LicensebyState

New Jersey to Maine: journeyman electrician license reciprocity

Reciprocity· Exam waivedVerified September 15, 2026· 8 sources

Maine has a reciprocity agreement with New Jersey: a New Jersey journeyman electrician can get a Maine license without retaking the trade exam.

Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.

Reciprocal agreement with New Jersey (journeyman)

A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.

The board's FAQ, updated during 2026, states that Maine has a journeyman reciprocity agreement with New Jersey. A New Jersey journeyman electrician who obtained the license by passing a written examination and has been licensed and actively working as an electrician for the required period is issued a Maine Journeyman Electrician license without taking the Maine exam, using the Reciprocity License Application with license verification, Work Experience Affidavits and the $171 fee.

New Jersey appears only on the board's FAQ page (not in archived copies through January 2026); the journeyman licensing page and the reciprocity application form (rev 01/2020) do not list it and no signed agreement or effective date is published. Applicants should confirm with the board before filing.

At a glance

Trade exam
Waived
Law / code exam
Not required
Agreement
Active

What you must already have

  • Your New Jersey license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
  • Your New Jersey license must be active and in good standing.
  • You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Licensed and actively engaged in electrical installations (32 M.R.S. §1206); the board's pages also describe this as six years of active work.

What you'll do to get licensed in Maine

  1. 1License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Journeyman Electrician license fee (two-year term), part of the $171 reciprocity application fee.
  2. 2Background check. Complete a background check ($21). Criminal records check fee, part of the $171 reciprocity application fee.
  3. 3Other. License verification from New Jersey and Work Experience Affidavit(s).

Published fees on this path total $150, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

How Maine licenses journeyman electricians

Maine journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by Maine Electricians' Examining Board (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation)

Maine issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Electricians' Examining Board within the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR). A new applicant qualifies with 8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice or helper plus a 576-hour course of study (or one of the school and college pathways in 32 M.R.S. §1202-B), completes a 45-hour NEC course, and passes the Prov-administered journeyman exam ($90). The license costs $150 for a two-year term plus a $21 State Bureau of Identification criminal-history report. Maine recognizes out-of-state journeymen two ways: a reciprocity license without examination for states that have a formal agreement with the board (New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming on the licensing page and application form; the board's FAQ now also names Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island), and, since July 2024, licensure by endorsement under board rule Chapter 180 for any other U.S. state whose journeyman requirements are substantially equivalent.

Moving to MaineLeaving Maine

Common questions

Do I have to take the Maine journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in New Jersey?
No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with New Jersey.
What does it cost to get a Maine journeyman electrician license from New Jersey?
Published fees on this path total $150, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Does it work the other way, from Maine to New Jersey?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Maine to New Jersey, the mechanism is endorsement.

Sources

  1. Electricians' Examining Board - Frequently Asked Questions (reciprocity answers by license type) · Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR) · Faq · verified September 15, 2026Master: 'Maine has an agreement with New Hampshire, Massachussets, Rhode Island and Vermont.' Journeyman: 'Maine has an agreement with New Hampshire, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota and Vermont'; reciprocity application fee $171.00; proof of licensure must be mailed with the application. Limited, helper and apprentice: no reciprocity. Archived copies of this page from January 2024 through January 2026 listed only NH/VT (master) and NH/OR/ID/WY/ND/VT (journeyman), so the additional states were added during 2026.
  2. Electricians' Examining Board - Journeyman Electrician licensing requirements, fees and reciprocity · Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the four journeyman qualification pathways (8,000 hours plus 576 hours of study, etc.), the fee table (license $150, SBI criminal history report $21, biennial renewal $150) and the reciprocity paragraph: licensed in a state with a reciprocity agreement, passed that state's written exam, actively engaged as an electrician for a minimum of six years; reciprocal states New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming.
  3. Electricians' Examining Board - Reciprocity License Application and Instructions (Journeyman and Master) · 02-318 CMR ch. 130 s. 1(D)(2) · Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR) · Form · verified September 15, 2026Rev 01/2020. Lists reciprocity partners (Journeyman: New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming; Master: New Hampshire, Vermont). Checklist: completed application, fee, license verification from the reciprocating state showing license number, issue date, expiration, status and discipline, and Work Experience Affidavit(s) showing at least 8,000 hours (journeyman) or 12,000 hours (master) in the field of electrical installations. Required fee $171.00 including the criminal records check fee (office-use breakdown $150.00 + $21.00). Applicant states whether the origin license was obtained by examination or grandfathering.
  4. State of Maine OPOR Candidate Information Bulletin (Prov, MOPOR-2025.05.14) · Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation / Prov, Inc. · Other · verified September 15, 2026Examination categories and cost: Master Electrician $90, Journeyman Electrician $90, Limited Electrician categories $65. Journeyman exam is 100 questions in 4 hours.
  5. 02-318 CMR Chapter 180 - Electricians' Examining Board: Licensure by Endorsement · 02-318 CMR ch. 180 (eff. July 22, 2024) · Maine Secretary of State / Electricians' Examining Board · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Effective July 22, 2024 (filing 2024-166). Applicant must hold a valid, active electrician license from a U.S. jurisdiction with 'substantially equivalent license requirements', file the application and pay the Chapter 10 fee. Substantially equivalent means the origin jurisdiction's initial-licensure pathway requires, for journeyman: an accredited electrical program or a 576-hour approved course, a passing score on an approved journeyman exam, and 8,000 hours under a licensed master or journeyman; for master: the same education, an approved master exam, and 10,000 hours under a higher-level licensee. Good standing in all jurisdictions required. No Maine examination is listed.
  6. Electricians' Examining Board Rules (compiled December 2021) - Chapter 150 Reciprocity · 02-318 CMR ch. 150 · Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Chapter 150: the board determines, at another state's request or on its own initiative, whether that state's standards qualify its electricians to work in Maine without the 32 M.R.S. §1203 examination; agreements specify which grades are covered. Reciprocity applicants submit the application, the Chapter 10 application and license fees, documentation of six years of licensed working experience, and license verification from the reciprocal state. Licensees by reciprocity must meet Maine continuing-education rules.
  7. 32 MRSA §1202-B - Issuance and scope of licenses (journeyman and master qualifications) · 32 M.R.S. §1202-B · Maine Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Journeyman: 8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice or helper plus a 576-hour course (or listed school/college pathways), or comparable experience acceptable to the board; pass a board-approved exam; 45-hour NEC course within 2 years of application. Master: 12,000 hours as a licensed helper/apprentice, 4,000 hours as a journeyman, or 6,000 hours as a journeyman-in-training, plus 576 hours of study, or comparable experience; exam; 45-hour NEC course.
  8. 32 MRSA §1206 - Reciprocity · 32 M.R.S. §1206 · Maine Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026The board shall issue a license to a person licensed under the laws of another state who has been licensed and actively engaged in an electrician's work for a minimum of 8,000 hours, as long as that state has licensing standards and experience requirements at least equivalent to Maine's and grants similar privileges to Maine licensees. Reciprocal licenses may not be denied on the basis of residency; the board may waive the 576-hour study requirement. Last amended PL 2023, c. 327.

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

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