Oregon to Vermont: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Vermont has no reciprocity agreement with Oregon. A Oregon journeyman electrician applies by endorsement.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Universal license by endorsement (all other states, license held 3 years)
The board reviews your out-of-state credentials case by case. Some exam is usually still required, often only a law or code exam.
Under 26 V.S.A. s. 906(b)(2) and Safety Rule 3.4(f), the board shall issue a journeyman license without examination to an applicant whose journeyman license from any other U.S. jurisdiction has been held in good standing for at least three years, regardless of whether that state reciprocates. The applicant files the notarized all-classifications application checking 'Universal license', attaches a certified letter of licensure from the issuing state, a photocopy of the license, the original issue date, how the license was obtained and documentation of that state's requirements, lists three references, and pays the $115 three-year fee; applications are reviewed at the board's bi-monthly meetings and must arrive two weeks beforehand. The Commissioner may waive the three-year practice requirement where public protection is adequate. A journeyman licensed for less than three years applies through the standard route, where the board may recognize an out-of-state apprenticeship or experience toward eligibility but the Vermont exam is required. Separately, the 2025 rules state that a license from a NERA member state need only be held in good standing for one year.
Timeline reflects the board's every-other-month meeting cycle and two-week document deadline; the Division does not publish a processing time. The NERA note in Rule 3.4(f) refers applicants to nerastates.org for the current member list; that list is not published on a Vermont page and the alliance's own map is dated February 2025 and does not yet show Vermont, so NERA-based one-year eligibility is described here rather than mapped to individual origin states. The exam fee ($80, Prov) applies only to the examination route.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must have held your Oregon license for at least 3 years.Journeyman license held in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction for at least three years (26 V.S.A. s. 906(b)(2)(A); Rule 3.4(f)); one year if the license is from a NERA member state per the 2025 rules.
- Your Oregon license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
What you'll do to get licensed in Vermont
- 1License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($115). Journeyman three-year license fee (26 V.S.A. s. 905(d)).
- 2Other. Notarized all-classifications application with certified letter of licensure from the issuing state, photocopy of the license, date and means of obtaining it, documentation of that state's requirements, and three references.
Published fees on this path total $115, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
How Vermont licenses journeyman electricians
Vermont journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Vermont Electricians' Licensing Board, Division of Fire Safety (Department of Public Safety)
Vermont issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Electricians' Licensing Board within the Division of Fire Safety. A new applicant must show completion of a Vermont registered electrical apprenticeship or equivalent training and experience acceptable to the board (an apprenticeship served in another state may be recognized under 26 V.S.A. s. 907), then pass the Prov-administered exam ($80); the license costs $115 for a three-year term and renewal requires 15 hours of NEC instruction. Out-of-state journeymen have three routes without examination: a reciprocal license for residents of Maine and New Hampshire, a 'Universal' license under 26 V.S.A. s. 906(b)(2) for any journeyman licensed in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction for at least three years, and, under the 2025 Safety Rules, recognition of a license from a National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance (NERA) member state held in good standing for one year. Vermont also licenses Type-S specialty journeymen and 12R military electricians, which are outside this level.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Vermont journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Oregon?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- How long do I need to have held my Oregon license?
- At least 3 years before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Vermont journeyman electrician license from Oregon?
- Published fees on this path total $115, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Oregon work hours count in Vermont?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Vermont's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Vermont to Oregon?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Vermont to Oregon, the mechanism is experience credit.
Sources
- Division of Fire Safety - Electricians' License Application and Instructions, All Classifications (June 2026) · Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety · Form · verified September 23, 2026
- Vermont Division of Fire Safety - Electricians' Licensing Board (meetings and submission deadline) · Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Vermont Division of Fire Safety - Electricians (electrical licensing home page) · Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Vermont Electrical Safety Rules, 2025 edition - section 3.3 Type-S specialty electrician licenses · Vermont Electrical Safety Rules 2025, s. 3.3 · Vermont Electricians' Licensing Board, Division of Fire Safety · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026
- 26 V.S.A. Chapter 15 - Electrical Installations (ss. 902-907: master and journeyman qualifications, fees, examinations not required, recognition of experience) · 26 V.S.A. ss. 902, 903, 905, 906, 907 · Vermont General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.