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Residential and commercial electricians are certified by the State of Washington. What does that mean for me?

Not all electricians are the same. As a matter of fact, there are various levels of certification available for electricians in the State of Washington. Only residential or commercial journeymen are allowed to perform electrical service work within the home. This means that there are certain things the journeyman must to do obtain certification. The journeyman must learn and prove that he understands a combination of electrical theory as well as the current code requirements. On-the-job training is also required. Part of this training and experience comes from passing and especially failing electrical inspections. Electrical contractors that do not pull permits loose a valuable training tool for each of their residential or commercial journeymen.

To become a residential electrician in the State of Washington, one must acquire 4,000 hours of hands-on experience. The person must also pass a test after those hours are achieved to be qualified as a “residential electrician.” If the electrician then wants to become certified as a “general journeyman,” the person must do 8,000 hours of on-the-job training then pass another exam. These electricians are required to maintain their skills and current knowledge of codes. Therefore, they must take and pass continuing education courses every two years. Washington Electric only employs residential and/or general journeymen. This means that you, our customer, will be receiving electrical service by a well-trained and experience person as your electrician.