Do you need a South Carolina electrical license to do electrical work?
Yes. In South Carolina, you need a license to be an electrician. The state is a great place to jumpstart your electrician career, as the average mean wage for an electrician in South Carolina is $55,360. This salary can grow as you climb the career ladder from journeyman to master electrician.
There are two levels of electrician licenses: journeyman and master, plus residential classifications for both. The Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC) certifies these electricians.
The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) offers two types of electrical contractor licenses: mechanical and residential contractors. Mechanical contractors can work on commercial projects over $10,000 and are regulated by the Contractor’s Licensing Board. The Residential Builders Commission oversees residential contractors working on projects over $500.
Insurance requirements for a South Carolina electrical license
Electrician insurance helps to protect your business. The types and amounts of SC business insurance vary based on your business’s unique needs. Here are some typical options for small business coverage.
Workers’ Compensation insurance
South Carolina requires employers with four or more employees to have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation can help cover injuries employees get on the job, including medical expenses and lost wages.
Learn more about workers’ compensation for contractors.
General Liability insurance
When work-related accidents happen, you can file a general liability claim. It can help cover your business from common risks and mishaps, such as property damage to someone else’s property or the medical expenses around injury to non-employees. It can also help protect against personal and advertising injuries.
Learn more about general liability insurance for contractors.
Commercial Property insurance
Commercial property insurance can help protect the work property you own or rent against mishaps such as fire or theft. This coverage can include your building structure, products and inventory, furniture and equipment you use for work.
Business Owner’s Policy
A business owner’s policy, or BOP insurance, provides broad coverage of general liability and commercial property policies combined in a single, more cost-efficient bundle. It helps cover damage that you or your employees may inadvertently cause to another person’s property and helps protect your business inventory in the event of a fire or other covered event.
Tools and Equipment insurance
As an electrician, your most valuable assets are your tools. Tools and equipment insurance can help cover stolen, damaged or lost work equipment.
Commercial auto insurance
Commercial auto insurance can help if you drive a vehicle for work. It can cover accident-related repairs and even towing. Personal auto insurance may not cover business-related driving, so check with your insurer.
In SC, all drivers must be insured. Minimum coverage amounts are:
- $25,000 per person for bodily injury and $50,000 per accident
- $25,000 for all property damage per accident
Contractor surety bond
South Carolina requires that its electricians show proof of surety bond. A contractor surety bond is similar to insurance. With a surety bond, you agree to pay a fee to guarantee a project for a client. So, if you do not complete the project, the guarantor will pay the client a predetermined amount. Read more about contractor surety bonds.
Bond amounts vary from $10,000 to $350,000, depending on the projects you work on.
How to get an electrician license in South Carolina
Many administrative steps are involved in getting an electrician’s license. If you’re working toward your journeyman license, you must document 4,000 hours of experience. Once you have been a journeyman for four years, you can get a master electrician and contractor license.
Journeyman electrician license requirements
Each level of electrician’s license has its own experience requirements. You will need 4,000 hours (two years) of supervised and documented experience to become a journeyman electrician.
If you have a two-year associate degree from a trade school, that can count as one year of experience.
To get your journeyman electrician certification, you must pass a licensing exam administered by testing company Prov. All electrical examinations are open-book, timed, and based on the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC).
Master electrician license requirements
For master electrician licenses, you need 8,000 hours (four years) of experience as a journeyman. Two of these years must be supervised by a licensed electrician.
If the applicant has 10 years of documented experience in the trade, the journeyman requirement can be waived.
Master electrician certification applicants must also pass an exam by testing company Prov. All electrical examinations are open-book, timed, and based on the 2020 National Electrical Code.
Residential specialty electrical contractor requirements
Residential contractors must submit the following:
- Start an online application, and alternatively, you can use a paper application form
- Pay a license fee
- Provide a copy of a government-issued ID: a driver’s license, state-issued ID, passport or military ID
- Include a copy of a social security card
- Verification of a lawful presence form
- Employment verification or similar experience verification
- Transcripts of relevant education and training
- Credit report
- Proof of a surety bond for $10,000
Additionally, you must pass two exams (Business & Law, Technical) to proceed with the application process. PSI administers the test, and you must score 70% to pass.
Mechanical contractor
Depending on your license group (based on net worth / working capital), you may need to provide a financial statement or surety bond.
Like residential contractors, mechanical contractors must pass two exams (Business & Law, Technical) to proceed with the application process. PSI administers the electrician exam; you must score 70% to pass.
License reciprocity for South Carolina electricians
If you hold a license from a different state, you may not need to complete the registration process or take exams to be a South Carolina electrician. South Carolina has reciprocity agreements with the following states:
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
Additionally, the LLR has reciprocity agreements with MASC and states administering the NASCLA-accredited electrical exams.
Renewal requirements for South Carolina electrician licenses
It’s much easier to renew your electrician’s license than to go through the full reinstatement process.
Expiration cycles:
- Journeyman: Annually
- Master: Every two years
- Residential contractor: Every two years
- Mechanical contractor: Every two years on odd-years
