Louisiana to Kentucky: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Louisiana does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Kentucky'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 electrician without a reciprocity agreement (examination with experience credit)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
An electrician licensed in a state other than West Virginia or Virginia applies on Form EL-3 as a new applicant: out-of-state hours count toward the 8,000-hour requirement when documented by tax records showing the occupation, a sworn affidavit on letterhead from a union, the licensed electrical contractor and master electrician who employed the applicant, an industrial facility, or an approved apprenticeship program, or by military form ELM-1. The applicant must pass the Kentucky Journeyman Electrician exam through Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue with at least 70% (an $80, open-book, 80-question exam); 815 KAR 35:060 Section 4(5) lets DHBC recognize another examination as equivalent on a showing that it covers the same material at the same level, and the checklist accepts the NASCLA-administered exam. The $100 biennial application fee is prorated by birth month, a passport-sized photo is required, and the application stays open for one year while requirements are completed. There is no separate law or code exam for the electrician license.
DHBC does not publish an endorsement path that waives the exam for non-reciprocal states; whether a previously passed NASCLA or ICC journeyman exam from another state will be accepted under Section 4(5) is decided by the department and was not confirmed from an official page. Passing scores are valid for three years.
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.Verifiable electrical work under the scope of the NEC since the applicant's sixteenth birthday (KRS 227A.060(3)); one year equals at least 1,600 hours; education substitutes for up to 4,000 hours.
What you'll do to get licensed in Kentucky
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Electrician license application fee for a two-year license (Form EL-3), prorated by birth month to between 13 and 24 months; non-refundable.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Kentucky Journeyman Electrician examination (Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue), open book, 80 questions, 3 hours, 70% to pass.
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($80). Examination fee per attempt (Prov Candidate Information Bulletin).
- 4Other. Passport-sized color photograph taken within six months, plus notarized experience affidavit or tax documents.
Published fees on this path total $180, 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 · $80
How Kentucky licenses journeyman electricians
Kentucky journeyman electrician · “Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC), Licensing Branch
Kentucky's journeyman-level credential is the statewide Electrician license issued by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC) under KRS Chapter 227A; Kentucky does not use the word 'journeyman' in the license title, though the exam is called the Journeyman Electrician exam. A new applicant needs 8,000 hours of verifiable electrical experience since age 16 (an approved training course, two years of a four-year apprenticeship, an associate degree in electrical technology, or two years of teaching each substitute for 4,000 hours), must pass the open-book Journeyman Electrician exam (80 questions, 3 hours, $80) offered through Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue with at least 70%, and pays a $100 biennial application fee prorated by birth month. Licenses run two years and renew with continuing education. DHBC's published reciprocity list covers only West Virginia and Virginia at this level; electricians from every other state document their hours and take the Kentucky 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 Kentucky journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Louisiana?
- Yes. Kentucky requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Kentucky journeyman electrician license from Louisiana?
- Published fees on this path total $180, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Louisiana work hours count in Kentucky?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Kentucky's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Kentucky to Louisiana?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Kentucky to Louisiana, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- DHBC Form EL-3 - Electrical License Application (Master Electrician / Electrician), October 2024, with fee schedule · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Form · verified September 15, 2026One form for Master Electrician and Electrician licenses; applicant marks 'Test results' or 'Reciprocity' and attaches proof; passport photo required. Fee schedule: Electrical Contractor $400, Master Electrician $200, Electrician $100 for a two-year (24-month) period, prorated by birth month for initial licenses (13 to 24 months).
- DHBC - Forms and Documents (Electrical License Forms) · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the electrical license forms: ELM-1 military experience, EL-2 Electrical Contractor License Application, EL-3 Electrician License Application, EL-14 Provisional Electrician License Application, DHBC L-1 renewal, and the New Electrical Application Checklist.
- Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC) - home · Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026States that HBC licenses/certifies plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors, sprinkler and fire alarm contractors and building inspectors statewide; links to the licensing portal and forms pages.
- DHBC - Electrical New Application Checklists (KRS 227A.060 & 815 KAR 35:060; 080; 090), Feb. 4, 2025 · KRS 227A.060; 815 KAR 35:060 · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction · Form · verified September 15, 2026Master electrician: pass the Master Electrician's Exam with Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue, 16,000 hours of experience. Electrician: pass the Journeyman's Electrical Exam with Prov, NASCLA or Pearson Vue, 8,000 hours. Contractor: Business and Law exam, insurance certificate. RECIPROCITY LICENSES section: State of Ohio electrical contractor is issued a Kentucky Contractor Electrician and Master Electrician license (copy of active Ohio license, insurance certificate, contractor and electrical license applications, fees, photo, good standing letter); State of West Virginia or Commonwealth of Virginia master electrician or journeyman electrician (copy of active license, electrical license application, fee, photo, good standing letter). No other states are listed.
- Kentucky Electrical Licensing Examinations - Prov Candidate Information Bulletin (July 2020) · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction / Prov · Other · verified September 15, 2026Exams cost $80 each, computer-based, open book and timed. Journeyman Electrician: 80 questions, 3 hours. Master Electrician: 100 questions, 4 hours. Business and Law (contractor): 40 questions, 1.5 hours.
- 815 KAR 35:060 - Licensing of electrical contractors, master electricians, and electricians · 815 KAR 35:060 Sections 1-4, 6, 8, 9 · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Section 1: application fees $400 (contractor), $200 (master), $100 (electrician) for a biennial license, prorated to not less than 13 months, expiring on the last day of the birth month; passport photo; application void after one year. Section 2 (Reciprocity): comply with the reciprocity agreement between Kentucky and the licensing state and the Section 1 requirements; provide a copy of the license and a letter of good standing; contractors also provide proof of insurance. Section 3: proof of experience by tax documents, business license, sworn affidavit from a union, licensed contractor/master electrician, industrial facility or approved training program, or military form ELM-1; one year of experience equals at least 1,600 hours. Section 4: pass an examination administered by an approved provider with at least 70%; passing score valid three years; the department may recognize another examination as equivalent. Section 8: two-year licenses, renewal fees $400/$200/$100 with continuing education. Section 9: late fee $50; fees non-refundable.
- KRS 227A.060 - Qualifications for licensure; provisional license · KRS 227A.060(1)-(5) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Electrical contractor: application fee up to $200, pass the exam, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance compliance and $1,000,000 general liability policy. Master electrician: application fee up to $100, 16,000 hours of verifiable experience since age 16 (training course or two years teaching substitutes for 4,000 hours; associate degree substitutes for 6,000), pass the exam. Electrician: application fee up to $50, 8,000 hours (training course, two years of a four-year program, associate degree or two years teaching substitutes for 4,000 hours), pass the exam. Military experience may count. Nonrenewable one-year provisional electrician license for six years of experience at 2,080 hours per year.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.