13.2 Trainees, Supervision Ratios, Apprenticeship & Qualifying Experience

Why this section matters

Supervision and ratio questions appear on nearly every Washington exam because trainee violations are among the most common citations L&I writes. They are also easy to confuse with other states' rules. Learn the exact wording of RCW 19.28.161 and RCW 19.28.191.

The electrical training certificate

RCW 19.28.161(2)(b) requires all apprentices and people learning the trade to get an electrical training certificate from L&I. It authorizes learning the trade under the direct supervision of a certified master journey level, journey level, master specialty, or specialty electrician (specialty electricians supervise only within their specialty).

Basic trainee classes also build toward the in-class hours needed to test. RCW 19.28.205 requires 24 in-class hours for 2,000- to 3,999-hour certificates, 48 for 4,000- to 5,999-hour certificates, 72 for 6,000 to 7,999 hours, and 96 hours for 8,000-hour certificates such as the 01.

What "supervision" means

RCW 19.28.161(3): supervision means the trainee is on the same jobsite and under the control of a properly certified electrician. That electrician must be on the same jobsite as the noncertified individual for at least 75 percent of each working day, unless the chapter provides otherwise.

Ratios (RCW 19.28.161(4) and (5))

When the ratio is one certified electrician to three or four students, the certified electrician must directly supervise and instruct them, may not personally make or engage in the installation, and must be on the jobsite 100 percent of each working day.

Do not memorize the ratio as "commercial versus residential." The statute ties it to the type of certificate the work falls under. An 01 journey level electrician doing 01 work may supervise one trainee. Residential work is a specialty (02), so two trainees may work with one certified electrician in that specialty.

Exceptions to on-site supervision

• Last six months. A trainee who has completed or is enrolled in an approved apprenticeship program, or a qualifying college or trade school program, may work without direct on-site supervision during the last six months of the practical experience requirement (RCW 19.28.161(4)). L&I issues an unsupervised training certificate for this (WAC 296-46B-909).
• Unsupervised-work cap. No noncertified individual may work unsupervised more than one year beyond the date the trainee would be eligible to test if working full time (2,000 hours a year) (RCW 19.28.191(3)).
• 2,000-hour specialties (03A, 06B, 07A to 07E, 10) are supervised 100 percent until the trainee passes the specialty exam. The trainee then receives a nonrenewable 0 percent supervision modified training certificate (L&I; WAC 296-46B-942(5)).
• 4,000-hour specialties are supervised at least 75 percent of the time, with 48 hours of basic classroom instruction before renewal or testing (L&I).

The apprenticeship-only path to the 01 exam

The 2018 law (Laws of 2018, ch. 249), later amended in 2020 and 2023, took effect July 1, 2023. L&I describes it as an apprenticeship-only model for 01 journey level certification.

• Trainees doing work limited to 01 electricians must be registered apprentices in an RCW 49.04 program.
• Employers must become training agents of an approved program or sponsor their own. A training agent may use only registered apprentices for 01 work.
• Transition allowance (now closed): trainees with 3,000 hours before July 1, 2023 could keep accruing 01 hours outside an apprenticeship until July 1, 2026. Their exam applications had to reach L&I before July 1, 2026.
• Apprenticeship programs must credit 4,000 hours toward completion for 02, 03, 04, 06, 06A, and 07 specialty electricians.

RCW 19.28.191(1)(c) lists the ways to qualify for the journey level exam:

1. Complete the work experience and education of an 8,000-hour electrical construction trade apprenticeship approved under RCW 49.04. At least 4,000 hours must be new industrial or commercial installations, and no more than 4,000 hours may come from specialties.
2. Complete an equivalent 8,000-hour apprenticeship in another jurisdiction (4,000 hours new industrial or commercial).
3. Hold an out-of-state journey level certificate obtained by examination in a jurisdiction requiring at least 8,000 hours of supervised experience (4,000 new industrial or commercial).
4. Have at least 16,000 hours of out-of-state experience (4,000 new industrial or commercial).
5. Have 8,000 hours of electrical construction experience while serving in a construction battalion of the U.S. armed forces.

A two-year electrical construction program at a public community or technical college (at least 3,000 program hours, 2,400 of them technical instruction) may substitute for up to two years of the apprenticeship's work experience (RCW 19.28.191(1)(e), (g)). L&I credits relevant military experience for up to 50 percent of the experience required.

Documenting hours

• Contractor attestation. The electrical contractor must accurately verify and attest to the trainee hours worked for it (RCW 19.28.161(6)). L&I may audit a contractor's records when reported hours look excessive or don't match the permits bought (RCW 19.28.171).
• Affidavit deadline. For hours worked outside an approved apprenticeship, affidavits of experience for the prior two years must be received within 180 days after each training certificate expiration date. They must be complete, signed, and notarized. Hours on late affidavits do not count unless the chief electrical inspector allows them for unforeseeable circumstances (WAC 296-46B-942(8)(d)).
• After a failed exam, a candidate may keep working under a valid training certificate, supervised in the proper ratio (WAC 296-46B-960(11)).

Penalties tied to this section (WAC 296-46B-915)

A contractor that violates the ratio or supervision rules three times in three years must undergo an electrical audit (WAC 296-46B-975).