Tennessee to Montana: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Tennessee does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Montana'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 for states not determined substantially equivalent
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A journeyman from a state that the board's Substantial Equivalency Determinations mark 'No' (for example Texas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico or Maine) must take the Montana journeyman exam: the checklist states 'If not SE, you must take our exam.' Out-of-state experience is credited: the applicant submits a Journeyman Experience Verification Affidavit from each employer listing the states in which the 8,000 hours were earned (or an apprenticeship completion certificate or union travel letter), plus verifications for every license ever held. MCA 37-1-304 also lets the board evaluate whether an applicant's actual work experience and credentials cure a deficiency in the origin state's standards. After board approval the applicant pays PSI $75 for the open-book 2020 NEC exam (70% to pass) and may buy a $50 temporary practice permit valid 90 days.
No timeline is published; approved candidates can usually sit for the PSI exam within about a week of the admission letter. Applicants who fail with 64% or less are not eligible for a second temporary permit.
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.Legally obtained practical experience in wiring for, installing and repairing electrical apparatus for light, heat and power, verified by a third party; no more than 50% residential (ARM 24.141.515). Alternatives: approved apprenticeship completion, union/trade-association training program, or 20,000 maintenance hours with employer certification
- Official license verification from every state or jurisdiction in which the applicant holds or has ever held a professional license of any type
What you'll do to get licensed in Montana
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($190). Application for license by examination, includes the original license fee (ARM 24.141.405); nonrefundable.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Montana Journeyman Electrician examination administered by PSI, open book on the 2020 NEC, at least 60 questions, 70% to pass.
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($75). PSI examination fee, paid to PSI after board approval; nonrefundable, valid one year.
- 4Other. Optional temporary practice permit for exam candidates (90 days or until exam results), in addition to the application fee ($50) (if applicable).
Published fees on this path total $265, 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 · $75
How Montana licenses journeyman electricians
Montana journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Montana State Electrical Board (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division)
Montana issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the State Electrical Board within the Department of Labor & Industry. A new applicant qualifies under MCA 37-68-305 by completing an approved apprenticeship, a bona fide union or trade-association training program, 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience (no more than half residential), or 20,000 hours of electrical maintenance work, and then passes the PSI-administered open-book exam on the 2020 NEC with 70%. The $190 application fee includes the original license; a $50 temporary practice permit lets exam candidates work for a licensed contractor for 90 days. Licenses renew every two years for $140 with 16 hours of continuing education. Out-of-state journeymen are handled through substantial equivalency (SE): the board publishes a state-by-state determination table, and licensees from the twenty 'Yes' states are licensed by endorsement without the exam, while everyone else must test. Licenses issued by cities or counties are not considered.
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 Montana journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Tennessee?
- Yes. Montana requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Montana journeyman electrician license from Tennessee?
- Published fees on this path total $265, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Tennessee work hours count in Montana?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Montana's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Montana to Tennessee?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Montana to Tennessee, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Montana State Electrical Board - Exam Information · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026PSI is the exam vendor; exams are based on the 2020 NEC as of June 10, 2022; only board-approved applicants may register and may sit within about a week of the admission letter; PSI test centers nationwide.
- Montana State Electrical Board / PSI Examination Information Sheet (3/27/2025) · Montana Department of Labor & Industry / PSI Services · Other · verified September 15, 2026PSI examination fees: Master Electrician $85, Journeyman Electrician $75, Residential Electrician $75; fees nonrefundable and valid one year; Montana test sites in Billings, Helena, Missoula, Great Falls and other locations.
- Montana State Electrical Board - Home · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026License types: Residential Electrician, Journeyman Electrician, Master Electrician, Electrical Contractor. Notes that the 2026 renewal cycle (May 15 - July 15, 2026) has fees abated 50%.
- Montana State Electrical Board - Journeyman Electrician Licensing Requirements, Application Checklist and Application (Rev. 07/22/2024) · MCA 37-68-305; ARM 24.141.502, 24.141.515 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Form · verified September 15, 2026Applicants with an active license that meets substantial equivalency (SE) submit license verifications, discipline/conviction documents and the $190 fee and do not take the exam; 'If not SE, you must take our exam.' SE requires a license that is active, unrestricted and in good standing from a state that requires passage of an electrical exam and one of: approved apprenticeship, union/trade-association training, 8,000 hours of practical experience, or 20,000 maintenance hours. Fees: $190 application by exam or by reciprocity/endorsement (includes license), $50 temporary work permit. Verification of licensure form asks the other board for the exam score and says Montana requires 75% or greater. License verifications are required for every license ever held.
- Montana State Electrical Board - Journeyman Electrician license information · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Links the online application (ebiz.mt.gov/pol) and checklist; exams are based on the 2020 NEC; 16 hours of board-approved CE per renewal cycle (8 on code update) and the board accepts CE from any reciprocal state; all fees are nonrefundable.
- Montana State Electrical Board Laws and Rules Booklet (MCA Title 37 Chapter 68 and ARM Title 24 Chapter 141) · ARM 24.141.405, 24.141.502, 24.141.503, 24.141.504, 24.141.515 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 202624.141.405 fee schedule: application for license by examination $190 (includes original license), application by endorsement or reciprocity $190 (includes original license), temporary permit $50, renewal (two years) master $140 / journeyman $140, exam fees set by the testing agency; fees nonrefundable. 24.141.503: passing grade 70% for residential and journeyman exams, 75% for master; exams open book. 24.141.504: the board may enter reciprocity agreements case by case for residential or journeyman licenses with states whose requirements are substantially equivalent or greater; may issue a license by endorsement to an applicant who files a completed application with fees and holds a current, valid license in good standing in the category applied for; licenses issued by a city, county or municipality are not considered. 24.141.502: temporary practice permit valid 90 days or until exam results. 24.141.515: no more than 50% of experience may be residential.
- MCA 37-1-304 - Licensure by endorsement -- reciprocity · MCA 37-1-304 · Montana Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026An applicant for licensure by endorsement must have an active license in good standing from a jurisdiction whose qualifications, measured at the time of application, are substantially equivalent to Montana's; where they are not, the board may evaluate whether the applicant's actual work experience and credentials cure the deficiency; reciprocity agreements may not license applicants who have not met substantially equivalent standards.
- MCA 37-68-305 - Journeyman and residential electricians -- application -- qualifications -- contents of examination · MCA 37-68-305 · Montana Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Journeyman applicants show completion of an approved apprenticeship (or substantially equivalent program), a bona fide union or trade association training program, 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience, or 20,000 hours in electrical maintenance with employer certification (8,000 practical); exam of at least 60 questions on the NEC and board rules.
- Montana Substantial Equivalency Determinations - State Electrical Board tables (Residential, Journeyman and Master Electrician) · MCA 37-1-304 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026State-by-state Yes/No tables linked from the board's license pages. Journeyman Electrician 'Yes': Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming (all other states No, including Texas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico and Maine). Master Electrician 'Yes': Alabama, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming. The document carries no publication date.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.