Ohio to New Mexico: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Ohio does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is New Mexico'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.
CID publishes no endorsement process for journeymen from states outside its EE-98J reciprocity list, and 14.6.4 NMAC contains no general reciprocity provision (only an expedited path for military service members, spouses and veterans). An applicant from a non-reciprocal state files the standard notarized Journeyman Certificate Application with PSI, documents 8,000 hours of experience within the past ten years on notarized work-experience forms, and must pass all three parts of the EE-98J exam. Out-of-state experience counts if it was gained while employed by a contractor licensed in the trade or was legal work in the state where it was performed. New Mexico has no separate law exam for journeymen; state code questions are part of the Part 1 Code exam.
All certification requirements must be met within six months of CID receiving the application, and passing scores are valid for one year. Whether CID would waive the exam for a non-listed state under NMSA 60-13-14(C) is not addressed on any official page.
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 of accredited training, apprenticeship or practical experience in the electrical trade (two years commercial/industrial), gained within the ten years before application (NMSA 60-13-38(I); 14.6.4.8(C) NMAC).
What you'll do to get licensed in New Mexico
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($75). Journeyman Certificate Application fee paid to PSI (per classification).
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. EE-98J exam: Part 1 Code (50 questions, open book, 2020 NEC), Part 2 Theory (closed book) and a practical exam; 75% required on each.
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($206.64). PSI exam combination fee for the three EE-98J parts ($68.88 per part, charged per attempt).
Published fees on this path total $281.64, 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 · $206.64
How New Mexico licenses journeyman electricians
New Mexico journeyman electrician · “EE-98J Journeyman Electrician (certificate of competence)”
Statewide license
Issued by New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID)
New Mexico issues statewide journeyman certificates of competence through the Construction Industries Division (CID) of the Regulation and Licensing Department; PSI processes applications and administers the exams under contract. The residential and commercial journeyman electrician classification is EE-98J, which requires four years (8,000 hours) of experience gained within the ten years before application; a residential-only ER-1J and several two-year specialty journeyman classifications also exist. A new EE-98J applicant passes a two-part written exam (Part 1 Code, open book on the 2020 NEC; Part 2 Theory, closed book) and a practical exam, each with a 75% passing score. CID reciprocates only the EE-98J classification, with ten states. Certificates are active for three years, and EE-98J holders complete 16 hours of continuing education per three-year code cycle.
Why Ohio has nothing to transfer
Ohio journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Issued by No state authority; Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board licenses contractors only
Ohio does not issue a journeyman electrician license. The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) licenses individual electrical contractors for commercial work, and R.C. 4740.01 defines everyone else on the job as a 'tradesperson' employed by a contractor, with no state license or card. Where a personal journeyman credential exists it comes from a city ordinance: Toledo examines and licenses Journeyman and Residential Journeyman Electricians through its Division of Building Inspection and registers 'traveler' journeymen from other jurisdictions, while Cincinnati and Hamilton only register contractors (a 'Master Registration' in Hamilton) and do not license individual electricians. An out-of-state journeyman license has no state-level recognition in Ohio; it is useful only as proof of experience when a city requires it, or as one of the documents OCILB accepts (an active journeyman's card) toward the five-year experience requirement for the state contractor exam.
How local licensing works in Ohio
How local licensing works. Ohio's contractor licensing statute (R.C. Chapter 4740) covers only the individual electrical contractor license issued by OCILB and does not license tradespersons; any journeyman requirement is local. Most large cities require only that electrical work be done by or under a state-licensed contractor who has registered with the city.
Toledo. The Division of Building Inspection issues Journeyman Electrician and Residential Journeyman licenses after an examination ($100 exam fee), with proof of graduation from an apprenticeship program with 8,000 hours or an equivalent qualification (a journeyman certificate earned by testing in another city jurisdiction, completion of a recognized apprenticeship, or four years in the electrical construction industry). A Traveler Journeyman registration ($100) is available with the same documentation, and apprentices register for $25. Licenses renew annually by December 31.
Cincinnati. Contractors performing work in the city must hold a contractor registration under Municipal Code Chapter 1106 ($131.25 per year including surcharges); registration of state-licensed contractors runs until the state license expires. Cincinnati does not license journeyman electricians.
Hamilton. A Master Registration is required to obtain electrical permits and covers the registrant's registered employees; no journeyman exam is described.
Columbus and Cleveland. Their contractor-licensing pages could not be opened during verification (access denied); no journeyman licensing was confirmed for either city.
Out-of-state holders. None of the pages reviewed publish a reciprocity path for another state's journeyman license. Toledo's application does accept a journeyman certificate obtained by testing in another city jurisdiction as a qualification to sit for (or register for) its exam.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the New Mexico journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Ohio?
- Yes. New Mexico requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a New Mexico journeyman electrician license from Ohio?
- Published fees on this path total $281.64, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Ohio work hours count in New Mexico?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward New Mexico's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from New Mexico to Ohio?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from New Mexico to Ohio, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Construction Industries Licensing Act, NMSA 1978 Chapter 60, Article 13 · NMSA 1978 §§ 60-13-2(E), 60-13-14, 60-13-16, 60-13-38 · New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§60-13-2(E): a 'qualifying party' is an individual who submits to the examination for a license and is responsible for the licensee's compliance. §60-13-14(A)(8): a contractor license applicant needs four years of trade experience within the ten years before application. §60-13-14(C): the division, with the commission's consent, may enter into a reciprocal licensing agreement with any state having equivalent licensing requirements. §60-13-16: no certificate of qualification is issued until the individual passes the division's exam, which includes business/law and, for EE classifications, a technical exam; the certificate is not transferable. §60-13-38: journeymen must hold a certificate of competence obtained by examination; eligibility for the journeyman electrician exam requires four years of accredited training, apprenticeship or practical experience (two years commercial/industrial); 16 hours of continuing education per three-year code cycle for EE-98J.
- 14.6.4 NMAC - Certification of Journeymen (Construction Industries Division) · 14.6.4.8 NMAC · New Mexico Commission of Public Records, State Records Center and Archives · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Passing score is 75% or higher; retakes allowed but not more than twice in any 30-day period; all certification requirements must be met within six months of the application or fees are forfeited. The only reciprocity/expedited provision is 14.6.4.8(D) for military service members, spouses, dependents and veterans certified in another jurisdiction with substantially equivalent requirements. Continuing education: 16 hours per renewal (8 on the enforced code) applies to mechanical journeymen JSM, JS and JR among others.
- 14.6.6 NMAC - Classification and Scope of Licenses and Certificates (mechanical and plumbing) · 14.6.6.10 and 14.6.6.11 NMAC · New Mexico Commission of Public Records, State Records Center and Archives · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026MM-3 Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning: four years of experience; scope is to 'install, alter, repair, service and maintain HVAC air handling and refrigeration equipment and piping, including fans, coils, condensing units, self-contained packaged air conditioning or heating units, evaporative cooling units, and ductwork' plus controls at 24 volts or less. MM-98 Mechanical (four years) covers MM-1 through MM-4 and the MS-3, MS-6, MS-12 and MS-14 specialties. Journeyman classifications: JR Journeyman Refrigeration (two years; 'must demonstrate compliance with environmental protection agency (EPA) recovery requirements before certificate may be issued'; works under MM-3, MM-4, MM-98 or JSM) and JSM Journeyman Sheet Metal (two years; works under MM-3 or MM-98).
- PSI - How to Obtain a New Mexico Journeyman Certificate · PSI Services for the NM Construction Industries Division · Form · verified September 15, 2026Application packet: notarized Journeyman Certificate Application, notarized work experience verification forms, $75 application fee per classification. Experience table: EE-98J and EL-1J four years (8,000 hours); ER-1J and ES specialty classifications two years (4,000 hours). All experience must have been gained while employed by a contractor licensed in the trade, or be considered legal work in the state where performed. 'Reciprocity applicants do not need to submit work experience forms; however must be currently active for at least one year in the state in which they tested.' Certificates are active for three years. Document last revised 4/19/2011 but still published by PSI.
- State of New Mexico Journeyman Examinations Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · PSI Services for the NM Construction Industries Division · Other · verified September 15, 2026Text extracted from the PDF locally. Fee table: JR Journeyman Refrigeration $68.88 (single exam); JSM Journeyman Sheet Metal Written $68.88 and Practical $68.88, combination $137.76; fees are charged per attempt and are not refundable. JR exam: 50 questions, 120 minutes, 75% (38 points) to pass, open book on the 2015 New Mexico Mechanical Code (14.9.2 NMAC), 2021 Uniform Mechanical Code and Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. JSM written: 70 questions, 185 minutes, 75%; JSM practical: 100 points, 120 minutes, 75%. Candidates must be pre-approved by PSI before testing.
- NM Regulation and Licensing Department - Apply for a Construction Industries License · New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Section 'Reciprocal Journeyman in New Mexico': 'The only journeyman classification reciprocated in New Mexico is EE-98J, residential and commercial electrical'; no mechanical or refrigeration journeyman classification is reciprocated. Section 'Becoming a Qualifying Party': QP applicants need the required years of experience within the 10 years before application, must pass the classification exam(s) and a Contractor's Business and Law exam, must be pre-approved to schedule exams, and pay a $36 QP application and work-experience affidavit fee; the company license application fee is $36 plus license fees. No reciprocity is mentioned for qualifying parties or contractors.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.