Do I have to take the Kentucky journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Indiana?

Yes. Kentucky requires the trade exam on this path.

What does it cost to get a Kentucky journeyman electrician license from Indiana?

Published fees on this path total $180, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Indiana work hours count in Kentucky?

Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Kentucky's eligibility requirements.

Does it work the other way, from Kentucky to Indiana?

Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Kentucky to Indiana, the mechanism is not applicable.

Indiana to Kentucky: journeyman electrician license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 15, 2026· 7 sources

Indiana does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Kentucky'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 electrician without a reciprocity agreement (examination with experience credit)

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

An electrician licensed in a state other than West Virginia or Virginia applies on Form EL-3 as a new applicant: out-of-state hours count toward the 8,000-hour requirement when documented by tax records showing the occupation, a sworn affidavit on letterhead from a union, the licensed electrical contractor and master electrician who employed the applicant, an industrial facility, or an approved apprenticeship program, or by military form ELM-1. The applicant must pass the Kentucky Journeyman Electrician exam through Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue with at least 70% (an $80, open-book, 80-question exam); 815 KAR 35:060 Section 4(5) lets DHBC recognize another examination as equivalent on a showing that it covers the same material at the same level, and the checklist accepts the NASCLA-administered exam. The $100 biennial application fee is prorated by birth month, a passport-sized photo is required, and the application stays open for one year while requirements are completed. There is no separate law or code exam for the electrician license.

DHBC does not publish an endorsement path that waives the exam for non-reciprocal states; whether a previously passed NASCLA or ICC journeyman exam from another state will be accepted under Section 4(5) is decided by the department and was not confirmed from an official page. Passing scores are valid for three years.

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.Verifiable electrical work under the scope of the NEC since the applicant's sixteenth birthday (KRS 227A.060(3)); one year equals at least 1,600 hours; education substitutes for up to 4,000 hours.

What you'll do to get licensed in Kentucky

1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Electrician license application fee for a two-year license (Form EL-3), prorated by birth month to between 13 and 24 months; non-refundable.
2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Kentucky Journeyman Electrician examination (Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue), open book, 80 questions, 3 hours, 70% to pass.
3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($80). Examination fee per attempt (Prov Candidate Information Bulletin).
4Other. Passport-sized color photograph taken within six months, plus notarized experience affidavit or tax documents.

Published fees on this path total $180, 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
Exam fee · $80

How Kentucky licenses journeyman electricians

Kentucky journeyman electrician · “Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC), Licensing Branch

Kentucky's journeyman-level credential is the statewide Electrician license issued by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC) under KRS Chapter 227A; Kentucky does not use the word 'journeyman' in the license title, though the exam is called the Journeyman Electrician exam. A new applicant needs 8,000 hours of verifiable electrical experience since age 16 (an approved training course, two years of a four-year apprenticeship, an associate degree in electrical technology, or two years of teaching each substitute for 4,000 hours), must pass the open-book Journeyman Electrician exam (80 questions, 3 hours, $80) offered through Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue with at least 70%, and pays a $100 biennial application fee prorated by birth month. Licenses run two years and renew with continuing education. DHBC's published reciprocity list covers only West Virginia and Virginia at this level; electricians from every other state document their hours and take the Kentucky exam.

Moving to Kentucky Leaving Kentucky

Why Indiana has nothing to transfer

Indiana journeyman electrician

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 15, 2026· 12 sources

Indiana has no statewide journeyman electrician license; the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency licenses plumbers but its list of regulated professions contains no electrical trade, and no state agency examines or registers electricians. Cities and counties license electricians under their own ordinances, and the journeyman level exists only where a local ordinance creates it: Allen County (Fort Wayne) issues an Electrical Journeymans License after four years and 7,000 hours as an apprentice, Evansville licenses Journeyman Electricians who work under a licensed Master Electrician, and Bloomington's ordinance provides for journeyman examination and licensing, while Indianapolis/Marion County, South Bend and Terre Haute license only electrical contractors (with an exam-qualified license holder) and have no journeyman credential at all. An out-of-state journeyman license therefore has no state-level recognition in Indiana; a journeyman must apply in each jurisdiction that licenses individuals, where prior licensure is treated at most as evidence of experience or, in Allen County, as grounds for discretionary reciprocity.

How local licensing works in Indiana

How local licensing works. Indiana regulates plumbers at the state level through the Professional Licensing Agency but has never created a state electrician or electrical contractor license. Each city or county building department decides whether to license electrical contractors, supervisors/masters, journeymen and apprentices, and requirements differ from one jurisdiction to the next. Several jurisdictions accept the ICC National Standard Master Electrician exam, which has become the de facto portable credential.

Indianapolis / Marion County. The Department of Business and Neighborhood Services issues an Electrical Contractor license to a business that has at least one craft license holder who has passed the required examination; license holders may be tied to only one business. The packet requires business registration, a $500,000/$100,000 (or $500,000 combined) certificate of insurance naming the City-County as additional insured, workers' compensation, and a $10,000 surety bond. 2026 fees: new license holder $377 (first half of 2026) or $283 (second half), new business license $247 or $185, renewals $247 each; licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years. No journeyman license is issued.

Fort Wayne / Allen County. The Building Department licenses Electrical Supervisors (treated as master electricians; four years and 7,000 hours as a journeyman, $25) and Electrical Journeymen (four years and 7,000 hours as an apprentice, with approved apprenticeship schooling counting for 1,000 hours, $15), registers apprentices ($10) and electrical contracting businesses ($90, which must employ a supervisor licensee). Section H of the rules grants reciprocity subject to the trade's guidelines and the minimum qualifications, and lets the Building Commissioner grant reciprocity to applicants who present the necessary credentials. Examinations are administered by the Building Commissioner or an approved testing vendor.

Evansville. The Building Commission licenses Master Electricians and Journeyman Electricians (a journeyman is employed by a licensed master) and registers apprentices. Applicants submit three notarized letters proving at least four years of experience, are approved to test by the trade board, sit the exam through Ivy Tech (masters need 75% on each part, other exams 70%), then receive a provisional license on paying the fee and providing insurance and a surety bond. Fees: master $300 new/$225 renewal, journeyman $35, apprentice $25.

South Bend. The Building Department registers electrical contractors ($50 application review plus $125 annual registration, $5,000 bond) after verifying four years of experience and a passing score of at least 70% on the ICC National Master Electrician exam (F16-N) through Pearson Vue or Prometric or a comparable board-approved national exam; applicants must be at least 21. South Bend issues reciprocal letters ($70) only to municipalities that accept the ICC master exams. There is no journeyman license.

Terre Haute. The Engineering Department issues commercial and residential electrical contractor licenses to businesses whose full-time employee has passed the Experior/master exam (commercial) or the master, journeyman or residential exam (residential), with a $10,000 bond and $500,000/$100,000 insurance. No individual journeyman license.

Bloomington. A city ordinance requires a license to work as an electrician or electrical contractor inside city limits and creates a Board for the Examination and Registration of Electricians that examines and licenses journeyman and master electricians; current fees were not confirmed.

Out-of-state holders. None of these jurisdictions publish a reciprocity path for another state's journeyman license. Allen County's discretionary reciprocity clause and the widespread acceptance of ICC national exam scores (South Bend, Terre Haute) are the closest equivalents; otherwise expect to document experience and take the local exam in each jurisdiction that licenses journeymen.

Moving to Indiana Leaving Indiana

Common questions

Do I have to take the Kentucky journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Indiana?: Yes. Kentucky requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Kentucky journeyman electrician license from Indiana?: Published fees on this path total $180, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Indiana work hours count in Kentucky?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Kentucky's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Kentucky to Indiana?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Kentucky to Indiana, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

DHBC Form EL-3 - Electrical License Application (Master Electrician / Electrician), October 2024, with fee schedule · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Form · verified September 15, 2026One form for Master Electrician and Electrician licenses; applicant marks 'Test results' or 'Reciprocity' and attaches proof; passport photo required. Fee schedule: Electrical Contractor $400, Master Electrician $200, Electrician $100 for a two-year (24-month) period, prorated by birth month for initial licenses (13 to 24 months).
DHBC - Forms and Documents (Electrical License Forms) · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the electrical license forms: ELM-1 military experience, EL-2 Electrical Contractor License Application, EL-3 Electrician License Application, EL-14 Provisional Electrician License Application, DHBC L-1 renewal, and the New Electrical Application Checklist.
Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC) - home · Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026States that HBC licenses/certifies plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors, sprinkler and fire alarm contractors and building inspectors statewide; links to the licensing portal and forms pages.
DHBC - Electrical New Application Checklists (KRS 227A.060 & 815 KAR 35:060; 080; 090), Feb. 4, 2025 · KRS 227A.060; 815 KAR 35:060 · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Form · verified September 15, 2026Master electrician: pass the Master Electrician's Exam with Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue, 16,000 hours of experience. Electrician: pass the Journeyman's Electrical Exam with Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue, 8,000 hours. Contractor: Business and Law exam, insurance certificate. RECIPROCITY LICENSES section: State of Ohio electrical contractor is issued a Kentucky Contractor Electrician and Master Electrician license (copy of active Ohio license, insurance certificate, contractor and electrical license applications, fees, photo, good standing letter); State of West Virginia or Commonwealth of Virginia master electrician or journeyman electrician (copy of active license, electrical license application, fee, photo, good standing letter). No other states are listed.
Kentucky Electrical Licensing Examinations - Prov Candidate Information Bulletin (July 2020) · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction / Prov · Other · verified September 15, 2026Exams cost $80 each, computer-based, open book and timed. Journeyman Electrician: 80 questions, 3 hours. Master Electrician: 100 questions, 4 hours. Business and Law (contractor): 40 questions, 1.5 hours.
815 KAR 35:060 - Licensing of electrical contractors, master electricians, and electricians · 815 KAR 35:060 Sections 1-4, 6, 8, 9 · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Section 1: application fees $400 (contractor), $200 (master), $100 (electrician) for a biennial license, prorated to not less than 13 months, expiring on the last day of the birth month; passport photo; application void after one year. Section 2 (Reciprocity): comply with the reciprocity agreement between Kentucky and the licensing state and the Section 1 requirements; provide a copy of the license and a letter of good standing; contractors also provide proof of insurance. Section 3: proof of experience by tax documents, business license, sworn affidavit from a union, licensed contractor/master electrician, industrial facility or approved training program, or military form ELM-1; one year of experience equals at least 1,600 hours. Section 4: pass an examination administered by an approved provider with at least 70%; passing score valid three years; the department may recognize another examination as equivalent. Section 8: two-year licenses, renewal fees $400/$200/$100 with continuing education. Section 9: late fee $50; fees non-refundable.
KRS 227A.060 - Qualifications for licensure; provisional license · KRS 227A.060(1)-(5) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Electrical contractor: application fee up to $200, pass the exam, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance compliance and $1,000,000 general liability policy. Master electrician: application fee up to $100, 16,000 hours of verifiable experience since age 16 (training course or two years teaching substitutes for 4,000 hours; associate degree substitutes for 6,000), pass the exam. Electrician: application fee up to $50, 8,000 hours (training course, two years of a four-year program, associate degree or two years teaching substitutes for 4,000 hours), pass the exam. Military experience may count. Nonrenewable one-year provisional electrician license for six years of experience at 2,080 hours per year.

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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