On October 22, 2026, Pennsylvania enacted Act 108 (Senate Bill 1260), the Electrical Services Licensure Act.  A significant feature of the legislation is the move away from Pennsylvania's patchwork of local electrical licensing requirements. While municipalities will continue to regulate permits, inspections, and code enforcement, state licensure will generally serve as the required credential for competency-based licensing statewide. An overview of Act 108 follows:

A New State Board

The Act creates a new State Board of Electrical Licensure, which will sit within the Department of State. It has 10 members: the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs (or a designee), two public members and eight professionals. The professionals are split evenly among union contractors, non-union contractors, union electricians and non-union electricians. The board issues, renews, suspends and revokes licenses, sets fees and administers exams.

Five License Tiers

  • Electrical contractor: age 23 or older, completed training or equivalent experience, 10,000 hours of work, an exam and professional liability insurance.

  • Electrician: age 21 or older, a registered apprenticeship or 8,000 hours as a residential electrician, and an exam.

  • Residential electrician: age 19 or older and an exam. Work is limited mainly to single-family homes and apartment buildings up to four stories.

  • Apprentice electrician: age 16 or older, registered with the Department of Labor & Industry.

  • Probationary electrical worker: age 17 or older, working under direct onsite supervision, on a six-month license that can be renewed once.

Continuing education is 16 hours every two years for contractors and eight hours for electricians and residential electricians.

Local Licensing is Preempted

A municipality can’t require a state-licensed individual to get an additional license, and local rules on qualifications, fitness and competence are superseded. Local authorities keep their taxes and fees, permit authority, health and safety ordinances and inspection powers.

Transition and Exceptions

Applicants who apply within one year after the licensing mandate takes effect can skip the exam if they qualify, for example by holding a comparable municipal license or showing enough experience. The board can license out-of-state electricians from states with equal or higher standards, and issues temporary licenses of 90 to 180 days to out-of-state workers who are preparing to take the exam. Exemptions include owner-occupied homes and farmsteads, utility work, elevators, in-house facility employees and certain shipboard work.

Penalties and Timeline

A violation is a third-degree misdemeanor. The first offense carries a fine of up to $2,000 or up to six months in jail. The board can also impose civil penalties of up to $10,000.

Most of the act takes effect in 60 days, which will be December 21, 2026. The core licensing requirement, reciprocity and the criminal penalties take effect two years after enactment, and the board must write regulations within 18 months.

What to do now

Electrical contractors and employers should begin compiling qualification and experience records, identifying personnel who may qualify for grandfathering, monitoring the Board's forthcoming regulations, and preparing compliance programs ahead of the October 2028 licensing deadline.