Illinois to Utah: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Illinois does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Utah's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Out-of-state applicants without an equivalent license (standard route with out-of-state experience credit)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
If the origin jurisdiction is shown in gray on DOPL's Endorsement to Utah map (no equivalent statewide journeyman license), the applicant must meet Utah's standard qualifications: completion of an approved electrical training program of at least 576 classroom hours plus 8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice, or 16,000 hours as a licensed apprentice. Hours earned outside Utah count, but must be documented on the Verification of Electrician Experience form together with official verification from the jurisdiction where the hours were obtained; local (city or county) licenses may be used to help document hours and exams. The applicant must then pass the Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam (75% minimum) and the Utah Electrician Practical Exam, both administered by Prov, and pay DOPL's $116 application fee. New Jersey licensees are asked to document passing exams equivalent to Utah's journeyman exams.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice together with completion of an approved 576-hour training program taken over at least 48 months; otherwise 16,000 hours as a licensed apprentice. Up to 3,000 hours may be credited per 12-month period.
- Hours obtained outside Utah must be supported by official verification from the jurisdiction where they were obtained.
What you'll do to get licensed in Utah
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($116). Non-refundable DOPL application-processing fee.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam (75% minimum) and Utah Electrician Practical Exam, administered by Prov; exam fees are paid directly to Prov.
Published fees on this path total $116, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Trade exam
How Utah licenses journeyman electricians
Utah journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL)
Utah issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act (Utah Code 58-55) and Rule R156-55b. Utah has no signed state-to-state reciprocity agreements; instead it offers licensure by endorsement under Utah Code 58-1-302 to holders of licenses that DOPL has mapped as equivalent, provided the license has been held at least one year and is active and in good standing. Journeyman endorsement applicants are not required to take a Utah exam. Applicants from jurisdictions without an equivalent statewide license can still count verified out-of-state hours toward the standard route, which requires the Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam and the Utah Electrician Practical Exam.
Why Illinois has nothing to transfer
Illinois journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Illinois does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license; the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation does not license electricians at any level, and state law only authorizes municipalities to register electrical contractors. Licensing of individual electricians is done, where it exists, by cities and counties under their own ordinances, and requirements vary by jurisdiction. In the largest jurisdictions the individual credential is a supervising or master-level license (Chicago's Supervising Electrician, Springfield's Electrical License based on the ICC Master Electrician exam) rather than a journeyman card, and non-supervising electricians work as employees under that licensed person or contractor. An out-of-state journeyman license has no state-level recognition in Illinois; a journeyman must check the rules of each municipality where they will work and apply locally if that municipality licenses individuals.
How local licensing works in Illinois
How local licensing works. Illinois has no state electrician license and no state electrical board. The Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1) allows each municipality to require registration of electrical contractors, with an annual fee of $25, and provides that a contractor registered in one municipality cannot be required to register or pay a fee in another. Anything beyond registration (examinations, experience requirements, supervising or master licenses) comes from each city's or county's own ordinance. Employees of an electrical contractor are expressly excluded from the statutory definition of 'electrical contractor', so state law does not require any personal license for a journeyman-level worker.
Chicago. The Department of Buildings licenses Supervising Electricians (individuals) and Electrical Contractors (businesses). There is no Chicago journeyman license. The supervising electrician exam requires age 21 and at least 2 years of experience under a supervising electrician or equivalent, verified by supervisor letters; general and low-voltage exams are offered through Continental Testing Services (2026 fees: $150 exam, $150 initial license, $150 annual renewal). For 'Class 1' work (buildings over 55 feet or large assembly occupancies before a certificate of occupancy), every worker must be a licensed supervising electrician or have completed or be enrolled in a U.S. Department of Labor-recognized apprenticeship of at least 8,000 hours; this apprenticeship standard is the closest thing Chicago has to a journeyman qualification. All other work is done by employees under the contractor's supervising electrician. Chicago's pages do not describe any reciprocity or endorsement for out-of-state licenses.
Springfield. The Building and Zoning Department issues an Electrical License to individuals who document 5 years of electrical experience (2 supervisory) and pass the ICC National Standard Master Electrician exam (W16); the Springfield Electrical Commission approves applications and the fee is $25. A limited grandfather clause applies to licenses from other Illinois or out-of-state municipalities with reciprocal testing that were issued before 10/10/2007; otherwise the ICC exam is required. Contractors performing work in the city must also register.
Peoria. Electrical licenses are issued to individuals, not businesses ($150 annual). Holders of Normal or Pekin licenses may register without testing; everyone else must submit an ICC contractor exam certificate (2017 code cycle or newer).
Rockford. Electrical contractors are not licensed, only registered ($25 per calendar year, or free with proof of current registration or license in another Illinois municipality).
Naperville and Aurora. Both accept current ICC certifications (Standard Master Electrician for commercial, Standard Residential Electrician for residential) or a license from a listed testing municipality in lieu of local testing; Naperville stopped issuing its own electrical licenses after 2022 and now registers electrical contractors. Insurance naming the city is required.
Elgin. Requires a contractor's license from any Illinois city that gives a written NEC-based examination, or Elgin's own exam administered through CLEC Enterprises.
Unincorporated Cook County. Electrical contractors must register ($150 initial, $75 annual renewal per trade), provide $1,000,000 general liability insurance, and submit a supervising electrician's license from an Illinois city, town or village that has an electrical commission administering an examination.
Out-of-state holders. None of these jurisdictions publish a reciprocity or endorsement path for licenses from other states. In practice the portable credentials inside Illinois are the ICC National Standard Master/Residential Electrician exams and licenses from testing municipalities such as Chicago; an electrician arriving from another state should expect to take the ICC exam or the local exam and apply separately in each municipality that licenses individuals.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Utah journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Illinois?
- Yes. Utah requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Utah journeyman electrician license from Illinois?
- Published fees on this path total $116, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Illinois work hours count in Utah?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Utah's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Utah to Illinois?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Utah to Illinois, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Utah DOPL - Electrical licensing home page · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026dopl.utah.gov URLs redirect here. Lists license classifications and names Prov as the exam vendor.
- Utah DOPL - Electrical Exam Information · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Journeyman: Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam + Utah Electrician Practical Exam (6 modules). Master: Utah Master Electrician Law and Rule Exam + Utah Electrician Practical Exam. Exams administered by Prov; fee amounts are published by Prov, not on this page.
- Journeyman Electrician - Out of State Applicants Applying by Endorsement · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Directs applicants to the Journeyman Electrician Endorsement to Utah map and the Verification of Licensure form. States no examination requirement for journeyman endorsement applicants.
- Journeyman Electrician - Out of State Applicants Not Applying by Endorsement · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026
- Utah Electrician Application (JE / RJE / ME / RME) with checklist and instructions · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Form · verified September 14, 2026Form version v20260716. $116.00 non-refundable application-processing fee for all applicants. Endorsement checklist: official verification showing active licensure in good standing for at least one year from a jurisdiction designated as equivalent; master endorsement applicants must pass the Utah Master Electrician Law and Rule Examination at 75% or greater. Hours obtained outside Utah count with official verification from that jurisdiction.
- Endorsement to Utah: Journeyman Electrician (state-by-state equivalency map) · Utah Code 58-55; 58-1-302 · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Other · verified September 14, 2026Map last updated 7/1/2020. Green = equivalent license (endorsement available if held at least one year, active, in good standing); yellow = additional documentation needed (NJ); gray = no equivalent statewide license.
- Licensure By Endorsement Verification Form (LE-58-V-App) · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Form · verified September 14, 2026Completed by the origin state; records method of licensure (exam date and score, apprenticeship or hours) and disciplinary history.
- Utah Admin. Code R156-55b Electricians Licensing Act Rule - 2025 amendment text (Utah State Bulletin 2025-11, Filing 57162) · Utah Admin. Code R156-55b-302a, R156-55b-302b · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Admin Rule · verified September 14, 2026Rule text as amended in 2025 (anticipated effective 7/22/2025). R156-55b-302a: journeyman = 576-hour program over at least 48 months plus 8,000 apprentice hours, or 16,000 apprentice hours; master = 8,000 journeyman hours (or 4,000 with AAS, or 2,000 apprentice hours with ABET EE degree). R156-55b-302b: journeyman passes Written Exam (75%) and Practical Exam; master passes Law and Rule Exam (75%). The eRules page at adminrules.utah.gov could not be retrieved.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.