Indiana to North Dakota: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Indiana does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is North Dakota'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 reciprocal agreement (licensure by examination)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A journeyman from a state that is not on NDSEB's reciprocity list must qualify for the North Dakota license by examination. Out-of-state hours count: the board accepts electrical construction experience earned under the supervision of a master electrician in any jurisdiction with licensing and inspection rules similar to North Dakota's, and the exam application requires a minimum of 8,000 hours documented on the Employment Verification form (SFN 11845). The related-training requirement (two-year school, 576 hours of classes or a recognized apprenticeship) applies only when the majority of the practical experience was obtained in North Dakota, and 2,000 hours of credit is available to graduates of a board-approved two-year electrical program. The applicant files the exam application with the $25 fee, receives an exam invitation, must test within six months, and needs 70% on the board's journeyman exam; the $25 annual license fee is paid after passing. NDCC 43-09-25 lets the board license electricians from other states on proof of equal qualifications, but the board's published practice limits no-exam licensure to its listed reciprocity partners.
NDAC 24.1-03-01-01 says exam fees are paid separately to the testing center provider 'if required'; no exam fee amount is published on the NDSEB pages or forms opened. The exam covers North Dakota laws, rules and wiring standards as well as the NEC, so there is no separate law exam.
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.Earned over not less than three years under a contracting master or master of record in a jurisdiction with similar licensing and inspection rules (NDAC 24.1-03-01-03).
- If the majority of practical experience was obtained in North Dakota, must have completed two years of board-approved electrical school, 576 hours of approved training classes, or a board-recognized apprenticeship program
What you'll do to get licensed in North Dakota
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($25). Journeyman exam application fee (SFN 11858), NDAC 24.1-03-01-01.
- 2Other. Employment Verification form SFN 11845 documenting hours, submitted with the application.
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. NDSEB journeyman examination (one-hour closed-book and 3.5-hour open-book sections on the NEC and North Dakota laws, rules and wiring standards; 70% to pass).
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($25). Annual journeyman license fee, paid after passing the exam; license expires March 31.
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.
- Trade exam
How North Dakota licenses journeyman electricians
North Dakota journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB)
North Dakota issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB). A new applicant needs 8,000 hours of experience installing and repairing electrical wiring, earned over not less than three years while registered as an apprentice under a contracting master or master of record in a jurisdiction with licensing and inspection rules similar to North Dakota's, and must pass the board-administered journeyman exam (one-hour closed-book and 3.5-hour open-book sections, 70% to pass). An applicant whose experience was mostly earned in North Dakota must also have completed related apprenticeship training (two years of electrical school, 576 hours of classes or a recognized apprenticeship program). The application fee is $25 and the license fee is $25 per year; journeyman licenses expire March 31. North Dakota belongs to the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance (NERA) and has journeyman reciprocity with 13 states, for which no written exam is required.
Why Indiana has nothing to transfer
Indiana journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
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.
- Indianapolis / Marion County (Business and Neighborhood Services, contractors only)
- Fort Wayne / Allen County Building Department
- Evansville Building Commission
- South Bend Building Department (contractors only)
- Terre Haute Engineering Department (contractors only)
- Bloomington (Board for the Examination and Registration of Electricians)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the North Dakota journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Indiana?
- Yes. North Dakota requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a North Dakota 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 North Dakota?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward North Dakota's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from North Dakota to Indiana?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from North Dakota to Indiana, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- North Dakota Century Code Chapter 43-09 - Electricians · NDCC §§43-09-10, 43-09-11, 43-09-13, 43-09-15, 43-09-25 · North Dakota Legislative Branch · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§43-09-10 license classes (master, journeyman, class B, power limited). §43-09-11: master requires one year as a licensed journeyman; journeyman requires 8,000 hours over not less than three years plus approved apprenticeship training or a two-year course of study. §43-09-13: fees set by the board. §43-09-15: licenses issued for one year. §43-09-25: board may grant licenses of the same grade to electricians licensed by other states that provide similar action, on proof of equal qualifications.
- North Dakota State Electrical Board - Applying for an Electrical License · North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Experience must be in a jurisdiction with similar licensing and inspection rules and under the supervision of a master electrician; Employment Verification SFN 11845 must accompany the exam application; passing grade 70%; North Dakota participates in the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance (NERA).
- NDSEB Form SFN 11858 - Application for Electrician's License by Exam (11-2020) · North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) · Form · verified September 15, 2026Work experience minimums: 10,000 hours for master (one year and 2,000 hours if an ND journeyman), 8,000 hours for journeyman, 3,000 for Class B. Related training (two-year school, 576 hours of classes, or recognized apprenticeship) is required only if the majority of practical experience was obtained in North Dakota. Application fees: Master $50, Class B $40, Journeyman $25; a separate license fee is charged after passing.
- North Dakota State Electrical Board - Exam Dates & Information · North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Board-administered exams offered roughly every two weeks; master, journeyman and Class B exams have a one-hour closed-book and a 3.5-hour open-book section based on the current NEC and North Dakota laws, rules and wiring standards; passing grade 70%; candidates must test within six months of the invitation; retake waits of 0/3/6 months by score.
- NDSEB 2026 Laws, Rules, Wiring and Conveyance Standards of North Dakota (effective 07/01/2026) · NDAC 24.1-03-01-01, 24.1-03-01-02, 24.1-03-01-03, 24.1-03-01-07 · North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 202624.1-03-01-01: application fees master $50, journeyman $25; annual license fees master $50 (expires April 30), journeyman $25 (expires March 31); exam fees paid separately to the testing provider if required. 24.1-03-01-02: master needs 2,000 hours as a licensed journeyman; contracting masters and masters of record must show liability insurance. 24.1-03-01-03: journeyman needs 8,000 hours over at least three years in a jurisdiction with similar licensing and inspection rules. 24.1-03-01-07: an apprentice without related training whose majority of experience was in North Dakota is ineligible for exam or reciprocal license.
- North Dakota State Electrical Board - Qualifications for Licensure · North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Master: one year and 2,000 hours as a licensed journeyman under a contracting master or master of record; three master categories (contracting master, master of record, non-contracting master). Journeyman: 8,000 hours over not less than three years registered as an apprentice; credits for two-year school (2,000 hours) and other categories.
- North Dakota State Electrical Board - Reciprocal License Agreements & Requirements · North Dakota State Electrical Board (NDSEB) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the master reciprocity states (Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota) and the 13 journeyman reciprocity states; states the requirements (origin exam passed, license current and in good standing, held continuously one year, 8,000 hours journeyman / 10,000 hours master under a contracting master in a jurisdiction with similar licensing and inspection rules, related-training restriction, 8-hour CE proof if the origin state has no CE, no exam, not eligible if the ND exam was failed) and the fees: application $25 journeyman / $50 master, license fee $25 / $50.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.