An Alabama electrical license renewal is due every year before the expiration date printed on your license, filed with the Alabama Electrical Contractors Board (AECB) along with the renewal fee and, for contractors, proof of continuing education. Miss the date and you cannot legally perform electrical work until the license is restored.
When Your License Expires
All three AECB license classes — Electrical Contractor, Journeyman Electrician, and Provisional Electrical Contractor — renew on a yearly cycle. Your renewal application and fee must reach the board before the expiration date on your license.1Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors. Alabama Code 34-36-8 – Expiration and Renewal of Licenses The board sends a renewal notice to your last known postal or email address about 30 days ahead of expiration, so keeping your contact details current with the AECB matters.2Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors. Administrative Code Operations of the Board Chapter 303-X-2
If you mail your renewal, the board goes by the date received, not the postmark. Send early.
Renewal Fees
Annual fees depend on which license you hold:3Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Fees
- Electrical Contractor: $150.00
- Journeyman Electrician: $35.00
- Provisional Electrical Contractor: $75.00
The board does not accept personal or business checks. By mail, pay with a certified check or money order made out to “State of Alabama.” Online and credit card payments carry a 4% service fee.4Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Forms and Testing Information
Continuing Education for Contractors
Electrical Contractors and Provisional Electrical Contractors must complete 14 hours of continuing education during each two-year educational period before renewal. At least 7 of those hours must cover the National Electrical Code or NFPA standards; the other 7 can be any board-approved subject.5Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Chapter 303-X-5 Continuing Education
Courses must come from an AECB-approved provider. The provider is required to send a certified class roster to the board within 30 days of your course, but confirm your records actually posted at least 60 days before your expiration date and hold onto your own completion certificates in case of an audit.5Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Chapter 303-X-5 Continuing Education
Alabama currently enforces the 2020 edition of the NEC, which took effect July 1, 2022.6NFPA. Learn Where the NEC Is Enforced If you are picking a code-focused course, check that it covers the edition the state actually enforces.
Two groups skip CE. Journeyman Electricians have no continuing education requirement at all.7Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Continuing Education Contractors and journeymen who first got their license by examination within the 24 months before renewal are exempt for that first cycle.5Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Chapter 303-X-5 Continuing Education
How to Submit the Renewal
The quickest route is the online portal at aecb.alabama.gov, which lets you pay electronically and get immediate confirmation.8Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Alabama Electrical Contractors Board – Home
To renew by mail, download a current renewal form from the AECB website and send it with payment to:
AECB
100 N. Union Street, Suite 986
Montgomery, AL 361048Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Alabama Electrical Contractors Board – Home
The board has moved from its former Zelda Road address. Old forms may still show the wrong office, so always pull a fresh form from the website.
If You Miss the Deadline
You cannot legally perform electrical work on an expired license. Working during the gap between expiration and reinstatement carries the same exposure as working without a license at all.
A late fee applies on top of the regular renewal: $50.00 for Electrical Contractors and $15.00 for Journeyman Electricians.2Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors. Administrative Code Operations of the Board Chapter 303-X-2
Reinstatement gets harder the longer the license sits expired:
- Electrical Contractor: reinstatement is only possible within five years of expiration. You pay a $250.00 restoration fee plus every missed annual renewal fee, and you must make up all accumulated CE, which can reach 35 hours. After five years, the license is gone and you start the application and examination process over.3Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Fees
- Journeyman Electrician: the window is two years. After that, the license cannot be renewed or reissued, and you must apply as a new candidate and retake the licensing exam. On a $35.00 annual fee, letting a journeyman license lapse that long is a costly oversight.
A Note on Out-of-State Licenses
Renewal applies to licenses the AECB already issued. If you are coming in from another state, Alabama has reciprocity with Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana — you still take the Alabama Business and Law Exam through Provexam.com and pay a $315.00 reciprocity fee, but not the full trade exam. The reciprocity agreement with Georgia ends on May 25, 2026, so Georgia license holders who want to come in through that route need to finish the process before then.4Alabama Electrical Contractors Board. Forms and Testing Information