How to Become an Electrician in Florida, FL


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If you are willing to work as an electrician in Florida, you will need a license. The 4 available licenses are written below:

    • Electrical Contractor (Certified or Registered)
    • Alarm Contractor I (Certified or Registered)
    • Alarm Contractor II (Certified or Registered)
    • Electrical Specialty Contractor (Certified or Registered)
      • Residential Electrical Specialty
      • Utility Line Specialty
      • Lighting Maintenance Specialty
      • Sign Specialty
      • Limited Energy Specialty

As you see, there are the options of certified and registered licenses. Which of the two you will choose, depends on what you want to do.

Certified licensees are allowed to work anywhere in Florida and it is harder to obtain than “registered” type. You will have to pass the state exams, in order to obtain this type of license.

Registered licensees are allowed to work only in the specific county in which they are registered and nowhere else. However, the process is much easier. You will have to register a specific county or a municipal certificate of competency for this type of license.

For the description of each license, please visit the official handy scope chart.

If you are interested as a business to get a license, please visit the business info.

The license is provided by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and specifically by the Electrical Contractors Licensing Board.

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The contact info is written below:

Department of Business & Professional Regulation
Electrical Contractors Licensing Board
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1039
(850) 487-1395
Fax: (850) 921-4216
http://www.myflorida.com/dbpr/

We will separate the guide in “certified” and “registered” licenses and then give each subcategory more details, regarding the license.

You can have both a certified and a registered license, as long as they are in different categories. For example, you can be a certified electrical contractor and a registered alarm system contractor.

Licensure can be granted only by examination or endorsement. For more information regarding endorsement you can read 49-52 of FAQ.

Attention: Make sure you completely read the whole guide before you start completing each step!

Certified Electrical/Alarm/Specialty Contractor

Useful information can be found at the Electrical Contractors Licensing Board and FAQ.

In order to become a certified Electrical/Alarm/Specialty contractor, you will need to fill the requirements imposed on each license, then apply for double exams, pass them and re-apply for the license. In more details:

You will need to fill the requirements in order to be able to receive a license. In short, you are required approximately 6 years of previous experience. The detailed requirements can be found at 489.511. Alarm and Specialty contractors will need to pay extra attention at (4) of 489.511.

You can also read 11. of FAQ for more information regarding the experience required.

Note: If you are already a registered contractor, the requirements vary and they are listed with details at 489.514.

Apart from that, you will also need evidence of workers’ compensation coverage, “an acceptable exemption certificate issued by the department and public liability and property damage insurance for the health, safety, and welfare of the public” (quote from 489.515) and an affidavit in order to either be issued a license, or renew one.

For the issuance of certifications, you can also read 489.515 (1, (a) through (c)).

Note: For business and qualifying agents, please check Chapter 489, Part II, of the Florida Statutes.

Now, after you cover the contractor license requirements, you will have to apply for the Technical/Safety and Business sections of the test. After your application is approved, then you will be eligible to participate in the exams. The applications and other forms can be found:

For simplicity we will take the first time examination application. So, you will have to fill the application accordingly and pay the fee which is $327.50. You will have to write a check made payable to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation with the appropriate amount. The application is easy to fill, with a step by step guide on it.

The whole package (application, fee/check and documentation) should be sent to:

Department of Business and Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0783

You can also read 12. of FAQ for more information regarding the documentation required

Note: If you need special accommodation for the electrical contractor test, due to disabilities, please contact the Bureau at 850.487.9755.

After you send the application and you are approved, you will receive information from Pearson, the testing vendor, on how to proceed.

You will have to schedule an exam via phone (1-888-204-6230) or online. It is advisable to call at least a week prior to your desired examination date. Your passing score of the test will last for 2 years. Be sure to check the pilot questions and the exam centers.

The exam you will have to take for the contractor license is in 2 parts. The first part (called “Business section”) is common for all licenses. The second part (called “Technical/Safety section”) varies according to the license you want to acquire (i.e. Electrical, Alarm System I, etc). Below you can find more information on these 2 sections:

1) Business section
This test consists of 50 questions and the maximum time limit is 2.5 hours. The exam is open book and you are allowed to have with you only the “Contractors Manual 2009” (as a reference). The fee for this section is $22.50 and this amount will have to be paid at the moment you schedule the exam.

2) Technical/Safety section
This test consists of 100 questions and the maximum time limit is 5 hours. The exam is open book. The fee for this section is $45.00 and this amount will have to be paid at the moment you schedule the exam. For the Technical/Safety section, you will have to take a look at pages 5 through 8 of Candidate Information Booklet and for references allowed, you will have to look at the matrix on pages 14-15 of the same Booklet.

Total cost of both exams is $67.50

After you pass the exams, you will have to apply again for the license. Also, even after passing the exams, you still might be denied the issuance of the license. The reasons can be found at FAQ, Chapter 489 and Rule 61G6. The most common reason is inadequate qualities for the requirements. The second application has a unique form for each license:

1) Summary of certified Alarm System I contractor and application form
2) Summary of certified Alarm System II contractor and application form

3) Summary of certified Alarm Electrical contractor and application form

4) Summary of certified Alarm Specialty contractor and application form

The fee for this second application is $300.00 via check made payable to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

The complete table of fees can be found at 9. of FAQ.

After your second application is approved and receive your license, you will be subject to continuing education and you will be obliged to renew your license biennially.

Renewal date is 31 of August of every even year (2013, 2015, 2017, etc) and the cost is $300.00 per renewal. If you don’t renew your license on time, there will be an additional fee of $50.00. Same applies for inactive licenses too.

However, before you renew your license, you must have already obtained the necessary continuing education credits, which are 14 hours for each renewal. For more information read 67-74 of FAQ. If you got the license a year or less before renewal date, then you do not owe any continuing education hours/credits.

Continuing education course providers can be found here. More information can also be found at the end of the homepage and here. Remember to fill and submit the appropriate continuing education application, which can be found at forms.

Finally, don’t forget to check Electrician Jobs in Florida.

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Registered Electrical/Alarm/Specialty Contractor

In order to become a registered contractor, you will have to take and pass a local examination. We won’t go into the details of each county, but we will give you the information you need to get started.

Go to the forms and applications and choose the registered license, in which you are interested.

If it is the first time applying for a registered contractor license in Florida, you will need to go at:

1) Summary of registered Alarm System I contractor and application form

2) Summary of registered Alarm System II contractor and application form

3) Summary of registered Alarm Electrical contractor and application form

4) Summary of registered Alarm Specialty contractor and application form

Then complete the application accordingly to the guidelines on it and submit the check with the appropriate fee ($155.00 for initial-first time licensing) made payable to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

After that, you can still add more counties if you want to, by taking the appropriate exams and paying a small extra fee ($25.00 per county/municipality).

After your application is approved and receive your license, you will be subject to continuing education and you will be obliged to renew your license biennially.

Renewal date is 31 of August of every even year (2013, 2015, 2017, etc) and the cost is $300.00 per renewal. If you don’t renew your license on time, there will be an additional fee of $50.00. Same applies for inactive licenses too.

However, before you renew your license, you must have already obtained the necessary continuing education credits, which are 14 hours for each renewal. For more information read 67-74 of FAQ. If you got the license a year or less before renewal date, then you do not owe any continuing education hours/credits.

Continuing education course providers can be found here. More information can also be found at the end of the homepage and here. Remember to fill and submit the appropriate continuing education application, which can be found at forms.

Finally, don’t forget to check Electrician Jobs in Florida.

Useful Links

Check Electrician Schools in Florida, FL