Pennsylvania is getting a statewide license for electricians and electrical contractors, but nobody has to hold one until fall 2028. Senate Bill 1260 became Act 108 of 2026 when the governor approved it Oct. 22, according to the bill's page on the General Assembly website.
The House passed the final version 116-87 on Oct. 19, and the Senate signed off on the House changes 41-9 two days later. The Senate first passed the bill in June, 36-14. Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-37th District, was the prime sponsor.
The law, titled the Electrical Services Licensure Act, sets up a State Board of Electrical Licensure inside the Department of State. The 11-member board includes eight people from the trade, split evenly between union and non-union contractors and electricians. It'll write the rules, run the exams through an outside testing group and keep a public registry of license holders.
Timing is spelled out in Section 2103 of the final bill text, printer's number 2051. Sections 501, 505 and 702 take effect in two years. Those are the sections that require a license to do paid electrical work, cover licenses from other states and set criminal penalties. Everything else, including the board itself, kicks in 60 days after signing, which lands in late December. Section 2102 gives the board 18 months from its own effective date to adopt regulations.
There are five license types. A licensed electrical contractor is the business license, and it requires age 23, 10,000 hours of electrical work, an exam and professional liability insurance. A licensed electrician must be 21, pass an exam and either finish a registered apprenticeship or log 8,000 hours as a residential electrician. A licensed residential electrician must be 19 and pass an exam, and the license mainly covers single-family homes and apartment buildings up to four stories. Apprentice and probationary licenses let newer workers do the work under direct onsite supervision of a licensed electrician.
Once the license rule takes effect, contractors need 16 hours of continuing education every two years and electricians need eight. Working without a license will be a third-degree misdemeanor, with fines up to $2,000 for a first offense, and the board can add civil penalties up to $10,000.
For electricians who already hold a city license, Section 710 says a municipality must accept the state license as proof of competence and can't make a state licensee get a second license. Local rules on who's qualified to do electrical work are preempted. Towns keep their permits, inspections, taxes, fees and business privilege licenses. Philadelphia, for example, currently requires its own exam, four years of experience and insurance for an electrical contractor license, and Pittsburgh licenses individual electricians through a national master electrician exam.
Section 502(h) is the bridge. Anyone who applies within one year after Section 501 takes effect, which puts the deadline around fall 2029, can get a state license without an exam if they qualify. For an electrician license, that means a current municipal license from a town whose requirements are at least as strict as the act, 10,000 hours of prior experience or a completed registered apprenticeship. For a residential license, the hours drop to 6,000. A business holding a current municipal electrical contractor license can also skip the exam.
Electricians in towns that never licensed anyone have the same window. Hours and apprenticeship records will count, so documenting them now matters. Homeowners working on their own homes, including a single-family house they're building to live in, are exempt, and so are a facility's own employees working on their employer's premises.
Robinson framed the bill around consistency. When it cleared the Senate in June, he said it put the state "one step closer to creating a system that provides consistency for contractors and electricians across Pennsylvania."
Why it matters for Contractors
For builders and remodelers, nothing changes on the jobsite until 2028. After that, any electrical sub you hire for paid work will need a state license, and the act bars businesses from contracting with unlicensed electrical contractors. It's worth asking your regular electricians now whether they plan to use the waiver.
Electricians in small towns without local licensing should start pulling together pay stubs, tax records and apprenticeship paperwork to prove their hours. Those holding Philadelphia, Pittsburgh or other city licenses should keep them current, since a valid municipal license is the simplest ticket through the waiver.