How to become an electrician in Iowa

The path in Iowa, step by step

Iowa licenses electrical work at the state level through the Iowa Electrical Examining Board, Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL). These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Get an Iowa apprentice license and enter a registered electrical apprenticeship.
2. Complete at least 8,000 hours of on the job training and 576 classroom hours.
3. Get state sponsorship, then register with PSI and pass the journeyman exam.
4. After one year as a licensed journeyman, get sponsored for and pass the master exam.
5. Register with DIAL as a contractor ($50 a year).
6. Apply for the electrical contractor license online at iowaelectrical.gov and keep your insurance and bond in force.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: electrical license in Iowa.

Finding an apprenticeship in Iowa

Iowa 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 Iowa Apprenticeship Office 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 Iowa

The license to aim for: Electrical Contractor license (you are, or employ, a Class A or B master electrician).

Trade exam. State of Iowa PSI exam, passing score 70% or higher. PSI tests on the 2023 NEC.

Keeping it. Licenses expire every three years. Renewal needs 18 hours of continuing education, with at least 6 hours on the electrical code.

Coming from another state. Iowa has reciprocal agreements with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

What the Iowa license costs

The fees the Iowa Electrical Examining Board, Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in Iowa

The median electrician in Iowa earned $29.26 an hour in May 2025, 40th of 51 states, with 10,310 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Iowa earned under $22.31 an hour and a tenth under $19.12. At the top, a quarter earned over $38.45 and a tenth over $43.02.

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

Jobs ahead in Iowa

Iowa's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 8,560 in 2022 to 9,780 in 2032, a change of 14.3%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 920 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 14.3% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 16th 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 Iowa

To contract on your own in Iowa, the license is the Electrical Contractor license (you are, or employ, a Class A or B master electrician).

Insurance. Electrical contractors must keep a public liability insurance policy in force. Check with the board for the amount.

Bond. Electrical contractors must keep a surety bond in force. Check with the board for the amount.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Iowa median of $29.26 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $121.97 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.