2.4 Renewal and Reinstatement

Why Renewal Items Trip Up Experienced Electricians

Renewal and reinstatement items are not technically hard, but they are easy to get wrong because candidates import facts from other trades or other states. Virginia's journeyman electrician license is on a three-year cycle, not the two-year cycle used for some other Board for Contractors credentials, and the continuing education requirement is three hours of board-approved code-update training per designation, not a generic "code change" course of any length. Memorize the three-year cycle and the three-hour CE requirement as a pair — they are the two renewal facts most likely to appear.

The Renewal Cycle (18VAC50-30-120)

When the License Expires

18VAC50-30-120 A states that licenses issued to electricians, gas fitters, liquefied petroleum gas fitters, natural gas fitter providers, HVAC tradesmen, and plumbers expire three years from the last day of the month in which they were issued. Subsection B provides that all other licenses and certifications under the chapter expire two years from the last day of the month of issuance. The exam trap is the candidate who applies the two-year default to an electrical license — the three-year electrician/plumber/HVAC rule controls.

Continuing Education Required for Renewal

18VAC50-30-120 C requires, as a condition of renewal, that tradesman license holders satisfactorily complete continuing education from a board-approved provider. For plumbing, electrical, and HVAC tradesmen, the requirement is three hours of continuing education for each designation held, relating to applicable building code changes. For LP gas fitters, natural gas fitter providers, and gas fitters, the requirement is one hour. The course must come from a board-approved provider; an arbitrary online NEC refresher that is not board-approved will not satisfy the requirement.

Renewal Fees Effective August 1, 2025

The fast-track fee adjustment in Vol. 41 Iss. 22 set the following tradesman fees:

A transitional rate applied to fees received on or before August 31, 2025 ($100 for tradesman renewal, $70 for the other categories). That window has closed, so the $160 and $110 figures above are the rates in force for 2026 renewals.

The Technology Fee (2026 House Bill 30)

Effective July 1, 2026, certain DPOR fees include a separate Technology Fee of $7.25 per year, pursuant to 2026 House Bill 30. The fee is used solely to upgrade or replace DPOR's software system and remains in place through June 30, 2030. The fee is embedded in the application amounts shown on the current Tradesman Exam & License Application (for example, $171.75 for an examination, reciprocity, or apprenticeship-program path application, which is the $150 base fee plus the technology fee component). The fee is not a standalone charge the candidate pays separately; it is built into the listed amounts and sunsets on June 30, 2030.

Reinstatement (18VAC50-30-130)

When Reinstatement Applies

If all renewal requirements are not completed within 30 days of the license expiration date, a reinstatement fee is required. The 30-day grace period is short; a journeyman who lets the license lapse for even one extra day owes the reinstatement fee rather than the renewal fee.

The Reinstatement Window

A license may be reinstated for up to 24 months following the expiration date. After 24 months, the individual must apply for a new license and meet the entry requirements in effect at the time of application. The individual remains eligible to sit for the examination for the same category and specialty as the expired license, but the prior license is not simply restored.

Continuing Education Also Required for Reinstatement

The three-hour continuing education requirement for electrical tradesmen applies to reinstatement as well as renewal. A journeyman whose license has lapsed cannot restore it by paying the reinstatement fee alone; the board-approved continuing education must also be completed.

Status During the Period Prior to Reinstatement

18VAC50-30-140 addresses the regulant's status after expiration and before reinstatement. During that period, the individual is not authorized to practice as a tradesman. Performing electrical work on an expired license is practicing without a license and exposes the individual to disciplinary action and to the prohibited acts in 18VAC50-30-190.

Renewal and Reinstatement Facts at a Glance

How the Exam Tests Renewal and Reinstatement

The two renewal/reinstatement items typically take one of two forms. The first gives a license issue date and asks when it expires — answer by counting three years to the last day of the month of issuance. The second gives a lapse scenario and asks what is required to reinstate — the answer always includes both the reinstatement fee and the three-hour board-approved continuing education; if the lapse exceeds 24 months, the answer is a new application, not reinstatement. A common wrong-answer trap offers "pay the renewal fee plus a small late charge" — the regulation does not provide for a late charge; the reinstatement fee (currently $210, which includes the $160 renewal) is the only mechanism once the 30-day grace period has passed.