Pennsylvania to Utah: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Utah'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 applicants without an equivalent license (standard route with out-of-state experience credit)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
If the origin jurisdiction is shown in gray on DOPL's Endorsement to Utah map (no equivalent statewide journeyman license), the applicant must meet Utah's standard qualifications: completion of an approved electrical training program of at least 576 classroom hours plus 8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice, or 16,000 hours as a licensed apprentice. Hours earned outside Utah count, but must be documented on the Verification of Electrician Experience form together with official verification from the jurisdiction where the hours were obtained; local (city or county) licenses may be used to help document hours and exams. The applicant must then pass the Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam (75% minimum) and the Utah Electrician Practical Exam, both administered by Prov, and pay DOPL's $116 application fee. New Jersey licensees are asked to document passing exams equivalent to Utah's journeyman exams.
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.8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice together with completion of an approved 576-hour training program taken over at least 48 months; otherwise 16,000 hours as a licensed apprentice. Up to 3,000 hours may be credited per 12-month period.
- Hours obtained outside Utah must be supported by official verification from the jurisdiction where they were obtained.
What you'll do to get licensed in Utah
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($116). Non-refundable DOPL application-processing fee.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam (75% minimum) and Utah Electrician Practical Exam, administered by Prov; exam fees are paid directly to Prov.
Published fees on this path total $116, 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
How Utah licenses journeyman electricians
Utah journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL)
Utah issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act (Utah Code 58-55) and Rule R156-55b. Utah has no signed state-to-state reciprocity agreements; instead it offers licensure by endorsement under Utah Code 58-1-302 to holders of licenses that DOPL has mapped as equivalent, provided the license has been held at least one year and is active and in good standing. Journeyman endorsement applicants are not required to take a Utah exam. Applicants from jurisdictions without an equivalent statewide license can still count verified out-of-state hours toward the standard route, which requires the Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam and the Utah Electrician Practical Exam.
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 Utah journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. Utah requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Utah journeyman electrician license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $116, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in Utah?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Utah's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Utah to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Utah to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Utah DOPL - Electrical licensing home page · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026dopl.utah.gov URLs redirect here. Lists license classifications and names Prov as the exam vendor.
- Utah DOPL - Electrical Exam Information · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Journeyman: Utah Journeyman Electrician Written Exam + Utah Electrician Practical Exam (6 modules). Master: Utah Master Electrician Law and Rule Exam + Utah Electrician Practical Exam. Exams administered by Prov; fee amounts are published by Prov, not on this page.
- Journeyman Electrician - Out of State Applicants Applying by Endorsement · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Directs applicants to the Journeyman Electrician Endorsement to Utah map and the Verification of Licensure form. States no examination requirement for journeyman endorsement applicants.
- Journeyman Electrician - Out of State Applicants Not Applying by Endorsement · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026
- Utah Electrician Application (JE / RJE / ME / RME) with checklist and instructions · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Form · verified September 14, 2026Form version v20260716. $116.00 non-refundable application-processing fee for all applicants. Endorsement checklist: official verification showing active licensure in good standing for at least one year from a jurisdiction designated as equivalent; master endorsement applicants must pass the Utah Master Electrician Law and Rule Examination at 75% or greater. Hours obtained outside Utah count with official verification from that jurisdiction.
- Endorsement to Utah: Journeyman Electrician (state-by-state equivalency map) · Utah Code 58-55; 58-1-302 · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Other · verified September 14, 2026Map last updated 7/1/2020. Green = equivalent license (endorsement available if held at least one year, active, in good standing); yellow = additional documentation needed (NJ); gray = no equivalent statewide license.
- Licensure By Endorsement Verification Form (LE-58-V-App) · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Form · verified September 14, 2026Completed by the origin state; records method of licensure (exam date and score, apprenticeship or hours) and disciplinary history.
- Utah Admin. Code R156-55b Electricians Licensing Act Rule - 2025 amendment text (Utah State Bulletin 2025-11, Filing 57162) · Utah Admin. Code R156-55b-302a, R156-55b-302b · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Admin Rule · verified September 14, 2026Rule text as amended in 2025 (anticipated effective 7/22/2025). R156-55b-302a: journeyman = 576-hour program over at least 48 months plus 8,000 apprentice hours, or 16,000 apprentice hours; master = 8,000 journeyman hours (or 4,000 with AAS, or 2,000 apprentice hours with ABET EE degree). R156-55b-302b: journeyman passes Written Exam (75%) and Practical Exam; master passes Law and Rule Exam (75%). The eRules page at adminrules.utah.gov could not be retrieved.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.