North Carolina to Wyoming: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
North Carolina does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Wyoming'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.
Licensure by examination with out-of-state experience (states without a reciprocal agreement)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
The licensing page states that Wyoming must have a reciprocal agreement with the state the applicant is reciprocating from, so a journeyman from any other state applies for the Wyoming journeyman exam. Out-of-state work experience is accepted toward the 8,000-hour requirement when documented by notarized employer letters or the Journeyman and Master Work Verification Form, notarized union letters, or official letters from other licensing boards; the department says a copy of a current license from another state board whose work-history requirement is equal to or more stringent than Wyoming's 8,000 hours may be accepted as proof of work history. The applicant must still show 576 hours of approved apprenticeship classroom instruction (or 10 years / 20,000 hours as a licensed journeyman or master approved by the Chief Electrical Inspector), pass the exam with 70%, and then pay the $100 license fee through the eLicense portal. W.S. 35-9-126(d) also lets the department issue a reciprocal license to anyone whose out-of-state license was obtained through an exam equal to or exceeding Wyoming's, but the department does not describe using that discretion outside its listed agreement states.
Once the department approves the exam application, the International Code Council (ICC) exam is scheduled through Pearson VUE: 80 questions, 4 hours, open book. Each processing step can take up to five business days.
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.Four years in the electrical wiring industry under a qualifying electrician for a licensed electrical contractor; no more than 75% in any one of residential, commercial or industrial; up to 4,000 hours of credit for electrical schooling beyond the required 576 hours
- 576 hours (144 per year over four years) of electrically related classroom instruction from a Department of Labor approved apprenticeship program, or 10 years / 20,000 hours as a licensed journeyman or master electrician approved by the Chief Electrical Inspector
What you'll do to get licensed in Wyoming
- 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Wyoming Journeyman Electrician examination, open book on the current NEC, 70% to pass.
- 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($115). Pearson VUE examination fee for the ICC exam, paid when scheduling.
- 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($100). Initial Journeyman Electrician license fee paid after uploading the exam pass letter (plus 2.5% card processing fee).
- 4Other. Government-issued ID verification in the eLicense portal, work verification documents and apprenticeship education transcripts.
Published fees on this path total $215, 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 · $115
How Wyoming licenses journeyman electricians
Wyoming journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Wyoming issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety (the State Fire Marshal's Office); the governor-appointed Electrical Board adopts the licensing rules. To sit for the exam an applicant documents four years (8,000 hours) of work in the electrical wiring industry under a qualifying electrician for a licensed contractor, spread across residential, commercial and industrial work with no more than 75% in one category, plus 576 hours of approved apprenticeship classroom instruction (or 20,000 hours as a licensed electrician in lieu of schooling). The open-book exam is based on the current edition of the NEC (Wyoming now applies the 2026 NEC) and requires 70%. The initial license fee is $100; the license runs three years, expiring January 1, and renews for $50 with 16 hours of board-approved continuing education. Wyoming has journeyman reciprocity agreements with seventeen states and waives its exam for their licensees.
Why North Carolina has nothing to transfer
North Carolina journeyman electrician
No individual license at this level
Issued by North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (contractor licensing only)
North Carolina does not issue a journeyman electrician license, and no North Carolina city or county issues one either. The Electrical Contractors Licensing Law (G.S. Chapter 87, Article 4) regulates only electrical contracting: the business of installing, maintaining, altering or repairing electrical work, which requires a Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited or Special Restricted electrical contracting license qualified by a listed qualified individual. Electricians below that level work as employees under the supervision of the licensee's qualified individual with no personal license, and the Board's exam handbook and fee schedule contain no journeyman credential. The Board's rules mention 'journeyman electrician' only as a category of primary experience (credited at 100%, 2,000 hours per year) toward the electrical contracting exam. An out-of-state journeyman license therefore has nothing to transfer to in North Carolina; it is neither required nor recognized for employment, but the documented hours behind it count toward the 3,000 (Limited), 5,750 (Intermediate) or 9,000 (Unlimited) hours needed to sit the contractor exam.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Wyoming journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in North Carolina?
- Yes. Wyoming requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Wyoming journeyman electrician license from North Carolina?
- Published fees on this path total $215, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my North Carolina work hours count in Wyoming?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Wyoming's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Wyoming to North Carolina?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Wyoming to North Carolina, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- ICC Wyoming Electrical Contractor/Trades Examination Information Bulletin (published August 19, 2025) · International Code Council · Form · verified September 23, 2026
- Wyoming Electrical Board Rules, Chapter 5 - Electrical Licensing · 041-0001-5 Wyo. Code R. §§ 5-3, 5-5, 5-6 · Wyoming Electrical Board (text as reproduced by the Legal Information Institute) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- Wyoming Statutes Title 35, Chapter 9, Article 1 - Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety · W.S. 35-9-126(a), 35-9-126(b), 35-9-126(d), 35-9-127, 35-9-129 · Wyoming Legislature · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office - Fire Council and Electrical Board · Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
- Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office - Electrical Safety Home Page · Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety - Electrical Licensing · W.S. 35-9-101 et seq. · Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office, Electrical Safety Division · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.