1,000.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the the District of Columbia median of $37.97 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $137.27 per billable hour. Try your own in the electrician labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start an electrical business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.