Delaware Electrical License: Types, DELPROS Application, and Exam

To get a Delaware electrical license, you apply to the Board of Electrical Examiners through the state’s DELPROS online portal, submit proof of your supervised work experience, and pass a written exam based on the current National Electrical Code. The Board, part of the Division of Professional Regulation, issues licenses in several tiers, and the right one for you depends on how much experience you have and what kind of work you plan to do.¹

Which License You Need

Delaware issues apprentice, journeyperson, residential, limited, and master licenses, plus specialty versions of the master and limited credentials.¹ Picking the wrong tier is one of the most common reasons applications stall, so settle this before you log into DELPROS.

Apprentice

This is the entry point. You need an apprentice license before you can legally perform electrical work in Delaware or start logging hours that count toward a higher tier. To qualify, you must be enrolled in an apprenticeship program approved by the Delaware Board or by any state’s Department of Labor. Holding an apprentice license from another state does not change this; you still have to enroll in a Delaware-approved program before working here.²

Journeyperson

A journeyperson works under the supervision of a master, limited, or specialty electrician. The non-apprenticeship route requires at least 8,000 hours of full-time experience as a licensed apprentice under a master electrician, plus completion of an apprenticeship-related technical instruction program. If you completed a registered apprenticeship and hold the journey papers or certificate of completion, the exam requirement is waived.³

Residential and Limited

A residential license authorizes work in dwellings under the supervision of a master or limited electrician. A limited license covers residential work in structures with four or fewer dwelling units and takes three years of full-time experience under a master or limited supervisor.⁴ Neither credential is a general-purpose license; the scope stays residential.⁵

Master

A master license is the broadest credential Delaware offers. It authorizes you to plan, supervise, and perform electrical work in residential, commercial, and industrial settings, and it is also what you need to run an electrical contracting business. Three paths qualify you:⁶

Six years of full-time work under a licensed master electrician.
8,000 hours of full-time experience under a master, combined with 576 hours of related instruction and a certificate of completion from a registered apprenticeship program.
Four years of full-time experience under a master, plus two years of technical training.

Specialty Licenses

The master special and limited special licenses cover a single trade area: swimming pools, electric signs, HVAC, refrigeration, oil burners, or overhead and underground primary distribution systems. The limited special version is confined to structures with four or fewer dwelling units.⁵ These make sense when your work genuinely sits in one specialty rather than general electrical practice.

Applying Through DELPROS

All applications go through DELPROS (Delaware Professional Regulation Online Services). The Division no longer accepts paper applications.⁷ The steps:

Create an account at delpros.delaware.gov under “Apply/Manage a License and Service Requests.”
Select the specific license type. Each one has its own documentation checklist.
Upload your proof of experience. This usually takes the form of Verification of Employment forms from your supervising electricians describing the nature and duration of your work. Documents that require a supervisor signature, seal, or notary may need to be mailed to the Board directly instead of uploaded.
Pay the application fee. Fees are non-refundable whether or not you are approved.

One deadline catches people out: you have six months from starting your application to submit it. Miss that window and you start over.⁷ Collect every document before you create the application.

Application Fees

Current administrative fees by license type:⁸

Master Electrician: $203
Master Electrician Special: $200
Limited Electrician: $127
Limited Electrician Special: $127
Journeyperson Electrician: $105

These are processing fees only. The exam vendor charges separately.

The Exam

Unless you qualify for the registered-apprenticeship waiver on the journeyperson track, you have to pass a written exam. Every electrical exam Delaware administers is based on the most current edition of the National Electrical Code the state has adopted.⁹

Testing is run by ProV. You can sit the exam in person at one of four locations in Wilmington, Newark, or Dover, or take it online through Examroom from a compatible home computer. In-person testing runs two to five days a week depending on the facility; online testing is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Both require a scheduled appointment, and you need a minimum score of 75% to pass.⁹ Once your application is approved, ProV sends you the authorization to schedule.

Insurance for Master, Limited, and Specialty Holders

If you are applying for a master, limited, or specialty license, Delaware requires at least $300,000 in general liability insurance. Proof must come in with your application, and you attest to continued coverage at every renewal.¹⁰ Journeyperson, residential, and apprentice applicants do not have to carry their own policy, but your employer’s coverage has to cover the work you do.

A practical note for master and limited holders: if you take side work outside your regular employer, you need separate insurance for that independent work even when your employer insures you on the main job. Skipping it puts the license at risk.¹⁰

Coming From Another State

Delaware handles reciprocity state by state. The Board has decided which states have “substantially similar” standards and which do not.

If your current license is from Maryland or New Jersey, your training is treated as substantially equivalent. You submit the DELPROS application, provide verification that your license is active and in good standing, pay the fee, and skip the additional proof of experience.¹¹

For states the Board has not deemed substantially similar — a list that includes Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas — you have to show you have practiced under your current license for at least five years after obtaining it. That proof is usually an employer affidavit; if you cannot get one, W-2 forms or tax records showing five years of full-time work may be accepted at the Board’s discretion, and self-employed applicants can submit Schedule C forms.¹¹ Even then, the Board can still require an exam or additional documentation case by case. Reciprocity generally applies only to licenses originally earned by passing an exam; if your home-state license was itself obtained through reciprocity, Delaware may not accept it.

Keeping the License Active

Every Delaware electrical license expires on June 30 of each even-numbered year and renews on a two-year cycle through DELPROS.¹² If your license lapses, you cannot legally work until it is reinstated, and the late fee is 50% of the renewal fee.⁸

Continuing education depends on the license. Master, limited, and specialty holders need 10 hours per renewal period, and from the second renewal onward, five of those hours have to cover the NEC. Journeyperson, residential, and apprentice holders need 5 hours of Board-approved NEC-related education per period.¹⁰ If you have held the license less than a year at your first renewal, no CE is required; between one and two years, the requirement drops to five hours for master and limited holders and two hours for journeypersons and apprentices. Extra hours do not carry forward.¹³

Working Without a License

Performing electrical work in Delaware without the proper license is a misdemeanor. A first offense carries a fine between $500 and $1,500; a second or subsequent conviction runs from $1,500 to $2,300 per offense, prosecuted in the Justice of the Peace Courts.¹⁴ The Board can also pursue a cease and desist order through the Attorney General’s office against anyone providing electrical services without a license.⁶ That is why the apprentice license matters from day one: it is what makes any hands-on work in the state legal in the first place.

1
Division of Professional Regulation. Board of Electrical Examiners
2
Division of Professional Regulation. Apprentice Electrician
3
Delaware Department of Labor. Electrical Licensing FAQ
4
Division of Professional Regulation. Electrician License (Master, Limited, Master Special, Limited Special)
5
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 24 Chapter 14 Subchapter I
6
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 24 Chapter 14 Subchapter II
7
Division of Professional Regulation. Applying for a Professional License
8
Division of Professional Regulation. Fee Schedule
9
Division of Professional Regulation. Examination
10
Delaware Regulations. 1400 Board of Electrical Examiners
11
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 1400-11.0 – Reciprocity
12
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 1400-7.0 – Expiration and Renewal
13
Division of Professional Regulation. Continuing Education and Audit Information
14
Justia Law. Delaware Code Title 24 Chapter 14 Section 1424 – Penalty