Kansas to Wisconsin: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Kansas does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Wisconsin'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 any state other than Iowa or New Hampshire gets no exam waiver in Wisconsin and applies under Category A of Form 3106 like a first-time candidate. The license itself carries no credit, but the experience behind it does: Form 3106 and Wis. Stat. 101.87 count experience in installing, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring wherever it was earned, so the applicant documents 48 months with at least 8,000 hours (or 1,000 hours per year for five years) on the Experience Table (Form 3106T) signed by witnesses, or submits a certificate of completion from a U.S. DOL- or state-recognized electrical construction apprenticeship. The application and fees are submitted in LicensE ($35 application, $30 examination and $150 license fee under Table 305.02), DSPS then makes the applicant eligible to test, and the applicant must pass the Wisconsin journeyman exam. Wisconsin has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.
DSPS publishes no endorsement route for non-reciprocal states. Form 3106 does not say out-of-state experience is excluded; the credit for out-of-state hours is inferred from the experience definition, which has no geographic limit, and was not confirmed by an explicit DSPS statement. Fee amounts are from Table 305.02 of the administrative code; the forms say fees are calculated in LicensE, and Pearson test-center exams cost marginally more than DSPS-site 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.At least 8,000 hours over at least 48 months installing, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring (or 1,000 hours per year for five years); up to 2,000 hours and two years may come from full-time electrical schooling at 500 hours per semester. A recognized three-year construction electrician apprenticeship is an alternative.
What you'll do to get licensed in Wisconsin
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($35). Journeyman Electrician license application fee (Table 305.02 line 26e), paid in LicensE.
- 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($30). Journeyman Electrician examination fee (Table 305.02 line 26e); paid again for each retake.
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician examination (open book on SPS 305, SPS 316 and the NEC; 70% to pass).
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Journeyman Electrician initial license fee (Table 305.02 line 26e); four-year credential.
- 5Other. Experience Table (Form 3106T) with witness signatures, or apprenticeship completion certificate, uploaded to LicensE.
Published fees on this path total $215, 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 · $30
- Trade exam
How Wisconsin licenses journeyman electricians
Wisconsin journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS)
Wisconsin issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS); under Wis. Stat. 101.862 no one may install, repair or maintain electrical wiring without a DSPS license or registration, and there is no municipal electrician licensing. A new applicant under Wis. Stat. 101.87 either completes a recognized construction electrician apprenticeship or documents 48 months with at least 8,000 hours of experience, applies in the LicensE portal, and passes the DSPS journeyman exam (open book, 70% to pass; based on the 2017 NEC until October 1, 2026, then the 2023 NEC). Under Wis. Stat. 101.874 DSPS may enter into reciprocal agreements, and Form 3106 currently waives the exam only for journeymen licensed by examination in Iowa or New Hampshire. The license is renewed every four years for $100.
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 Wisconsin journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Kansas?
- Yes. Wisconsin requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Wisconsin journeyman electrician license from Kansas?
- Published fees on this path total $215, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Kansas work hours count in Wisconsin?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Wisconsin's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Wisconsin to Kansas?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Wisconsin to Kansas, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Wisconsin DSPS Form 3106 - Journeyman Electrician License Application Information (Rev. 12/04/2025) · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Form · verified September 15, 2026Category A (apprenticeship/experience and examination): completed recognized electrical construction apprenticeship, or 48 months with at least 8,000 hours of experience installing, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring, or 1,000 hours per year for five years; up to 2,000 hours / two years of credit for full-time electrical schooling at 500 hours per semester. Category B (reciprocity): a valid, unexpired journeyman license acquired through a state examination in Iowa (Journeyman A) or New Hampshire, held continuously for at least one year immediately before applying, licenses without the Wisconsin exam; Iowa applicants must have completed an apprenticeship or the experience hours, New Hampshire applicants a 600-hour apprenticeship-schooling program. Fees are calculated in LicensE.
- Wisconsin DSPS - Journeyman Electrician Exam Information · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Exam is open book with a 70% passing score; allowed references are SPS 305 and SPS 316, the NEC, and up to two bound reference books. Exams are based on the 2017 NEC until October 1, 2026, when the 2023 NEC takes effect.
- Wisconsin DSPS - Journeyman Electrician · Wis. Stat. 101.862; Wis. Admin. Code SPS 305.40 · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Program page: licensing is required to install, repair or maintain electrical wiring; journeymen work under the general supervision of a master electrician; applications (Form 3106) are filed in the LicensE portal at license.wi.gov. Does not itself list reciprocity states or fees.
- DSPS - Trades Renewal Dates and Fees · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Other · verified September 15, 2026HVAC Qualifier: 4-year credential renewing from date of issuance, renewal fee $100, no CE, reinstatement $200. HVAC Contractor: 4-year registration from date of issuance, renewal $40, reinstatement $200. (SPS 305 Table 305.07 still lists a 2-year term for these credentials; DSPS's current schedule is used here.) Read with pdftotext after download.
- Wisconsin DSPS - Trades Credentialing Examination Information · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Trades exams are given at DSPS locations or, at a marginally higher fee, at Pearson test centers selected in the LicensE application; exam reviews are $15.
- Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 305 - Licenses, Certifications and Registrations (Register August 2025) · SPS 305.02 Table 305.02; SPS 305.70; SPS 305.71 · Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Table 305.02: HVAC Contractor registration $15 application fee and $160 registration fee; HVAC Qualifier certification $15 application fee, $25 examination fee, $60 certification fee. SPS 305.70: HVAC contractor registration is mandatory for any person, entity or business installing or servicing HVAC equipment and is applied for by the owner, partner or chief executive; a note reminds that federal Section 608 technician certification is required for refrigerant work. SPS 305.71: an individual may obtain an HVAC qualifier certification by meeting the 4-year experience/education standard, passing the exam under SPS 305.09 and paying the certification fee; a business that uses a qualifier is a 'certified HVAC business' that cannot be required to obtain local approval. The chapter contains no reciprocity or credential-by-endorsement provision for HVAC. Read with pdftotext after download.
- Wis. Stat. 101.87 - Journeyman electrician license · Wis. Stat. 101.87 · Wisconsin Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Journeyman electrician qualifications: completion of a construction electrician apprenticeship of at least three years approved by the U.S. DOL or Wisconsin DWD, or 48 months with at least 8,000 hours of experience; each followed by passage of the department's examination. A two-year electrical degree or diploma counts as 12 months and 2,000 hours.
- Wis. Stat. 101.874 - Reciprocal agreements (electrical credentials) · Wis. Stat. 101.874 · Wisconsin Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026DSPS may enter into a reciprocal agreement with another state recognizing electrician credentials as comparable only if the other state's education, experience and examination requirements are at least equivalent to Wisconsin's; under an agreement DSPS issues a credential to an applicant who submits an application, pays the fee under s. 101.82(4), and holds a valid comparable credential from the other state.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.