Idaho Master Electrician License: Requirements, Experience, and the PSI Exam
What the Idaho Electrical Board requires for a master electrician license: four years as a licensed journeyman, the $75 Idaho-specific PSI exam with a 75% pass mark, fees, three-year renewal, no current CE and how reciprocity works.
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Idaho Master Electrician License: Requirements and the Exam
Idaho licenses master electricians statewide through the Idaho Electrical Board, part of the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL), at dopl.idaho.gov/ele. The exam is given by PSI, and since December 1, 2025 it has been an Idaho-specific exam, developed by DOPL with subject matter experts and PSI. Here is what the license takes.
Experience
Idaho law requires that you have worked as a licensed journeyman for at least four years, plus the number of hours the Board sets by rule. The Board also considers your performance as a journeyman.
The Board's current rules do not state an hour figure for the master license, so confirm with DOPL how your hours will be counted before you apply. The four-year licensed-journeyman requirement comes straight from the statute.
Your journeyman license comes with you: since 2025, a master licensee is issued a journeyman license at no extra cost, and you do not need to keep a separate journeyman license.
The exam
| Item | Master exam |
|---|---|
| Vendor | PSI |
| Questions | 100 |
| Time | 270 minutes (4½ hours) |
| Passing score | 75 |
| Fee | $75 per attempt |
| Retakes | As many as needed; no waiting period stated |
| References | 2020 or 2023 NEC, plus Ugly's Electrical References 2023 |
The 75 pass mark is the big difference from the journeyman exam, which passes at 70. The outline also adds a small Communication Systems area. It is open book, and there is no Idaho law or rules section. What is on the exam breaks down all eight areas.
To apply, create a PSI account, select the exam and complete the application (it is accepted automatically), then pay and schedule. After you pass, apply for the license through DOPL at edopl.idaho.gov.
DOPL stopped offering the older NASCLA master exam from July 1, 2026, but passing NASCLA scores are still accepted.
Which code?
Idaho adopts the 2023 NEC by statute: Idaho Code 54-1001 reads, "The 2023 National Electrical Code, NFPA 70, is hereby adopted by the Idaho legislature." DOPL began enforcing it on April 19, 2024. The Board's rules (IDAPA 24.39.10) add Idaho amendments for installations, but they are not exam references.
The PSI exam lets you bring either the 2020 or the 2023 NEC. No 2026 NEC adoption is pending: a new edition would need a change to the statute, and the Board's current rulemaking is limited to exceptions to the 2023 code.
Fees
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Master license | $65 |
| Renewal | $45 |
| PSI exam | $75 per attempt |
Renewal and continuing education
Master licenses run three years and expire on your birthday. DOPL is moving to biennial licensing from October 30, 2026; license periods already two years or longer are not affected.
No continuing education is currently required. The 2025 Legislature struck the CE requirements from the Board's rules, and the 2026 rulemaking leaves CE out of scope.
Reciprocity
Idaho law lets the Board enter reciprocal agreements with states whose requirements are at least equal to Idaho's, and people licensed that way do not take a written exam. We could not find a published list of reciprocal states. Check with DOPL before you move. Without an agreement, plan on the PSI exam.
Pass rates
DOPL does not publish pass-rate figures for the master exam.
Starting from journeyman?
If you are not yet licensed as a journeyman, start there: see Idaho Journeyman Electrician requirements.
Getting ready
Try our free practice test on the 2023 NEC, or see the full Idaho Master Electrician exam prep. For test-day logistics, see Idaho Master Electrician exam day.
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