Hawaii licenses electricians through the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Board of Electricians and Plumbers, with exams administered by PSI. Hawaii has two features that surprise candidates coming from other states: the NEC is provided at the test center rather than brought by the candidate, and the NEC itself is adopted county-by-county rather than as a single statewide edition.
Quick Answer: What Do You Need?
| Licensing authority | Hawaii DCCA Board of Electricians and Plumbers |
| Testing provider | PSI Services LLC |
| Experience needed (Journey Worker) | Reported as approximately 10,000 hours of supervised experience plus roughly 240 hours of pre-licensing education — confirm exact current figures with DCCA, since we could not verify the precise hour thresholds in HRS §448E-5 directly |
| Journey Worker exam | 70 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass, open book |
| Reference materials | The NEC is provided at the test center. You cannot bring, tab, highlight, or annotate your own copy. |
| NEC edition | Adopted county-by-county, not as a single statewide edition — see below |
Which Hawaii Electrical License Do You Need?
Hawaii Administrative Rules §16-80-2 lists seven electrician license categories requiring board licensure (plus two plumbing categories not covered here):
| License | Who Needs It |
|---|---|
| Journey Worker Electrician | Anyone who performs electrical work in the state |
| Journey Worker Industrial Electrician | Industrial-scope electrical work (separate exam/classification) |
| Journey Worker Specialty Electrician | Low-voltage/signal work: electronic equipment, sound/PA systems, master antenna systems, burglar/fire alarm systems, low-voltage remote control and communication signal systems (excluding single/two-family dwelling systems) |
| Maintenance Electrician | Electrical maintenance work — keeping existing installations in repair, limited to one branch-circuit capacity per extension; excludes new installations or work requiring a permit |
| Supervising Electrician | Anyone who directs or supervises electrical work |
| Supervising Industrial Electrician | Directs/supervises industrial-scope electrical work |
| Supervising Specialty Electrician | Directs/supervises specialty (low-voltage/signal) electrical work |
This guide focuses on Journey Worker Electrician, the standard working credential and the closest Hawaii equivalent to a "journeyman" license. Apprentices and electrician's helpers may perform electrical work only under the direct, on-site supervision of a licensed Journey Worker or Supervising Electrician — the supervising licensee must be physically present at the project site at all times that work is being performed.
Journey Worker Eligibility Requirements
- Hawaii Administrative Rules define "experience in the trade" for Journey Worker Electricians as experience in the installation, alteration, and repair of electrical equipment, wires, and apparatus.
- Applicants must submit documentary proof satisfactory to the Board that they have the experience required for examination — self-certification alone is not sufficient.
- Third-party licensing guides commonly cite roughly 10,000 hours of supervised work experience and around 240 hours of pre-licensing education as the practical thresholds, but we could not verify these exact figures directly against the underlying statute (HRS §448E-5) or a current DCCA-published requirements sheet. Confirm the current hour requirements with the Board before you plan your application timeline.
- Applications must be filed with all required information and documents at least seven days before the Board's meeting date, and are considered abandoned (and destroyed) if you go two consecutive years without showing continued progress toward licensure.
How to Apply
- Prepare documentary proof of your qualifying experience and submit your application to the Board at least seven days before a scheduled board meeting.
- Once approved, you'll be authorized to register for the PSI exam through the Hawaii Trade portal at test-takers.psiexams.com/hitrade.
- Schedule and take your exam at a PSI test center (Hawaii's electrical exams are administered on-site only — remote online proctoring is not offered for this program, unlike some other Hawaii PSI-administered trades).
- After passing, you'll be issued your Journey Worker Electrician license by the Board.
What Is on the Exam?
Based on the most consistent third-party reporting we could cross-check, the Journey Worker Electrician exam is 70 multiple-choice questions, allows 180 minutes, and requires a 70% passing score. The Supervising Electrician exam is similarly reported at 70 questions over 3 hours with the same 70% threshold. We could not locate a current, publicly accessible PSI candidate information bulletin with a detailed content outline for Hawaii's electrical exams — PSI's Hawaii Trade portal lists the exams by name but does not expose a bulletin download without an active candidate account. Confirm exact question counts and timing directly with PSI or the Board before your exam date.
Why Hawaii's NEC Isn't a Single Statewide Edition
This is a genuinely distinctive feature of Hawaii electrical licensing: Hawaii Administrative Rules §16-80-3 defines "electrical wiring" by reference to work "within the scope and purpose of the National Electrical Code, as adopted by each county." Unlike most states in this series, Hawaii has no single statewide NEC edition — each county (Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai) adopts its own edition and amendments for permitting and inspection purposes. The PSI exam itself tests a single edition regardless of which county you'll ultimately work in, so passing the exam and knowing your specific county's actually-enforced code are two different things to track — similar to the fragmented local-adoption pattern we've seen in Arizona.
Why You Don't Bring Your Own Codebook
Multiple independent sources consistently describe Hawaii's electrical exams as providing the NEC reference at the test center rather than allowing candidates to bring their own copy. If that's accurate for your specific exam, none of the usual tabbing/highlighting/notes questions apply — there's no personal codebook to prepare, because you won't be allowed to use one. We could not confirm this detail against a current PSI candidate information bulletin (PSI's Hawaii Trade portal doesn't expose one without an active application), so call PSI or the Board directly to confirm whether you may bring your own reference before you invest in tabbing a personal copy.
Because we couldn't confirm whether a personal codebook is usable in the exam room, and because Hawaii's NEC edition varies by county rather than being fixed statewide, we're not recommending one specific SKU here — confirm both points with PSI/DCCA, then choose the matching edition from our full catalog for study purposes.
Fees
Third-party sources commonly cite a $40 application fee and a $95 exam fee for Hawaii's electrical trade exams, but we could not verify these figures against a current primary DCCA or PSI fee schedule. Confirm current fees directly with the Board or PSI before applying.
Renewal
- Electrician licenses renew on a triennial basis, due on or before July 1 every third year (the renewal cycle has been in effect since the July 1, 1996 renewal).
- Failure to pay renewal fees or meet continuing competency requirements by the renewal date results in forfeiture of your license.
- A forfeited license can be restored within one year of forfeiture by filing the required form, meeting continuing competency requirements, and paying applicable renewal and penalty fees.
- If you don't restore within that one-year window, you must file as a new applicant — though the Board may waive the re-examination requirement for good and valid reasons, at its discretion.
Reciprocity
Hawaii's administrative rules define "equivalent experience in the trade" for Supervising Electricians as including having been licensed as a Journey Worker Electrician or Supervising Electrician in another county, state, or country whose licensure requirements are substantially equivalent to Hawaii's. The same equivalent-experience framework applies to Supervising Specialty Electricians (relative to Journey Worker/Supervising Specialty licenses elsewhere) and to Master Plumbers. Notably, this equivalency pathway is defined for the supervising-level licenses — the rules don't establish an analogous reciprocity provision for the base Journey Worker Electrician license itself. If you're relocating to Hawaii with an out-of-state journeyman credential, confirm with the Board how your specific license and state are treated, since "substantially equivalent" is a case-by-case Board determination, not a published state list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I bring my own NEC to the Hawaii electrician exam?
Multiple third-party sources say no — the reference is provided at the test center — but we could not confirm this against a current PSI bulletin. Call PSI or DCCA to confirm before you prepare a personal copy.
What NEC edition does Hawaii use?
There isn't one single statewide answer — Hawaii's counties each adopt their own NEC edition and amendments. Confirm both the exam's tested edition and your working county's enforced edition separately.
Is there a Master Electrician license in Hawaii?
Not by that name. The top-tier hands-on credential is the Supervising Electrician license (and its Industrial/Specialty variants), which authorizes directing and supervising electrical work — functionally similar to what other states call a Master license.
Can an apprentice do electrical work unsupervised?
No. Apprentices, electrician's helpers, and other unlicensed persons may only work under the direct supervision of a licensed Journey Worker or Supervising Electrician, who must be physically present and available at the project site the entire time that work is performed.
Does Your Book Spot USA guarantee I'll pass?
No. We sell official reference materials for study purposes — no book or study guide can guarantee an exam result, and we don't claim otherwise.
Get a Study Copy of the NEC
Once you've confirmed your county's adopted NEC edition and whether you may bring a personal copy into the exam, shop our full range of NEC codebooks for study purposes:
Ordering for a crew or apprenticeship program? Request bulk pricing.
Official Sources
- Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 16, Chapter 80 — Electricians and Plumbers (compiled 10/22/2007, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs)
- PSI Services LLC — Hawaii Trade testing portal, test-takers.psiexams.com/hitrade (exam list confirmed directly; detailed candidate information bulletin not publicly accessible without an active application)
Your Book Spot USA is not affiliated with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Board of Electricians and Plumbers, PSI Services LLC, or NFPA. Candidate bulletins and licensing rules change — this page reflects our verification as of the date above, with several figures flagged as third-party-sourced pending primary confirmation. Spot something outdated? Let us know and we'll correct it.
