How to become an electrician in Montana

The path in Montana, step by step

Montana licenses electrical work at the state level through the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, State Electrical Board. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Get 8,000 hours of journeyman level experience (no more than half residential), or an electrical engineering degree plus 2,000 hours.
2. Apply for the master electrician license with the $190 fee and your experience form.
3. After board approval, pass the PSI exam.
4. Set up workers comp and unemployment insurance, or an independent contractor exemption.
5. Apply for the electrical contractor license with the $210 fee, naming yourself as responsible electrician.
6. Complete 16 hours of continuing education each renewal cycle.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Montana

Montana 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 Montana 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 Montana

The license to aim for: Electrical Contractor License (unlimited, with a Master Electrician as responsible electrician).

Trade exam. Board approved exam given by PSI, based on the 2020 NEC.

Keeping it. 16 hours of board approved continuing education each renewal cycle, with at least 8 hours on code updates.

Coming from another state. If you hold an active, unrestricted license in another state that required an electrical exam plus 8,000 hours of journeyman level experience (or an engineering degree plus 2,000 hours), Montana can license you by substantial equivalency. Otherwise you take the Montana exam.

What the Montana license costs

The fees the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, State Electrical Board lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in Montana

The median electrician in Montana earned $36.90 an hour in May 2025, 12th of 51 states, with 2,750 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Montana earned under $29.04 an hour and a tenth under $23.62. At the top, a quarter earned over $39.14 and a tenth over $43.03.

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

Jobs ahead in Montana

Montana's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 3,000 in 2022 to 3,800 in 2032, a change of 26.7%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 380 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 26.7% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 3rd 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 Montana

To contract on your own in Montana, the license is the Electrical Contractor License (unlimited, with a Master Electrician as responsible electrician).

Insurance. Electrical contractors must comply with Montana workers comp and unemployment insurance laws, or hold an independent contractor exemption.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Montana median of $36.90 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $135.39 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.