Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

Twenty questions

Georgia Electrician License Questions: Answered, Cited

These are the questions people actually type about working as an electrician in Georgia. Each answer is ours and each is tied to the board's own pages, the rules, the PSI bulletin or the published wage data. Where Georgia's sources disagree, we say so instead of picking one.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

Do I need a license to do electrical work in Georgia?

Not as an individual. The board's FAQ says it licenses electrical contractors, not electricians, so there's no card for the person holding the tools.

What the law restricts is contracting. The Attorney General quotes O.C.G.A. 43-14-8 as saying no person shall engage in the electrical contracting business as an electrical contractor without a valid license from the Division of Electrical Contractors. You work as an employee of somebody who holds that license.

Is there a journeyman electrician license in Georgia?

No. Board Chapter 121 creates Class I and Class II electrical contractor licenses and four low voltage classes, and nothing else. There's no journeyman tier and no master tier.

The word still gets used on job sites and in the four year apprenticeship programs, where it means somebody who finished training and works without direct supervision. Our journeyman page covers what that means in practice.

How do I get an electrician license in Georgia?

By qualifying for the electrical contractor license. That means four years of Primary Experience under an active licensed electrical contractor, three notarized references with at least one from a licensed contractor, a local background check, and the Class I or Class II exam.

Everything is filed in the GOALS portal, since the board no longer accepts paper. The requirements page walks the whole path.

What's the difference between a Class 1 and Class 2 electrical license?

Scope. Rule 121-3-.01 restricts Class I to electrical contracting involving single phase installations that don't exceed 200 amperes at the service drop or the service lateral, and says Class II licenses are unrestricted.

The board's own application form uses 400 amperes rather than 200 in the parallel Class 2 experience test, and Augusta's local sheet repeats 400. That conflict is unresolved, so ask the board where the line sits before you plan work around it.

How many years of experience does Georgia require?

Four years of Primary Experience, defined in the rule as working experience gained through the direct installation of electrical systems. The application form counts 2,000 hours as one year, so four years reads as 8,000 hours.

It only counts under an active licensed electrical contractor. Form 44 says experience gained with an unlicensed contractor doesn't count at all.

Does trade school count toward the experience?

Yes, but Georgia's rule argues with itself about how much. Rule 121-3-.01(5)(b) credits completion of a two year academic diploma program as two years of experience, and a two year academic certificate program from a vocational-technical school the same.

Paragraph (5) of the same rule caps credit for secondary experience or education at one year. We name both lines because the board publishes both. Plan on a year and ask the board how it applies the paragraph.

How old do you have to be?

At least 21 to hold the license. Rule 121-3-.01(2) sets that for both classes.

Two board documents disagree here. The affidavit on Form 44, the electrical exam application, has the applicant verify being 18 or older. Plan on 21 and ask the board if your dates sit between the two.

Apprenticeships start earlier. IBEW Local 1579 lists a minimum age of 18, and the four years of experience can be behind you well before your twenty first birthday.

Do I need a separate license for low voltage work?

Yes. The electrical application form says a separate statewide low voltage contractor license is required, and it comes from a different division of the same board.

Rule 121-3-.06 sets four classes: LV-A for alarm and general system work, LV-T for telecommunication and general system work, LV-G for general system work and LV-U unrestricted. Each needs at least one year of low voltage experience in the category applied for.

How much does a Georgia electrical license cost?

Three official Georgia pages print three different sets. The board's fee schedule shows a $30.00 application fee, a $10 processing fee and a $75.00 license fee on the electrical rows, and no plain renewal row at all. The forms show $40 for an exam application and $160 for reinstatement, which is the schedule's $150.00 lapse figure plus the $10 processing fee. The how-to guide shows $110 initial and $310 for a non-restricted reinstatement under three years.

The live schedule sits inside the GOALS portal and runs on JavaScript, so we can't print today's number. Read the total in the portal before you pay.

When does a Georgia electrical license expire?

June 30 of even numbered years. The fee schedule and the how-to guide both print that, and the board's landing page states the current cycle expires June 30, 2026.

The late window is where the sources split. The board page says July 1 to August 15, 2026, while the guide and the fee schedule say July 1 to July 31. Work to July 31.

What happens if my license lapses?

Under three years, the how-to guide lists continuing education, a background check and reinstatement fees. The fee schedule adds re-examination for anything lapsed more than 30 days, which is stricter than the guide.

Three years or more and passing an exam is required before a license is issued, plus work experience documentation, three references, a background check and the fees.

How many continuing education hours does Georgia require?

Four hours each year, eight per two year renewal, per the board's continuing education page and its FAQ. The board's provider list says not more than four hours annually count, so you can't do all eight in one year.

Courses have to be finished before you apply to renew, and since January 1, 2026 licensees register and report through CE Broker. Keep certificates five years; the board says tracking hours is the licensee's job.

Does Georgia have reciprocity with other states?

Two answers, both from the Secretary of State's site. The FAQ says Georgia does not currently offer licensure by reciprocity, effective May 2026.

The posted reciprocity form, revised August 2022, and the how-to guide still name Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee for the Class 2 license, with an exam waiver where the conditions are met. Call the board before you rely on it.

How many questions are on the Georgia electrical exam?

Class I is 155 items, being 140 scored questions and 15 pretest questions. Class II is 162 items, being 140 scored and 22 pretest, per PSI bulletin 4783.

Both run in two parts with four hours for each part and eight hours allotted overall, and the passing scaled score is 70. Both split the same way: 30 questions on regulations, laws and administrative functions against 110 technical.

What do electricians earn in Georgia?

A median of $28.04 an hour and $58,320 a year in the May 2025 wage data republished by O*NET from the Bureau of Labor Statistics series. The national median in the same release is $30.38 and $63,190.

By metro: Augusta-Richmond County $28.69, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell $28.20, Savannah $28.09, Macon-Bibb County $26.11, Columbus $24.39 and Athens-Clarke County $23.92 an hour.

Is the Georgia electrical exam open book?

References are allowed, but only the titles listed in the bulletin, and no others. The list includes the 2023 National Electrical Code, the American Electricians' Handbook 2021, Ugly's Electrical References 2023, the Contractors Guide to Business, Law, and Project Management, the Employer's Tax Guide, OSHA 29 CFR 1926 and Printreading Based on 2020 NEC.

Marking rules are tight. References may be highlighted, underlined or tabbed with permanent tabs, and anything else gets removed from the book and confiscated.

What happens if I fail the exam?

You retake it. The bulletin says candidates who fail must retake and pass, and it sets no fixed waiting period beyond the rule below.

Fail twice and both the bulletin and Rule 121-3-.03(1) require documentation of a board approved review course before you can be scheduled for a third attempt.

Which NEC edition does Georgia use?

The 2023 National Electrical Code with Georgia Amendments. The Department of Community Affairs lists it among the mandatory state minimum standard codes, and the amendment document is titled Georgia State Amendments to the National Electrical Code (2023 Edition).

The current amendment package took effect January 1, 2026, with two health care items effective January 1, 2027. PSI bulletin 4783 says the exam questions reference the 2023 edition too, so the book and the test agree.

Where are the PSI test centers in Georgia?

PSI lists four Georgia sites: Duluth at 3505 Koger Blvd Suite 175, Marietta at 2100 Roswell Road NE Suite 2128, Macon at 3902 Northside Dr Suite C5, and Tifton at 251 Southwell Blvd Suite A.

Those addresses come from PSI's bulletin for the sister division of the same state board, not from the electrical bulletin, which names no Georgia addresses and says only that the exams are given at PSI centers across the Southeast. Confirm your site when you schedule at test-takers.psiexams.com/gaco or on 855-898-0711.

Do I need a city or county electrician license?

No Georgia city or county we checked issues its own electrician card. Attorney General Opinion 99-2 concludes that a local government may not require a state licensed electrical contractor to hold a local license or pass a local exam, except as O.C.G.A. 43-14-12 allows.

What locals do charge for is an occupation tax or business license. Augusta-Richmond County requires its own electrical contractor business license with liability insurance and a surety bond, which sits alongside the state license rather than replacing it.

What this page cites

• Board FAQ, Secretary of State Answers the licensing question, the renewal window, the continuing education hours and the current reciprocity position. source
• Board Rules, Department 121 Sets the classes, the age, the four years of experience, the education credit, the passing score and the review course rule. source
• PSI bulletin 4783 Gives both exam formats, the time, the passing score, the reference list and the marking and retake rules. source
• Board fee schedule and how-to guide Two of the three official fee sets, plus the renewal, late renewal and reinstatement rules. source
• Georgia DCA current state minimum codes Names the 2023 National Electrical Code with Georgia Amendments as the mandatory electrical code. source
• Attorney General Opinion 99-2 Sets out what a local government may and may not require of a state licensed electrical contractor. source
• O*NET local wages, electricians in Georgia Republishes the May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics medians for the state and its metro areas. source