Do I have to take the New Jersey journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Nevada?

No. The trade exam is waived on this path.

What does it cost to get a New Jersey journeyman electrician license from Nevada?

Published fees on this path total $250, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Nevada work hours count in New Jersey?

Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward New Jersey's eligibility requirements.

Does it work the other way, from New Jersey to Nevada?

Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from New Jersey to Nevada, the mechanism is not applicable.

Nevada to New Jersey: journeyman electrician license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 15, 2026· 8 sources

Nevada does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is New Jersey'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: Board review under N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.8 or a standard experience-based application

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

New Jersey has no journeyman examination, so nothing is waived by reciprocity except the documentation burden. Under N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.8 the Board may grant a Class A journeyman license to a journeyman licensed in good standing in another jurisdiction, but only where that jurisdiction gives equal reciprocity to New Jersey Class A journeymen and the Board finds its qualifications substantially equivalent; the applicant must also have practiced as a journeyman for two of the last five years, have no discipline or unresolved complaints, be current on the origin state's continuing education, complete a 15-hour Board-approved NEC course, and have the origin board send license verification directly. Because the Board publishes no partner list, every out-of-state journeyman should expect a case-by-case determination. The alternative, open to anyone, is the standard application: document 8,000 hours of hands-on experience (at least 4,000 within five years) and 576 classroom hours with employer work-experience certifications, which may come from out-of-state employers, and pay the $100 application fee plus the prorated license fee ($150 in the first year of the triennial period). Journeymen coming for a short job can instead obtain one 30-day temporary Class A journeyman license per triennial period ($75) to work under a licensed electrical contractor.

The Board's FAQ page (njconsumeraffairs.gov/elec/pages/faq.aspx) could not be opened, so whether the Board has actually recognized any state under 13:31-5.8 is unconfirmed; the rule itself was adopted June 2, 2025. The journeyman application form on the Board's site still uses the pre-2025 'registration' title and quotes an older $40 application fee; the current fee schedule (N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6) sets $100.

At a glance

Trade exam: Waived
Law / code exam: Not required
Out-of-state hours: Count toward eligibility

What you must already have

Your Nevada license must be active and in good standing.
Origin jurisdiction provides equal reciprocity to New Jersey Class A journeymen and the Board finds its qualifications substantially equivalent (reciprocity route only)
Active practice as a journeyman electrician for at least two of the last five years (reciprocity route only)
You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Standard route: 8,000 hours of practical hands-on experience with tools (at least 4,000 within five years of application) plus 576 classroom hours of related instruction, documented by employer certifications (N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1).

What you'll do to get licensed in New Jersey

1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Non-refundable application fee for all licenses (N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6).
2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Initial Class A journeyman electrician license fee when paid in the first year of the triennial period ($100 in the second year, $50 in the third).
3Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Reciprocity route: 15-hour Board-approved course on the most recent National Electrical Code before licensure; all licensees: 15 CE hours per triennial renewal.
4Other. Reciprocity route: written or electronic verification of licensure sent directly to the Board by the origin state board, plus a list of all jurisdictions where ever licensed.
5Other. Standard route: work-experience certification completed by each employer for the 8,000 hours claimed and certificates of completion for the 576 classroom hours.

Published fees on this path total $250, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

What you'll need to buy or arrange

Continuing education

Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.

Continuing education

How New Jersey licenses journeyman electricians

New Jersey journeyman electrician · “Class A Journeyman Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (Division of Consumer Affairs)

New Jersey issues a statewide, person-held Class A Journeyman Electrician license through the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors. Until recently the credential was a voluntary 'qualified journeyman electrician' registration; P.L. 2021, c.479 converted it into a license and, with the Class A electrical apprentice and Class B wireman licenses, made a Board license mandatory for anyone performing electrical work for a business-permit holder, with the implementing rules taking effect June 2, 2025. The license is earned on experience rather than examination: 8,000 hours of practical hands-on work with tools in the installation, alteration or repair of wiring (at least 4,000 within the last five years) plus 576 classroom hours of related instruction, documented by employer work-experience certifications; supervising, estimating and managerial time does not count. Licenses run on a three-year cycle with 15 hours of NEC continuing education per renewal. A Class A journeyman may perform in-house electrical work for an employer under N.J.S.A. 45:5A-18(k) and may supervise electrical work, but contracting still requires the separate Electrical Contractor license and business permit. New Jersey's rules include a reciprocity path (N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.8) and a 30-day temporary license for out-of-state journeymen, but the Board publishes no list of reciprocal states.

Moving to New Jersey Leaving New Jersey

Why Nevada has nothing to transfer

Nevada journeyman electrician

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 15, 2026· 10 sources

Issued by Nevada State Contractors Board (contractor licensing only); journeyman cards issued at county/city level

Nevada has no statewide journeyman electrician license. The Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) licenses electrical contractors under classification C-2 (NRS/NAC 624) and states that it does not issue licenses to individual journeymen, so an out-of-state journeyman license has nothing to transfer to at the state level and is not required for employment by a licensed C-2 contractor in most of the state. Journeyman cards are instead required by local building codes in the urban jurisdictions: Clark County, the City of Las Vegas, the City of Henderson and the City of Reno all require a master electrician, electrical qualified individual or journeyman electrician to be on site for permitted electrical work, and their journeyman credential is a Nevada Electrical Qualifications Card obtained by passing the ICC national G17 Journeyman Electrician (or G18 Residential Electrician) exam at 70% and applying to Electrical Safety Professionals (ESP), the third-party card administrator, with 2,000 documented hours of electrical work or apprenticeship (a requirement added January 1, 2024). No jurisdiction publishes a waiver of the ICC exam for an out-of-state license; Clark County recognizes only certificates from its accepted testing agency or from other Nevada political subdivisions within the county, and Reno lets holders of a reciprocal license from another city, county, state or country work for 12 months inside the city before obtaining the Reno certification. Cards are valid three years and renewed with ESP continuing education.

How local licensing works in Nevada

How local licensing works. NRS Chapter 624 licenses only contractors; a C-2 Electrical Contracting license is issued to a business and qualified by an individual with four years of journeyman-or-higher experience, and the NSCB's own FAQ says Nevada does not license individual journeymen. Whether a working electrician needs a personal credential is decided by each county's or city's building administrative code. The southern Nevada jurisdictions and Reno run a common program: exams are the ICC National Electrician exams (G17 Journeyman Electrician, G18 Residential Electrician, G16 Master Electrician) taken through Pearson VUE, and photo ID cards are issued by Electrical Safety Professionals (ESP), the Nevada non-profit that took over the Clark County ID card program on September 1, 2019.

Clark County (unincorporated Las Vegas valley, Laughlin, Mesquite area). Clark County Code §22.02.250 requires the contractor to have a master electrician or electrical qualified individual, or a journeyman electrician, present in a supervisory capacity whenever permitted electrical work is under way. §22.02.255 defines a journeyman as someone who has passed the journeyman examination accepted by the Building Official; §22.02.260 lists Journeyman Electrician (all electrical work), Journeyman Residential Electrician (one- and two-family dwellings), Journeyman Sign Electrician and Technician (low voltage) categories and requires certificates to be kept current with the county's accepted third-party testing agency. The only equivalency in the code is for a current certificate from an accepted independent testing agency or from a political subdivision of Nevada within Clark County; there is no provision for other states' licenses. Since 2019 the accepted exam is the ICC G17/G18 and the card comes from ESP.

City of Las Vegas. The City of Las Vegas Administrative Code (2019 edition) §306 carries the same on-site supervision rule (master electrician or electrical qualified individual, or a journeyman electrician). The city uses the same ESP card as Clark County.

City of Henderson. ESP's program notice lists Henderson among the municipalities that require at least a journeyman electrical card for installing electrical systems; Henderson's own building pages could not be opened for this record, so its ordinance text is unverified.

City of Reno (Washoe County). Reno Municipal Code Title 14 prohibits electrical installations, alterations or additions unless done by a person holding a valid journeyman certificate, with exceptions for homeowners, licensed contractors under direct supervision arrangements, and contractors with reciprocal licenses from another city, county, state or country, who must obtain the Reno certification after 12 months of work in the city. The ICC G17 or G18 exam needs no pre-approval; the applicant then sends the score report to ESP for a card valid three years.

ESP card requirements (all of the above). Pass the ICC exam (70% journeyman, 75% master); since January 1, 2024 a new card also needs 2,000 documented hours of electrical work or apprenticeship; renewal every three years with 15 CEU hours for journeymen (30 for masters) including an 8-hour NEC update class; a card expired more than one year requires re-examination. ESP's card and exam fees are not published on the official jurisdiction pages and were not verified.

Out-of-state holders. None of these jurisdictions publish a reciprocity or endorsement path for a journeyman license from another state. Reno's 12-month grace period for reciprocal licenses is the only accommodation found. In practice an arriving journeyman takes the ICC G17 exam once and obtains the ESP card, which is honored by Clark County, Las Vegas, Henderson and Reno. Rural counties and Carson City were not surveyed.

Clark County (Department of Building and Fire Prevention)
City of Las Vegas (Department of Building and Safety)
City of Henderson (per ESP program notice; ordinance not verified)
City of Reno (Development Services)

Moving to Nevada Leaving Nevada

Common questions

Do I have to take the New Jersey journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Nevada?: No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
What does it cost to get a New Jersey journeyman electrician license from Nevada?: Published fees on this path total $250, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Nevada work hours count in New Jersey?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward New Jersey's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from New Jersey to Nevada?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from New Jersey to Nevada, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors - Application Process Overview · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · Other · verified September 15, 2026Board slide deck summarizing the journeyman qualification (8,000 hours with 576 classroom hours, 4,000 hours within five years) and the electrical contractor exam eligibility (over 21, high school diploma, five years hands-on experience, or a four-year federally approved apprenticeship plus one year, or a qualified journeyman plus one year, or a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering plus two years). It lists application fees of $40 (journeyman) and $100 (electrical contractor) and a three-year license term; the $40 figure predates the 2025 fee schedule.
Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors - Application for a Certificate of Registration to Practice as a Qualified Journeyman Electrician · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · Form · verified September 15, 2026The Board's journeyman application form still carries the pre-2025 'registration' title. It requires proof of 8,000 hours of practical experience working with tools (at least 4,000 within five years) and 576 classroom hours, supported by work-experience certifications from each employer (the certification asks in what state the employer is licensed). No examination is required; the registration/license fee is billed after approval. A form titled for the Class A journeyman license could not be located on the Board's site.
N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6 - Fee schedule (Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors) · N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Current fee schedule (effective June 2, 2025): non-refundable application fee for all licenses $100; initial electrical contractor license $225/$150/$75 depending on the year of the triennial period (renewal $225); initial business permit $150/$100/$50 (renewal $150); initial Class A journeyman electrician license $150/$100/$50 (renewal $150); Class B wireman $75/$50/$25; temporary courtesy license $75; 30-day temporary license $75; late renewal $50; reinstatement $100.
N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1 - Class A journeyman electrician license required; qualifications · N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026As amended effective June 2, 2025: a person must hold a Class A journeyman electrician license to perform the in-house electrical work described in N.J.S.A. 45:5A-18(k) and, if not a licensed electrical contractor, to supervise electrical work. Qualification is a current NJ electrical contractor license, or 8,000 hours of practical hands-on experience (at least 4,000 within the last five years) plus 576 classroom hours of related instruction, or equivalent experience shown by alternative means. No examination is listed.
N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.5 - Continuing education for Class A journeyman electricians · N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.5 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 202615 credit hours on the most recent National Electrical Code per triennial renewal.
N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.8 - Class A journeyman electrician licensure by reciprocity · N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.8 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Adopted effective June 2, 2025. The Board may grant a Class A journeyman license to a journeyman licensed in good standing in another jurisdiction if that jurisdiction gives equal reciprocity to NJ Class A journeymen and its qualifications are substantially equivalent. The applicant must have practiced as a journeyman for two of the last five years, have no discipline or unresolved complaints, be current on the origin state's continuing education, complete a 15-hour Board-approved NEC course, pay the application and license fees, and have the origin board send verification directly. No partner states are listed.
N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.9 - Temporary 30-day Class A journeyman electrician license · N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.9 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026An individual from another state who meets Class A journeyman qualifications may receive one 30-day temporary license per triennial period (application fee plus $75 license fee) to work under a licensed electrical contractor without supervising; longer stays require the full license.
P.L. 2021, c.479 - An Act concerning the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (Class A journeyman, Class A apprentice and Class B wireman licenses) · N.J.S.A. 45:5A-9, 45:5A-11.1, 45:5A-11.7, 45:5A-11.8, 45:5A-11.9 · New Jersey Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Converts the former 'qualified journeyman electrician' registration into a mandatory Class A journeyman electrician license and creates Class A electrical apprentice and Class B wireman licenses (registrants had 13 months after enactment to exchange registrations). Amends 45:5A-9(b): an electrical contractor exam applicant needs five years in the trade, spent as one year as a Class A journeyman and four years in a U.S. DOL-approved apprenticeship. C.45:5A-11.7: the Board may issue a temporary license without examination to an out-of-state Class A journeyman, apprentice or wireman for up to 30 days (one per triennial period). C.45:5A-11.8: the Board 'may in its discretion grant licenses without examination to applicants so licensed in another state ... provided that equal reciprocity is provided' to New Jersey electrical contractors, Class A journeymen, Class A apprentices and Class B wiremen.

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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