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An apprentice license (before you start)
Four years, or an approved apprenticeship
$73,490 a year, about $35.33 an hour
Federal facilities and defense contractors around the Beltway, hospitals and research campuses in Baltimore, data centers moving in from Northern Virginia, and older housing stock across the state all need electricians to tackle complex wiring needs.
Day to day:
Most states let you work as a helper while you figure out licensing later. Maryland does not. All electrical work here must be performed by a licensed master electrician, journeyperson, or apprentice; unlicensed electrical work is illegal.
So the apprentice license is your first step, not a later one. There’s no experience requirement and no exam. You fill in the apprentice application and pay $12.
What it lets you do is assist with electrical work under the direction and control of a licensed master or journeyperson. Apprentices have to be supervised at all times and cannot work independently.
Keep in mind that the apprentice license is the board’s, and it’s separate from registering with the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council if your program requires that. Holding one doesn’t cover you for the other.
The Maryland State Board of Electricians issues all three, and you climb them in order:
Before 2021, counties and cities licensed journeypersons and apprentices, and the state only licensed masters. Now, local jurisdictions can still require registrations, permits, fees, and inspections, but the license itself is now the state’s.
Maryland waives the four-year experience requirement for the journeyperson exam entirely if you finish an approved apprenticeship.
The program has to be approved by the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council or the Federal Office of Apprenticeship, and it has to include:
You have to apply to the board within two years of receiving your apprenticeship certificate. Otherwise, the waiver is gone, and you’re back to documenting four years under a master.
Full details are on the board’s license criteria page.
Because an approved apprenticeship removes the four-year requirement, the program you pick matters more here than in most states.
SkillUp houses short, low-cost programs in one place so you’re not calling around. Our training catalog only lists programs we have checked for cost, length, and whether they lead to work.
Maryland is among the cheapest states in the country for this. Below are the current fees, effective July 2025. You pay the exam fee separately, directly to PSI.
Licensed electricians also have to carry general liability insurance of at least $300,000 and property damage coverage of at least $100,000. Umbrella policies are not accepted, and the policy has to list your name and registration number.
Maryland reciprocates a journeyperson license with Virginia. Your Virginia license has to be valid, earned by examination or through a Virginia apprenticeship, and it has to say journeyperson on it.
You can also reciprocate a journeyperson license you earned by examination in a Maryland local jurisdiction. Either way you apply, pay the fee, and send a letter verifying your license and any disciplinary history. The board’s application page has the forms.
If you got your Maryland license by reciprocating in, you cannot then reciprocate it out to another state or the District of Columbia.
SkillUp is so much more than a job board. Our free tools support you through each step:
Yes, from your first day. All electrical work in Maryland has to be done by a licensed master, journeyperson, or apprentice. The apprentice license has no experience requirement and no exam, and costs $12.
Assist with electrical work under the direction and control of a licensed master or journeyperson. Apprentices have to be supervised at all times and cannot work independently.
Four years providing electrical services under a Maryland licensed master electrician, then a PSI exam. Finishing an approved apprenticeship waives the four-year requirement.
Complete an electrician apprenticeship approved by the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council or the Federal Office of Apprenticeship, with at least 576 classroom hours and 8,000 hours of work experience. Apply to the board within two years of receiving your certificate.
Seven years providing electrical services under a Maryland licensed master electrician, then an exam. The board can credit up to three of those years for a formal course of study in electrical installation.
Maryland reciprocates a journeyperson license with Virginia, provided the license was earned by examination or a Virginia apprenticeship. A license you obtain in Maryland by reciprocity cannot be reciprocated to another state or the District of Columbia.
$12 for an apprentice, $18.50 for a journeyperson, and $25 for a master, with renewals at $12, $18.50, and $31.50. Exam fees are paid separately to PSI.
The median is $73,490 a year, about $35.33 an hour. The top quarter earns above $96,010, and the top ten percent above $118,370. Helpers have a median of $43,970.
No. Since 2021, the state has issued all three licenses. Counties and cities can still require registrations, permits, fees, and inspections, so check locally as well.
