Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05
The card that means journeyman here
California Journeyman Electrician: The General Card
Job ads in California ask for a journeyman electrician. The state does not issue one. What it issues is the General Electrician certification, and that is the card employers mean.
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On this page
There is no journeyman license to apply for
The Electrician Certification Unit certifies electricians. It does not license them as journeymen, and no California agency issues a journeyman electrician license.
The word survives in job ads, in union agreements and in pay scales. When a California contractor asks for a journeyman, the document being asked for is a General Electrician certification card.
What the General Electrician certification covers
CCR Title 8 section 290.1 is the definitions section for the program, and General Electrician is the broadest of the five classifications it defines. It is not limited to dwellings the way the Residential card is, and it is not tied to one system the way the three technician cards are.
It is also the classification most people hold. The state's statistics page, dated April 12, 2023, counted 29,724 General certifications against 739 Residential, 1,804 Fire/Life Safety, 742 Voice Data Video and 225 Non-residential Lighting.
The 8,000 hours behind it
Section 291.1 asks for 8,000 hours of work for a C-10 electrical contractor installing, constructing or maintaining electrical systems covered by the National Electrical Code, across two or more work areas.
Each area has a ceiling. Residential wiring stops at 3,000, commercial and industrial wiring at 6,000 each, voice data video installation and troubleshooting at 1,500 each, underground conduit at 750, finish work and Fire/Life Safety at 600 each, and stock room work at 300.
Beside the field hours sits the classroom half. The state describes the trainee route as 8,000 hours of on the job experience plus 720 hours of related and supplemental instruction, and section 291.2(g) requires proof of the approved curriculum with the application.
Applying for the exam
File the Application for Electrician Examination and Certification with proof of experience and proof of curriculum. The instructions page prices a single exam at $175, made up of the $100 exam fee and the $75 application fee, and no application is processed without the fees.
The Division answers on eligibility within 30 days. From that notice you have one year to sit the exam, and the authorization to test arrives by email from Pearson VUE.
The exam itself
100 questions, 4 hours 30 minutes, 70 percent to pass. The content outline splits into Safety at 6 percent, Determination of Electrical System Requirements at 22 percent, Installation at 66 percent and Maintenance and Repair at 6 percent.
It is open book on the testing system's terms. You may not bring your own references; the driver supplies the 2023 National Electrical Code, NFPA 70E 2024 and the Cal/OSHA Pocket Guide for the Construction Industry. Fail it and you wait 60 days before sending in a retest application with another $100.
After you pass
Certification cards are mailed within about two weeks. The card renews every three years, on 32 hours of further electrical education and a declaration under penalty of perjury that you worked 2,000 hours in the industry in the previous three years.
Letting it lapse is expensive in time as well as money. Section 291.5 says a person who allows certification to lapse is required to retake the certification examination.
What the work pays
The statewide median for electricians, occupation code 47-2111, is $36.62 an hour and $76,160 a year, from O*NET OnLine citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. Metro figures run from $34.48 an hour in Fresno to $44.63 in the San Francisco, Oakland and Fremont area.
Your city page on this site carries the local number and the training programs that feed it.
What the card does not let you do
It does not let you contract. Taking the job in your own name means a C-10 Electrical license from the Contractors State License Board, four years of qualifying experience and two more exams.
It also does not travel. There is no reciprocity for the California certification, and an out of state license makes you eligible to sit the exam rather than exempt from it.
Questions people ask
Is there a journeyman electrician license in California?
No. The state certifies electricians instead, and the General Electrician certification is what employers mean when they advertise for a journeyman. The card comes from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, not from a licensing board.
How many hours do I need for the General Electrician certification?
8,000 hours of work for a C-10 electrical contractor, across two or more of the work areas in CCR Title 8 section 291.1. Residential wiring is capped at 3,000 of those hours, so the total cannot come from dwellings alone.
How many questions is the California General Electrician exam?
100 questions in 4 hours 30 minutes, with 70 percent needed to pass. Installation carries 66 percent of the questions and determining electrical system requirements another 22 percent.
Can I bring my own code book to the exam?
No. The Candidate Information Bulletin says you may not bring or use your own reference materials. The testing system supplies the 2023 National Electrical Code, NFPA 70E 2024 and the Cal/OSHA Pocket Guide on screen.
What does a certified electrician earn in California?
The statewide median for electricians is $36.62 an hour and $76,160 a year, from O*NET OnLine citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. Metro medians range from $34.48 in Fresno to $44.63 in the San Francisco area.
Does the General card let me pull permits as a contractor?
No. Contracting for electrical work takes a C-10 license from the Contractors State License Board, which asks for four years of journey level experience and two exams of its own.
Thirty free questions, timed, with the working shown
Every miss comes back with the arithmetic worked out and the code section named, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.
All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.
What this page cites
- CCR Title 8 section 291.1 Sets the 8,000 hours for the General Electrician certification and the ceiling on each work area. source
- Candidate Information Bulletin Gives the 100 question format, the 4 hour 30 minute limit, the 70 percent pass mark and the content outline. source
- CCR Title 8 section 291.5 Sets the three year renewal and states that a lapsed certification means retaking the exam. source
- ECU statistics, April 12, 2023 Counts of certified electricians by classification on the date the page was published. source
- O*NET OnLine local wages, 47-2111 State and metro median wages for electricians, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. source
The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.