Electrician License in Massachusetts: Fees, Requirements & Startup Costs
Quick answer: Massachusetts has separate individual electrical licenses and business-entity licensing. The individual journeyman route requires 600 hours of approved education, a 15-hour code-update class and 8,000 supervised work hours over at least four years; the master route builds on a Massachusetts journeyman license. An electrical business entity needs an appropriate licensed person as licensee of record. See the Board’s individual pathway and business application. The business-fee figures on the latter conflict, so no definite business-fee total is given here.
Source check: October 23, 2026. The business application fee conflict, required insurance documents and individual-entry requirements were checked. The unresolved business fee is excluded from calculator totals; older individual fee records retain their own source dates. Original publication and other data-record dates are retained.
Two credentials, two roles
Massachusetts splits authority between the entity and the person. The electrical business license belongs to the corporation, LLC, or partnership that offers electrical contracting. The Master Electrician license belongs to the individual who qualifies that business. The Board’s business-license FAQ requires an LLC’s Licensee of Record to be listed as a Manager, and a corporation’s as an Officer, in Secretary of the Commonwealth filings. Those filings must accompany the application. An outside contract alone does not establish that required company role. This requirement was source-checked October 22, 2026.
A sole practitioner who operates under a business entity still needs the business license. The individual Master Electrician credential does not substitute for it. Plan the filing order so the qualifying individual is in place before the business license application moves forward.
Licensing in Massachusetts
Jurisdiction: state
Authority: Board of State Examiners of Electricians
Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians licenses electrical business entities and their Master Electrician licensee of record under M.G.L. c. 141 and 237 CMR 16.00.
Electrical business license
BUSINESS Corporation, LLC or partnership offering electrical contracting; must have a Massachusetts licensed Master Electrician as licensee of record.
| Fee | Amount | Period (years) |
|---|---|---|
| Each new electrical business license | Not listed here | — |
Exam: Not listed here
Experience: Must have or contract with a Massachusetts licensed Master Electrician as licensee of record.
Insurance: Required: Limited Liability Certificate of Insurance for LLCs and limited liability partnerships · Note: Coverage dollar limit not established by the reviewed application text · Source
Renewal and CE: Not listed here
Master Electrician
INDIVIDUAL Individual qualifying license for an electrical business; a sole practitioner operating under a business entity also needs the business license.
| Fee | Amount | Period (years) |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Class A Master Electrician application and exam (confirm applicable fees with the Board and PSI) | Not listed here | — |
| Original Master Electrician Certificate A after passing exam | $155 OFFICIAL FEE Source — www.mass.gov | 3 |
| Master Electrician renewal | $117 OFFICIAL FEE Source — www.mass.gov | 3 |
Exam: Provider: PSI · Source
Experience: Massachusetts Journeyman Electrician license plus at least one year of work experience.
Education: 150 hours of Board-approved education after qualifying as Journeyman; Journeyman route requires 600 hours of approved education and 8,000 work hours over at least four years.
Renewal and CE: Renewal period: 3 years · Source
Background check: DOL CORI form appears among application documents.
Local note: Local electrical permits and inspections may apply.
Data notes
Business fee source conflicts as checked October 23, 2026; business initial fee and total are not confirmed. Other individual fee records retain their own source dates.
Verified: 2026-09-25
The Master Electrician path
The Board’s individual application page lists 600 hours of approved education, a 15-hour code-update class and 8,000 work hours over at least four years for a journeyman. The master route requires a Massachusetts journeyman license, at least one year of work experience and 150 hours of approved education. Applying through eLIPSE and gaining Board approval comes before scheduling the exam with PSI.
The exam is administered by PSI. For an individual Master Electrician (Class A) application, use the Board’s individual fee schedule. The application fee is paid to the Board and the examination fee to PSI when scheduling. Select the Master Electrician category and confirm the amount for the exam portions you are taking. After passing, the original Master Electrician Certificate A costs $155 for a three-year term, per the state fee schedule. A DOL CORI form appears among the application documents.
Renewal and continuing education
The Master Electrician license renews every three years at $117, according to the renewal guidance. Renewal fees are not part of the starting cost of the business; treat them as a recurring operating expense.
The Massachusetts Board requires proof of 21 hours of continuing education in the three years before renewal, source-checked October 22, 2026. Verify any exemptions or individual requirements with the Board. This individual-license requirement is separate from the business license renewal amount and term, which were not independently confirmed in this check. The business application page notes that the state was moving filings to its eLIPSE online system, so filing steps may change.
Bond, insurance, and the local layer
The business application requires a Limited Liability Certificate of Insurance for LLCs and limited liability partnerships. It does not establish a universal dollar coverage limit in the reviewed text. Confirm the documents for the actual entity type; an unspecified limit is not a zero-insurance requirement. This check does not establish a blanket exemption from other applicable coverage requirements.
Local electrical permits and inspections may apply on top of the state credentials. Permit rules, application procedures, and inspection scheduling are set by the city or town with jurisdiction over the job address. A state license does not create a statewide permit policy. Build permit time and inspection returns into estimates for service upgrades, new circuits, and panel replacements.
Budget the launch
The official business application page currently conflicts: its fee instructions state $233 at application and $155 after approval, while its table states $221 per license. These figures are not added together or selected as a confirmed current business charge. Confirm the payment with the Board/eLIPSE before filing. Individual master exam and certificate charges are separate from the entity fee. The calculator below excludes the unresolved licensing total instead of presenting a partial sum or zero. See startup costs for the other opening-budget components.
Startup Cost Calculator
Estimated startup cost: $7,900–$10,300
Estimated startup cost: $7,900–$10,300. Break-even at about 7 jobs per month.
| Licensing & exam fees | Not included OFFICIALLicense details |
|---|---|
| Business formation (state filing) | $500 OFFICIAL |
| Insurance (first year) | $730–$940 MARKET ESTIMATEGeneral liability |
| Vehicle acquisition | $0 YOUR INPUTYour existing vehicle; acquisition cost $0Vehicle price sources |
| Tools & equipment | $30 MARKET ESTIMATEStarter kit items
|
| Software (first year) | $590–$2,250 MARKET ESTIMATEPublished monthly list price × 12Software price sources
|
| Launch marketing | $1,500 YOUR INPUTYour input — default: 3 months × $500 |
| Payroll reserve | $0 CALCULATEDBLS median wage × 173 hours/month × employees × employer taxes and ECEC benefits × working-capital months |
| Working capital | $4,550–$5,050 CALCULATEDMonthly overhead excluding payroll (shown separately) × working-capital months |
| Permits & compliance | $0 YOUR INPUTYour input — default $0; local requirements may apply |
Monthly overhead: $1,500–$1,700 · Annual operating: $18,200–$20,100 · Break-even: 7 jobs/month
Vehicle operating per month: $760 CALCULATED
Phone and admin per month: $150 YOUR INPUT
Not included in total: Licensing & exam fees.
Show formula
Startup total is the sum of available first-year cost lines. Monthly overhead includes insurance, software, marketing, vehicle operating, phone and admin, and payroll. Break-even jobs = monthly overhead ÷ (average ticket × gross margin).
For a broader comparison, read the electrician license requirements by state and the sibling pages for California and Florida.
No. Individual journeyman/master credentials and the business-entity license have different roles. The entity must have an appropriate Massachusetts licensed person as licensee of record. The application page contains conflicting fee figures: $233 application and $155 after approval in the instructions, versus $221 in the table. Confirm with the Board or eLIPSE; this guide does not treat one figure as a confirmed total. The Board lists 600 hours of approved education, a 15-hour code-update class and 8,000 work hours over at least four years under a licensed Massachusetts journeyman. The business application requires a Limited Liability Certificate of Insurance for LLCs and limited liability partnerships. The reviewed text does not establish a universal coverage dollar limit.Frequently asked questions
Is a Massachusetts electrician license the same as a business license?
What does the Massachusetts electrical business license cost?
What education and experience does a journeyman need?
Does an electrical LLC need insurance documents?
Last updated: November 9, 2026