- Who Regulates the EJ License
- Core Eligibility: Age, Experience, and Hours
- The 240-Hour Coursework Requirement
- Application Steps and Fees
- Board Approval, Eligibility Window, and Scheduling
- What the Exam Actually Looks Like
- Mapping Your Prep to the 10 Domains
- A Domain-Aware Prep Timeline
- After You Pass: Renewal and Restoration
- Requirements at a Glance
- FAQs
- Applicants need 5 years and 10,000 hours of qualifying wiring experience, verified by notarized statements.
- 240 hours of coursework must come from a University of Hawaii community college program or a DCCA-accepted out-of-state equivalent.
- Board approval is required before you can schedule with PSI - plan your paperwork timeline accordingly.
- The $40 application fee is separate from the $95 PSI exam fee and any licensing/renewal fees.
Who Regulates the EJ License
The Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers, operating under the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Professional and Vocational Licensing Division (DCCA PVL), oversees the Journey Worker Electrician (EJ) credential. PSI Services LLC administers the actual computer-based exam at approved testing centers. "HI-JE" is simply the shorthand used across this site for that official Journey Worker Electrician (EJ) license - journeyman electrician is retained as a search alias, but the license itself is issued and renewed by DCCA PVL, not by any national certifying body.
Because the Board sets eligibility rules independently, it's worth reading the requirements carefully rather than assuming they mirror another state's licensing path. If you're still getting oriented, our overview of what HI-JE actually is is a good starting point before you dig into paperwork.
Core Eligibility: Age, Experience, and Hours
Before the Board will consider your application, you must meet three baseline conditions:
- Age: You must be at least 18 years old.
- Qualifying experience: Five years of residential or commercial wiring experience, totaling at least 10,000 hours.
- Verification: Notarized experience verification from each supervising licensed electrician who oversaw your work, or from a Board-accepted alternative verifier when a direct supervisor isn't available.
Start collecting these verification letters early, especially if you've worked under multiple licensed electricians or changed employers during your five years. Track dates, employer names, and approximate hours as you go so the notarization process doesn't turn into a scramble later.
The 240-Hour Coursework Requirement
In addition to field experience, candidates must complete 240 hours of electrical academic coursework conducted or accepted by a University of Hawaii community college offering an appropriate program. This is a distinct requirement from your on-the-job hours - it's classroom or structured academic instruction, not additional field time.
A common misconception is that this coursework must be completed physically in Hawaii. It doesn't. Accepted out-of-state academic programs can satisfy this requirement, provided they appear on the DCCA-linked approved-curricula list. Don't assume your program qualifies or doesn't qualify - check the current list directly rather than guessing based on where you took the courses.
Key Takeaway
If you trained outside Hawaii, verify your program against the DCCA-approved curricula list before you build your application timeline around it - approval status can change the coursework path you need to follow.
Application Steps and Fees
The licensing pathway involves separate, sequential costs - understanding each one helps you budget accurately instead of being surprised mid-process.
- Application fee: $40, paid to DCCA when you submit your application - separate from testing and licensing fees.
- Exam fee: $95 per attempt, paid to PSI once the Board approves you to test.
- Licensing/renewal fees: Paid later, on the license's three-year renewal cycle.
For a full breakdown of every fee across the process - application, testing, renewal, and restoration - see our dedicated HI-JE certification cost guide. It's worth reviewing before you submit anything, since fees are non-transferable between stages.
Board Approval, Eligibility Window, and Scheduling
You cannot self-schedule an exam the way you might with some other credentials. The Board must approve your application - confirming your experience, hours, and coursework - before you're permitted to schedule with PSI. Build this review time into your planning; it's a gate you don't control the pace of.
Once approved, your examination eligibility is valid for two years, and you're allowed unlimited attempts within that window. However, a paid PSI examination fee is only valid for one year, meaning you may need to pay the $95 fee again if you don't test within twelve months of paying it.
For a look at how testing windows and deadlines typically play out in practice, check our HI-JE exam dates and scheduling guide.
What the Exam Actually Looks Like
Once you're scheduled, here's exactly what to expect on test day:
- Format: Computer-based, at a PSI testing center.
- Length: 70 scored questions, plus up to 10 additional unscored experimental questions mixed in.
- Time: 180 minutes for the stated exam; time spent on experimental questions is excluded from that count.
- Passing score: 70%.
- Reference material: Open book, using the 2020 National Electrical Code supplied by the testing center. Personal reference books and other listed study references are not permitted in the room.
- Calculator: PSI provides an on-screen calculator, but you may also bring a silent, battery-operated, nonprogrammable, nonprinting calculator without an alphabetic keyboard.
Because the exam is open book with the NEC supplied on-site, your prep should emphasize knowing where to find information quickly rather than memorizing every code section verbatim. For a deeper breakdown of exactly what "70%" means in terms of missed questions, see our HI-JE passing score guide, and for a realistic sense of overall difficulty, our HI-JE difficulty guide walks through what tends to trip up candidates.
Mapping Your Prep to the 10 Domains
The exam's 70 scored questions are distributed across ten content domains, and the official allocations are heavily front-loaded: the first four domains each carry 10 questions, together accounting for 40 of the 70 scored items. The remaining six domains carry smaller, uneven shares.
Domain 1: General Electrical Knowledge (10 questions)
Foundational theory and terminology that underpins every other domain - worth mastering early since it reappears conceptually throughout the exam.
- Core electrical principles and code fundamentals
Domain 2: Service, Feeders, and Branch Circuits (10 questions)
Sizing, layout, and code requirements for how power moves from service entrance to individual circuits.
- Feeder and branch circuit calculations
Domain 3: Grounding and Bonding (10 questions)
One of the most heavily tested safety-critical areas - expect scenario-based questions on proper grounding electrode and bonding conductor use.
- Grounding electrode systems and bonding paths
Domain 4: Conductors and Cables (10 questions)
Ampacity, conductor sizing, insulation types, and cable applications form a large, high-value block of questions.
- Ampacity tables and conductor selection
Together, Domains 1 through 4 make up more than half the scored exam. The remaining six domains - Raceways and Boxes, Special Occupancies/Conditions/Equipment, Electrical Power/Motors/Equipment for General Use, Low Voltage and Communication Circuits, Lighting, and Safety Information - carry smaller allocations (6, 6, 6, 4, 4, and 4 questions respectively), but they're not optional to study. Missing easy points in a low-weight domain still counts against your score. For a full breakdown of every domain with study emphasis, see our complete guide to all 10 HI-JE domains.
A Domain-Aware Prep Timeline
Rather than studying domains in random order, sequence your review to match their weight and their dependency on each other - grounding and bonding, for instance, builds on general electrical knowledge, so it makes sense to study them in that order.
Domains 1-2
- Review general electrical knowledge and service/feeder/branch circuit rules
- Practice locating relevant NEC sections quickly, since the exam is open book
Domains 3-4
- Drill grounding and bonding scenarios
- Work through conductor sizing and ampacity problems
Domains 5-7
- Cover raceways/boxes and equipment/motors together, since installation methods overlap
- Review special occupancy rules for less common scenarios
Domains 8-10
- Finish low voltage/communication, lighting, and safety information
- Run full-length timed practice sets to simulate the 180-minute limit
If you want a structured walkthrough of how to combine this domain sequencing with daily study habits, our HI-JE study guide covers the full approach in more detail. You can also run realistic timed sessions on our practice test platform to get comfortable with the pacing before test day.
After You Pass: Renewal and Restoration
Passing the exam and receiving your license isn't the end of the compliance timeline. EJ licenses renew every three years on June 30, with the current cycle running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029. On-time renewal fees are $306 for active status or $12 for inactive status.
Active renewal requires Board-accepted continuing competency in NEC updates - though there's a one-time exemption for initial licenses issued within one year of a renewal deadline, so brand-new licensees aren't immediately caught by the requirement. Continuing competency details are published directly by DCCA, so check the current requirements before your first renewal comes due.
If a license lapses, forfeited licenses may be restored within one year of expiration, with a published active-restoration fee of $406. Waiting past that window generally means starting the licensing process over rather than restoring.
Requirements at a Glance
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 18 years old |
| Qualifying experience | 5 years, minimum 10,000 hours |
| Coursework | 240 hours via UH community college or DCCA-accepted equivalent |
| Experience verification | Notarized statements from each supervising licensed electrician |
| Application fee | $40 |
| Exam fee | $95 per attempt |
| Exam length/passing score | 70 scored questions, 180 minutes, 70% passing |
| Eligibility window | 2 years after Board approval; PSI fee valid 1 year |
| Renewal cycle | Every 3 years on June 30 ($306 active / $12 inactive) |
Note that Hawaii has no electrician-license reciprocity agreement with other states, so out-of-state journeyman licenses don't transfer directly. It's also worth remembering that the EJ license alone does not authorize electrical contracting - that's a separate authorization outside the scope of this exam.
FAQs
No. Accepted out-of-state academic programs can satisfy the 240-hour coursework requirement, provided they appear on the DCCA-linked approved-curricula list. Always confirm your specific program's status on that list.
Board-approved eligibility lasts two years, and you can attempt the exam an unlimited number of times within that window. Note that a paid PSI exam fee is only valid for one year, separately from the eligibility window.
No. A failed exam cannot be rebooked the same day. A retest may be available within two business days, subject to testing center availability.
No. The EJ license certifies you as a Journey Worker Electrician; it does not by itself authorize electrical contracting, which requires separate authorization.
Hawaii has no electrician-license reciprocity agreement with other states, so you'll need to meet Hawaii's own experience, coursework, and examination requirements regardless of prior out-of-state licensing.
Meeting the EJ requirements is largely a paperwork and sequencing challenge before it's a study challenge: line up your notarized experience verification, confirm your coursework against the approved-curricula list, and get Board approval moving early. Once you're cleared to test, your prep can focus fully on the domains - and resources like our HI-JE cheat sheet or a session on our practice exam platform can help you confirm you're ready before you spend the $95 exam fee.