How to become an electrician in Washington

The path in Washington, step by step

Washington licenses electrical work at the state level through the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), Electrical Program. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Get a UBI number from the Department of Revenue or the Secretary of State.
2. Pass the administrator exam with PSI, or become a master electrician after 4 years as a certified journey level electrician.
3. Send your passing score reports and fee to L&I within 90 days of your last passing score.
4. Buy a $4,000 electrical contractor bond, and open a workers' comp account if you will hire.
5. Mail the Application for Electrical or Telecommunications Contractor License (F500-018-000) and assign your administrator or master with form F503-009-000.
6. Renew the contractor license every 2 years.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Washington

Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington

The license to aim for: Electrical contractor license (general 01 or specialty), with an assigned administrator or master electrician.

Trade exam. Yes. Administrator and master electrician exams are given by PSI at its testing centers. You must pass all sections within 1 year and send the scores and fee to L&I within 90 days.

Keeping it. The contractor license must be renewed every 2 years. Master electrician certificates renew every 3 years on your birthdate, with 24 hours of approved continuing education, including at least 8 hours of code update and 4 hours of RCW/WAC review.

Coming from another state. Washington offers a reciprocal general journey level (01) electrician certificate to some Oregon electricians, generally those whose Oregon general journeyman license came after an 8,000-hour apprenticeship with at least 576 classroom hours.

What the Washington license costs

The fees the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), Electrical Program lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in Washington

The median electrician in Washington earned $45.78 an hour in May 2025, 4th of 51 states, with 19,380 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Washington earned under $32.04 an hour and a tenth under $25.08. At the top, a quarter earned over $58.43 and a tenth over $64.40.

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

Jobs ahead in Washington

Washington's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 24,540 in 2022 to 27,040 in 2032, a change of 10.2%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 2,780 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 10.2% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 34th 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 Washington

To contract on your own in Washington, the license is the Electrical contractor license (general 01 or specialty), with an assigned administrator or master electrician.

Insurance. L&I encourages but does not require general liability insurance for electrical contractors. You need a workers' compensation account if the business hires employees.

Bond. A $4,000 electrical contractor surety bond, or an assignment of savings account.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Washington median of $45.78 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $150.99 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.