How To Use the North Carolina Electrical CE Credits Search Tool

Written by Kacie Goff

No matter which type of electrical license you have in North Carolina, you’re going to have to worry about continuing education (CE) on an annual basis. The issue is that it’s easiest to take those CE hours when you have time throughout the year, but you can’t renew your license until it’s 60 days from expiring. And that means that by the time the renewal window opens up, you might not necessarily remember how much CE you’ve logged so far this renewal cycle.

Fortunately, the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors has a tool to help here. It’s called the CE Credits Search tool. 

Using the NC electrical CE Credits Search tool

First up, head to the tool. You might want to bookmark that page so you can keep it handy. 

You can look yourself up using either your license number or your company name. Your license number is generally the easiest way to find yourself. As a general rule, the Board says that when searching, less is more. 

Once you click the “Search” button, you should see yourself come up. Click your name.

That will pull up a “CE Credit Details” page. On that page, you’ll see your license status (it should say “active”) and your license’s expiration date. 

Next up, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. You’ll see a field that says, “Has CE Hours Needed for Renewal.” If it has “true” next to it, you’ve got enough CE for this renewal cycle. If it says “false,” you need more hours before you can renew.

Last up, on that CE Credit Details page, you’ll see a field that says, “CE Hours Available / Required.” The first number is how many hours you have on file. The second number is how many you need for renewal. So if, for example, you see “8 / 8,” that would mean you need eight hours to renew and already have eight on file.  

If you want a quick refresher on how much CE you need based on your license type and how to get it, check out our North Carolina electrical license renewal guide. 

Things to know about NC electrical CE

Now you know how to navigate to and utilize the CE Credits Search tool. But there are a few pieces of additional info that might be helpful.

It’s only available to active licensees

Your license needs to currently be in active status to use the CE lookup tool. 

Save your paperwork

When you submit your electrical license renewal, you need to certify your CE hours to the Board. That’s going to be pretty tricky if you don’t have proof of those hours. While you can look up those details in the CE Credits Search tool, on the off chance they don’t show up, you’re going to want your own record.

Set aside a space — whether that’s a folder on your computer or a file in your office — where you file the certificate of completion you get any time you finish CE hours. And if the CE provider doesn’t automatically give it to you, request it. That way, you’ll always have a record of your CE that you can check — and can use to prove your compliance to the Board. 

Ultimately, the CE Credits Search tool can be a useful asset, but you shouldn’t rely too heavily on it.