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

Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.

What does it cost to get a Minnesota journeyman electrician license from New York?

Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my New York work hours count in Minnesota?

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

Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to New York?

Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to New York, the mechanism is not applicable.

New York to Minnesota: journeyman electrician license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 15, 2026· 7 sources

New York does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Minnesota'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 a state that is not on Minnesota's reciprocity list gets no exam waiver; the license itself carries no credit and the applicant qualifies by examination like any other candidate. Out-of-state hours do count: Minn. R. 3800.3520 credits electrical work performed outside Minnesota that DLI determines is substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor, documented on the Work Experience Verification form by each employer (capped at 160 hours per month or 2,000 hours per year), and DLI's licensing page confirms credit for verifiable work in another state. The applicant must show at least 48 months of qualifying experience including 24 months of wiring and installing, file the Personal Electrical License Examination Application with the $50 fee (marking 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' and attaching a copy of the license), and pass the Class A Journeyworker exam. The license fee is paid separately once the exam is passed. Minnesota has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.

DLI's pages describe no endorsement route for non-reciprocal states. The initial license fee is prorated to the two-year expiration cycle from the statutory base of $20 per year plus a $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7); DLI's licensing page states the amount is determined after the exam is passed.

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 48 months of qualifying work experience.At least 48 months of qualifying experience under Minn. R. 3800.3520, including at least 24 months wiring for and installing electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment; up to 12 months of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Out-of-state work is credited when DLI finds it substantially equivalent.

What you'll do to get licensed in Minnesota

1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($50). Application and examination fee (non-refundable), Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 1.
2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Minnesota Class A Journeyworker Electrician written examination administered by DLI.
3Other. Electrical Work Experience Verification form completed by each employer, plus a copy of the out-of-state license.
4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Class A Journeyworker license fee on approval, prorated from $20 per year plus $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7).

Published fees on this path total $50, 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 · $50
Trade exam

How Minnesota licenses journeyman electricians

Minnesota journeyman electrician · “Class A Journeyworker Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 4 sources

Issued by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Board of Electricity

Minnesota issues a statewide Class A Journeyworker Electrician license through the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI); there is no municipal electrician licensing. A new applicant documents at least 48 months of qualifying experience (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 2 and Minn. R. 3800.3520), pays the $50 application and examination fee, and passes the DLI-administered written exam. Under Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 20 the commissioner, with Board of Electricity approval, has reciprocity agreements with nine states whose journeyworker licensees are licensed without the Minnesota exam. Licenses expire every two years and renewal requires 16 hours of continuing education, 12 of them on the NEC.

Moving to Minnesota Leaving Minnesota

Why New York has nothing to transfer

New York journeyman electrician

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 15, 2026· 15 sources

New York has no statewide electrician license at any level: the Department of State's Division of Licensing Services issues no electrician license, and its only page on the subject treats master electrician licenses as credentials issued by local governments. Journeyman-level licensing therefore exists only where a city or county ordinance creates it, and most jurisdictions do not. New York City licenses only Master and Special Electricians; journeymen and helpers work as employees under a licensed master or special electrician without any personal license, and their supervised hours (at least two years in the city) are what later qualify them for the master exam. Buffalo is the main city with a true Journeyman Electrician license (five years under a licensed master plus a New York State journeyman card, an ICC exam or a city exam), and Suffolk County carries a journeyman category in its Consumer Affairs licensing codes. Rochester's lower tier is a Single-Phase (residential) license rather than a journeyman card. An out-of-state journeyman license has no state-level recognition in New York; a journeyman should confirm the rules of the specific city or county where they will work and, in most places, simply work for a licensed master while accumulating local hours.

How local licensing works in New York

How local licensing works. No state agency licenses electricians in New York. Each city or county that requires a license runs its own examining board under its own ordinance, so requirements, exams and fees differ from one jurisdiction to the next, and a license from one jurisdiction is not automatically valid in another.

New York City. The Department of Buildings issues Master Electrician and Special Electrician licenses only; there is no journeyman license or registration. Electricians work as employees under a licensed master or special electrician. Experience toward the master license must be gained 'under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master or special electrician in the United States', with at least two of the required years in New York City, so out-of-state supervised hours count toward the master exam but do not create any journeyman credential.

Buffalo. The Electrical Examining Board issues a Journeyman Electrician License. Minimum qualification is five years working as an employee of a licensed master electrician (not self-employed), plus one of: a New York State journeyman electrician license/card, a passing ICC exam score together with the five years of experience, or at the board's discretion other proof such as a passing score on a City of Buffalo-administered exam. The notarized application lists every master electrician worked for with dates and hours, supported by master electrician affidavits.

Rochester. No journeyman license. The Electrical Examining Board issues a Single-Phase (residential) license requiring two years of applicable experience, interpreted as at least 3,000 hours within the past five years (at least half in the field with tools, up to 1,500 hours from course work or estimating/design/supervision), and an ICC-based exam with a 70 percent passing grade.

Syracuse and Albany. Both cities license electricians through their own examining boards (Syracuse Division of Code Enforcement; Albany Electrical Examining Board under General Code Chapter 171, Article III). The pages that could be opened describe master-level licensing and application deadlines but publish no journeyman card requirements.

Suffolk County. The Department of Consumer Affairs licenses Master Electricians and Restricted Electrical licensees and its licensing code list includes an 'AJ - Journeyman' category; the journeyman requirements themselves are not on the pages that could be opened.

Westchester County and Yonkers. Westchester County issues master and special electrician licenses by examination; it has no journeyman license. Yonkers does not license electricians itself and its electrical permits are issued to master electricians licensed by Westchester County.

Nassau County. The county's FAQ recognizes electricians as a trade held to a 'standard of competency' by state or local law, but no page describing a Nassau electrician license could be opened; treat Nassau's requirements as unverified.

Out-of-state holders. No jurisdiction above publishes a reciprocity or endorsement path for a journeyman license from another state. Buffalo will accept an ICC exam score with five years of experience under any licensed master; elsewhere an arriving journeyman works under a locally licensed master electrician until eligible for that jurisdiction's master exam.

Moving to New York Leaving New York

Common questions

Do I have to take the Minnesota journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in New York?: Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Minnesota journeyman electrician license from New York?: Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my New York work hours count in Minnesota?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Minnesota's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to New York?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to New York, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

Minnesota DLI - Personal Electrical License Examination Application and Work Experience Verification Form · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Form · verified September 15, 2026Exam application fee $50.00, non-refundable. Has a checkbox for applicants 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' (copy of license required). Experience is verified per employer on the Work Experience Verification form; credit capped at 160 hours per month / 2,000 hours per year and must qualify under Minn. Stat. 326B.33 and Minn. R. 3800.3520. Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is an alternative qualification for the Master A exam.
Minnesota DLI - Experience requirements for an electrical license · Minn. R. 3800.3520; Minn. Stat. 326B.33 · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Class A Journeyworker: 48 months minimum (24 months wiring/installing); Class A Master: 60 months minimum. Up to one year of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Electrical work performed outside Minnesota counts if the department determines it substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor; foreign-country experience capped at 12 months.
Minnesota DLI - Electrical licensing basics · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Journeyworker and master licenses both require passing a written exam after documenting experience; exam application fee $50. Work experience credit is given for verifiable electrical work performed in another state. Journeyworker licenses expire every two years (renewal $53); master licenses expire the last day of February of odd-numbered years (renewal $93); 16 hours of CE per cycle including 12 on the NEC.
Minnesota DLI - Electrical license reciprocity · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the Class A Journeyworker reciprocity states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming) and the Class A Master reciprocity states (Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska); the eligibility bullets (license obtained by state-level exam, held at least one year, current and in good standing, no failed Minnesota exam of the same or greater class, no pending denial/suspension/revocation); and the $50 application fee plus the license fee due on approval.
Minnesota Rules 3800.3520 - Experience requirements for electrical licenses · Minn. R. 3800.3520 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Sets the month-by-category experience tables (48 months journeyworker, 60 months master) and allows credit for electrical work performed outside Minnesota that the department determines is substantially equivalent to work in the employ of a Minnesota licensed contractor, based on employer certification. Military experience is credited on the same basis; foreign experience is capped at 12 months.
Minnesota Statutes 326B.092 - License fees and license renewal fees · Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subds. 1, 7 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: application and examination fee of $50, separate from the license fee. Subd. 7: base license fee journeyworker $20 per year ($40 for two years), master $40 per year ($80 for two years), plus a $4 per year board fee and a $5 continuing-education fee on renewal.
Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 - Electrical licenses and registration · Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subds. 1, 2, 20 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: Class A master requires a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of planning/laying out/supervising/installing experience. Subd. 2: Class A journeyworker requires four years of experience (one year credit for approved coursework). Subd. 20: the commissioner may enter into reciprocity agreements with another state if approved by the Board of Electricity, and may then issue a personal license without exam to an applicant who holds a valid comparable license obtained under a statewide program with comparable exam and experience, has held it continuously for at least one year, and has not failed the same or greater class Minnesota exam or had such a license revoked or suspended.

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

Report an error on this page