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Last checked: 2026-08-25
A New York City master electrician license lets you work as an independent electrical contractor in or on any building or lot in the five boroughs, and pull the permits that go with it. It comes from the Department of Buildings, not from New York State, which does not license electricians at all.
The department issues two. A master electrician works as an independent contractor anywhere in the city. A special electrician is licensed to work in or on specific buildings or lots, which suits someone employed to look after one owner's portfolio rather than contracting on the open market.
Same exams, same experience requirement, same application. The difference is where the licence lets you work.
This is where most of the years go. The Department of Buildings lists four ways to qualify, and you need one of them:
Every route carries the same rider: at least two of those years must have been worked in New York City. Years elsewhere count towards the total, but they cannot fill the city requirement.
You also need to be at least eighteen, able to read and write English, fit to do the work, and of good moral character.
Two of them, in order, and you pay for each separately through the DOB NOW public portal.
The written exam costs $585.00. It is multiple choice, it covers the New York City electrical codes, rules and regulations, and reference materials are not permitted. The passing score is 70%, and you find out at the test site the same day.
The practical exam costs $530.00 and you can only apply for it after passing the written one. You get 24 months from the date of your written exam notification to pass it. Practical results arrive by mail roughly three to four weeks later.
Passing both exams does not give you a licence. It qualifies you to apply for one, and you have one year from your practical exam notification to do it. Everything goes through DOB NOW: Licensing. Since 23 February 2026 there are no walk-ins and no paper applications.
The department wants a physical exam form completed by a doctor within the last 90 days, an Experience Verification Form signed by every supervisor for every year you are claiming, a detailed itemized Social Security earnings statement covering those years, government photo ID, and your Social Security card. All documents must be signed and notarized within 90 days of submission.
One trap worth flagging: the Experience Verification Form has to be filled in by the supervising licensee. Filled in by HR, or by you, it gets rejected. Track down old supervisors before you need them.
The licence attaches to a business, and you have to be an officer, partner or sole proprietor of it. That business needs a place of business in New York City that complies with the Zoning Code, meaning a commercially zoned address. A residential address does not qualify.
The firm's registered name must contain Electric or Electrical. That is a condition of the licence, not a naming convention someone can talk you out of.
Every electrician business needs General Liability, Workers' Compensation and Disability cover. Per the insurance guidelines, general liability must be a minimum of one million dollars each occurrence, and workers' compensation and disability cannot ride along on the same certificate as the liability policy. They have to be submitted separately.
If your company has no employees you can file a CE-200 attestation of exemption from workers' compensation and disability instead.
TODO: the surety bond requirement is not stated on the pages sourced here. Find it in the Administrative Code before writing a bond figure on this page.
Renewal costs $90.00, made up of $60.00 for the licence and $30.00 for the seal, paid through the portal. Since 1 January 2016 every renewal also requires a Department-approved course of at least eight hours, and you submit the original certificate from an approved school.
Renewal applications are due between 30 and 90 days before your expiration date.
Miss it and the clock is unusually tight. Most DOB trades get a year to file a late renewal. Electricians get 90 days from the expiration date. Late renewal costs $400.00 on top, and needs a notarized affidavit on your own letterhead, bearing your department-issued seal, explaining why you are late.
Two other things stop a renewal dead. Outstanding OATH penalties will block it, under Local Law 47 of 2016. And if your corporation is not active in the state's Division of Corporations database, the licence does not renew either.
TODO: confirm the length of the licence term from the Administrative Code before stating it here.
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