Does a career involving electrical work sound like a good fit for you? You should consider becoming an electrician! According to The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), the electrical construction trade includes, but is not limited to, installing, and maintaining: electrical wires and equipment that are used for light, heat, or power and remote control, signaling, power limited, or communication circuits or systems. Electrical work has a broad definition and covers a wide range of electrical activities. It can be as big as a multi-million dollar industrial power distribution and controls or as small as a limited energy camera or speaker system.

To become an electrician in Washington, you need to start as a trainee. Electrical trainees and apprentices must have a trainee certificate and work under the supervision of a certified electrician. They must renew their certificate every 2 years until they pass an exam to become a journey level or specialty electrician.

Here is how to get started as an electrical trainee (please see L&I Electrical Trainee):

• Make sure you meet the basic age and other requirements. Trainees must be 16 years or older. Employers hiring youth under 18 must have a minor work permit and appropriate parental/school or summer authorization forms.
• To work in the electrical trade, you must have a trainee certificate and work under the supervision of an electrician to gain enough hours of experience to qualify for an electrician examination. You and the electrician supervising you must be on the same jobsite.
  • In general, supervision ratios are:
    • 1 trainee to 1 general journey level electrician when doing journey level type work, or
    • 2 trainees to 1 specialty electrician when doing specialty type work.
• To apply for a training certificate, you must have a valid Social Security number (SSN) according to state and federal law – RCW 26.23.150 and 42 USC §666(a)(13).
• Learn what trainees need to know about education requirements and documenting your work experience.
• Apply to become an electrical trainee.

After July 1, 2023, there are electrical apprenticeship requirements:

1. If you are on track to have 8000 hours of experience required to qualify for an (01) general journey level electrician examination before July 1, 2023, it is possible to do so without completing a recognized apprenticeship program. After that date, completion of a recognized apprenticeship program is required unless you have 3000 hours of experience worked before July 1, 2023.
   • Learn more about Electrical Apprenticeship (wa.gov)
2. For specialty electrician exam candidates, there are no apprenticeship completion requirements today or after July 1, 2023.

Typically, employers, employer associations, and labor unions sponsor apprenticeship programs.

All electrical trainees must renew their certificate before it expires. Renewal requires 48 hours of Basic Classroom Instruction. Trainees also need to report their work experience hours on time (see Electrical trainee: Reporting hours of experience), carry a government issues photo ID and visibly display their certificate while they are on the job.

A general journey level electrician (01) is certified to work in commercial/industrial and all specialty electrical categories and has the following minimum requirements:

• At least 8,000 hours working as an electrical trainee under the supervision of a certified journey level electrician.  At least 4,000 hours must be spent working in commercial or industrial installations.
• 96 hours of basic classroom instruction.
• Trainees must be supervised a minimum of 75% of the time.

Beginning July 1, 2023:

• To qualify for (01) examination, you must have completed the education and work experience requirements of an approved electrical apprenticeship program.
• To perform work limited to (01) electricians, trainees must be registered in an approved electrical apprenticeship program, unless performing specialty work (e.g., low-voltage, signs, etc.).

Exception: Trainees who have worked 3,000 hours in the electrical construction trade or completed an approved two-year training school program before July 1, 2023 may continue working to accrue experience to qualify for the (01) electrician exam without joining an apprenticeship program.

To qualify for examination under this allowance, L&I must receive candidate examination applications and supporting documentation before July 1, 2026.

To see the requirements for becoming a specialty electrician, see L&I Specialty Electricians.

Electricians and master electricians must complete all of the required experience and training for their certificate type before submitting an application for the Electrician examination. After L&I receives the application and verifies the applicant’s experience, applicants will be sent a letter with information on how to schedule their exam with PSI. Applicants are required to pass each section of the examination with a score of 70% or greater to achieve an electrician license.

Electrical exams are administered by PSI, with testing locations available across the United States. PSI coordinates with L&I to set the fees for electrical exams. The fees paid to PSI are in addition to any application fees paid to L&I. Visit Electrical Examination (wa.gov) for more information about the L&I Electrical Exam.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out our related blog topic about the new Journey Level (01) Electrician Certification Law which starts on July 1, 2023.

Resources

Electrical Trainee (wa.gov)

Electrician (wa.gov)

Electrical Examination (wa.gov)

Electrical Apprenticeship (wa.gov)

RCW 19.28.191 (Effective July 1, 2023)

RCW 19.28.195 (Effective July 1, 2023)