How to become an electrician in Oklahoma

8,000 hours of supervised work, then the state exam.² Oklahoma licenses electricians through CIB.¹

8,000hours of work before the exam

Pick your way in

Every route ends at the same place: 8,000 logged hours and the state exam.

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Get hired as a helper by a licensed electrical contractor and log hours on the job.

Journeyman license from CIB.

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
Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB)
Compare the ways in
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
What counts as hours
Pass the journeyman exam
Apply to CIB with your hours, then book the exam with PSI.
Issued by
Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB)
Exam, fees and code book
Keep it currentEvery year
Renew every year. 12 hours every 3 years (6 on code updates) for journeyman and contractor; 3 hours a year for apprentices
Issued by
Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB)
Time
Every year
Renewal and continuing education
Run your own shop
Unlimited journeyman: 8,000 hours (4 years) on the job, with 4,000 in commercial or industrial work. Unlimited contractor: 12,000 hours (6 years), 6,000 of them commercial or industrial, plus 2 years as a licensed unlimited journeyman.
Issued by
Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB)
Oklahoma contractor license

Already logging hours?

Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Oklahoma journeyman license.

Pay once you're working

$61,010

a year is the median for electricians in Oklahoma ($29.33 an hour, May 2025).⁴

Oklahoma median $29.33 an hour

About 4 years of full-time work: the journeyman license requires 8,000 hours of supervised experience.²

Yes. Oklahoma licenses electrical contractors through the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB).²

Projections Central expects about 920 electrician openings a year in Oklahoma through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.³

Next step

22 registered programs in Oklahoma. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.