How to become an electrician in Louisiana

The path in Louisiana, step by step

Louisiana licenses some electrical work at the state level and leaves the rest to cities or to no one. No contractors board license is needed for electrical jobs of $10,000 or less. Above $10,000, including labor and materials, a license is required.

1. Check your job sizes. Electrical work over $10,000, including labor and materials, needs a contractors board license.
2. If you use an LLC, corporation or limited partnership, register it with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
3. Apply for a commercial license with the Electrical classification and send a financial statement showing at least $50,000 net worth.
4. Have your qualifying party complete the Business and Law course and pass the Electrical trade exam through PSI.
5. Renew for a one, two or three year term, starting 60 days before expiration.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Louisiana

Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana

The license to aim for: Commercial license with the Electrical classification.

Trade exam. Yes. The Electrical classification has a trade exam. Approved candidates get an eligibility letter from PSI to schedule it.

Business exam. The qualifying party must complete the board's Business and Law course.

Keeping it. At renewal you choose a one, two or three year term. You can renew starting 60 days before expiration.

What the Louisiana license costs

The fees the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in Louisiana

The median electrician in Louisiana earned $29.59 an hour in May 2025, 35th of 51 states, with 10,550 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Louisiana earned under $23.51 an hour and a tenth under $18.63. At the top, a quarter earned over $35.02 and a tenth over $39.33.

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

Jobs ahead in Louisiana

Louisiana's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 11,830 in 2022 to 13,220 in 2032, a change of 11.7%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 1,230 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 11.7% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 27th 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 Louisiana

To contract on your own in Louisiana, the license is the Commercial license with the Electrical classification.

Insurance. The board's checklist says insurance certificates are not required for commercial applicants.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Louisiana median of $29.59 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $122.55 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.