About the Connecticut E2 Journeyperson Electrician license
Connecticut licenses electricians through the Connecticut Dept. of Consumer Protection (DCP). The E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson license authorizes you to perform all electrical work defined under Conn. Gen. Stat. §20-330 — but only while employed by a properly licensed E-1 Unlimited Electrical Contractor. Supervision by a contractor, not independent practice, is the defining limit of the E-2 license: an E-2 holder cannot pull permits, contract directly with consumers, or run their own electrical business. By statute (Conn. Gen. Stat. §20-334a; Regs. Conn. State Agencies §20-332-2(b)) you qualify for the exam by completing a registered apprenticeship program (Connecticut Dept. of Labor, roughly a 4-year, 8,000-on-the-job-training-hour program plus related classroom instruction) or, if you did not go through a registered apprenticeship, by documenting at least four years of equivalent on-the-job experience and training through DCP's separate equivalent-experience application. DCP sets the exact classroom/related-instruction hour total administratively, and it differs by pathway — confirm the current figure for your specific route directly with DCP before you apply — then pass the trade exam.
The exam is National Electrical Code (NEC) based, because Connecticut adopts the NEC as its electrical code. It is open book: you may bring the adopted NEC edition with permanent tabs, and you may highlight, underline, or annotate it before the exam — but not during it, and temporary tabs (Post-it notes and similar) are not permitted. That tab rule is the one printed in PSI bulletin 50. Plan to tab and index your code book before test day, because the exam is as much a test of how fast you can locate a section as it is of what you have memorized.
Know these scope facts cold, because the exam asks them in plain-language form: the license is held by the individual, not the company; most installations require a permit and inspection before concealment (rough-in) and again at final; you must work within the classification you hold; and performing electrical work without the required license, or beyond your scope, is a violation that can cost you the license and carry civil penalties.
How Connecticut licensing works
- Experience: completion of a registered Dept. of Labor apprenticeship program (four years, roughly 8,000 OJT hours) OR, without an apprenticeship, at least four years of equivalent experience and training documented through DCP's equivalent-experience application.
- Education: a related-instruction/classroom-hour requirement runs alongside the OJT hours under either route, but the exact total is set by DCP administrative guidance (not the statute) and differs by pathway — verify the current hour figure for your route directly with DCP rather than relying on any single number.
- Application: submit the application, fees, and proof of experience (often signed off by your employing E-1 contractor) to DCP before you are approved to sit.
- Exam vendor: PSI. The exam is 80 multiple-choice questions with a 3.5-hour time limit, and the passing score is 70 percent (56 of 80). The portion fee is $59. Journeyperson candidates take this trade portion only. Contractor candidates also take Business and Law, which is not this paper.
- Renewal: Connecticut electrical licenses renew annually, by September 30. Starting with your second renewal, you must complete 4 continuing-education hours per year (due by June 30 — three months before the renewal deadline); your first renewal has no CE requirement. Confirm current CE topics and hours with DCP, as requirements can change.
Before you rely on any value in this guide, use the NEC or NEC Handbook edition this exam lists, 2020 or 2023. Code questions are not written to the 2026 NEC. Ampacities, GFCI/AFCI scope, working-clearance distances, and receptacle-spacing rules all change between editions, and the exam is written to the edition your state has adopted — not necessarily the newest one published.
This is the opening of the full study guide. The complete guide continues into code navigation, worked calculations and solved exam questions.
