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

No. The trade exam is waived on this path.

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

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

Do my New York 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 New York?

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

New York to New Jersey: journeyman electrician license reciprocity

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

New York 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 New York 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 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 New Jersey journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in New York?: No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
What does it cost to get a New Jersey journeyman electrician license from New York?: Published fees on this path total $250, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my New York 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 New York?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from New Jersey to New York, 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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