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#165208 06/22/07 10:18 PM
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 17
J
Junior Member
hi where can I find info about cali electrician license requirements? any help is appreciated thanks

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 599
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,876
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e57 Offline
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You need to be more specific about what you mean by "license". California has two items from two completley seperate agencies that allow you to do two completely different things. (And the terminology of what a "license" is varies from state to state.)

What is considered a "License" in CA is a Contractors License (C-10 in our case). Allowing you to legaly be an "Electrical Contractor". Other states may refer to this as a masters license, but that term does not exist here. And info on that can be found here: http://www.cslb.ca.gov/

Then there is our new little 'license' to work which is technically called "Certification". Which would be considered a Jouneymans card, or 'license' in many other states... Info on that can be found on the DIR/DAS link of the previous poster. It should be noted that prior to this recently enacted law requiring "Certification" of roughly 70,000 electricians state-wide, big news at the DAS would be the 20 person graduating apprentice class of hotel Cooks and Waiters. (Not kidding) The 'system' if one could call it that, is a fiasco! A paper tiger law that is currently being ignored by many - if they know much about it at all...


Mark Heller
"Well - I oughta....." -Jackie Gleason
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 17
J
Junior Member
well im kinda refering to "journeymans card".If a man moved out of state to cali what would he need to do to get that certification.And thank you for your post you have been helpful much appreciated.

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 4,294
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From the link that Nick provided:

"If I have a license from another state, do I have to be tested and certified?
Yes. Your electrician’s license acquired from other states will make you eligible to sit for the test".

All the info you need is on that site smile


Joined: Jun 2007
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I heard that if you don't have the certification and you are working...it can be deemed illegal in CA. Is this true?

Joined: May 2003
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e57 Offline
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Originally Posted by AndyAEROTEK
I heard that if you don't have the certification and you are working...it can be deemed illegal in CA. Is this true?


Although the DAS participated in writing the law... They claim is has no enforcement at this time, but the law clearly states that there needs to be. So they are technically in violation of their own law!

Currently, the burden of becoming and maintaining a "Certified" status is solely on the employee - and for the most part so is any penalty. If caught working without certification they can be barred from taking the test for five years. (Which is the term of an apprenticship program) So in a round about way, their job experiance does not count if caught, nor would it count if they wanted to become certified down the line without getting caught. (Threat of perjury on the application... Blah, blah, blah.)

There is one area of the industry where certification, and the supervision rules reguading apprentices is being enforced - Prevailing wage contracts. And really only as a rule to disqualify bidders of those type of contracts. I think another group of people involved in the wring of this law is enforcing that themselves. Violations of the supervision rules can also barr an employer from having apprenticeship labor - but not currenlty barr them from ET labor. (As far as I know - someone will correct me if I'm wrong.) But is also a requirement of a law signed at the same time as this one that there be a rquirement for "Apprenticeship labor" of prevailing wage contracts. (So ET's don't count...)

But as an employer there is no legal penalty for hiring Joe-US-citizen-white-guy-speaks-english-and-eats-apple-pie. (Not to be confused with any other sort of illegal labor) However, it is a huge disservice to said "Joe" in the fact that none of his work experiance will count toward his growing career down the line. And if caught, will need to supervised on a "one to one basis" and go to school for five years - even if he has 20 years in the trade... (Like say if he missed the boat along with many thousands of other people.) Technically he is "Illegal Labor" until he has a little blue card. But truthfully, that is not stopping anyone right now.


[Linked Image from markhellerelectric.com]




Last edited by e57; 06/27/07 05:08 AM.

Mark Heller
"Well - I oughta....." -Jackie Gleason
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 27
K
Member
i know a few people that only been in the trade 2yrs and got their j-card. i am an apprentice myself and personally seen a bunch of people come and go. working 8hr plus going school afterwards kinda burns you out after awhile. the whole E.T. thing is kinda b.s. they have no way of tracking your hours . it just done on a honor system.


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