Idaho Electrician License Renewal: Fees, Timelines, and the 2025 CE Change
The Big Shift: Biennial Renewals
DOPL is transitioning all electrical licenses from their historical terms to a standardized two-year (biennial) renewal cycle. This affects every license class — apprentice registrations, journeyman and master licenses, and contractor licenses.
Under the new system, individual licenses expire on your birthday. Which calendar year you renew depends on your birth year:
- Even birth year (1990, 1992, 1994…) → renewals in even calendar years
- Odd birth year (1991, 1993, 1995…) → renewals in odd calendar years
Contractor licenses follow a different pattern — they expire on the original issue date rather than a birthday.
If you are used to tracking a fixed expiration date that has nothing to do with your birthday, this is a major change. Verify your next renewal date through DOPL's online portal rather than relying on your old renewal schedule.
The Fee Holiday
To smooth the transition, DOPL has instituted a temporary fee holiday. Active licensees who submit their renewal application on or before their expiration date pay no renewal fee during the transition period. This applies only to renewals — new applicants still pay full initial fees.
Once the fee holiday lifts, biennial renewal fees will roughly double the old annual or triennial rates to match the longer renewal term:
| License Class | Current Renewal Fee | Biennial Fee (Post-Holiday) |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $15 | $30 |
| Journeyman | $45 | $90 |
| Master | $45 | $90 |
| Contractor | $100 | $200 |
No More Continuing Education
In 2025, the Idaho Legislature eliminated all continuing education requirements for Journeyman and Master Electrician license renewals. This happened during the legislative review of IDAPA 24.39.10 — the House Business Committee struck the CE provisions entirely.
You no longer need to complete or report 24 hours of CE classes to renew a Journeyman or Master license. Some commercial CE providers still market Idaho courses as mandatory, but they are not. CE is a dead requirement for Journeyman and Master renewals.
One consequence worth watching: this decision put Idaho at odds with neighboring states that maintain strict CE standards. The Idaho Electrical Board met with the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance in August 2025 to negotiate how the CE elimination affects reciprocal agreements with states like Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Wyoming.
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What Happens If You Lapse
Missing your renewal deadline puts your license in lapsed status, and reinstatement fees apply. You cannot legally perform electrical work, supervise apprentices, or pull permits with a lapsed license.
Reinstatement fees by license class:
| License Class | Reinstatement Fee |
|---|---|
| Apprentice | $15 |
| Journeyman | $55 |
| Master | $55 |
| Contractor | $125 |
For Master Electricians: under House Bill 153 (effective July 1, 2025), renewing your Master license automatically renews your Journeyman at no extra charge. But if you let your Master lapse, that dual-renewal benefit stops — you may need to reinstate both licenses separately.
HB 153 Dual-Renewal Benefit
House Bill 153 eliminates the old problem of accidentally letting your Journeyman license expire while keeping your Master active. Now, one Master renewal covers both. But this only works if you keep your Master current. A lapsed Master does not automatically reinstate the Journeyman.
The Idaho Electrician License Guide includes a renewal timeline tracker calibrated to the new biennial schedule and birthday-based expiration system.
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