Louisiana to Iowa: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Louisiana does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Iowa'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.
Licensure by verification (states without a reciprocal agreement)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
An out-of-state journeyman from a state that is not on Iowa's reciprocity list can apply for licensure by verification under Iowa Code 272C.12 and rule 481-401.9. The board issues the Iowa license without examination if the applicant has been licensed in the other jurisdiction for at least one year, the scope of practice there is substantially similar, the license is in good standing everywhere it is held, the applicant passed the exam the origin state required, and there is no revocation, discipline or pending complaint. For electrician licenses the statute additionally requires that the applicant has established Iowa residency (or is the spouse of an active-duty service member on permanent change of station to Iowa). The origin jurisdiction must complete the board's License by Verification form and send it directly to the board, and the applicant pays the regular license fee ($75 for a full three-year journeyman cycle, prorated). An applicant who cannot meet the residency requirement can instead be sponsored for the Iowa journeyman exam on the strength of a current out-of-state journeyman or master license obtained by exam, but must first complete 18 hours of board-approved continuing education and 1,000 hours of work in Iowa as a licensed unclassified person.
DIAL's page tags the License by Verification form as 'Archived' but the form itself is dated 10/20/25 and rule 481-401.9 remains in the December 2025 Administrative Code; confirm current availability with the board before relying on it. The PSI exam fee for the alternative exam route is not published on any DIAL page. Rule 481-401.10 separately allows applicants from jurisdictions that do not license electricians to qualify on three years of full-time work experience within the last four years.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must have held your Louisiana license for at least 1 year.Licensed by another issuing jurisdiction for at least one year (481-401.9(1)b).
- Your Louisiana license must be active and in good standing.
- Your Louisiana license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
- Scope of practice in the transferring jurisdiction is substantially similar to Iowa's
- Has established Iowa residency (rule 701-300.17) or is married to an active-duty service member accompanying them on an official permanent change of station to Iowa
What you'll do to get licensed in Iowa
- 1License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($75). Journeyman Class A license fee for a full three-year cycle (481-401.3); prorated by month when issued mid-cycle.
- 2Other. License by Verification form completed by the transferring jurisdiction and sent directly to the board.
- 3Other. Proof of Iowa residency (homestead credit, voter registration, Iowa driver's license, or days-of-residence test) and documentation of complete criminal record.
Published fees on this path total $75, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
How Iowa licenses journeyman electricians
Iowa journeyman electrician · “Class A Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Iowa Electrical Examining Board, Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL)
Iowa issues a statewide Class A Journeyman Electrician license through the Electrical Examining Board, now housed in the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL); the Class B journeyman license is a closed grandfather class for people working before 1998. A new Class A applicant must have completed a U.S. DOL-registered apprenticeship (8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 576 classroom hours, four years as an apprentice) or a board-approved post-secondary electrical program with 6,000 OJT hours, and pass the PSI-administered journeyman exam with 70% or better (2023 NEC). The license runs on a three-year cycle; a full-cycle license costs $75 and the fee is prorated by month of issue. Iowa has reciprocal agreements with 13 states at the journeyman level, under which the Iowa exam is waived. Licensees from any other state can use Iowa's universal licensure-by-verification process (Iowa Code 272C.12), which also waives the exam but requires Iowa residency, or sit the Iowa exam.
Why Louisiana has nothing to transfer
Louisiana journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Louisiana does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license. The only state electrical credential is the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) commercial contractor license with the Electrical classification, required for any electrical project of $10,000 or more; it is issued to the contracting business (or to an individual as a sole proprietor) on the strength of a qualifying party who passed the trade exam, and the LSLBC FAQ and Types of Licenses pages list no journeyman or master electrician license. Journeyman licensing exists only where a parish or city ordinance creates it: New Orleans issues a Class 'D' Journeyman Electrical License ($60 per year) to applicants who pass the ICC F17 National Standard Journeyman Electrician exam, Jefferson Parish administers its own electrical exam and requires a parish-licensed electrician to file electrical permits, and Shreveport directs journeyman and master candidates to ICC testing while requiring contractor registration with the city. None of these jurisdictions publish a reciprocity or endorsement rule for out-of-state journeyman licenses; in practice the portable credential is the ICC National Standard Journeyman Electrician exam, which several cities accept directly. An out-of-state journeyman who only wants to work as an employee needs whatever local card the parish or city requires, and nothing at the state level.
How local licensing works in Louisiana
How local licensing works. The Contractors Licensing Law (La. R.S. 37:2150.1 et seq.) regulates contractors: an electrical contractor is anyone who contracts for electrical work valued at $10,000 or more, and the LSLBC licenses the business through a designated qualifying party. Individual electricians are licensed, where at all, by parish or city ordinance, and requirements differ by jurisdiction.
New Orleans. The Department of Safety and Permits issues a Class 'E' Electrician Trainee license ($30 per year, sponsored by a Class 'A' master license holder or union representative) and a Class 'D' Journeyman Electrical License ($60 per year, delinquent fee $5 per month). The journeyman applicant must be 18 or older and submit a passing ICC Official Results Report for exam F17 National Standard Journeyman Electrician (an unofficial stamped report is not accepted), a passport-style photo and ID; a journeyman must be employed by and work under a Class 'A' electrical contractor. The city page states no experience-hour requirement and no reciprocity for other jurisdictions' licenses; an out-of-state journeyman who has already passed the ICC F17 exam can apply on that score.
Jefferson Parish. The Department of Inspection and Code Enforcement publishes an Electrical Exam Application and requires that electrical permit filings be made by a Jefferson Parish licensed electrician; the parish trade contractor license costs $200 and lists the state license among its checklist items. The exam application is a scanned document whose eligibility text could not be read, and no reciprocity rule was found on the parish site.
Shreveport. The city requires every contractor performing electrical work to register with the city and refers journeyman or master testing to the International Code Council or the LSLBC; electrical work over $10,000 requires the state license.
Baton Rouge and Lafayette. No official page describing a journeyman electrician license or exam was located for the City of Baton Rouge/East Baton Rouge Parish or for Lafayette Consolidated Government; their permit pages cover permitting and inspection only. Applicants should contact the local building official.
Out-of-state holders. No parish or city page reviewed publishes reciprocity or endorsement for journeyman licenses from other states. The LSLBC's reciprocity (trade-exam waiver for anyone who passed another state's exam) applies only to its contractor license.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Iowa journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Louisiana?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- How long do I need to have held my Louisiana license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Iowa journeyman electrician license from Louisiana?
- Published fees on this path total $75, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Louisiana work hours count in Iowa?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Iowa's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Iowa to Louisiana?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Iowa to Louisiana, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Iowa Code Chapter 103 - Electricians and Electrical Contractors (2026) · Iowa Code §§103.10, 103.12, 103.21 · Iowa Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§103.10: Class A master requires one year as a licensed Class A or B journeyman plus exam. §103.12: Class A journeyman requires a DOL-registered apprenticeship (or board-rule equivalent) plus exam. §103.21: board may license without exam, same grade and class, an electrician licensed at least one year by a state that provides for similar action.
- Iowa Code 272C.12 - Licensure of persons licensed in other jurisdictions (2026) · Iowa Code 272C.12 · Iowa Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Universal-recognition statute: a license shall be issued without examination to a person currently licensed in good standing by another state in the same occupation with a substantially similar scope of practice, who met that state's education/experience requirements, passed its exam if any, has no revocation, discipline or pending complaint, and pays the fees; for chapter 103 and 105 licenses the person must have established Iowa residency (or be a military spouse on PCS orders). Boards may still require an exam specific to Iowa law, in which case a three-month temporary license (renewable once) must be issued. PDF read with a local text extractor.
- DIAL - Electrical Licensing FAQs · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) · Faq · verified September 15, 2026Lists the Iowa license classes (Electrical Contractor, Class A/B Master, Residential Master, Class A/B Journeyman, Residential, Apprentice, Special, Unclassified), the reciprocal states, and that PSI has tested on the 2023 NEC since Jan. 1, 2024.
- DIAL - Electrical Licensing (Electrical Examining Board) · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Program home page; links the online licensing portal (iowaelectrical.gov), the fee schedule, the testing sponsorship sheet, and the License by Verification from Another State form.
- DIAL - Electrical License Fees for the 2026-2028 license cycle · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) · Other · verified September 15, 2026Journeyman Class A or B: $75 for a license issued in 2026, prorated monthly ($50 in 2027, $25 in 2028). Master Class A or B and Electrical Contractor: $375 in 2026, prorated ($250 in 2027, $125 in 2028). Late renewal 10% per month.
- State of Iowa Testing Sponsorship Requirements and Information (rev. 12/14/2023) · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) · Other · verified September 15, 2026Passing score 70% on the PSI exam. Journeyman candidates: completed DOL-registered apprenticeship (8,000 OJT and 576 classroom hours) or a board-approved PSEP with 6,000 OJT hours. Master candidates: one year's experience as a licensed Class A or B journeyman. Board sends a sponsorship code used to register with PSI.
- Iowa Electrical Examining Board - License by Verification Form (Iowa Code 272C.12), rev. 10/20/25 · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) · Form · verified September 15, 2026Must be completed by the transferring jurisdiction and sent directly to the board; records license type, issue date, whether the license was obtained by exam, time active, good standing and discipline history.
- 481 IAC Chapter 401 - Electrician and Electrical Contractor Licensing Program: Licensing Requirements, Procedures, and Fees (IAC 12/10/25) · 481 IAC 401.2(3), 401.2(6), 401.2(14), 401.2(15), 401.3, 401.9 · Iowa Legislature / DIAL · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026401.2(14) and 401.2(15) set the reciprocal journeyman and master conditions (agreement state, origin exam passed with 70+, license held continuously one year, plus completed apprenticeship or 16,000 hours licensed work by affidavit). 401.2(6)c is the exam route for out-of-state licensees (18 CE hours and 1,000 hours in Iowa as an unclassified person). 401.3 fee table: journeyman $75/3 years, master $375/3 years, prorated. 401.9 licensure by verification requires Iowa residency.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.