Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles CA Electrician License: Classes and Exams
Los Angeles has union, merit shop and community college training, and it adds two layers of local rules above the state ones. This page sets out what a person in Los Angeles does to get certified, where to train, where the exams are given and what the work pays.
Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed
On this page
The license a Los Angeles electrician needs
The card comes from the state, not the city. The Department of Industrial Relations certifies electricians in five classifications, and an electrician who makes connections of greater than 100 volt amps for a C-10 contractor holds one of those cards or a trainee registration.
Contracting is the other half. The Contractors State License Board issues the C-10 Electrical license to the business, on four years of journey level experience and two exams of its own.
What the county and the city handle
Los Angeles County Public Works issues a Certificate of Registration as a Maintenance Electrician, for an electrician permanently employed by a firm to install, alter or maintain wiring on that firm's own premises. The registrant needs two years of experience in that capacity with that firm, a responsible officer of the firm applies in writing, and no exam is described. It expires on June 30 biennially in even numbered years, and the contact is (626) 458-3170. In the 2026 County of Los Angeles Electrical Code the authority sits at county electrical code Title 27 section 82-4(b), with the fee at section 82-8(d). The county registration page still prints the old number, 82-4(d), so expect to see both.
The fee is printed two ways. The county certification page says $222.10, and the 2026 County of Los Angeles Electrical Code says $305.26. Call before you write the check.
The City of Los Angeles is a different matter. No city issued electrician license or registration appears on the LADBS electrical permit page, which states that electrical permits are required for any electrical work and describes Express Permit, Counter Plan Check and Regular Plan Check routes.
The code that applies here
The county adopts the state book. Title 27 of the Los Angeles County Code adopts the 2025 California Electrical Code by reference, effective January 1, 2026.
The city is less clear on paper. Los Angeles Municipal Code section 93.0700 adopts the National Electrical Code, the California Electrical Code and the California Building Standards Code by reference without printing an edition year, and provides that LAMC section 93.0105 prevails where they conflict. The city's adoption of the 2025 edition could not be confirmed from the pages read for this page, so ask LADBS which edition your plan check is run against.
Where to train in Los Angeles
- IBEW Local 11, which points members to structured programs at its training institute.
- Electrical Training Institute, 6023 S. Garfield Ave, Commerce, CA 90040. Its 2026 application windows are January 5, April 6, July 6 and October 5 to 9, and applications stay open until 2,000 are received. All required documentation has to be in hand at submission, and meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee selection. Contact applications@laett.com.
- The North Hollywood JATC under IBEW Local 40, listed on the California Statewide Electrical JATC site alongside 25 IBEW and NECA training centers.
- ABC Southern California, LA and Ventura location, 12979 Arroyo Avenue, San Fernando, CA 91340, with an electrical program the chapter describes as approved by the State of California and the U.S. Department of Labor. Its other electrical locations are Anaheim and Riverside. Contact 714-779-3199 or studentintake@abcsocal.net.
- Los Angeles Trade Technical College, 400 West Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015, DIR approved school #106. Electrical Construction and Maintenance offers an Electrician AS at 42 required units, an Electrician Certificate, and Construction Technician credentials.
Four more DIR approved trainee schools sit inside the city: East Los Angeles Occupational Center #152 at 2100 Marengo St, Abram Friedman Occupational Center #166 at 1646 S. Olive St, Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center #185 at 10925 S. Central Ave, and North Valley Occupational Center #195 at 11450 Sharp Ave in Mission Hills.
The State of California approves those schools. This site is not one of them, and nothing here counts toward the trainee curriculum or the 32 renewal hours.
Where the exams are given
The certification exam is delivered by CPS HR Consulting through Pearson VUE for exams on or after June 1, 2026. Candidates receive an authorization to test by email and pick a site inside the Pearson VUE scheduling system, and neither the Candidate Information Bulletin nor the state test information page publishes a list of California test center cities.
The contractor exams are easier to place. The Contractors State License Board lists test centers at Carson, Lawndale, El Monte and Santa Fe Springs, Diamond Bar and Agoura Hills inside the Los Angeles area, with Irvine and Riverside nearby. Scheduling runs through PSI online or at (877) 392-6422, and both exams are closed book.
What the work pays around Los Angeles
The median for electricians in the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim area is $35.49 an hour and $73,810 a year, from O*NET OnLine citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. The state median is $36.62 and $76,160.
Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for the wider construction and extraction group in the same metro, from the May 2025 release, put it at 3.0 percent of local employment and $37.07 mean hourly. That figure covers the whole occupational group, not electricians alone.
Your next move in Los Angeles
Get hired by a C-10 electrical contractor first, because only hours worked for one count toward certification. Then register as an electrician trainee for $25 and enroll in one of the approved schools above.
If your work is on one firm's own premises, ask the county whether the maintenance electrician registration fits your situation before you build hours toward a card you may not need.
Questions people ask
Do I need a Los Angeles city electrician license?
No city issued electrician license or registration appears on the LADBS pages read for this page. What the city does require is an electrical permit for any electrical work. The certification card comes from the state.
What is the Los Angeles County maintenance electrician registration?
A county certificate for an electrician permanently employed by one firm to work on that firm's own premises. It asks for two years of experience with that firm, is applied for by a responsible officer of the firm, and describes no exam.
How much is the county maintenance electrician registration?
The county prints two figures. The certification page says $222.10 and the 2026 County of Los Angeles Electrical Code says $305.26. Call Building and Safety at (626) 458-3170 before paying.
Where can I take the electrician exam in Los Angeles?
The state certification exam is scheduled inside the Pearson VUE system and no California city list is published. The contractor exams have Board test centers at Carson, Lawndale, El Monte and Santa Fe Springs, Diamond Bar and Agoura Hills.
How do I get into the IBEW Local 11 apprenticeship?
Applications go through the Electrical Training Institute in Commerce. Its 2026 windows are January 5, April 6, July 6 and October 5 to 9, applications stay open until 2,000 are received, and meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee selection.
What do electricians earn in Los Angeles?
The median for the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim area is $35.49 an hour and $73,810 a year, from O*NET OnLine citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. The California median is $36.62 an hour.
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
- LA County maintenance electrician registration Sets the county certificate, its two year experience rule, its expiration and its fee. source
- 2026 County of Los Angeles Electrical Code Adopts the 2025 California Electrical Code by reference and prints its own registration fee. source
- LADBS electrical permits States that electrical permits are required for any electrical work and describes the permit routes. source
- Electrical Training Institute Publishes the 2026 apprenticeship application windows and the application conditions. source
- CSLB examination FAQ Lists the contractor test center cities, the closed book rule and PSI scheduling. source
- O*NET OnLine local wages, 47-2111 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.