Pennsylvania to Wyoming: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Wyoming'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.
Licensure by examination with out-of-state experience (states without a reciprocal agreement)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
The licensing page states that Wyoming must have a reciprocal agreement with the state the applicant is reciprocating from, so a journeyman from any other state applies for the Wyoming journeyman exam. Out-of-state work experience is accepted toward the 8,000-hour requirement when documented by notarized employer letters or the Journeyman and Master Work Verification Form, notarized union letters, or official letters from other licensing boards; the department says a copy of a current license from another state board whose work-history requirement is equal to or more stringent than Wyoming's 8,000 hours may be accepted as proof of work history. The applicant must still show 576 hours of approved apprenticeship classroom instruction (or 10 years / 20,000 hours as a licensed journeyman or master approved by the Chief Electrical Inspector), pass the exam with 70%, and then pay the $100 license fee through the eLicense portal. W.S. 35-9-126(d) also lets the department issue a reciprocal license to anyone whose out-of-state license was obtained through an exam equal to or exceeding Wyoming's, but the department does not describe using that discretion outside its listed agreement states.
The licensing page does not name the exam vendor or the exam fee; it says testing fees are paid to the testing facility, and W.S. 35-9-129 caps the examination fee at $300. Each processing step can take up to five business days.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Typical processing
- About 15 days
What you must already have
- You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Four years in the electrical wiring industry under a qualifying electrician for a licensed electrical contractor; no more than 75% in any one of residential, commercial or industrial; up to 4,000 hours of credit for electrical schooling beyond the required 576 hours
- 576 hours (144 per year over four years) of electrically related classroom instruction from a Department of Labor approved apprenticeship program, or 10 years / 20,000 hours as a licensed journeyman or master electrician approved by the Chief Electrical Inspector
What you'll do to get licensed in Wyoming
- 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Wyoming Journeyman Electrician examination, open book on the current NEC, 70% to pass.
- 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. Examination fee paid to the testing facility (amount not published on the licensing page; statutory cap $300).
- 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($100). Initial Journeyman Electrician license fee paid after uploading the exam pass letter (plus 2.5% card processing fee).
- 4Other. Government-issued ID verification in the eLicense portal, work verification documents and apprenticeship education transcripts.
Published fees on this path total $100, 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
How Wyoming licenses journeyman electricians
Wyoming journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Wyoming issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety (the State Fire Marshal's Office); the governor-appointed Electrical Board adopts the licensing rules. To sit for the exam an applicant documents four years (8,000 hours) of work in the electrical wiring industry under a qualifying electrician for a licensed contractor, spread across residential, commercial and industrial work with no more than 75% in one category, plus 576 hours of approved apprenticeship classroom instruction (or 20,000 hours as a licensed electrician in lieu of schooling). The open-book exam is on the current NEC (2023, with the 2026 NEC effective July 1, 2026) and requires 70%. The initial license fee is $100; the license runs three years, expiring January 1, and renews for $50 with 16 hours of board-approved continuing education. Wyoming has journeyman reciprocity agreements with seventeen states and waives its exam for their licensees.
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 Wyoming journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. Wyoming requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Wyoming journeyman electrician license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $100, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in Wyoming?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Wyoming's eligibility requirements.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 15 days.
- Does it work the other way, from Wyoming to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Wyoming to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Wyoming Statutes Title 35, Chapter 9, Article 1 - Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety · W.S. 35-9-126(a), 35-9-126(d), 35-9-129 · Wyoming Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 202635-9-126(a): applicants for master and journeyman licenses apply to the chief electrical inspector, pass the examination and pay the license fee; a master license expires July 1 and a journeyman license January 1 in the third year after issue; up to 4,000 hours of electrical school credit toward work experience. 35-9-126(d): the department may issue a reciprocal license to an applicant who obtained an out-of-state or foreign license through an examination equal to or exceeding Wyoming's. 35-9-129: fee caps - master $200, journeyman $100, temporary permit $50, examination $300.
- Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office - Fire Council and Electrical Board · Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026The five-member Electrical Board appointed by the governor adopts the rules for licensing master and journeyman electricians, technicians, apprentices, temporary permits and reciprocal licenses.
- Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office - Electrical Safety Home Page · Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Effective April 1, 2025 a 2.5% processing fee (minimum $1) is added to card payments; Wyoming currently enforces the 2023 NEC with the 2026 NEC effective July 1, 2026; links the licensing portal and the statutes and rules.
- Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety - Licensing · W.S. 35-9-101 et seq. · Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office, Electrical Safety Division · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026The only statewide construction-trade licensing program in Wyoming; the page lists apprentice, low-voltage/limited technician, journeyman and master electrician licenses and electrical/low-voltage contractor licenses. It contains no HVAC, mechanical or refrigeration license. The one HVAC-related state credential is the LM-H Limited Technician license, which covers the electrical wiring of HVAC systems only.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.