Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07
From nothing to licensed
How to Become an Electrician in Minnesota: The Real Order
Nobody in Minnesota starts with a license. The first move is paid work under somebody else's license, and the state gives you a $14 registration to make that time count. Everything after that is bookkeeping and a Wednesday in St. Paul.
Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed
On this page
The first move is a job
Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 13 assumes you are already working: unlicensed individuals performing electrical work for a contractor or employer shall register with the department. The registration follows the work rather than the other way round.
326B.33, subdivision 12(a) limits a licensed individual to supervising no more than two unlicensed individuals, or three on technology circuits, so the number of openings on a crew is set by the number of licensed people on it.
DLI states that applicants must be at least 17 years old.
Three ways people get that first job
A registered apprenticeship. DLI names eight construction electrician sponsors, and most of them run an aptitude test and an application window rather than accepting people year round. Two Duluth programs test in February on fixed days. Design Electric in St. Cloud is the one sponsor DLI lists with no aptitude test.
A college program. An approved two year post high school electrical course is worth a maximum of one year of experience credit, which takes a 48 month journeyworker requirement down to 36 months of field time.
Straight hire. A contractor hires you, you register, and your months start. This route costs $14 and no tuition, and it is how a large share of the 16,074 registered unlicensed electricians the board counted in April 2026 got started.
What you are collecting
Months in named categories, not hours. The Class A journeyworker matrix wants 48 months with at least 24 in wiring for and installing, and it credits nothing at all for planning, laying out or supervising.
That last point catches people who get promoted early. Time spent laying out a job is master experience, and on the journeyworker matrix it is worth zero.
Your registration is where the record lives, which is why the registration form warns about losing accrued work experience if it lapses.
Choosing which license to point at
Class A journeyworker is the default and the one most people mean. Forty eight months, an 80 question exam, $48.
Power limited technician is shorter at 36 months if your work is alarm, audio, control or signaling behind a demarcation. Maintenance electrician fits a plant or a campus job and asks for 24 months in maintaining and repairing. Lineman needs 48 months with an electrical utility and sits its exam on a different book. Class B installer asks for 12 months and carries a $1,000 bond.
Class A master is not a starting point. It needs 60 months, or one year holding the journeyworker license, or a four year electrical course.
The day itself
DLI runs the exam. It is weekly, generally on a Wednesday, at 443 Lafayette Road N. in St. Paul, and it runs 8:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. for every license type.
Five and a half hours, 70 percent to pass, and the department hands you the code book. It is soft cover and it has no tabs or other aids. If you fail, you may apply to retake 30 days after notification, with a new application and a new $50 fee.
What the work pays
O*NET OnLine, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, gives Minnesota electricians a median of $37.58 an hour or $78,160 a year. The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro sits at $39.37 and $81,890, Duluth at $39.76 and $82,700, and Rochester at $38.29 and $79,650.
The southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area is the lowest row on that table at $30.80 an hour. Location moves this number more than most people expect.
A realistic timeline
Year one, get hired and register. Years one to four, work and renew the registration every year with its two hours of continuing education and its work experience form.
Around month 44, file the examination application, because DLI has to approve it before a date exists and the elicense entry puts the whole cycle at about 60 days. Sit the paper, pay $48, and start the 16 hour continuing education cycle that follows the license.
Questions people ask
How do I start as an electrician in Minnesota with no experience?
Get hired by a licensed contractor or employer and register with DLI as an unlicensed individual. The registration is $14, has no examination, and it is what makes your work experience count toward a license.
Do I need to go to school to be an electrician in Minnesota?
No. School is optional and worth a maximum of one year of experience credit for an approved two year post high school electrical course. The requirement itself is months of qualifying work.
How old do you have to be to start?
DLI states that applicants must be at least 17 years old. Individual apprenticeship sponsors set their own ages on top of that, and several ask for 18 at the time of hire or selection.
How much do electricians make in Minnesota?
O*NET OnLine, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, gives a statewide median of $37.58 an hour or $78,160 a year. Mankato is the highest metro row at $39.96 an hour and Duluth is next at $39.76.
How long until I can take the journeyworker exam?
Forty eight months of qualifying experience, with at least 24 in wiring for and installing. An approved two year post high school electrical course can supply 12 of those months.
What happens if I fail the exam?
You may submit an application to retake it 30 days after notification that you failed, and the guide says you must submit a new application and examination fee before being approved for reexamination.
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
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 The registration duty, the supervision ratio and the experience each license asks for. source
- DLI electrical licensing basics The age of 17, the supervision limit and the registration renewal requirements. source
- DLI experience requirements The month matrices for every license, with the category minimums and maximums. source
- DLI construction electrician apprenticeships The eight registered sponsors, their fees and their aptitude test arrangements. source
- DLI Licensing Examination Guide The weekly schedule, the times, the pass mark and the 30 day retake rule. source
- O*NET OnLine local wages for 47-2111 Minnesota 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.