Tennessee to Alaska: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Tennessee does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Alaska'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.
Reciprocal or provisional certificate for any US jurisdiction with substantially similar requirements
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
Under 8 AAC 90.111 (effective August 8, 2025) Mechanical Inspection may reciprocate an electrical certificate of fitness with any jurisdiction that has substantially similar requirements, without a mutual agreement; it weighs the hours required, whether the jurisdiction tests, whether it requires registered apprenticeship, and other factors. The applicant must hold a current journeyman license that has been held for a full year, files the Reciprocal/Provisional application with a copy of the license, and pays $50 plus $200 for a two-year Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman COF that renews as a normal journeyman certificate; no Alaska exam is taken if the jurisdiction is found substantially similar. If the department decides the origin jurisdiction is not substantially similar it requests proof of hours and the applicant must pass the Alaska journeyman exam before a certificate is issued (8 AAC 90.112(h)). Alternatively, a provisional Electrician Journeyman COF ($50 plus $100, valid up to one year or until the origin license expires, not renewable, no trainee supervision) lets an out-of-state journeyman start work quickly and can be upgraded to a reciprocal certificate on request.
Whether a city- or county-issued journeyman license counts as a 'jurisdiction' under 8 AAC 90.111 is not addressed on any official page. The exam path (for applicants whose jurisdiction is not substantially similar) has no published exam fee; the department administers the exam itself and third-party proctoring is at the applicant's expense.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Typical processing
- About 10 days
What you must already have
- Your Tennessee license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have held your Tennessee license for at least 1 year.Held for a full year before the application date (8 AAC 90.112(a))
- Origin jurisdiction's requirements (hours, testing, apprenticeship) must be substantially similar to Alaska's as determined by Mechanical Inspection; otherwise proof of 8,000 hours and the Alaska exam are required
What you'll do to get licensed in Alaska
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Nonrefundable certificate of fitness application fee (AS 18.62.030).
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($200). Two-year Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman certificate fee; a provisional certificate costs $100 instead and lasts up to one year.
- 3Other. Copy of the current out-of-state license (and a prior license if the issue date is missing), picture identification and a 2x2 photo.
Published fees on this path total $250, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
How Alaska licenses journeyman electricians
Alaska journeyman electrician · “Electrician Journeyman Certificate of Fitness”
Statewide license
Alaska issues a statewide Electrician Journeyman Certificate of Fitness (COF) through the Department of Labor and Workforce Development's Mechanical Inspection Section; a state COF is required for construction work subject to the National Electrical Code everywhere in Alaska (AS 18.62.010). A new applicant documents 8,000 hours of supervised electrical work (no more than 2,000 residential; up to 1,000 classroom hours, 1,000 lineman hours and 4,000 military/vocational hours may be substituted) and passes the department's open-book exam on the 2020 NEC with a score of at least 70%. The COF costs $50 to apply for plus $200 on issue, is valid for two years, and renews with 16 hours of continuing education. Since August 8, 2025 the department reciprocates journeyman certificates with any US jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially similar (8 AAC 90.111), still names thirteen long-standing reciprocal states, and offers a one-year provisional certificate to any out-of-state journeyman.
Why Tennessee has nothing to transfer
Tennessee journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Tennessee has no statewide journeyman electrician license. The Board for Licensing Contractors regulates electrical work at only two levels: the contractor license with the CE (electrical) classification, required for projects of $25,000 and up, and the Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE), a personal license for projects under $25,000 that is accepted only in the roughly 65 counties where the State Fire Marshal's Division of Fire Prevention issues permits and inspects. The Board itself says the LLE exam 'is NOT comparable to the journeyman/master', that no experience is required to take it, and that 'there are no out-of-state reciprocal (exam waiver) agreements for the LLE'. Journeyman cards exist only where a city or county runs its own testing, licensing and inspection program: Nashville, Memphis/Shelby County, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Jackson and about two dozen other 'exempt jurisdictions' listed by the state do not accept the LLE and require their local journeyman or master license, or a state CE contractor license, to obtain permits. An out-of-state journeyman license has no state-level recognition in Tennessee; the state's LLE packet states flatly that 'out-of-state electricians and contractors must obtain a license in Tennessee', and none of the largest local programs publish a reciprocity or exam-waiver path, so a journeyman arriving from another state should expect to sit the local exam in each jurisdiction where they will work (or take the $50 LLE exam for small jobs in fire-marshal counties).
How local licensing works in Tennessee
How local licensing works. T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 6 gives the Board for Licensing Contractors the CE contractor license (business-level, $25,000 and up, accepted by every jurisdiction) and the LLE (individual, under $25,000, valid only where the state inspects). Local governments that operate their own electrical inspection programs may license electricians for smaller work under their own codes, and the state publishes a list of exempt jurisdictions that do not accept the LLE. Every one of them accepts a state CE contractor license for permits, but none accepts another city's or state's journeyman card by rule.
Nashville (Metro Codes and Building Safety). The Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board examines and licenses Master Electricians, Equipment Installers, Low Voltage Installers and Journeyman Electricians. A journeyman applicant must show completion of an electrical construction apprenticeship program or regular employment as a journeyman under an electrical contractor or master electrician, submit employer verification letters and a character letter, be approved by the Chief Electrical Inspector, and pass the Prov-administered Metro journeyman exam with 70% (30-day wait to retest). The application asks whether the applicant holds a master license in another city or state but describes no exam waiver.
Memphis / Shelby County (Office of Construction Code Enforcement). The joint Memphis and Shelby County Electrical Code licenses Journeyman Electricians and Linemen (age 20, three years of experience in the electrical field immediately preceding application, application in person with three industry recommendations, 30-day investigation, exam before the Electrical Code Advisory Board; exam $50, annual renewal $50) and registers apprentices ($12). Journeymen work under a licensed Master Electrician who pulls the permit. No reciprocity provision appears in the code.
Knoxville (Plans Review & Inspections). Knoxville is on the state's exempt list and requires everyone pulling a permit to hold a city registration matching their qualifications (state contractor, homeowner, or unlicensed/LLE-LLP registration). The city's own electrical exam, experience and fee details are not published on the pages found; contact 865-215-4311.
Chattanooga (Land Development Office). Issues a Journeyman electrical license ($55, two-year term) to applicants with 3 years or 6,000 documented hours of experience with an electrical contractor who pass the city test, and a separate 'state certified' journeyman registration on the same terms; a Board of Electrical Examiners oversees testing. No reciprocity is mentioned.
Out-of-state holders. The state has no journeyman license to endorse, the LLE has no reciprocity, and the four largest local programs publish no exam waiver for other jurisdictions' journeyman cards. Practical routes are: pass the local journeyman exam in each exempt jurisdiction where you will work; take the LLE exam ($50 license, no experience required) for sub-$25,000 work in fire-marshal counties; or, for independent contracting, obtain the state CE contractor license, which every jurisdiction accepts.
- Nashville / Davidson County (Metro Codes and Building Safety)
- Memphis / Shelby County (Office of Construction Code Enforcement)
- Knoxville (Plans Review & Inspections)
- Chattanooga (Land Development Office)
- Hamilton County
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Jackson
- Kingsport
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Alaska journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Tennessee?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- How long do I need to have held my Tennessee license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Alaska journeyman electrician license from Tennessee?
- Published fees on this path total $250, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Tennessee work hours count in Alaska?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Alaska's eligibility requirements.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 10 days.
- Does it work the other way, from Alaska to Tennessee?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Alaska to Tennessee, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Alaska Certificate of Fitness Information Packet - AS 18.62 and 8 AAC 90 (Version 20250715) · AS 18.62.020, AS 18.62.030; 8 AAC 90.111, 8 AAC 90.112, 8 AAC 90.115, 8 AAC 90.160 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026AS 18.62.030: $50 application fee and $200 journeyman certificate fee (two years, prorated). 8 AAC 90.111: the department may reciprocate an electrical COF with any jurisdiction that has substantially similar requirements, considering hours, testing, apprenticeship membership and other factors. 8 AAC 90.112: provisional certificate requires a current license held a full year, $50 + $100, expires after one year or when the origin license expires; if the origin jurisdiction is not substantially similar the applicant must prove hours and take the exam. 8 AAC 90.115(c): passing score 70. 8 AAC 90.160: journeyman COF requires the exam plus 8,000 documented hours (max 2,000 residential; up to 1,000 classroom and 1,000 lineman hours substitutable; maintenance experience excluded). Includes the FAQ on the August 8, 2025 reciprocity change.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Certificate of Fitness License Requirements (Electrician) · 8 AAC 90.111, 8 AAC 90.112, 8 AAC 90.160 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Electrician Journeyman: 8,000 hours (max 2,000 residential, 1,000 classroom, 1,000 lineman, 4,000 military/vocational), exam with 70% passing score, $50 non-refundable application fee plus $200 certificate fee, valid 2 years, 16 CE hours to renew. Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman: license held one full year, origin requirements substantially similar as determined by Mechanical Inspection, no exam, $50 + $200. Provisional Electrician Journeyman: held one full year, $50 + $100, valid 1 year, may not supervise apprentices.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Frequently Asked Questions · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Faq · verified September 15, 2026Covers only electrician and plumber certificates; says 'Alaska also has Mechanical Administrator and Electrical Administrator licenses which cover supervision and sign-off of code work. Refer to DCCED for details on these licenses.' Also notes that provisional plumber certificates do not allow fuel gas work because many states exclude gas from their plumber license.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Home · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Announces the changes effective August 8, 2025: expanded reciprocity for electricians and plumbers, new provisional licensing, and acceptance of military and vocational hours; a state-issued COF is required for construction work subject to the NEC in all parts of Alaska.
- Reciprocal/Provisional Application for Electrical and Plumbing Certificates of Fitness (v.20250828) · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Form · verified September 15, 2026Reciprocal Electrician Journeyman $250 for 2 years; Provisional Electrician Journeyman $150 for up to 1 year (not renewable); $50 nonrefundable application fee plus $100 or $200 certificate fee; attach a copy of the current license; processing 7-10 business days.
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Testing Information · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Electrician journeyman exam is open book on the 2020 National Electrical Code, minimum 70%, four-hour limit, given the first and third Wednesday of each month in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks with proctored options; applications take 7-10 business days to approve before scheduling. No exam fee is listed.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.