Electrician licenses in
Delaware
Delaware licenses some electricians statewide and leaves the rest to cities and counties.
Official search run by Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) at delpros.delaware.gov.
What the license should say
In Delaware you'll see one of these on an electrician's card, bid or truck:
- Master electrician
- Individual; full electrical license requiring six years experience, or four years under a master electrician.
- Master electrician special
- Individual; master license limited to a specialty such as HVAC, elevators, signs, pools or refrigeration.
- Limited electrician
- Individual; license requiring three years experience under a master or limited electrician supervisor.
- Limited electrician special
- Individual; limited license restricted to HVAC or pool work.
- Journeyperson electrician
- Individual; performs electrical services under the supervision of a master or limited electrician while gaining experience.
- Residential electrician
- Individual; residential wiring without onsite supervision, limited to work before grid connection or beyond the breaker panel (24 Del. C. 1422A).
Hiring a company, not a person?
The state licenses individual electricians, not companies; counties and cities such as New Castle County separately license contracting businesses.
Doing it yourself
An owner-occupant of a single-family home not for sale or rent may get a Board homeowner permit to do their own wiring (not pools or hot tubs) with plan review and inspections by a licensed inspection agency; anyone else doing this work without a license or homeowner permit is an unlicensed practitioner (24 Del. C. 1401(23)).
City and county licenses
Some places in Delaware also license electricians locally.
-
New Castle County (unincorporated areas)
New Castle County Department of Land Use, Contractor Licensing
Not listed? Call the building department for the city or county where the work is.
Before you hire
- Contractor licensing in Delaware (small-job limits, bonds, permits)
- How to check a license in Delaware, step by step
- Before-you-hire checklist (one page, free PDF)
- File a complaint about an electrician (opens official site)
Keep this handy
We'll email you the one-page before-you-hire checklist, plus occasional tips on hiring safely.