Pennsylvania to California: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is California'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 electrician license accepted as proof of experience (all states)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
DIR does not recognize any out-of-state electrician license as a substitute for California certification and has no reciprocity agreements. What the license does is satisfy the experience requirement: under 8 CCR §291.1(b), where an applicant holds an electrician license from another state and the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards finds that state's experience requirements comparable to California's, the applicant is deemed to have the required experience, and DLSE's application instructions say a copy of a license from another state can suffice as proof of experience and allow the applicant to take the exam. The applicant files the Electrician Certification application with a copy of the out-of-state license, pays the $75 application fee and $100 exam fee ($175 together for a single exam), and must pass the General Electrician exam (100 questions, 4.5 hours, 70% to pass) administered by CPS HR Consulting through Pearson VUE. There is no separate law or business exam. The certification card is then valid for three years.
Whether a particular state's license is treated as comparable is decided by the Chief DAS; DIR publishes no list of accepted states. Applicants whose license is not accepted may document hours with a Social Security earnings report (SSA-7050) instead. City- or county-issued licenses are not mentioned in §291.1(b), which refers only to a license 'in another state'. Applicants without enough hours must register as an Electrician Trainee ($25) and work under supervision until they qualify.
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.General Electrician hours under 8 CCR §291.1(a)(1), or an out-of-state electrician license from a state whose experience requirements the Chief DAS finds comparable (8 CCR §291.1(b)). Residential Electrician requires 4,800 hours.
- Your Pennsylvania license must be active and in good standing.
What you'll do to get licensed in California
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($75). Electrician certification application fee (8 CCR §292.0).
- 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($100). Examination fee, charged per attempt; re-test $100 (application plus exam is billed as $175 for a single exam).
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. California General Electrician certification exam (100 questions, 4.5 hours, 70% to pass), administered by CPS HR Consulting via Pearson VUE.
- 4Continuing education. Complete continuing education. For each three-year renewal: 2,000 hours of work in the industry and 32 hours of continuing education in the certification category; renewal fee $100 ($200 if lapsed).
Published fees on this path total $175, 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.
- Exam fee · $100
- Trade exam
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
How California licenses journeyman electricians
California journeyman electrician · “General Electrician (state certification)”
Statewide license
California has no license called 'journeyman electrician'. The state-level personal credential is the electrician certification issued by the Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) under Labor Code §108 and 8 CCR §§290-296.4, which is mandatory for anyone who performs electrical work as an employee of a C-10 licensed electrical contractor. The category that corresponds to a journeyman is the General Electrician certification, which requires 8,000 hours of qualifying experience (or completion of a state-approved apprenticeship) and a passing score of 70% on the General Electrician exam; narrower categories exist for Residential Electrician (4,800 hours), Fire/Life Safety Technician (4,000), Voice Data Video Technician (4,000) and Non-Residential Lighting Technician (2,000). The exam has been administered by CPS HR Consulting since June 1, 2026 with scheduling through Pearson VUE. DIR has no reciprocity agreement with any state and never waives the California exam, but an electrician license from another state is accepted as proof of experience and makes the holder eligible to sit for the test; out-of-state electricians must be certified before they start work, with no grace period. Certification is valid three years and is renewed with 2,000 hours of work plus 32 hours of continuing education.
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 California journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. California requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a California journeyman electrician license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $175, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in California?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward California's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from California to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from California to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- 8 CCR §291.1 - Requirements for Certification (experience) - Electrician Certification · 8 CCR §291.1(a)-(c) · California Department of Industrial Relations (Title 8 regulations) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026§291.1(a) sets the hours per category and the sub-area caps for work performed for a C-10 contractor. §291.1(b): 'Where an applicant holds a license as an electrician in another state and it is determined by the Chief DAS that the requirements for experience to hold a license in that state are comparable to the requirements of Section 291.1(a)(1) or Section 291.1(a)(2), the Chief may deem the applicant to have the required experience for certification.' §291.1(c) allows credit for military experience or C-7 low-voltage contractor work. Authority: Labor Code §3099.
- DIR / DLSE - Electrician Certification Application Instructions · California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement · Form · verified September 15, 2026Acceptable proof of experience: state-approved apprenticeship certificate, Social Security earnings report (SSA-7050), or 'a copy of a license from a state other than California can also suffice as proof of experience and allow you to take the exam.' Fee table: $175 for a single exam (application plus exam), $275 for two, $375 for three, $100 re-test, $100 failure to appear, $30 replacement card.
- DIR / DLSE - Who needs to be certified to work in California as an electrician · California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the five certification categories and their experience hours: General Electrician 8,000; Residential Electrician 4,800; Fire/Life Safety Technician 4,000; Voice Data Video Technician 4,000; Non-Residential Lighting Technician 2,000.
- DIR / DLSE - Electrician Certification FAQs · California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement · Faq · verified September 15, 2026States that out-of-state electricians must be certified before they can start working in California with no grace period, that an electrician's license from another state makes the applicant eligible to sit for the California test, that certification expires three years from the effective date, and that renewal requires 2,000 hours of work in the industry and 32 hours of continuing education.
- DIR / DLSE - Electrician Certification Program Fees · 8 CCR §292.0 · California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Fee schedule under 8 CCR §292.0: certification application $75; taking or retaking the examination $100; renewal $100; renewal of a lapsed certification $200; electrician trainee registration $25; replacement card $30.
- DIR / DLSE - Electrician Certification Program · Cal. Labor Code §108(c); 8 CCR §§290-296.4 · California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Program home page. States that persons performing work as electricians for a C-10 licensed contractor must be certified, defines electricians as persons who connect electrical devices for electrical contractors licensed under B&P Code §7058, and cites Labor Code §108(c) and 8 CCR §§290-296.4 as the governing law.
- DIR / DLSE - Electrician Certification Test Taking Information · California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Exams are developed and administered by CPS HR Consulting effective June 1, 2026 (previously PSI) with scheduling through Pearson VUE. General Electrician exam: 100 questions, 4.5 hours; Residential 80 questions, 3.5 hours; the three technician exams 50 questions, 2.25 hours. Passing score 70%.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.