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How to become an electrician in Oklahoma
Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board licenses journeyman electricians and electrical contractors, and Oklahoma law makes it a misdemeanor to perform the work of a journeyman electrician without a journeyman electrician or electrical contractor license. An apprentice registers with the Board and works under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman or contractor; the unlimited journeyman exam takes 8,000 verifiable hours as a registered apprentice, 4,000 of them in commercial or industrial work. Electricians in Oklahoma earned a median $61,010 a year in May 2025 ($29.33 an hour).
Electrician licensing in Oklahoma
The licensing authority is Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (Electrical). The pages each row was read from are listed under the table, with the date each was read.
| License | What it takes | Experience | Exam | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical Apprentice (registration) | Register with the Board ($25: a $20 registration fee and a $5 application fee) while working for an active, licensed electrical contractor who provides direct on-the-job supervision; the contractor signs the application. The Electrical License Act defines an apprentice as a person 16 or older learning the work under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman or contractor. No more than three apprentices work under one journeyman or contractor. The registration is issued for one year, and apprentice work counts toward a license only when it is verifiable through the registration, unless it was lawfully obtained while exempt. From January 1, 2026, an apprentice completes 3 hours of continuing education each year before reregistering, unless the apprentice is a student apprentice or is enrolled and attending an approved course. | — | — | $25 |
| Unlimited Electrical Journeyman | 8,000 verifiable hours of on-the-job experience in the electrical construction trade as a registered apprentice under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman or contractor, 4,000 of them in commercial or industrial work; up to 2,000 hours may come from formal electrical education, as classroom hours verified with a transcript. Applicants must be 18 or older. Then the Oklahoma electrical exam, taken with the Board's national testing provider, PSI, which provides the study materials, testing fees and testing dates; a passing score is 70% on each part, and a failed exam can be taken again after 30 days. The Board's fee is $75 ($50 license and $25 processing). A journeyman works for an active, licensed electrical contractor. | 8,000 hrs (≈ 4 yrs) | Oklahoma electrical journeyman exam (PSI) | $75 |
| Residential Electrical Journeyman | A license limited to wiring one and two family dwellings: 4,000 verifiable hours of on-the-job experience as a registered apprentice under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman or contractor, up to 1,000 of them from formal electrical education. Then the Oklahoma electrical exam; the Board's fee is $75 ($50 license and $25 processing). | 4,000 hrs (≈ 2 yrs) | Oklahoma electrical journeyman exam (PSI) | $75 |
| Unlimited Electrical Contractor | 12,000 verifiable hours of on-the-job experience in electrical construction work, including 4,000 hours and 2 years as a licensed unlimited electrical journeyman employed by a licensed electrical contractor and 6,000 hours of commercial or industrial work; up to 2,000 hours may come from formal electrical education. A contractor must be an owner, partner or officer in the electrical firm. Then the contractor exam; the Board's fee is $330 ($300 license and $30 processing). Bond and insurance are required to activate a contractor license, and an active contractor gives the Board proof of workers' compensation coverage, or an affidavit of exemption or self-insurance, after initial approval but before doing electrical work, and again at each renewal. | 12,000 hrs (≈ 6 yrs) | Oklahoma electrical contractor exam (PSI) | $330 |
Reciprocity. The Board has reciprocal journeyman electrician agreements with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. The license must have been held at least one year and cannot be a grandfathered license.
Renewal. Every year: a license expires on the last day of the licensee's birth month, and from January 1, 2026, a journeyman or contractor license is renewed only after 12 hours of continuing education every three years, 6 of them on codes and revisions.
Licensing sources: Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: electrical (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: electrical apprentice (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: electrical journeyman (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: electrical contractor (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: guidelines for electrical license through reciprocity (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: apprentice application (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: electrical application (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: Electrical License Act (59 O.S. 1680 et seq.) (retrieved 2026-10-03). Requirements change; confirm with Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (Electrical) before you act.
Years to this license at your hours a week → · Every fee here, itemised and totalled → · Compare time and cost across trades and states →
Common questions
Do you need a license to work as an electrician in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board licenses journeyman electricians and electrical contractors, and Oklahoma law makes it a misdemeanor to perform the work of a journeyman electrician without a journeyman electrician or electrical contractor license. An apprentice registers with the Board and works under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman or contractor; the unlimited journeyman exam takes 8,000 verifiable hours as a registered apprentice, 4,000 of them in commercial or industrial work.
What does it cost to get licensed as an electrician in Oklahoma?
The published fees in the table above run from $25 to $330 depending on the tier. Read each tier's requirements for any exam or license-issue fee charged on top.
How long does it take to become an electrician in Oklahoma?
You can be licensed as Unlimited Electrical Journeyman after 8,000 hours of on-the-job training; higher tiers take longer. The time-to-journeyman calculator turns the hours into years at your own hours a week. Residential Electrical Journeyman, a separate license, takes 4,000 hours.
How much do electricians make in Oklahoma?
Electricians in Oklahoma earned a median $61,010 a year in May 2025, $29.33 an hour. That median is 3% below the national figure of $63,190, and Oklahoma ranks 39 of 51 by pay for this trade.
How much do apprentice electricians make in Oklahoma?
In fiscal 2023 (October 2022 to September 2023), among registered apprentices in Oklahoma under the occupation titles the U.S. Department of Labor maps to electricians, 307 apprentices started, at a median $18.00 an hour across the 307 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $28.98 an hour at completion (54 completers with an exit wage DOL counts). Wages are in that year's dollars.
What electricians earn in Oklahoma
Electricians in Oklahoma earned a median $61,010 a year in May 2025, $29.33 an hour. 8,500 people held the job, 5.0 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 3% below the national figure of $63,190, and Oklahoma ranks 39 of 51 by pay for this trade.
The full wage spread in Oklahoma
| Point | Hourly | Annual | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.22 | $37,900 | A tenth of the workforce earns less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $22.90 | $47,640 | A quarter earn less. |
| Median | $29.33 | $61,010 | Half earn less, half earn more. |
| 75th percentile | $36.78 | $76,510 | A quarter earn more. |
| 90th percentile | $44.59 | $92,740 | A tenth earn more than this. |
| Mean | $30.49 | $63,410 | The average. Pulled up by the top earners. |
Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.
Pay by metro area in Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, OK employs the most electricians of the 4 metro areas based in Oklahoma that BLS publishes, 3,100, at a median $61,010 a year. The best-paid is Tulsa, OK at $62,280.
| Metro | Employed | Median annual | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City, OK | 3,100 | $61,010 | $37,130 | $91,070 |
| Tulsa, OK | 2,750 | $62,280 | $38,820 | $94,890 |
| Lawton, OK | 190 | $56,500 | $44,630 | $90,370 |
| Enid, OK | 160 | $58,970 | $36,270 | $91,880 |
Metropolitan statistical areas as BLS publishes them in the same May 2025 estimates. A metro that crosses a state line is listed only under its primary state, so part of a neighboring state's metro can sit outside this table. Areas outside any metro are not shown. Listed under another state but reaching into Oklahoma: Fort Smith, AR-OK.
Oklahoma against its neighbors on the pay ladder
| # | State | Median annual | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | South Dakota | $61,390 | 2,980 |
| 37 | Tennessee | $61,090 | 17,070 |
| 38 | Arizona | $61,060 | 21,140 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $61,010 | 8,500 |
| 40 | Iowa | $60,860 | 10,310 |
| 40 | Mississippi | $60,860 | 6,610 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $60,820 | 6,440 |
The complete ranking is on the Electricians page.
Against the national figure
| Figure | Oklahoma | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual | $61,010 | $63,190 |
| Median hourly | $29.33 | $30.38 |
| 10th percentile, annual | $37,900 | $42,640 |
| 90th percentile, annual | $92,740 | $108,510 |
| Employed | 8,500 | 757,220 |
Apprenticeships in Oklahoma
U.S. Department of Labor records list 636 registered apprentices active in Oklahoma in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) under the occupation titles DOL maps to electricians (SOC 47-2111). The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024. In fiscal 2023, the latest year the file holds in full, 307 apprentices started, at a median $18.00 an hour across the 307 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $28.98 an hour at completion (54 completers with an exit wage DOL counts).
Find a registered program: DOL's Apprenticeship Finder → · What those wages come to at your hours a week → · Every state's count and wages for this trade →
Wages are DOL's own hourly figures in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Which wages DOL counts, which titles count and how the state is assigned are on the data page.
Other trades in Oklahoma
Plumbers and pipefitters ($57,970) · HVAC technicians ($57,560) · Welders ($49,720) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($54,410) · Lineworkers (power-line installers) ($76,010) · Elevator installers ($105,430) · Ironworkers ($47,660) · Sheet metal workers ($65,640) · Carpenters ($46,910) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($50,620) · Auto service technicians ($46,560) · Diesel mechanics ($55,340) · Heavy equipment operators ($47,970) · Machinists ($51,120)
See all 15 ranked by pay in Oklahoma.
The pay and employment figures on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, apart from the apprenticeship figures, which are DOL's; the licensing detail is read from the pages listed in the licensing section, each with the date it was read. See how the numbers are built.