California Electrician PrepCertification, exam and code, in one place

Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

Sacramento County

Sacramento CA Electrician License: Classes and Exams

Sacramento holds both a union training center serving 18 northern counties and the headquarters of the state's merit shop program. It also has a contractor test center in town and a college certificate written to the trainee curriculum.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

On this page
  1. The license a Sacramento electrician needs
  2. What is decided locally
  3. Where to train in Sacramento
  4. Where the exams are given
  5. What the work pays around Sacramento
  6. Your next move in Sacramento
  7. Questions people ask
  8. What this page cites

The license a Sacramento 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 is decided locally

No city electrician license appears in the state or local sources cited on this page. Both the certification card and the C-10 license are state documents.

Permits and inspections stay local. The statewide code in force is the 2025 California Electrical Code, effective January 1, 2026, and the exam supplies the 2023 National Electrical Code that edition is built on.

Where to train in Sacramento

The State of California approves those schools. This site is not one of them, and nothing published here counts as trainee instruction or toward 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.

Sacramento is on the Board's contractor test center list, with Walnut Creek, Union City and Redding the nearest others. Contractor exams are closed book, run 3 and a half hours each, and are scheduled through PSI online or at (877) 392-6422.

What the work pays around Sacramento

The median for electricians in the Sacramento, Roseville and Folsom area is $35.98 an hour and $74,830 a year, from O*NET OnLine citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data. The state median is $36.62 and $76,160.

The Bureau's May 2025 metro release puts construction and extraction occupations at 5.1 percent of local employment and $36.45 mean hourly, a share above the national 4.1 percent. That covers the whole occupational group.

Your next move in Sacramento

Decide between the union and merit shop routes early, because they run different application calendars. Either way the hours have to be worked for a C-10 electrical contractor.

If you are already certified, the same providers carry the 32 renewal hours. WECA lists state approved continuing education classes and American River College is on the state approved school list.

Questions people ask

Does Sacramento issue its own electrician license?

No city electrician license appears in the sources cited on this page. Certification comes from the Department of Industrial Relations and the C-10 from the Contractors State License Board.

How do I join the IBEW Local 340 apprenticeship?

Through the Sacramento Electrical Training Center, the joint training arm of IBEW Local Union 340 and the Greater Sacramento Chapter of NECA. It runs Inside Wireman, Sound and Communication, and Construction Wireman and Electrical Trainee programs.

What is the American River College electrician trainee program?

A Certificate of Achievement of 28.5 units across seven courses, covering residential and commercial distribution systems and finishing with ELTRN 180, a state certification preparation course. The college is a training provider recognized by the Department of Industrial Relations.

Where is WECA based?

At the Greg Anderson Memorial Training Facility, 3695 Bleckely Street, Rancho Cordova, CA 95655. WECA also runs training centers in San Diego, Riverside and Fresno.

Where do I take the contractor exam in Sacramento?

Sacramento is on the Contractors State License Board test center list, with Walnut Creek, Union City and Redding nearby. Each exam runs 3 and a half hours and both are closed book.

What do electricians earn in Sacramento?

The median for the Sacramento, Roseville and Folsom area is $35.98 an hour and $74,830 a year, from O*NET OnLine citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data.

Put it to the test

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.

Start the free practice testSee the $79 question bank

All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.

What this page cites

If your book is the other edition

The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

Free, weekly

One exam question a week, worked all the way through

One original question in the California style, the arithmetic worked, the code section named, and a short note whenever a California licensing or code rule moves. Unsubscribe in one click.