Pennsylvania to Alaska: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Alaska'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.
Reciprocal or provisional certificate for any US jurisdiction with substantially similar requirements
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
Under 8 AAC 90.111 (effective August 8, 2025) Mechanical Inspection may reciprocate an electrical certificate of fitness with any jurisdiction that has substantially similar requirements, without a mutual agreement; it weighs the hours required, whether the jurisdiction tests, whether it requires registered apprenticeship, and other factors. The applicant must hold a current journeyman license that has been held for a full year, files the Reciprocal/Provisional application with a copy of the license, and pays $50 plus $200 for a two-year Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman COF that renews as a normal journeyman certificate; no Alaska exam is taken if the jurisdiction is found substantially similar. If the department decides the origin jurisdiction is not substantially similar it requests proof of hours and the applicant must pass the Alaska journeyman exam before a certificate is issued (8 AAC 90.112(h)). Alternatively, a provisional Electrician Journeyman COF ($50 plus $100, valid up to one year or until the origin license expires, not renewable, no trainee supervision) lets an out-of-state journeyman start work quickly and can be upgraded to a reciprocal certificate on request.
Whether a city- or county-issued journeyman license counts as a 'jurisdiction' under 8 AAC 90.111 is not addressed on any official page. The exam path (for applicants whose jurisdiction is not substantially similar) has no published exam fee; the department administers the exam itself and third-party proctoring is at the applicant's expense.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Typical processing
- About 10 days
What you must already have
- Your Pennsylvania license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have held your Pennsylvania license for at least 1 year.Held for a full year before the application date (8 AAC 90.112(a))
- Origin jurisdiction's requirements (hours, testing, apprenticeship) must be substantially similar to Alaska's as determined by Mechanical Inspection; otherwise proof of 8,000 hours and the Alaska exam are required
What you'll do to get licensed in Alaska
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Nonrefundable certificate of fitness application fee (AS 18.62.030).
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($200). Two-year Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman certificate fee; a provisional certificate costs $100 instead and lasts up to one year.
- 3Other. Copy of the current out-of-state license (and a prior license if the issue date is missing), picture identification and a 2x2 photo.
Published fees on this path total $250, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
How Alaska licenses journeyman electricians
Alaska journeyman electrician · “Electrician Journeyman Certificate of Fitness”
Statewide license
Alaska issues a statewide Electrician Journeyman Certificate of Fitness (COF) through the Department of Labor and Workforce Development's Mechanical Inspection Section; a state COF is required for construction work subject to the National Electrical Code everywhere in Alaska (AS 18.62.010). A new applicant documents 8,000 hours of supervised electrical work (no more than 2,000 residential; up to 1,000 classroom hours, 1,000 lineman hours and 4,000 military/vocational hours may be substituted) and passes the department's open-book exam on the 2020 NEC with a score of at least 70%. The COF costs $50 to apply for plus $200 on issue, is valid for two years, and renews with 16 hours of continuing education. Since August 8, 2025 the department reciprocates journeyman certificates with any US jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially similar (8 AAC 90.111), still names thirteen long-standing reciprocal states, and offers a one-year provisional certificate to any out-of-state journeyman.
Why Pennsylvania has nothing to transfer
Pennsylvania journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Pennsylvania has no statewide electrician license at any level: none of the Department of State's 29 professional licensing boards covers electricians or electrical contractors, and the Commonwealth's Uniform Construction Code regulates permits and inspections rather than the people doing the work. Journeyman licensing exists only where a city ordinance creates it, and the two largest cities do not: Philadelphia licenses Electrical Contractors (plus electrical inspectors) with no journeyman or apprentice electrician license, and Pittsburgh issues a single master-level Electrical Trade License, so in both cities journeymen work as employees of a licensed contractor without a personal license. Allentown, Harrisburg, Reading and Erie do issue journeyman licenses, all keyed to the ICC National Standard Journeyman Electrician exam (G17) plus four years of experience or a completed apprenticeship, and Harrisburg and Reading publish short reciprocity lists that are mostly other Pennsylvania cities plus Delaware and Maryland. A journeyman license from another state has no state-level standing in Pennsylvania; the arriving journeyman should check the ordinance of each city where they will work, and an ICC journeyman exam already passed elsewhere is the most portable credential.
How local licensing works in Pennsylvania
How local licensing works. Pennsylvania has no state electrical board and no state journeyman, master or contractor license for electricians. Cities that license electricians do so under their own ordinances through local examining or trades boards, almost all of which use ICC exams. A license from one city is not valid in another unless that city's ordinance recognizes it, and there is no statewide reciprocity rule.
Philadelphia. The Department of Licenses and Inspections issues an Electrical Contractor License only; its trade license list has journeyman and apprentice licenses for plumbing, sheet metal and fire suppression but none for electricians. Non-contractor electricians work as employees under a licensed electrical contractor. Years worked for a contractor licensed by any local or state jurisdiction count toward the four years needed for the contractor license.
Pittsburgh. The Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections issues one Electrical Trade License (master level) to individuals; there is no journeyman license. Employees of a licensee work without a personal license.
Allentown. The Electricians' Examining Board issues a Journeyman license on four years of practical experience and the ICC National Standard Journeyman exam (G17), a Residential license on two years and the G18 exam, and a Master license (G16, four years). Applicants must be over 21 with a high school diploma or GED, pay a $50 application fee, and may register for the exam only after Board approval; licenses renew annually. No reciprocity provision is published.
Harrisburg. The Bureau of Codes issues a Journeyman Electrician license ($100) on four years of practical experience (apprenticeship acceptable) or four years of technical school plus two years, with documentation of a passing ICC Journeyman or National Standard Journeyman exam. The city does no testing itself. It accepts documentation by test results or by reciprocity from Allentown, Bethlehem, Lancaster, Reading, Philadelphia, Maryland and Delaware (others considered), and requires a letter of good standing from any other Pennsylvania municipality that licenses the applicant.
Reading. The Electrical Board issues a Journeyman Electrician license ($50 annual) requiring employment by a registered master, a completed four-year PA-registered apprenticeship with 144 hours per year of related instruction or eight years under a registered master, and the ICC G17Y journeyman exam. A reciprocal journeyman license ($150, including a one-time reciprocity fee) is available for licenses from jurisdictions of at least third-class-city standing with an equivalent board; the June 2023 list includes Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, Harford and Montgomery Counties in Maryland (journeyman only), Sullivan County NY, Springfield MO and several Pennsylvania cities.
Erie. Electrical work must be done by a City of Erie-licensed electrical contractor and only master license holders can pull permits; journeyman and apprentice licenses exist, and the Building Code Official may issue temporary journeyman/apprentice licenses (90 days) without Trades Licensing Board approval. Full requirements are in Article 333 of the Codified Ordinances, which could not be opened.
Scranton. Licensing, Inspections and Permits issues Master and journeyman/apprentice contractor licenses; the master application asks about journeyman status and other-municipality licenses but publishes no reciprocity rule.
Out-of-state holders. Only Harrisburg (Maryland, Delaware) and Reading (the list above) recognize out-of-state journeyman licenses, and each still issues its own license and fee. Everywhere else an out-of-state journeyman either needs no license (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh) or must submit ICC journeyman exam results and local experience documentation.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Alaska journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- How long do I need to have held my Pennsylvania license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Alaska journeyman electrician license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $250, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in Alaska?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Alaska's eligibility requirements.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 10 days.
- Does it work the other way, from Alaska to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Alaska to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Alaska Certificate of Fitness Information Packet - AS 18.62 and 8 AAC 90 (Version 20250715) · AS 18.62.020, AS 18.62.030; 8 AAC 90.111, 8 AAC 90.112, 8 AAC 90.115, 8 AAC 90.160 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026AS 18.62.030: $50 application fee and $200 journeyman certificate fee (two years, prorated). 8 AAC 90.111: the department may reciprocate an electrical COF with any jurisdiction that has substantially similar requirements, considering hours, testing, apprenticeship membership and other factors. 8 AAC 90.112: provisional certificate requires a current license held a full year, $50 + $100, expires after one year or when the origin license expires; if the origin jurisdiction is not substantially similar the applicant must prove hours and take the exam. 8 AAC 90.115(c): passing score 70. 8 AAC 90.160: journeyman COF requires the exam plus 8,000 documented hours (max 2,000 residential; up to 1,000 classroom and 1,000 lineman hours substitutable; maintenance experience excluded). Includes the FAQ on the August 8, 2025 reciprocity change.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Certificate of Fitness License Requirements (Electrician) · 8 AAC 90.111, 8 AAC 90.112, 8 AAC 90.160 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Electrician Journeyman: 8,000 hours (max 2,000 residential, 1,000 classroom, 1,000 lineman, 4,000 military/vocational), exam with 70% passing score, $50 non-refundable application fee plus $200 certificate fee, valid 2 years, 16 CE hours to renew. Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman: license held one full year, origin requirements substantially similar as determined by Mechanical Inspection, no exam, $50 + $200. Provisional Electrician Journeyman: held one full year, $50 + $100, valid 1 year, may not supervise apprentices.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Frequently Asked Questions · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Faq · verified September 15, 2026Covers only electrician and plumber certificates; says 'Alaska also has Mechanical Administrator and Electrical Administrator licenses which cover supervision and sign-off of code work. Refer to DCCED for details on these licenses.' Also notes that provisional plumber certificates do not allow fuel gas work because many states exclude gas from their plumber license.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Home · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Announces the changes effective August 8, 2025: expanded reciprocity for electricians and plumbers, new provisional licensing, and acceptance of military and vocational hours; a state-issued COF is required for construction work subject to the NEC in all parts of Alaska.
- Reciprocal/Provisional Application for Electrical and Plumbing Certificates of Fitness (v.20250828) · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Form · verified September 15, 2026Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman $250 for 2 years; Provisional Electrician Journeyman $150 for up to 1 year (not renewable); $50 nonrefundable application fee plus $100 or $200 certificate fee; attach a copy of the current license; processing 7-10 business days.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Testing Information · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Electrician journeyman exam is open book on the 2020 National Electrical Code, minimum 70%, four-hour limit, given the first and third Wednesday of each month in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks with proctored options; applications take 7-10 business days to approve before scheduling. No exam fee is listed.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.