West Virginia Code 29-3B-3 – Exemptions; nonapplicability of license requirements; legislative rules for limited reciprocity
(a) This article does not apply to, and no license may be required for:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 29-3B-3
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Electrical work: means the installation of wires, conduits, apparatus, fixtures, other appliances, equipment, or systems for transmitting, carrying, controlling, or using electricity as defined in the scope of the national electric code. See West Virginia Code 29-3B-2
- License: means a valid and current certificate of competency issued by the state Fire Marshal. See West Virginia Code 29-3B-2
- Master electrician: means a person with at least two years of electrical work experience, including experience in all phases of electrical wiring and installation, who is competent to design electrical systems, and to instruct and supervise the electrical work of journeyman electricians, and other related workers. See West Virginia Code 29-3B-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) A person who performs electrical work with respect to any property owned or leased by that person or that person’s immediate family;
(2) A person who performs electrical work at any manufacturing plant or other industrial establishment as an employee of the firm or corporation operating the plant or establishment;
(3) A person who performs electrical work while employed by an employer who engages in the business of selling appliances at retail, so long as such electrical work is performed incident to the installation or repair of appliances sold by the employer;
(4) A person who, while employed by a public utility or its affiliate, performs electrical work in connection with the furnishing of public utility service;
(5) Any government employee performing electrical work on government property; or
(6) Any person who performs low voltage electrical work with only low voltage wiring will not be required to have an electrician’s license other than a specialty license. For purposes of this section, low voltage electrical work is 80 volts or less, and directly related wiring. Wiring is directly related if it:
(A) Originated at the load-side terminals of a disconnecting means or junction box that has been installed, complete with line-side connections by others for the specific purpose of supply to the low voltage wiring system involved;
(B) Is permanently and legibly marked to identify the low voltage wiring system supplied; and
(C) Is not installed in a location considered hazardous under the National Electrical Code.
(b)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, a journeyman or master electrician license may be issued for a person who is a former resident of this state, who formerly held an electrician’s license issued by this state, who has obtained an equivalent electrician license from another state, and who returns to this state as a permanent resident, without requiring the person to meet the application or examination requirements that would otherwise be imposed on the person by the requirements of this article when the issuance of the license is permitted by legislative rules promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
(2) The State Fire Marshal shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of § 29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to provide for the licensing of electricians with equivalent qualifications described in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the legislative rules described in this subsection may not be filed as emergency rules.