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New Jersey Electrician Continuing Education Credits
New Jersey Electrical Contractor's License

You need a license to do electrical work in New Jersey. To apply for an electrical contractor's license, contact:

Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors
124 Halsey St., 6th Floor
P.O. Box 45006
Newark, NJ 07101
(973) 504-6410
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/nonmedical/electrical.htm

The Board does require you to pass an exam to get a license. To take the exam you must be over the age of 21, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and one of the following:

  • five years experience working with tools to install, alter or repair electrical wiring for light, heat or power
  • completion of a four-year Board-approved apprenticeship program and one year of Board-approved work experience
  • completion of 8,000 hours of experience working with tools to install, alter or repair electrical wiring for light, heat or power and 576 hours related classroom instruction
  • a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and two years of Board-approved work experience

The Board will review your application and if you're eligible they'll send you information on the exam they require. Prometric gives the exam. For information on the exam or scheduling, you can contact Prometric at:

Prometric
1260 Energy Lane
St. Paul, MN 55108
(800) 626-0750
http://www.prometric.com/newjersey

The electrical contractor exam has three parts -- one on business and law, one on the trade, and one on alarm systems. The business and law exam is open book with 50 multiple choice questions. It lasts two hours. Here's a summary of the subjects on this part and the approximate percentage of questions on each:

Subject Percent of exam
Business organization 4
Licensing 10
Estimating & bidding 14
Contract management 16
Project management 10
Risk management 8
Safety 8
Labor laws 8
Financial management 10
Tax law 6
Lien law 6

The trade exam is open book with 100 multiple choice questions. It lasts four hours. You may need to use arithmetic and/or simple algebra on this exam. There may be figures, drawings, tables, or charts. Here are the subjects on the trade exam and the approximate percentage of questions on each:

Subject Percent of exam
Grounding, bonding 11
Services, feeders, branch circuits 12
Raceways, enclosures 10
Conductors 10
Motors and controls 11
Utilization and general use equipment 12
Special occupancies and equipment 6
General knowledge of electrical trade, calculations 25
Low voltage circuits, alarms and calculations 3

The alarm systems exam is open book with 30 multiple choice questions. It lasts one and one-half hours. Here are the subjects on the alarm systems exam and the approximate percentage of questions on each:

Subject Percent of exam
National Electrical Code 60
General electrical knowledge 15
Equipment 15
Signals transmission, conductors 5
Systems design 5

Electrician's license fees: It will cost you $100 to file an application for a license. The business and law exam will cost you $50, the trade exam is $90, and the alarm systems exam is $50. All fees are nonrefundable. You'll also have to pay $5 to rent the NEC book at the exam.

The Board issues licenses every three years. Your license will cost you $50 to $150, depending on when you get it during the three year period.

Before doing any business in New Jersey you must post a bond to the state for $1,000. You must also carry $300,000 property damage and bodily injury insurance and $300,000 combined property damage and bodily injury insurance.