Montana electrician license requirements

This guide summarizes what Montana requires to work as an electrician, with a link to the state's own source for every requirement. Rules change; check the linked source before you apply.

Apprentices

Montana does not license apprentice electricians. Apprentices are exempt from licensing while working under a registered apprenticeship agreement and under the supervision of a licensed electrician. (source)

Journeyman level: experience and exam

Montana law requires written evidence of one of: completion of an approved electrical apprenticeship (or a substantially equivalent program in the electrical trade); 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience in wiring, installing and repairing electrical equipment; or 20,000 hours in the electrical maintenance field certified by the employer, at least 8,000 of them practical experience. Hours from an apprenticeship that was not completed do not count, and experience counts only if it was obtained under the laws and rules of the jurisdiction where the applicant gained it. (source)

Electrical exams are administered by PSI. Once the State Electrical Board approves an applicant to take the exam, the applicant receives a letter of eligibility and registers with PSI directly. Exams are open book, and the required passing score is 70% or higher. (source)

Master level

Master electrician applicants need either at least 8,000 hours of legally obtained journeyman-level experience in planning, laying out or supervising the installation and repair of electrical wiring and equipment, or to be a graduate electrical engineer of an accredited college or university with at least 2,000 hours of legally obtained practical electrical experience. The master exam has at least 80 questions. (source)

Contractor license

Electrical contracting requires an electrical contractor license from the State Electrical Board. An unlimited license needs a licensed master electrician as the responsible electrician; a limited license, restricted to residential construction of less than five living units in a single structure, needs a licensed journeyman. (source)

Renewal, continuing education and fees

Electrician and electrical contractor licenses renew every two years, due July 15 of even-numbered years. (source)

Licensees must complete 16 hours of continuing education each two-year renewal cycle, with at least 8 hours covering National Electrical Code (NEC) updates. New graduates of approved apprenticeship programs are exempt for their first renewal cycle. (source)

$190 application fee for a license by examination, which includes the original license fee. (source)

Licensed in another state

Montana's published substantial equivalency determinations for the State Electrical Board mark Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming as substantially equivalent for journeyman electricians (not Arizona, Nevada or New Mexico), and Idaho, Utah and Wyoming for master electricians. (source)

Check a license

Montana's public license lookup: https://ebizws.mt.gov/PUBLICPORTAL/searchform?mylist=licenses

Pay for electricians in Montana

Statewide figures for Electricians (SOC 47-2111), all employers, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS):

• Median hourly wage: $36.90 (BLS OEWS)
• Median annual wage: $76,760 (BLS OEWS)
• 10th percentile: $23.62 (BLS OEWS)
• 90th percentile: $43.03 (BLS OEWS)
• Estimated employment: 2,750 (BLS OEWS)

Release: May 2025 (source)

These are benchmarks, not job offers. A listing on Mountain West Trades shows the pay that employer posted.