General.
(1) The department will deny application,
renewal, reinstatement, or issuance of a certificate or permit if an individual
owes money as a result of an outstanding final judgment(s) under chapter 19.28
RCW.
(2) The scope of work for
electricians is described in WAC
296-46B-920.
Electrician - Certificate of competency
required.
(3) To
work in the electrical construction trade, an individual must possess, wear,
and visibly display on the front of the upper body, a current valid:
(a) Master journey level electrician
certificate of competency issued by the department;
(b) Journey level electrician certificate of
competency issued by the department;
(c) Master specialty electrician certificate
of competency issued by the department;
(d) Specialty electrician certificate of
competency issued by the department; or
(e) Electrical training certificate, learning
the trade in the proper ratio, per
RCW
19.28.161, under the supervision of a
certified master journey level electrician, journey level electrician, master
specialty electrician working in their specialty, or specialty electrician
working in their specialty.
The certificate may be worn inside the outer layer of
clothing when outer protective clothing (e.g., rain gear when outside in the
rain, arc flash, welding gear, etc.) is required. The certificate must be worn
inside the protective clothing so that when the protective clothing is removed,
the certificate is visible. A cold weather jacket or similar apparel is not
protective clothing.
The certificate may be worn inside the outer layer of
clothing when working in an attic or crawl space or when operating equipment
(e.g., drill motor, conduit threading machine, etc.) where wearing the
certificate may pose an unsafe condition for the individual.
The certificate must be immediately available for examination
at all times.
When working as a certified electrician, the electrician must
not display a training certificate.
When supervising a trainee(s), the supervising electrician's
certificate must be appropriate for the work being performed by the trainee(s).
For the purposes of this section, supervising a trainee is considered to be
working in the electrical construction trade.
Any person working as an electrician or trainee must also
possess a government issued photo identification and immediately present that
identification when requested by the inspector.
(4) The department issues master electrician
and electrician certificates of competency in the following areas of electrical
work:
(a) General journey level
(01);
(b) Specialties:
(i) Residential (02);
(ii) Pump and irrigation (03);
(iii) Domestic pump
(03A);
(iv) Signs
(04);
(v) Limited
energy system (06);
(vi)
HVAC/refrigeration (06A);
(vii) HVAC/refrigeration - Restricted
(06B);
(viii)
Nonresidential maintenance (07);
(ix) Nonresidential lighting maintenance and
lighting retrofit (07A);
(x)
Residential maintenance (07B);
(xi) Restricted nonresidential maintenance
(07C);
(xii) Appliance
repair (07D);
(xiii)
Equipment repair (07E); and
(xiv) Door, gate, and similar systems
(10).
Original certificates of
competency.
(5) The department will issue an original
certificate of competency to master, journey level, or specialty electricians
who meet the eligibility requirements listed in:
(a)
RCW
19.28.191(1)(a) or (b) and
chapter 19.28 RCW; and
(i) Submit an
application for an original master electrician certificate including: Date of
birth, mailing address and Social Security number; and
(ii) Pay all appropriate fees, as listed in
WAC
296-46B-909;
(b)
RCW
19.28.191(1)(d) and (e);
(i) Submit an original master electrician
certification examination application including: Date of birth, mailing address
and Social Security number; and
(ii) Pay all appropriate fees, as listed in
WAC
296-46B-909;
or
(c)
RCW
19.28.191(1)(f) through (g);
(i) Submit an original electrician
certification examination application including: Date of birth, mailing address
and Social Security number; and
(ii) Pay all appropriate fees, as listed in
WAC
296-46B-909.
(6) An individual's
original electrician certificate of competency will expire on their birth date
at least two years, and not more than three years, from the date of original
issue.
Renewal - Master electrician, journey level, and
specialty electrician certificates of competency.
(7) An individual must apply for renewal of
their electrician certificate of competency on or before the expiration date of
the certificate. The individual may not apply for renewal more than ninety days
prior to the expiration date. Renewed certificates are valid for three
years.
(8) An individual may renew
their certificate of competency within ninety days after the expiration date
without reexamination if the individual pays the late renewal fee listed in WAC
296-46B-909.
(9) All applications for renewal received
more than ninety days after the expiration date of the certificate of
competency require that the electrician pass the appropriate competency
examination before being recertified.
(10) All applicants for certificate of
competency renewal must:
(a) Submit a complete
renewal application;
(b) Pay all
appropriate fees; and
(c) Complete
the continuing education requirements described in WAC
296-46B-970.
Continuing education classes are only valid when all the requirements of WAC
296-46B-970
are completed.
Continuing education for pump and irrigation (03)
and domestic pump (03A) electricians may be comprised of
fifty percent electrical and fifty percent plumbing instruction.
(11) An individual who
has not completed the required hours of continuing education can renew a
certificate of competency if the individual applies for renewal before the
certificate of competency expires and pays the appropriate renewal fee.
However, the certificate of competency will be placed in an inactive status.
The inactive certificate of competency will be returned to current status upon
validation, by the department, of the required continuing education. If the
certificate renewal date occurs during the inactive period, the certificate
must be renewed on or before the renewal date to allow the return to current
status.
(12) An individual may
renew a suspended certificate of competency by submitting a complete renewal
application including obtaining and submitting the continuing education
required for renewal. However, the certificate will remain in a suspended
status for the duration of the suspension period. Before the suspended
certificate of competency can be activated, the holder must pass the
appropriate electrician or master electrician competency examination in
accordance with
RCW
19.28.211(2).
(13) An individual may not renew a revoked
certificate of competency.
Exemptions - Lineworker.
(14) When performing the work described and
allowed in WAC
296-46B-925(18)(a)
or (b)(i), when employed by the serving
utility or its contractor or subcontractor(s), a line-worker is exempt from the
requirements of chapter 19.28 RCW.
(15) When performing the work described and
allowed in WAC
296-46B-925(18)(b)(ii)
or (c), when employed by the serving utility
or its licensed electrical contractor or sub-contractor(s), a lineworker must
meet the requirements of
RCW
19.28.261(5)(b) or be an
appropriately certified electrician. See the definition of a lineworker in WAC
296-46B-100.
Exemptions - Plumbers.
(16) Coincidental electrical/plumbing work.
See
RCW
19.28.091(8) for the plumber
exemption. For the purposes of
RCW
19.28.091(8), the
like-in-kind replacement includes the appliance or any component part of the
appliance such as, but not limited to, the thermostat in a water heater.
Exemptions - Submersible well pump
installers.
(17)
When performing the work described and allowed in WAC
296-46B-925(28),
regular employees of well drillers or pump installers registered under chapter
18.27 RCW are exempt from the electrician certification requirements of chapter
19.28 RCW.
Reciprocal agreements between Washington and other
states.
(18) The
department may negotiate reciprocal agreements with states that have equivalent
requirements for certification of journey level or specialty electricians.
These agreements allow electricians from those reciprocal states to become
certified in the state of Washington without examination and allow Washington
certified electricians to become certified in the other states without taking
competency examinations. An individual may only apply for reciprocity from
another state(s) one time in Washington.
(19) An individual will be issued a
reciprocal electrician certificate of competency if all the following
conditions are met:
(a) The department has a
valid reciprocal agreement with the other state in the journey level or
specialty category requested;
(b)
The individual makes a complete application for a reciprocal certificate on the
form provided by the department. A complete application includes:
(i) Application for reciprocal certificate of
competency;
(ii) Evidence that the
individual meets the eligibility requirements listed in
RCW
19.28.191, by presenting a current, valid
journeyperson or specialty electrician certificate or certified letter from the
issuing state attesting to possession of such certificate by the applicant:
(A) Evidence from an apprenticeship training
director that any journey level category applicant has successfully completed
an apprenticeship program that is equivalent to an apprenticeship program
approved under chapter 49.04 RCW approved by the department for the electrical
construction trade in which the applicant worked in the electrical construction
trade for a minimum of eight thousand hours; or
(B) Evidence that any journey level category
applicant has worked in the electrical construction trade for a minimum of
sixteen thousand hours.
(iii) All appropriate fees as listed in WAC
296-46B-909.
(c) The individual obtained the
reciprocal state's certificate of competency as a journey level or specialty
electrician by examination .
(20) An individual is not eligible for a
reciprocal electrician certificate of competency if the individual:
(a) Has failed to renew a similar Washington
electrician certificate of competency as required in
RCW
19.28.211; or
(b) Has a similar Washington electrician
certificate of competency in suspended, revoked, or inactive status under this
chapter; or
(c) Owes money as a
result of an outstanding final judg-ment(s) to the department; or
(d) Has taken and failed a Washington exam
for the certificate being applied for within the past two years.
