Nevada electrician license: who licenses, local cards, pay

Nevada has no statewide journeyman electrician license. The state licenses the company through the Nevada State Contractors Board's C-2 electrical classification. The card a J-man carries is a Nevada Electrical Qualifications Card, which Reno, Clark County, Las Vegas and Henderson require. The median Nevada electrician made $35.37 an hour in May 2025, per BLS.

Everything below is as of 2026. It comes from the Nevada State Contractors Board, the card program's own notices and Nevada law. Rules change, so confirm with the board and with the building department where you'll work before you count on any of it. For the rest of the country, see electrician license requirements in every state.

01Nevada license facts at a glance

02Who licenses electricians in Nevada?

Two different outfits, and they don't do the same job. The state board licenses contracting businesses. The individual card is a separate program the cities and counties lean on.

The card program's own notice says Reno, Clark County, Las Vegas and Henderson "have requirements for at least a journeyman electrical card when installing electrical systems." The program is managed by a nonprofit called Electrical Safety Professionals. Its notices also say plainly that these cards "are different than NV State Contractor Licenses."

So a hand working for a C-2 shop in Las Vegas needs his own card. The shop's C-2 license doesn't cover him. Outside those jurisdictions, ask the local building department what it accepts before day one. Nevada sits with New York and a few others on our list of states with no statewide journeyman license, where the local rule is the one that matters.

03How do you get a Nevada electrical card?

As of July 1, 2025, a new card takes two things: proof of at least 4,000 hours of electrical work experience or apprenticeship hours, and the exam pass letter from the International Code Council (ICC). Renewals aren't affected by that change.

1. Line up your hours. 4,000 hours is about two years of full-time work. Apprenticeship hours count toward it.
2. Buy and schedule the ICC exam. Exams are purchased through ICC and taken in person at a Pearson VUE testing center. No online testing.
3. Pick the right code year. As of April 1, 2026, only 2020 NEC and 2023 NEC based exams are accepted for a new card. The journeyman exams are T17Y (2020 NEC) and R17 (2023 NEC). Master is T16Y or R16.
4. Send the application. New and renewal applications go in online or by regular mail, with your hours and the pass letter.

A journeyman, residential or low voltage card costs $85 for 3 years. A master card costs $100.

The old-exam trap

If you passed a 2017 NEC based exam (G17Y) and never got the card issued, that score stopped counting for new cards on April 1, 2026. Check before you assume an old pass letter still works. Confirm your situation with the program.

04Keeping the card: CE and late fees

To renew, a journeyman, residential, sign or low voltage card holder needs 1.8 CEUs (18 hours) every 3 years. A master needs 3.0 CEUs (30 hours). Inside those hours, at least 8 must be a code-change class and at least 4 must be on NFPA 70E. Only providers on the program's approved list count.

Our electrician CE requirements by state post compares those hours with other states.

05Nevada's OSHA-10 rule

Nevada law puts a deadline on safety training that most states don't. Under NRS 618.983, a construction worker has to get an OSHA-10 completion card no later than 15 days after he's hired. A supervisory employee needs an OSHA-30 card on the same clock.

The teeth are in NRS 618.987. If a worker doesn't hand his employer a current, valid card within 15 days, the employer must suspend or terminate him. Get the card before you start, and keep a photo of it on your phone. Our post on OSHA 10, OSHA 30 and NFPA 70E for electricians covers what each one is.

06The C-2 contractor license, if you go out on your own

The C-2 is the company's license, and someone has to qualify for it. The board wants a trade qualifier with at least four full years of experience as a journeyman, supervising employee or contractor in the classification, within the 15 years before applying. Older summaries say 10 years. The board's own page says 15.

• Training credit. Accredited college or Board-accepted training, such as an apprenticeship with certificates, can cover up to 3 of the 4 years.
• Proof. Four Certification of Work Experience forms, plus a Resume of Experience. A current government master certification in a similar discipline can stand in.
• Exams. The Business and Law exam plus the trade exam, three tries each, with a two-week wait after a failure.
• Money. A financial statement for every applicant, and a bond the board sets anywhere from $1,000 to $500,000.

If you already qualify a shop in another state, the board's licensure by endorsement page waives the C-2 trade exam for some equivalent licenses, Arizona's CR-11 and California's C-10 among them, when you've been actively licensed for the past four years. Check the chart for your state with the board. It covers the contractor exam only, never a J-man's card.

07Does Nevada have reciprocity?

Not for journeymen. Nevada doesn't issue a state journeyman license, so there's nothing for another state to trade with. A Utah or Arizona card doesn't put you to work in Las Vegas. You'll need the Nevada card, which means the hours and the ICC exam.

If you're weighing Nevada against the neighbors, the California, Arizona and Utah guides cover how those states handle it.

What contractors check when there's no state card

With no state journeyman license, the card proves you passed a code exam. It doesn't prove you can run pipe. One national electrical contractor told us its worst problem is "so-called journeymen" who can't bend conduit. Expect a Nevada shop to ask about specific work, or to put a bender in your hand. Bring your card, your OSHA-10 and a short list of jobs you ran.

08What does a Nevada electrician make?

The median Nevada electrician made $35.37 an hour in May 2025, and the top 10% made $58.27 or more. These are BLS OEWS straight-time wages for all electricians, apprentices included. They don't count overtime, per diem or benefits, and they're market data, not what any one contractor will pay you.

Nevada had 8,350 electricians on payroll, and 5,730 of them worked in the Las Vegas metro. That's more than two in three. The state median sits $4.99 an hour above the national median. Carson City posts the highest median, but only 300 electricians work there, so one big shop can move that number. Our journeyman electrician pay guide covers what moves a rate inside those ranges.

Run your Pay Check to see what electricians with your license make near you. Takes about a minute and your boss never hears about it.

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