How to become an electrician in Oklahoma

The path in Oklahoma, step by step

Oklahoma licenses electrical work at the state level through the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB). These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Register as an electrical apprentice and log your hours under a licensed contractor.
2. Earn your journeyman license, then build the journeyman hours your contractor class needs.
3. Apply for the contractor license and pay the $30 application fee.
4. Pass the PSI contractor exam, including the business and law portion.
5. File the $5,000 license bond and proof of $50,000 liability insurance.
6. Register with each city where you work, and renew every year with your continuing education.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has no recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, so the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship registers and oversees programs there through a state field office. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma

The license to aim for: Electrical Contractor (unlimited, residential or limited).

Trade exam. Yes. Contractor and journeyman exams are given through PSI. The passing grade is 70 percent for exams taken on or after November 1, 2024.

Business exam. Yes. The contractor exam includes a business and law portion.

Keeping it. Every year, by the end of your birth month. Journeymen and contractors need 12 hours of continuing education every three years, including 6 hours on code.

Coming from another state. Possible if your state has a written reciprocity agreement with Oklahoma and you have held your license in good standing for at least one year.

What the Oklahoma license costs

The fees the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB) lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in Oklahoma

The median electrician in Oklahoma earned $29.33 an hour in May 2025, 39th of 51 states, with 8,500 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Oklahoma earned under $22.90 an hour and a tenth under $18.22. At the top, a quarter earned over $36.78 and a tenth over $44.59.

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

Jobs ahead in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 8,780 in 2022 to 9,570 in 2032, a change of 9%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 880 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 38th 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 Oklahoma

To contract on your own in Oklahoma, the license is the Electrical Contractor (unlimited, residential or limited).

Insurance. Active contractors need general liability of at least $50,000 combined single limit, with the CIB listed as certificate holder.

Bond. $5,000 license bond for an active electrical contractor.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Oklahoma median of $29.33 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $122.10 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.