Pennsylvania to Minnesota: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Minnesota'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.
A journeyman licensed in a state that is not on Minnesota's reciprocity list gets no exam waiver; the license itself carries no credit and the applicant qualifies by examination like any other candidate. Out-of-state hours do count: Minn. R. 3800.3520 credits electrical work performed outside Minnesota that DLI determines is substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor, documented on the Work Experience Verification form by each employer (capped at 160 hours per month or 2,000 hours per year), and DLI's licensing page confirms credit for verifiable work in another state. The applicant must show at least 48 months of qualifying experience including 24 months of wiring and installing, file the Personal Electrical License Examination Application with the $50 fee (marking 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' and attaching a copy of the license), and pass the Class A Journeyworker exam. The license fee is paid separately once the exam is passed. Minnesota has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.
DLI's pages describe no endorsement route for non-reciprocal states. The initial license fee is prorated to the two-year expiration cycle from the statutory base of $20 per year plus a $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7); DLI's licensing page states the amount is determined after the exam is passed.
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 48 months of qualifying work experience.At least 48 months of qualifying experience under Minn. R. 3800.3520, including at least 24 months wiring for and installing electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment; up to 12 months of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Out-of-state work is credited when DLI finds it substantially equivalent.
What you'll do to get licensed in Minnesota
- 1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($50). Application and examination fee (non-refundable), Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 1.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Minnesota Class A Journeyworker Electrician written examination administered by DLI.
- 3Other. Electrical Work Experience Verification form completed by each employer, plus a copy of the out-of-state license.
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Class A Journeyworker license fee on approval, prorated from $20 per year plus $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7).
Published fees on this path total $50, 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 · $50
- Trade exam
How Minnesota licenses journeyman electricians
Minnesota journeyman electrician · “Class A Journeyworker Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Board of Electricity
Minnesota issues a statewide Class A Journeyworker Electrician license through the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI); there is no municipal electrician licensing. A new applicant documents at least 48 months of qualifying experience (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 2 and Minn. R. 3800.3520), pays the $50 application and examination fee, and passes the DLI-administered written exam. Under Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 20 the commissioner, with Board of Electricity approval, has reciprocity agreements with nine states whose journeyworker licensees are licensed without the Minnesota exam. Licenses expire every two years and renewal requires 16 hours of continuing education, 12 of them on the NEC.
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 Minnesota journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Minnesota journeyman electrician license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in Minnesota?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Minnesota's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Minnesota DLI - Personal Electrical License Examination Application and Work Experience Verification Form · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Form · verified September 15, 2026Exam application fee $50.00, non-refundable. Has a checkbox for applicants 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' (copy of license required). Experience is verified per employer on the Work Experience Verification form; credit capped at 160 hours per month / 2,000 hours per year and must qualify under Minn. Stat. 326B.33 and Minn. R. 3800.3520. Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is an alternative qualification for the Master A exam.
- Minnesota DLI - Experience requirements for an electrical license · Minn. R. 3800.3520; Minn. Stat. 326B.33 · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Class A Journeyworker: 48 months minimum (24 months wiring/installing); Class A Master: 60 months minimum. Up to one year of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Electrical work performed outside Minnesota counts if the department determines it substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor; foreign-country experience capped at 12 months.
- Minnesota DLI - Electrical licensing basics · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Journeyworker and master licenses both require passing a written exam after documenting experience; exam application fee $50. Work experience credit is given for verifiable electrical work performed in another state. Journeyworker licenses expire every two years (renewal $53); master licenses expire the last day of February of odd-numbered years (renewal $93); 16 hours of CE per cycle including 12 on the NEC.
- Minnesota DLI - Electrical license reciprocity · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the Class A Journeyworker reciprocity states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming) and the Class A Master reciprocity states (Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska); the eligibility bullets (license obtained by state-level exam, held at least one year, current and in good standing, no failed Minnesota exam of the same or greater class, no pending denial/suspension/revocation); and the $50 application fee plus the license fee due on approval.
- Minnesota Rules 3800.3520 - Experience requirements for electrical licenses · Minn. R. 3800.3520 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Sets the month-by-category experience tables (48 months journeyworker, 60 months master) and allows credit for electrical work performed outside Minnesota that the department determines is substantially equivalent to work in the employ of a Minnesota licensed contractor, based on employer certification. Military experience is credited on the same basis; foreign experience is capped at 12 months.
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.092 - License fees and license renewal fees · Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subds. 1, 7 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: application and examination fee of $50, separate from the license fee. Subd. 7: base license fee journeyworker $20 per year ($40 for two years), master $40 per year ($80 for two years), plus a $4 per year board fee and a $5 continuing-education fee on renewal.
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 - Electrical licenses and registration · Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subds. 1, 2, 20 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: Class A master requires a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of planning/laying out/supervising/installing experience. Subd. 2: Class A journeyworker requires four years of experience (one year credit for approved coursework). Subd. 20: the commissioner may enter into reciprocity agreements with another state if approved by the Board of Electricity, and may then issue a personal license without exam to an applicant who holds a valid comparable license obtained under a statewide program with comparable exam and experience, has held it continuously for at least one year, and has not failed the same or greater class Minnesota exam or had such a license revoked or suspended.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.