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Home / Electricians / Idaho
How to become an electrician in Idaho
8,000 hours of supervised work, then the state exam.2 Idaho licenses electricians through the Idaho Electrical Board.1
Pick your way in
Every route ends at the same place: 8,000 logged hours and the state exam.
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In ID
- 64 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In ID
- 4 schools with programs
Start on a crew
Get hired as a helper by a licensed electrical contractor and log hours on the job.
- Pay
- Paid on the job
- Start
- No experience needed
The license steps
Journeyman license from the Idaho Electrical Board.
Start as an apprentice or trainee
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
- Issued by
- Idaho Electrical Board
Log 8,000 hours8,000 hrs
About 4 years of full-time work under a licensed electrician. Keep your own log of hours and pay stubs.
- Issued by
- Your employer signs off
- Time
- 8,000 hrs
Pass the journeyman exam$15 application
Apply to the Idaho Electrical Board with your hours, then book the exam with PSI.
- Issued by
- Idaho Electrical Board
- Cost
- $15 application
Keep it currentEvery year$45 renewal
Renew every year. Idaho Code requires proof of continuing education to renew a journeyman or master license, with the content set by the board; the current board rules list no required hours
- Issued by
- Idaho Electrical Board
- Time
- Every year
- Cost
- $45 renewal
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a electrical contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- DOPL - Electrical / Plumbing / HVAC boards
Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Idaho journeyman license.
$63,000
a year is the median for electricians in Idaho ($30.29 an hour, May 2025).5
Pay by city and percentile- Lewiston$37.08
- Coeur d'Alene$31.90
- Idaho Falls$31.42
- Boise City$29.62
- Pocatello$29.11
Questions
How long does it take to become an electrician in Idaho?
About 4 years of full-time work: the journeyman license requires 8,000 hours of supervised experience.2
Do you need a license to work on your own as an electrician in Idaho?
Check DOPL before you bid work on your own.3
Are electricians in demand in Idaho?
Projections Central expects about 1,380 electrician openings a year in Idaho through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.4
Find an apprenticeship near you
64 registered programs in Idaho. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for electricians in Idaho
Sources
- Idaho Electrical Board (dopl.idaho.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Idaho Electrical Board: experience requirements (adminrules.idaho.gov, 2026-10-27)
- DOPL - Electrical / Plumbing / HVAC boards (dopl.idaho.gov)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Idaho, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)