Pennsylvania to Oklahoma: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Oklahoma'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 from a state that has no written agreement with Oklahoma can ask for exam equivalency under OAC 158:40-9-2.4, but only if the Board has already approved that jurisdiction's exam as substantially similar; if so, the Oklahoma journeyman exam is waived on a certified letter from the home jurisdiction showing a current license in good standing, the license category, an exam score of 70% or higher and no pending discipline. CIB does not publish the list of approved jurisdictions. Otherwise the applicant files the standard Application for Electrical Licensure with a complete work history and employer experience affidavits, and out-of-state residents must show similar experience by attaching copies of apprenticeship registrations or government-issued electrical licenses; utility work is not counted. The applicant then pays $75 and must pass the Unlimited Electrical Journeyman exam through PSI. Oklahoma has no separate law exam for journeymen.
New Mexico lists Oklahoma as an EE-98J reciprocity partner, but Oklahoma's published list does not include New Mexico, so a New Mexico journeyman falls under this default path unless CIB confirms otherwise. Which jurisdictions' exams have been approved for equivalency could not be confirmed from an official page. 59 O.S. §1685(A)(1) also lets the Committee certify an applicant holding a valid license from another governmental entity with similar requirements.
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.Verifiable on-the-job hours as a registered apprentice while employed by an electrical contractor, 4,000 in commercial/industrial work; up to 2,000 hours may be formal electrical education with official transcripts.
What you'll do to get licensed in Oklahoma
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($25). Journeyman application (processing) fee, non-refundable (OAC 158:40-9-3(b)).
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($50). Initial journeyman license fee, submitted with the application; annual renewal $75.
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Unlimited Electrical Journeyman exam administered by PSI, 70% to pass; waived only if the Board has approved the home jurisdiction's exam for equivalency.
- 4Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($92). PSI fee per examination portion, non-refundable.
Published fees on this path total $167, 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 · $92
How Oklahoma licenses journeyman electricians
Oklahoma journeyman electrician · “Unlimited Electrical Journeyman”
Statewide license
Issued by Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB), Electrical Licensing Unit
Oklahoma issues statewide electrical journeyman licenses through the Construction Industries Board (CIB) in three categories: Unlimited, Residential and Refinery. The Unlimited Electrical Journeyman license requires 8,000 verifiable hours as a registered apprentice under a licensed journeyman or contractor while employed by an electrical contractor, of which 4,000 must be commercial/industrial and up to 2,000 may be formal electrical education, plus passing the PSI-administered exam with 70% (59 O.S. §1684). The fee is $75 ($25 application plus $50 initial license) and the PSI exam fee is $92 per portion. CIB has written journeyman reciprocity agreements with ten states, and reciprocal applicants are exempt from the Oklahoma exam. Journeymen must be employed by a licensed contractor and complete 12 hours of continuing education every three years.
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 Oklahoma journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. Oklahoma requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Oklahoma journeyman electrician license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $167, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in Oklahoma?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Oklahoma's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Oklahoma CIB - Electrical Industry · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Reciprocity requires a written agreement between the states, a current license in good standing for at least one year, and current CEU compliance. Journeymen and contractors complete 12 hours of continuing education every three years (six on code changes). Contractor activation requires general liability insurance with CIB as certificate holder, a bond, and workers' compensation proof. Links the Electrical License Act (Title 59, effective 11-1-2025).
- Oklahoma CIB - Electrical Application Information and Application for Electrical Licensure (revised June 2024) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Form · verified September 15, 2026Fees that must accompany the application: Electrical Contractor $330 (license $300 / processing $30); Electrical Journeyman, reciprocal or otherwise, $75 (license $50 / processing $25). Unlimited contractor: 12,000 hours while employed by a licensed electrical contractor, proof of 4,000 hours and 2 years as a licensed unlimited journeyman, 6,000 commercial/industrial hours; must be an owner, partner or officer of the firm to activate. Out-of-state residents must have completed similar experience and include copies of apprenticeship registrations or government-issued licenses; utility work is not counted. 'All applicants are required to pass the Oklahoma electrical exam to gain licensure - exception: reciprocal applicants.' Reciprocal licenses cannot be grandfathered and must have been held at least one year.
- Oklahoma CIB - Electrical Journeyman · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Unlimited Electrical Journeyman: 8,000 verifiable hours on the job, 4,000 in commercial/industrial work, up to 2,000 hours by formal electrical education. Residential Electrical Journeyman: 4,000 hours, up to 1,000 by education. Refinery Electrical Journeyman is issued on the basis of a current out-of-state unlimited license. Links the Temporary Journeyman Application and License Through Reciprocity.
- Oklahoma CIB - Frequently Asked Questions · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Faq · verified September 15, 2026'How do I obtain CIB licensing through reciprocity?': your state must have a written reciprocity agreement with Oklahoma; current license in good standing for at least one year; current in CEU requirements; complete application with work history and fees; CIB verifies hours with the reciprocating state. Retest after 30 days for a first failure and 90 days after subsequent failures.
- Oklahoma Electrical License Act, 59 O.S. §§ 1680-1690 (effective 11-1-2025) · 59 O.S. §§ 1684, 1685, 1685.1 · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§1684(B): passing score is 70% on each part; a failing applicant waits 30 days. §1685(A): CIB issues a journeyman electrician or electrical contractor license to any person certified by the Committee of Electrical Examiners as having passed the exam or holding a valid license from another governmental entity with similar requirements, who pays the fee and completes a national criminal history check when required. §1685.1: temporary one-year journeyman licenses for out-of-state journeymen after a declared disaster. The Act contains no section headed reciprocity; agreements are handled under the CIB rules.
- OAC Title 158, Chapter 40 - Electrical Industry Regulations (permanent rules effective 07/11/2026) · OAC 158:40-5-5, 158:40-7-5, 158:40-9-2.4, 158:40-9-3 · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026158:40-7-5: journeyman and contractor licenses by reciprocity require a written reciprocity agreement; the applicant pays the application fee plus the initial license fee; conditions include substantially equivalent requirements, one year of lawful practice in the origin state immediately before application, no pending discipline (certified statement), and a license obtained by examination; a contractor applicant under a written contractor agreement is issued a journeyman license by reciprocity and receives the contractor license after passing the Business and Law portion of the contractor exam and meeting bond and insurance requirements. 158:40-9-2.4: exam equivalency for licensees of states without an agreement, only where the Board has previously approved that jurisdiction's exam; waives the journeyman exam or the technical trade portion of the contractor exam but not the Business and Law portion; requires a certified letter showing current good standing, category, 70%+ exam score and no pending discipline. 158:40-9-3(b): contractor application $30, initial contractor license $300, renewal $200; journeyman application $25, initial license $50, renewal $75. 158:40-5-5: $5,000 license bond and $50,000 combined single limit general liability insurance for active contractors, plus workers' compensation compliance.
- State of Oklahoma Electrical, Mechanical, Roofing and Plumbing Examinations Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI, effective 12/18/2025) · PSI Services for the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Other · verified September 15, 2026Eligibility is determined by CIB; PSI fee is $92 per examination portion, non-refundable. Content outlines cover the Unlimited Electrical Contractor, Limited Electrical Contractor, Residential Electrical Contractor, Unlimited Electrical Journeyman, Residential Electrical Journeyman and Refinery Electrical Journeyman exams.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.