No person shall be issued a certificate as a Class A or Class B electrical contractor, elevator construction contractor, Class A or Class B journeyman electrician, maintenance service or electrical appliance repairman until he has passed an examination by the joint electrical examining and appeal board except as herein provided. Said board shall within ten (10) days after their appointment, meet, and shall then designate the time and places for examination of all applicants desiring to secure certificate. All examinations shall be written. Said board shall examine applicants for a Class A electrical contractor or Class A journeyman electrician as to his practical knowledge of electrical wiring, the installation of same, the installation of electrical appliances or fixtures, the installation of electrical elevators, the principles of armature winding, the operation and control of electrical systems. An applicant for a Class B electrical contractor's certificate or Class B electrical journeyman's certificate shall be examined as to his practical knowledge of that type of wiring permitted to be used by this ordinance in single-family residences and the installation of same, the installation of the usual household-type electrical appliances and the operation and control of residence-type electrical systems. An applicant for a maintenance serviceman's certificate shall be examined as to his practical knowledge of the operation of electrical installations in buildings and the maintenance and repair of such installations. An applicant for an electrical appliance repairman's certificate shall be examined only to his practical knowledge of repairing electrical appliances. If the board is satisfied as to the competency of such applicant, it shall issue a certificate to such applicant authorizing him to engage only in such electrical work as is described in said certificate and as is defined in this code, upon compliance with the conditions of any other section herein relating thereto.

All certificates shall be signed by the chairman of said board and attested by the secretary thereof, and shall show the date of passage of such examination, or if issued without examination as herein provided, the reason thereof or the name of the person, the class of work authorized and such certificate shall be issued only for the year in which it is dated, and shall expire on December 31st of the year for which issued. Said certificates shall be numbered consecutively, and the examining board and the electrical inspector shall keep a record of all such certificates issued.

Provided that the provisions of this section requiring the taking of an examination to be given by the joint electrical examining and appeal board and the issuance of a certificate of qualification shall not apply to any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing, assembling, wiring, rewiring, installing, erecting, repairing, or altering interior or exterior electric signs, where such person does not himself perform any of the work aforementioned.

Any certificate of competency heretofore issued by any city having a population of one hundred and eighty thousand (180,000) to two hundred and forty thousand (240,000) according to the last Federal Decennial Census, shall be recognized by the joint electrical examining and appeal board for the balance of the period covered by said certificate and shall be subject to renewal upon payment of the fee theretofore without further examination by said board.

Any person who has been engaged in the work as a Class A or Class B journeyman electrician, maintenance serviceman, electrical appliance man, or the work and business of a Class A or Class B electrical contractor as such classifications are defined herein within any county, subject to the provisions of this act for a period of at least five (5) years immediately preceding the passage of this act, shall upon proof of such work be issued a certificate of competency by the joint electrical examining and appeal board without examination and upon such person's payment of all fees as provided herein and provided further the application therefore is made within sixty (60) days after the creation of the joint electrical examining and appeal board. The latter named group to be granted such certificates of competency without regard to whether they have ever been licensed in any municipality or not.

Added by Laws 1955, p. 176, § 33, emerg. eff. June 3, 1955.