State-by-State Guide to Journeyman Electrician Exam Requirements

Now that you’ve completed the apprenticeship requirements in your jurisdiction, passing the journeyman exam is the last hurdle that stands between you and your journeyman license. Here at ElectricianSchoolEDU.org we put together a simple guide to help make preparing for the exam as straight forward as a wiring diagram. In this state-by-state guide you will find:

  • Journeyman electrician exam requirements in your state and local jurisdiction
  • The local, national and international code that your licensing jurisdiction uses when developing exam questions
  • Journeyman exam preparation resources available through third party services
  • Journeyman electrician license reciprocity with neighboring states

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Electrical Code Used to Develop Journeyman Electrician Tests

Licensing jurisdictions for the electrical trade are structured differently from state to state. Some states have a single board that issues electrical licenses for the entire state, while others have individual boards at the county or city level.

Each licensing board sets its own requirements that applicants must meet in order to become a journeyman electrician. More often than not this includes passing an examination.

While each jurisdiction can formulate its own exam, in all cases these exams contain content specific to the National Electrical Code (NEC). As a result, knowing the NEC inside and out is perhaps the best way you can prepare to pass the journeyman electrician examination.

Journeyman electrician licensing exams also often include content specific to electrical code established through the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Code Council. Together, these three organizations develop the various codes that virtually every licensing jurisdiction uses when developing a journeyman electrician exam:

  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
    • National Electrical Code (NEC)
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
    • National Electrical Safety Code (NESC)
  • International Code Council (ICC)
  • International Building Code (IBC)
  • International Fire Code (IFC)
  • International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)

Even if a licensing board adopts a certain code, it can still amend, alter, or supersede it at any time at the board’s discretion.

Journeyman Electrician Exam Preparation Services

Since all jurisdictions include some components of the National Electrical Code, it’s never a bad idea to go directly to the source by purchasing and reviewing the latest 2017 version available directly through NFPA’s website.

You can also find a wide variety of third-party resources (not affiliated with the NFPA, IEEE or ICC) designed to help you pass your journeyman examination with flying colors.

Some of the most respected journeyman exam prep services available include:

The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) provides the following information regarding which states require an examination to become a journeyman electrician. If it is noted that an exam is required in a particular state, certain jurisdictions within that state may not necessarily require one when issuing journeyman electrician licenses locally.

States that recognize reciprocity with other states as shown below allow electrician credentials (i.e.: journeyman, master, contractor) to be transferred across state lines without the need for further education and training.

Alabama

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam references the NEC, IBC, and IFC
  • Reciprocity with Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

Alaska

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam references the NEC and NESC
  • Reciprocity with Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Arizona

  • Journeyman license exams are required at the local level
  • Most local jurisdiction exams reference the NEC
  • Reciprocity with California, Nevada, and Utah

Arkansas

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam references the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee

California

  • Requires an examination tailored to an electrician’s specialty area: general, residential, voice-data-video, fire/life, and nonresidential lighting
  • Exams reference the California Electrical Code (based on the NEC), the California Fire Code (based on the IFC), and the California Building Code (based on the IBC)
  • Reciprocity with Arizona, Nevada, and Utah

Colorado

  • Requires an open-book journeyman exam
  • Exam references the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Connecticut

  • Requires an open-book journeyman exam
  • Exam references the state’s Consumer Protection Department and Electrical Board of Occupational Licensing, both of which incorporate identical or similar elements as the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Delaware

  • Requires an open-book journeyman exam
  • Exam references the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wyoming

District of Columbia

  • Requires an open-book journeyman exam
  • Exam references the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Florida

  • County jurisdictions require a journeyman exam
  • Exam references the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina

Georgia

  • No state or locally-mandated journeyman exam
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina

Hawaii

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam references the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Idaho

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam references the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Illinois

  • Requires a local supervising electrician certification examination
  • Exams reference the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Indiana

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman exam
  • Exams reference the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Iowa

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman exam
  • Exams reference the NEC and IBC
  • No reciprocity

Kansas

  • Examination requirement depends on jurisdiction, however passing the Block and Associates examination is recognized statewide as conferring journeyman license eligibility
  • Exam based on the Kansas Fire Prevention Code with state-owned buildings being subject to the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Kentucky

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Ohio

Louisiana

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam is based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah

Maine

  • Requires an open-book journeyman examination
  • Exam references the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Vermont

Maryland

  • Local jurisdictions require a journeyman exam
  • Exams based on the Maryland Building Performance Standards (MBPS) and the Maryland Building Rehabilitation Code (MBRC), both of which are in line with the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Delaware and Virginia

Massachusetts

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the Massachusetts Electrical Code that is itself based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington

Michigan

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the Michigan Electrical Code, which is itself based on the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Minnesota

  • Requires an exam to become an “A” journeyman electrician
  • Exam based on the NEC, the NESC, and the Minnesota State Building Code
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Mississippi

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on each jurisdiction’s code requirements
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee

Missouri

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on the NEC
  • No reciprocity

Montana

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Nebraska

  • Requires a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Nevada

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on the NEC
  • No reciprocity

New Hampshire

  • Local jurisdictions require an oral or written exam
  • Exams based on the NEC and NESC
  • Reciprocity with Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont

New Jersey

  • No exam required
  • Reciprocity with Delaware

New Mexico

  • Requires passing a journeyman exam
  • Exam based on the NEC and the New Mexico Electrical Code
  • No reciprocity

New York

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on the NEC
  • No reciprocity

North Carolina

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on the NEC and the North Carolina Building Code Council
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia

North Dakota

  • Requires a written journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Ohio

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Kentucky and West Virginia

Oklahoma

  • Requires passing a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Oregon

  • Must pass a written examination for all types of journeyman electrician licenses
  • Exam is based on the NEC and Oregon Electrical Specialty Code
  • Reciprocity with Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming

Pennsylvania

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity may be recognized locally, for example Allentown has reciprocity with other cities in Pennsylvania and all of Connecticut

Rhode Island

  • Requires passing a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC and the Rhode Island State Building Code
  • No reciprocity

South Carolina

  • Journeyman licensing is not legally required, but is optional through the Municipal Association of South Carolina
  • Optional exam is based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah

South Dakota

  • Requires an examination which is based on the NEC and NESC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Tennessee

  • Some local jurisdictions require a journeyman examination
  • Exams based on the NEC and State Fire Marshall Regulation No. 15
  • Reciprocity with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Michigan

Texas

  • Requires passing a journeyman exam
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • No reciprocity at the journeyman level

Utah

  • Requires passing a written and practical journeyman exam
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming

Vermont

  • Requires passing a written and oral journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Maine and New Hampshire

Virginia

  • Requires passing a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC and ICC
  • Reciprocity with Maryland and North Carolina

Washington

  • Requires passing a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming

West Virginia

  • Requires passing a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia

Wisconsin

  • Requires passing a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC and Chapter 16-Electrical of the Wisconsin Administrative Rules
  • No reciprocity

Wyoming

  • Requires passing a journeyman examination
  • Exam based on the NEC
  • Reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Oklahoma