How to Become an Electrician in North Dakota
The Realistic Timeline
Becoming a licensed electrician in North Dakota takes a minimum of four years — three years as an apprentice earning your journeyman, plus at least one more year as a journeyman before you're eligible for your master license. If you want contracting authority on top of that, add several weeks for multi-agency business registrations.
That's the floor. Most people take longer, because the education and hour requirements run concurrently and delays on either side push the whole timeline out.
Stage 1: Apprentice Registration
You can register as an apprentice at age 16. There's no entry exam, no prerequisite coursework, and no minimum education — just a $10 registration fee submitted to the North Dakota State Electrical Board within six months of your first day of employment.
This registration is the single most important administrative step in your career. Every hour of work experience you accumulate counts toward your journeyman license only while your registration is active. If your registration lapses, every hour worked during the lapse is permanently erased. Registrations expire January 31 every year, so that renewal date needs to be locked into whatever calendar system you use.
While registered, you must work under the direct, constant supervision of a licensed electrician — master, journeyman, or Class B — who is physically present on the same job site. The state enforces a 3-to-1 apprentice-to-electrician ratio.
Stage 2: Hours and Education
Your journeyman license requires two things: 8,000 hours of supervised practical experience and one of three approved education tracks.
Option A — Related Training: Complete 576 hours of board-recognized classroom instruction while you accumulate your 8,000 field hours. This is the most common path.
Option B — PEAP: If you already have 8,000 hours before you start formal education, the Professional Electrician Apprenticeship Program requires 372 classroom hours plus 4,000 additional supervised hours over at least two years.
Option C — Two-Year Degree: Graduate from a board-accepted electrical technology program and you receive a 2,000-hour credit. You then need 6,000 field hours over at least three years.
Whichever track you choose, you need to document your hours using Form SFN 11845, signed and notarized by each supervising master. Don't wait until you're ready to test. Get those signatures while your supervisors are still around and willing.
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Stage 3: The Journeyman Exam
Once you've completed your hours and education, submit your application package — Form SFN 11858 plus all your SFN 11845 verification forms — to the NDSEB. The board reviews applications during scheduled meetings held roughly every two months in Bismarck.
After the board approves your application, they mail you an exam invitation. You schedule your test date by calling the board office. The exam itself happens in person at the NDSEB office in Bismarck — there's no online option and no third-party testing centers.
The test has two parts: a one-hour closed-book section and a 3.5-hour open-book section covering electrical theory, North Dakota laws and rules, and the National Electrical Code. The board provides all reference materials, calculators, and supplies — you can't bring your own. Passing score is 70%.
Stage 4: Journeyman to Master
After you've held your journeyman license for at least one year and logged 2,000 hours working under a contracting master, you're eligible for the master exam. Same format, same location, same 70% threshold.
The master license comes in three flavors: contracting (you can start a business), non-contracting (same work scope as a journeyman), and master of record (you qualify a single company). If you want to run your own shop, you need the contracting master designation plus a series of business registrations across multiple state agencies.
The Full Timeline at a Glance
| Stage | Minimum Duration | Cumulative Time |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice registration | Day 1 | — |
| Journeyman eligibility (hours + education) | 3 years | 3 years |
| Journeyman exam + license | 1–3 months | ~3.5 years |
| Master eligibility (2,000 post-license hours) | 1 year | ~4.5 years |
| Master exam + license | 1–3 months | ~5 years |
| Contractor business setup | 2–6 weeks | ~5 years |
What Slows People Down
The most common delays aren't technical — they're administrative. Waiting on an employer to sign your SFN 11845. Discovering your education program isn't board-accepted after you've already completed it. Letting your apprentice registration lapse without realizing it until you apply for the exam.
The North Dakota Electrician License Guide covers every filing deadline, form, and agency interaction across the full career path, with tracking worksheets for hours, renewals, and the multi-step contractor setup.
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Download the North Dakota — Electrician License Path Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.