New Jersey Electrical Contractor License: Requirements, Fees, and the Three PSI Exams

New Jersey Electrical Contractor License: Requirements and the Exams

New Jersey licenses electrical contractors statewide through the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, part of the Division of Consumer Affairs, under N.J.S.A. 45:5A and N.J.A.C. 13:31. You need the license to contract to install, erect, repair or alter electrical equipment for the generation, transmission or use of electrical energy. The Board decides who is eligible; PSI gives the exams. Here is what the license takes.

Eligibility

Under N.J.S.A. 45:5A-9 and N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.1 and 2.3, you must:

• be over 21;
• hold a high school diploma or equivalency certificate;
• have spent the five years immediately before you apply in electrical construction and installation, made up of:
  • a completed four-year electrical apprenticeship accredited by the U.S. Department of Labor, proven with its Certificate of Completion, and then
  • at least one year (2,000 hours) of hands-on work as a journeyman electrician, after the apprenticeship.

"Hands-on" means working with tools on wiring for light, heat or power. Time spent estimating, managing or doing engineering does not count. The credit that let pre-2018 trade experience stand in for apprenticeship years expired four years after P.L.2018, c.155, so new applicants come through the apprenticeship route.

Three exams, not one

The Board's licensing exam has three sections, and you must pass all of them (N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.2). PSI's bulletin (updated March 5, 2026) sets the format:

Exam	Questions	Time	Pass mark	PSI fee
Electrical Contractor (trade)	100	255 minutes	70% (70 correct)	$84
Alarm Systems	50	165 minutes	70% (35 correct)	$49
Business and Law	50	130 minutes	70% (35 correct)	$47

All three are open book. The trade exam is on the 2023 NEC, which PSI supplies at the test center; what is on the exam breaks down its 12 areas. Alarm Systems adds NFPA 72 (2022) and the NTC low-voltage and video security handbooks, and Business and Law is on the NASCLA Contractor's Guide, New Jersey 2nd edition.

Our practice exam covers the Electrical Contractor trade exam only. Alarm Systems and Business and Law are not covered yet, so study those two from their reference books.

Attempts and deadlines

• First attempt: all three on the same day, within two years of the Board approving you.
• Fail one and you retake only that one, after a six-month wait each time.
• Fail a section a third time and you forfeit every passing score and start over on all three.
• Everything must be passed within five years of your approval date, or the application is closed.

Applying

1. Apply to the Board with the $100 nonrefundable application fee and proof of your apprenticeship and journeyman experience.
2. Once approved, the Board sends an Examination Eligibility Notice with instructions for paying PSI.
3. Pay PSI and schedule all three exams online or at (855) 340-3713.
4. After you pass, pay the license fee. To run a business you also need a separate business permit, which a licensed contractor qualifies.

Fees

Fee	Amount
Board application (nonrefundable)	$100
PSI exams: Electrical Contractor / Alarm Systems / Business and Law	$84 / $49 / $47
Initial license, by year of the three-year period you are licensed in	$225 / $150 / $75
Triennial renewal	$225
Late renewal (within 30 days)	$50
Business permit, initial (first year of the period) and triennial renewal	$150

Fees are from N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6 and PSI's bulletin.

Pass rates

Neither the Board nor PSI publishes pass rates for the New Jersey exams.

Renewal and continuing education

• The license renews every three years ($225). You can renew up to 30 days late with a $50 late fee; after that the license is suspended without a hearing (N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.4). You can also renew as inactive, which means you may not contract.
• 34 credit hours of continuing education every three years (N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.7), including a 10-hour in-person course on the current NEC: 9 hours of code and 1 hour of New Jersey statutes and rules. Webinars and online courses do not count toward that 10-hour course.
• Up to 8 extra hours carry into the next period, and you owe no CE for the period in which you were first licensed.

Reciprocity

The Board may license an electrical contractor from another jurisdiction without the exams (N.J.A.C. 13:31-2.9) if:

• that jurisdiction gives New Jersey contractors equal reciprocity;
• the Board finds its qualifications and exam substantially equivalent, counting 2,000 hours of supervised electrical work as one apprenticeship year; and
• you have practiced as an electrical contractor for at least two of the last five years, with a clean disciplinary record and your home state's CE complete.

No list of qualifying states is published, so call the Board at (973) 504-6410 before you count on it.

Getting ready

Try our free practice test on the 2023 NEC, or see the full New Jersey Electrical Contractor exam prep. For the test itself, see New Jersey Electrical Contractor exam day.