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

Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.

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

Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Indiana work hours count in Minnesota?

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

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

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

Indiana to Minnesota: 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 Minnesota'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 journeyman without a reciprocity agreement

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

A journeyman licensed in a state that is not on Minnesota's reciprocity list gets no exam waiver; the license itself carries no credit and the applicant qualifies by examination like any other candidate. Out-of-state hours do count: Minn. R. 3800.3520 credits electrical work performed outside Minnesota that DLI determines is substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor, documented on the Work Experience Verification form by each employer (capped at 160 hours per month or 2,000 hours per year), and DLI's licensing page confirms credit for verifiable work in another state. The applicant must show at least 48 months of qualifying experience including 24 months of wiring and installing, file the Personal Electrical License Examination Application with the $50 fee (marking 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' and attaching a copy of the license), and pass the Class A Journeyworker exam. The license fee is paid separately once the exam is passed. Minnesota has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.

DLI's pages describe no endorsement route for non-reciprocal states. The initial license fee is prorated to the two-year expiration cycle from the statutory base of $20 per year plus a $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7); DLI's licensing page states the amount is determined after the exam is passed.

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 48 months of qualifying work experience.At least 48 months of qualifying experience under Minn. R. 3800.3520, including at least 24 months wiring for and installing electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment; up to 12 months of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Out-of-state work is credited when DLI finds it substantially equivalent.

What you'll do to get licensed in Minnesota

1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($50). Application and examination fee (non-refundable), Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 1.
2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Minnesota Class A Journeyworker Electrician written examination administered by DLI.
3Other. Electrical Work Experience Verification form completed by each employer, plus a copy of the out-of-state license.
4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Class A Journeyworker license fee on approval, prorated from $20 per year plus $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7).

Published fees on this path total $50, 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.

Exam fee · $50
Trade exam

How Minnesota licenses journeyman electricians

Minnesota journeyman electrician · “Class A Journeyworker Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 4 sources

Issued by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Board of Electricity

Minnesota issues a statewide Class A Journeyworker Electrician license through the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI); there is no municipal electrician licensing. A new applicant documents at least 48 months of qualifying experience (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 2 and Minn. R. 3800.3520), pays the $50 application and examination fee, and passes the DLI-administered written exam. Under Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 20 the commissioner, with Board of Electricity approval, has reciprocity agreements with nine states whose journeyworker licensees are licensed without the Minnesota exam. Licenses expire every two years and renewal requires 16 hours of continuing education, 12 of them on the NEC.

Moving to Minnesota Leaving Minnesota

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 Minnesota journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Indiana?: Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Minnesota journeyman electrician license from Indiana?: Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Indiana work hours count in Minnesota?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Minnesota's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to Indiana?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to Indiana, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

Minnesota DLI - Personal Electrical License Examination Application and Work Experience Verification Form · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Form · verified September 15, 2026Exam application fee $50.00, non-refundable. Has a checkbox for applicants 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' (copy of license required). Experience is verified per employer on the Work Experience Verification form; credit capped at 160 hours per month / 2,000 hours per year and must qualify under Minn. Stat. 326B.33 and Minn. R. 3800.3520. Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is an alternative qualification for the Master A exam.
Minnesota DLI - Experience requirements for an electrical license · Minn. R. 3800.3520; Minn. Stat. 326B.33 · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Class A Journeyworker: 48 months minimum (24 months wiring/installing); Class A Master: 60 months minimum. Up to one year of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Electrical work performed outside Minnesota counts if the department determines it substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor; foreign-country experience capped at 12 months.
Minnesota DLI - Electrical licensing basics · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Journeyworker and master licenses both require passing a written exam after documenting experience; exam application fee $50. Work experience credit is given for verifiable electrical work performed in another state. Journeyworker licenses expire every two years (renewal $53); master licenses expire the last day of February of odd-numbered years (renewal $93); 16 hours of CE per cycle including 12 on the NEC.
Minnesota DLI - Electrical license reciprocity · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the Class A Journeyworker reciprocity states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming) and the Class A Master reciprocity states (Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska); the eligibility bullets (license obtained by state-level exam, held at least one year, current and in good standing, no failed Minnesota exam of the same or greater class, no pending denial/suspension/revocation); and the $50 application fee plus the license fee due on approval.
Minnesota Rules 3800.3520 - Experience requirements for electrical licenses · Minn. R. 3800.3520 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Sets the month-by-category experience tables (48 months journeyworker, 60 months master) and allows credit for electrical work performed outside Minnesota that the department determines is substantially equivalent to work in the employ of a Minnesota licensed contractor, based on employer certification. Military experience is credited on the same basis; foreign experience is capped at 12 months.
Minnesota Statutes 326B.092 - License fees and license renewal fees · Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subds. 1, 7 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: application and examination fee of $50, separate from the license fee. Subd. 7: base license fee journeyworker $20 per year ($40 for two years), master $40 per year ($80 for two years), plus a $4 per year board fee and a $5 continuing-education fee on renewal.
Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 - Electrical licenses and registration · Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subds. 1, 2, 20 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: Class A master requires a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of planning/laying out/supervising/installing experience. Subd. 2: Class A journeyworker requires four years of experience (one year credit for approved coursework). Subd. 20: the commissioner may enter into reciprocity agreements with another state if approved by the Board of Electricity, and may then issue a personal license without exam to an applicant who holds a valid comparable license obtained under a statewide program with comparable exam and experience, has held it continuously for at least one year, and has not failed the same or greater class Minnesota exam or had such a license revoked or suspended.

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

Report an error on this page