Kansas to Maryland: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Kansas does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Maryland'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 journeyperson (all states)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A journeyperson licensed in any other state must apply for an original Maryland license by examination; the Board says there are currently no provisions to reciprocate a journeyperson license obtained out of state. The applicant documents at least 4 years of regular, principal employment providing electrical services under the direction and supervision of a master electrician or a similarly qualified governmental employee (the statute does not limit this to Maryland-licensed masters), registers with PSI, passes the 70-question open-book journeyperson exam with 70%, and then pays the $18.50 license fee. Business Occupations and Professions §6-308 does allow the Board, by majority vote, to waive the exam for any state that waives its exam for Maryland licensees to a similar extent, provided the applicant was licensed by examination and has 4 years' experience with at least 2 years before out-of-state licensure; the Board has not published a process for invoking that waiver outside its four agreements.
Whether the Board credits experience gained under an out-of-state master electrician is not stated in the board's published materials; the statute and application page say only 'a master electrician'. The PSI bulletin says the Board may allow up to 3 years of credit for formal study toward the journeyperson requirement, and the exam bulletin still references the 2020 NEC.
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 4 years of qualifying work experience.At least 4 years engaged regularly and principally in providing electrical services under the direction and supervision of a master electrician or a similarly qualified employee of a governmental unit (Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-304); completing an MATC- or federal Office of Apprenticeship-approved apprenticeship with 576 classroom hours and 8,000 work hours waives both the experience and the exam (§6-307.1).
What you'll do to get licensed in Maryland
- 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Maryland Journeyperson Electrician exam administered by PSI: 70 questions, 49 correct (70%) to pass, 210 minutes, open book on NFPA 70.
- 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($65). PSI examination fee, paid to PSI, valid for one exam attempt.
- 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($18.50). Original journeyperson license fee (non-refundable), effective July 1, 2025.
Published fees on this path total $83.50, 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
- Exam fee · $65
How Maryland licenses journeyman electricians
Maryland journeyman electrician · “Journeyperson Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Maryland State Board of Electricians (Department of Labor)
Maryland issues a statewide Journeyperson Electrician license through the State Board of Electricians in the Department of Labor. Statewide journeyperson and apprentice licensing began July 1, 2021 under the Maryland Electricians Act; before that the State licensed only master electricians and each county or Baltimore City licensed journeypersons, and those local bodies now issue registrations rather than licenses. A new applicant qualifies with 4 years of electrical work under the direction and supervision of a master electrician (or a similarly qualified employee of a governmental unit) and then passes the PSI-administered journeyperson exam (70 questions, 70% to pass, open book on the NEC, $65); completing a MATC- or federally-approved apprenticeship with 576 classroom hours and 8,000 work hours waives both the experience and the exam requirements. The original license fee is $18.50. Maryland no longer reciprocates out-of-state journeyperson licenses: the Board's how-to-apply page says 'currently there are no provisions to reciprocate a journeyperson license obtained out of state' and that applicants must apply by examination. Master-license reciprocity with Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia is unaffected. Licensed journeypersons work under the direction and control of a master electrician.
Why Kansas has nothing to transfer
Kansas journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Kansas has no state electrician license and no state electrical board. State law (K.S.A. 12-1525 to 12-1527) only sets a framework for the counties and cities that choose to license electricians: it names the ICC, IAPMO and Prometric standard exams as the competency tests, requires a 75% passing score, two years of supervised field experience for a journeyman or residential certificate (up to one year creditable from at least 930 hours of trade school), and continuing education of 12 hours every two years. A certificate of competency earned by passing one of those standard exams is valid proof of competency in every Kansas county or city that licenses electricians, without retesting, but a license based on a local alternative exam is good only in the issuing jurisdiction unless it has a reciprocal agreement. Sedgwick County/Wichita (MABCD), Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government), Lawrence and other cities license journeymen; Johnson County licenses electrical contractors through a master-level qualifying individual and does not issue journeyman cards. There is no reciprocity with other states: MABCD states it does not reciprocate with state testing, and the only portable credential is a passing score on a Kansas Standard ICC (or, in some jurisdictions, national ICC, Prometric or IAPMO) journeyman exam, which an out-of-state electrician can usually submit in place of retesting.
How local licensing works in Kansas
How local licensing works. Kansas issues no personal electrician license. K.S.A. 12-1526 lets any county or city that requires electrician licensure administer the K.S.A. 12-1525 standard exams (ICC, IAPMO, Prometric), with a 75% minimum, uniform fees, two years of field experience under a certified electrician for a journeyman certificate (one year may be trade school of at least 930 program hours), and 12 hours of CE every two years. The resulting certificate of competency is valid in every licensing jurisdiction in Kansas without further examination, subject to each jurisdiction's experience check and fees. K.S.A. 12-1527 allows local alternative exams, but licenses earned on them stop at the jurisdiction line.
Sedgwick County and Wichita (MABCD). The Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department issues journeyman electrician certificates to applicants with one year of field experience plus one year of electrical trade school, or two years of field experience (documented on company letterhead), who score 75% on ICC exam 558 or KGH Journeyman Electrician (565/KGX for residential only). New certificate $35; two-year term; renewal $35 with six trade-specific and six general CEUs. 'MABCD does not reciprocate with state testing, only those exams listed are approved for Sedgwick County', so an out-of-state journeyman must show one of the listed ICC scores (Block, Experior, Prometric, ICC and IAPMO testing facilities are recognized).
Johnson County (Olathe, Overland Park, Lenexa, Shawnee and other participating cities). Johnson County Contractor Licensing issues company licenses only, including the Class DE Electrical license ($100 application plus $225 per license type), qualified by a Qualifying Individual who passed the ICC Standard Master Electrician exam (554/KGD). There is no county journeyman license.
Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government of Wyandotte County). Building Inspections licenses trade masters, who must hold a master's license (Prometric testing arranged through the department), and requires a city occupational tax license for contractors and subcontractors; the published pages do not describe a journeyman license, its fees or any reciprocity.
Lawrence. Planning and Development Services certifies journeyman electricians with two years of practical field experience (engineering degree counts 2.5 years, vocational training one year) who pass the K.S.A. standard exam with 75%; exam application $50, license $20, renewal $10, six hours of CE per year. A certificate of competency from another Kansas jurisdiction is the accepted standard for licensure.
Out-of-state holders. No Kansas jurisdiction found publishes a reciprocity agreement with another state. An out-of-state journeyman who has already passed an ICC journeyman exam (Kansas Standard or, where the jurisdiction allows, national) can submit that score with experience documentation; anyone else takes the ICC/Prometric exam through the local sponsoring jurisdiction and then benefits from statewide portability of the certificate.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Maryland journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Kansas?
- Yes. Maryland requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Maryland journeyman electrician license from Kansas?
- Published fees on this path total $83.50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Kansas work hours count in Maryland?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Maryland's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Maryland to Kansas?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Maryland to Kansas, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Maryland State Board of Electricians - Maryland Electricians Act (2021 statewide licensing) · Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. Title 6 · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
- Maryland State Board of Electricians - Taking the Exam (PSI) · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland State Board of Electricians - Licensing FAQs · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Faq · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland State Board of Electricians - Fees (effective July 1, 2025) · COMAR 09.09 · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland State Board of Electricians - Home · Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-604 · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland State Board of Electricians - Licensing Applications (how to apply) · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland State Board of Electricians - Other Electrical Licenses in Maryland · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions §6-304 - Qualifications of applicants · Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-304 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions §6-306 - Examinations · Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-306 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions §6-307 - Waiver of examination for local registrants · Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-307 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 15, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions §6-307.1 - Waiver of experience and examination for journeyperson applicants · Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-307.1 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions §6-308 - Waiver of examination for out-of-state licensees (reciprocity) · Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. §6-308 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 15, 2026
- PSI - Maryland Master and Journeyperson Electrician Qualification Information Bulletin · PSI Services LLC for the Maryland State Board of Electricians · Other · verified September 23, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.