How to Start an Electrician Business in Utah: Journeyman, Master and Contractor Licensing

If you plan to take electrical work in Utah, you need two kinds of licensing, and new business owners often mix them up. The first is a personal license for the electrician, issued by the Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) in one of five classes: apprentice, residential journeyman, journeyman, residential master and master. The second is a DOPL electrical contractor license for the business that bids and performs the jobs. That business license depends on a qualifier who holds the right personal license. Your entity filing and local business license come on top of both. This guide follows the order you should take the steps, with the hours, fees and filing rules we could verify.

Disclaimer: This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Licensing rules, fees and processing times change, so confirm every figure on the agency page named before you pay or file. For a complex setup, such as multiple owners, employees or work outside Utah, talk with a qualified attorney or CPA.

Materials and Records You Need Before You Start

Most delays come from missing paperwork, not from the exam itself. Gather these items first:

• A dated hours log signed by the licensed electrician you worked under, with the job address and hours for each entry.
• Your apprentice license number and any education transcripts or completion certificates.
• Government-issued photo ID for your DOPL application.
• A business name checked against the business search at the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, available at https://businessregistration.utah.gov/.
• A registered agent with a Utah street address. A PO box may be listed only in addition to a street address.
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS, which costs nothing to obtain.
• A budget for exam, application, insurance and filing costs. DOPL's candidate bulletin lists exam and application fees, and this article does not repeat them.

Step 1: Choose the License Class That Fits Your Work

DOPL issues five electrician classes. The class you aim for decides how many hours you need and which scope of work you can perform. Apprentice is the entry class, and the journeyman tracks require hours logged as a licensed apprentice. Confirm the scope of each residential class with DOPL before you plan around it. The requirements below come from DOPL's exam page.

Class	Experience required	Education alternative
Residential journeyman	3,000 hours of residential experience as a licensed apprentice	2-year education program (minimum 288 classroom hours) plus 3,000 hours, or 8,000 hours without education
Journeyman	6,000 hours as a licensed apprentice	4-year apprenticeship education program (minimum 576 classroom hours) plus 6,000 hours, or 16,000 hours without education
Residential master	4,000 hours as a licensed residential journeyman	Confirm with DOPL
Master	8,000 hours as a licensed journeyman	Associate degree plus 4,000 hours, or ABET engineering degree plus 2,000 apprentice hours

Step 2: Register as an Apprentice and Log Every Hour

Every journeyman path starts with hours logged as a licensed apprentice. Register with DOPL as an apprentice before you start counting, and keep the log from the first day. Record the date, the job address, the hours worked, and the supervising licensee's name and signature. A weekly sign-off is far easier to defend than a year-end reconstruction from memory.

Ask DOPL how it wants the log submitted, and ask whether hours worked before your apprentice license was issued can count. Do not assume they do.

Step 3: Decide Whether to Use the Education Track

The education route cuts the hour requirement sharply. A residential journeyman who completes the 2-year program needs 3,000 hours instead of 8,000. A journeyman who completes the 4-year apprenticeship education program needs 6,000 hours instead of 16,000. The minimum classroom hours are 288 for the residential track and 576 for the journeyman track. Before you enroll, confirm with DOPL that the program qualifies, and keep the transcript or completion certificate, because the application needs proof.

Step 4: Pass the Exam

Exams need no pre-approval, so you do not have to wait for DOPL to clear you before you sit for one. Check DOPL's candidate bulletin for the exam fee, scheduling steps and what to bring to the test. Study the electrical code Utah has adopted, and confirm which edition the exam covers in the bulletin rather than relying on an older textbook.

Step 5: Move Up to Master or Residential Master

A master license requires 8,000 hours as a licensed journeyman. The alternatives are an associate degree plus 4,000 hours, or an ABET engineering degree plus 2,000 apprentice hours. A residential master needs 4,000 hours as a licensed residential journeyman. Decide your target class early and keep the log tied to it, so the hours can be credited cleanly when you apply.

Step 6: Choose Your Business Entity and File It

Most electrical businesses use a sole proprietorship, an LLC or a corporation. A sole proprietorship needs no state filing unless you operate under a different name. This article does not recommend one structure. A CPA can compare liability, tax and paperwork burden for your situation.

An LLC is formed by filing a Certificate of Organization through the Utah Business Registration System at https://businessregistration.utah.gov/. The filing fee is $59. Most online filings are processed and approved instantly. Filings that need manual review take 2 to 4 business days from receipt, and the Division has posted 7 to 10 business days during backlogs. Expedited processing costs $75 per filing. The company name must contain 'limited liability company', 'limited company', or an abbreviation such as LLC, L.L.C., LC or L.C. It must be distinguishable from existing names on the Division's records, and it may not imply that the company is a state agency or political subdivision. A name such as Utah State Electric would fail that test.

The LLC has no separate franchise tax, and its only recurring state filing cost is the $18 annual renewal. The renewal window opens 60 days before the anniversary date, and a late renewal fee of $10 applies. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation at the same $59 filing fee, with the same $18 annual renewal in its anniversary month.

Every entity must name a registered agent with a Utah street address. Commercial registered agent registration costs $52. If you need to hold a name while you finish your licensing, a name reservation costs $22 and lasts 120 days.

Step 7: Get the DOPL Electrical Contractor License and Qualifier

A business that takes electrical jobs needs a DOPL electrical contractor license, and that license depends on a qualifier, the person who holds the qualifying personal license. The qualifier is the link between your company and the electrical work. Before you bid anything, confirm with DOPL which license class a qualifier must hold, whether the qualifier must be an owner or can be a hired employee, and which insurance rules apply to your class. A personal license alone does not let the company bid on work.

Step 8: Get Your Local Business License

Utah has no statewide general business license. Registering your LLC or corporation with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code is a registration, not a license. The city or town where you are located issues the local business license for work inside its limits, and the county issues it for work outside them. A city license does not transfer to another city, so if you move your shop across a city line, apply again where you now operate. Confirm current requirements and fees with the city or county office before you start work.

Step 9: Register for State Tax and File a DBA If You Need One

The Utah State Tax Commission handles tax accounts. Any seller with an established presence in Utah needs a Utah Sales Tax License, which you can apply for through the Tax Commission's TAP system at https://tap.tax.utah.gov/TaxExpress/_/?Link=TapBr. Whether your materials, fixtures or other billed items trigger that requirement is a question for the Tax Commission and your CPA. Personal income tax is a 4.45% flat rate for tax years from January 1, 2026. An LLC or sole proprietorship passes its income through to the owners at that rate. A corporation pays the 4.45% corporate franchise and income tax, with a $100 minimum tax on every corporation filing form TC-20.

If you will operate under a name other than your legal name or entity name, file an assumed name (DBA) registration. It costs $22 to register, with a renewal fee (check the Division's DBA page for the current fee and term). The DBA is filed with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code statewide, not with the county.

Step 10: Confirm Insurance Before You Bid

DOPL sets the insurance rules for electrical contractors, and they depend on class and business structure. Confirm the coverage you need before you accept a job. Even where the state does not require a particular policy, general contractors and property owners commonly ask for a certificate of insurance. Ask an insurance agent who writes electrical contractor policies to quote general liability coverage and anything else DOPL or your customers require.

Tips and Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Counting hours before you register. Hours must be logged as a licensed apprentice, so confirm your status before your first day on the job.
• Reconstructing the log later. Weekly sign-offs are far easier to defend than memory.
• Assuming a residential class covers all work. Confirm the scope of each class with DOPL before you bid.
• Forgetting the qualifier. A company without a qualifier cannot take jobs under its contractor license.
• Choosing a name that implies a state agency. The name may not imply that the company is a state agency or political subdivision, and it must be distinguishable on the Division's records.
• Filing a DBA with the county. Assumed names are filed with the Division statewide.
• Missing the renewal window. The $18 annual renewal opens 60 days before the anniversary, and a late renewal adds a $10 fee.
• Moving shops without reapplying. A city license does not transfer between cities.

What You Can Reasonably Expect

A complete application with documented hours and correct entity filings is less likely to come back for correction, and that is the most useful result to aim for. The path is long, so plan in stages: log hours, complete the education track if you chose it, pass the exam, file the entity, obtain the contractor license with a qualifier, then add the local license and tax accounts. We cannot give a reliable overall timeline, because it depends on how quickly your hours accumulate and on DOPL's current processing. Use the Division's posted processing times for the entity filing and DOPL's candidate bulletin for the personal licensing steps.

Official Resources

• Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, Utah Department of Commerce: https://commerce.utah.gov/corporations/
• Business search and online filing: https://businessregistration.utah.gov/
• Assumed name (DBA) registration: https://commerce.utah.gov/corporations/business-entities/dba/
• Utah State Tax Commission: https://tax.utah.gov/
• Utah Small Business Development Center: https://utahsbdc.org/

For current DOPL exam fees, the candidate bulletin and contractor license rules, check the Division of Professional Licensing directly before you pay anything.

Licensing decisions here carry real money and real liability. Before you sign a lease, bid a commercial job or hire your first employee, talk with a qualified attorney about your entity and contracts, and with a CPA about tax treatment.