Tennessee to Connecticut: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Tennessee does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Connecticut'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.
Journeyperson by equivalent out-of-state license (all states)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
An electrician licensed in any other state applies under DCP's 'Electrical Journeyperson - Equivalent Out of State License' path. DCP reviews one out-of-state license for equivalency: it must have required the same number of classroom hours (720 for the E-2), an equivalent classroom curriculum, and the same on-the-job training hours (8,000 for the E-2) as the Connecticut license. The applicant submits a copy of the license, an official license verification, the laws and regulations that set the requirements met to obtain it, and the scope of work for that license; only one license will be reviewed and the $90 application fee is non-refundable. If the license is found equivalent, DCP approves the applicant to sit the E-2 exam with PSI ($59 per portion), and the license is issued after passing on payment of the $120 initial license fee. The out-of-state license does not waive the Connecticut exam because Connecticut has no reciprocal agreements. If the license cannot be shown equivalent, the applicant must instead document 720 classroom hours and 8,000 OJT hours under the equivalent experience and training path.
DCP's out-of-state license page does not itself restate that the exam is required; the exam requirement follows from the Electrical License page (exam vendor fees due on every path), CGS 20-333 (competency shown by examination) and the PSI bulletin (DCP determines eligibility, then the candidate tests). CGS 20-333a permits licensure without examination only where the other state reciprocates for Connecticut licensees, and DCP states no such agreements exist. Typical processing time is not published.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Your Tennessee license must be active and in good standing.
- The out-of-state license must be equivalent: it required the same classroom hours (720), an equivalent curriculum, and the same OJT hours (8,000) as the Connecticut E-2Only one out-of-state license is reviewed for equivalency.
- You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.On-the-job training hours required for the E-2; demonstrated through the equivalent out-of-state license or, failing that, through notarized employer letters under the experience and training path.
What you'll do to get licensed in Connecticut
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($90). Journeyperson application fee, non-refundable (CGS 20-333).
- 2Other. Copy of the out-of-state license, official license verification, the laws/regulations listing the requirements met to obtain it, and the scope of work for that license.
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson exam administered by PSI: 80 questions, 3.5 hours, 70% to pass, open book (2020 or 2023 NEC).
- 4Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($59). PSI examination fee per portion (same fee for retakes).
- 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($120). Initial license fee for a journeyperson license after passing the exam (CGS 20-335); renews annually for $120.
Published fees on this path total $269, 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 · $59
How Connecticut licenses journeyman electricians
Connecticut journeyman electrician · “E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson”
Statewide license
Connecticut licenses electricians statewide through the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP); the journeyman-level license is the E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson, which allows all electrical work defined in CGS 20-330 while employed by a licensed contractor (limited journeyperson classes such as C-6, L-2, L-6, T-2 and PV-2 also exist). A new E-2 applicant qualifies through a Connecticut apprenticeship, through equivalent experience and training, or by holding an equivalent out-of-state license, and in every path must pass the PSI-administered E-2 exam (80 questions, 3.5 hours, 70%, open book on the 2020 or 2023 NEC). DCP states that Connecticut does not have reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction, even though CGS 20-333a would allow the Commissioner to waive the exam for licensees of states that reciprocate. The application fee is $90, the exam is $59 per portion, and the initial license fee is $120; licenses expire every September 30 and renew for $120.
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 Connecticut journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Tennessee?
- Yes. Connecticut requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Connecticut journeyman electrician license from Tennessee?
- Published fees on this path total $269, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Tennessee work hours count in Connecticut?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Connecticut's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Connecticut to Tennessee?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Connecticut to Tennessee, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 393 - Occupational Licensing (Electrical, Plumbing and Piping, Heating, Cooling...) · CGS §§ 20-333, 20-333a, 20-334a, 20-335 · Connecticut General Assembly · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§20-333: non-refundable application fee of $90 for limited licenses and journeyman-type licenses under 20-334a(a)(2)-(3) and $150 for unlimited contractor licenses under 20-334a(a)(1); competency is shown by examination. §20-333a Reciprocity: the Commissioner may grant a license without examination to a currently practicing, competent person holding a similar license from another state with substantially similar or higher requirements, but only if that state grants the same privilege to Connecticut licensees; DCP reports no such agreements exist. §20-334a(a)(1)(A): an unlimited contractor's license may be issued to a person who served as a journeyman in the trade for at least two years 'and, if such service as a journeyman was outside this state, has furnished evidence satisfactory to the appropriate state board or the department that such service is comparable to similar service in this state', and has passed the examination; (a)(2)(A): an unlimited journeyman's license requires a bona fide apprenticeship including not less than four years' experience and passing the state licensure examination. §20-335: initial license fee $150 for a contractor's license and $120 for any other license; licenses expire annually; renewal $150 contractor / $120 other. The page returned a TLS certificate error to the fetch tool on 2026-09-15 and was downloaded directly with curl to read the section text.
- Connecticut DCP - Electrical License (application paths, fees, renewal) · Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the six application paths (contractor: 2+ years as journeyperson, equivalent experience and training, equivalent out-of-state license; journeyperson: Connecticut apprenticeship, equivalent experience and training, equivalent out-of-state license). Application fee: contractor $150, journeyperson $90, non-refundable. Renewal: contractor $150, journeyperson $120; all licenses expire September 30 annually. States 'Separate fees will be due to the exam vendor at time of exam registration' and, verbatim, 'Connecticut does not have reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction.'
- Connecticut DCP - Electrical Journeyperson: Equivalent Out of State License · Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Defines an equivalent out-of-state license as one that required the same number of classroom hours, equivalent classroom curriculum, and on-the-job training hours as the Connecticut license applied for. Table: E-2 requires 8,000 OJT hours and 720 classroom hours (C-6 4,000/360, L-6 4,000/288, PV-2 4,000/324, T-2 4,000/288, L-2 8,000/576, C-8 2,000/144). Required documents: copy of the out-of-state license, license verification, the laws and regulations showing the requirements met to obtain it, and the scope of work for that license. Only one out-of-state license is reviewed; application fees are non-refundable; if equivalency cannot be proven the application is not approved on this basis.
- Connecticut DCP - Electrical License Types and Scope of Work · Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026E-1 Unlimited Electrical Contractor: all electrical work as defined in CGS 20-330. E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson: all electrical work, only while employed by a properly licensed contractor. Also lists the limited classes (C-5/C-6, C-7/C-8, L-1/L-2, L-5/L-6, T-1/T-2, PV-1/PV-2).
- Connecticut DCP Occupational Licensing - Electrical Trades Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI, updated 2/4/2026) · Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection / PSI Services LLC · Other · verified September 15, 2026Eligibility for examination is determined by the State (DCP approves the application, then PSI schedules). Fee: $59 per examination portion, first attempt or retake, non-refundable. Journeypersons pass only a trade portion; contractors must pass both a trade portion and the Business and Law portion (50 questions, 2 hours, 70%, based on the NASCLA Contractors Guide, Connecticut 6th edition). E-1 Unlimited Electrical Contractor trade exam: 100 questions, 4 hours, 70%, open book. E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson: 80 questions, 3.5 hours, 70%, open book. Code questions are based on the 2020 or 2023 National Electrical Code. Eligibilities are valid for one year; a passed portion is valid for two years.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.