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Register as an apprentice, no exam
8,000 hours over at least four years
$78,970 a year (about $37.97 an hour)
DC electricians wire federal buildings and embassies, hospitals and universities, downtown office towers, and row houses in every ward. They pull wire and set conduit, read prints, troubleshoot power and control systems, and handle service calls where diagnosis matters more than speed. The District’s older buildings keep rewiring and code upgrades in steady demand.
Register as an apprentice, then find a master electrician to work under.
SkillUp houses short, low-cost programs in one place, so you don’t have to call around. Our DC training catalog lists only programs we have checked for cost, length, and whether they lead to work.
DC registers apprentice electricians without an exam. Once registered, you work only under the direct supervision of a licensed master electrician or master electrician specialist, as set out by District law.
That supervisor has to hold a master license, so the employer you join needs a master on staff.
The Board of Industrial Trades licenses DC electricians. To qualify for a journeyman license, you complete a class on Title 12C of the DC Municipal Regulations, the District’s construction codes, within two years of applying. You also meet one of these conditions:
A master license requires the journeyman conditions plus four years of journeyman work, for a total of eight years on the apprenticeship route.
Under the Electrician Equality Act of 2011, the Board accepts a journeyman certificate from a national certifying organization in place of the District’s exam and experience conditions. Labor unions and nationally recognized trade organizations both count.
The certificate must show 1) that you passed the organization’s exam, 2) that the organization designates you as a journeyman, and 3) that it has never disciplined or disqualified you.
So a journeyman certified through a union or national trade organization program can get a DC license without taking the DC exam.
DC employs about 2,440 electricians, and the median is $78,970 a year, or $37.97 an hour.
The national certificate route works the same wherever you trained. If a union or national trade organization certifies you as a journeyman, the Board accepts that certificate in place of the DC exam.
Without one, the Board reviews out-of-state education and experience under its equivalency rule and decides whether it matches the District’s conditions.
SkillUp is so much more than a job board. Our free tools support you through each step:
Yes. Apprentices register with the District, and journeymen and masters hold licenses from the Board of Industrial Trades.
No. The District registers apprentices without an exam. You then work only under the direct supervision of a licensed master electrician or master electrician specialist.
At least four years: 8,000 hours as an apprentice, spread over at least four years, plus a class on the District’s construction codes taken within two years of applying. An electrical engineering degree plus two years of certified practical experience also qualifies you.
Yes. The Board accepts a journeyman certificate from a labor union or nationally recognized trade organization if it shows you passed the organization’s exam, hold its journeyman designation, and have no disciplinary record with it.
The journeyman conditions, plus four years of work as a journeyman.
A licensed master electrician or master electrician specialist. The employer you join needs one on staff.
A class on Title 12C of the DC Municipal Regulations, the District’s construction codes. You complete it within two years before applying for a journeyman license.
The median is $78,970 a year, about $37.97 an hour. The top quarter earns above $122,050, and the top ten percent above $125,790. Helpers have a median of $48,300.
