Do I have to take the Alabama journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Texas?

No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Texas.

What does it cost to get a Alabama journeyman electrician license from Texas?

Published fees on this path total $315, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Texas to Alabama: journeyman electrician license reciprocity

Reciprocity· Exam waivedVerified September 15, 2026· 7 sources

Alabama has a reciprocity agreement with Texas: a Texas journeyman electrician can get a Alabama license without retaking the trade exam.

Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.

Reciprocal agreement with Texas (journeyman)

A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.

Texas is the only state whose journeyman license the Alabama Board accepts by reciprocity; the Board's forms page lists the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for 'EC or Journeyman', and TDLR announced the journeyman and master agreements on March 20, 2026. A Texas journeyman who passed the Texas exam and holds a current, valid license applies with the notarized Reciprocal Application for Licensure and a Verification of License form completed by TDLR showing the license date, status, exam date, passing score and disciplinary status; TDLR must also send a letter of good standing directly to the Alabama Board. No Alabama trade exam is required. The Board's published reciprocal application fee is $315; the fee table and rule 303-X-3-.10(m) label it a reciprocal electrical contractor fee and do not state a separate journeyman reciprocal fee.

The Board's five-step reciprocity instructions begin with passing the Alabama Business and Law exam, but form ERC-1 lists that exam only among the items 'active contractors must submit'; whether journeyman reciprocal applicants must pass it, and whether they pay $315 or the $35 journeyman license fee, was not confirmed from an official page. Confirm with the Board before filing.

At a glance

Trade exam: Waived
Law / code exam: Not required
Agreement: Active since March 20, 2026

What you must already have

Your Texas license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
Your Texas license must be active and in good standing.
You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.

What you'll do to get licensed in Alabama

1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($315). Reciprocal License Application Fee published by the Board (effective February 14, 2026), non-refundable; see notes on whether it applies to journeymen.
2Other. Notarized Reciprocal Application for Licensure (ERC-1) with copy of the Texas license, Verification of License form (EVL-1) completed by TDLR, and a letter of good standing sent directly from TDLR to the Alabama Board.

Published fees on this path total $315, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

How Alabama licenses journeyman electricians

Alabama journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”

State license plus local requirements

Verified September 15, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors

Alabama issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors. A new applicant must document at least 8,000 hours of experience installing electrical wiring, apparatus or equipment (up to 2,000 hours may be substituted with approved education or apprenticeship) and pass the journeyman exam administered by Prov, either the Alabama exam or the NASCLA Portable Journeyman exam ($115 either way); the license fee is $35 and it renews annually for $35. Exams currently reference the 2023 NEC and will move to the 2026 NEC on January 1, 2027. Alabama law also lets counties and municipalities license and examine journeymen for work inside their boundaries, but a statewide Board license is deemed qualifying in every county and municipality, and journeymen employed by a Board licensee are exempt from local licensing. The Board's only journeyman reciprocity partner is Texas; every other out-of-state journeyman must qualify by documented experience and take the Alabama exam.

How local licensing works in Alabama

Ala. Code §34-36-13(a) requires a journeyman to hold a license 'from the board or from the county or municipality where the electrical contracting work is being performed', and §34-36-13(b)(2) preserves the authority of counties and municipalities to require their own examinations. A holder of a valid statewide Board license is deemed qualified and must be allowed to work in any county or municipality on proof of the license, subject to the local building permit and business license. Local journeyman cards therefore exist only as a substitute for the state license within the issuing jurisdiction; the Board's reciprocity applies only to state-issued licenses, and no Alabama city or county reciprocity rule was verified from an official page.

Moving to Alabama Leaving Alabama

Common questions

Do I have to take the Alabama journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Texas?: No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Texas.
What does it cost to get a Alabama journeyman electrician license from Texas?: Published fees on this path total $315, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Sources

Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 303-X-3 - Licensing (certified rules effective February 14, 2026) · Ala. Admin. Code 303-X-3-.02, -.03, -.06, -.10 · Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026303-X-3-.02: electrical contractor applicants must document 8,000 hours of design, planning, lay-out and direct supervision of electrical construction (or 8,000 hours as a journeyman in charge of jobs); the license is unlimited in voltage and bid amount; (10) the Board may recognize a license from a reciprocating state with equal or greater standards, the list of approved reciprocal states is kept at the Board office and the Executive Director approves or denies reciprocal applicants. 303-X-3-.03: journeyman applicants must document 8,000 hours; (6) same reciprocity language. 303-X-3-.06(2): an electrical contractor by reciprocity must hold a current and valid license in a qualifying reciprocal state with no previous or pending disciplinary action. 303-X-3-.10 (effective January 17, 2026): EC exam $165, journeyman exam $115, EC license $150, journeyman license $35, renewals $150/$35, Reciprocal Electrical Contractor License $315.
Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors - Fees · Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Fee table: EC exam $165; journeyman exam $115; EC license $150; journeyman license $35; EC renewal $150; journeyman renewal $35; EC late renewal $50 per year up to 5 years; inactive EC certificate $75; inactive journeyman certificate $15; replacement card $25; Reciprocal License Application Fee $315.
Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors - Forms and Testing Information (How to Get Licensed; Reciprocal Applications) · Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Defines the Electrical Contractor (interchangeable with 'Master Electrician') and Journeyman Electrician licenses; exam fees $165 (EC) and $115 (journeyman), license fees $150 (EC) and $35 (journeyman); exams by Prov on the 2023 NEC (2026 NEC from January 1, 2027); NASCLA exams offered. Lists the reciprocal boards: Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Louisiana (EC only) and Texas (EC or Journeyman); states the Board no longer shares reciprocity with Georgia; gives the five reciprocity steps (Alabama Business and Law exam, notarized reciprocity application, $315 fee effective February 14, 2026, Verification of License form, foreign-corporation registration) and that the NASCLA Electrical Contractors exam also qualifies for reciprocal licensing.
Form JCE-1 - Electrical Journeyman Examination Application · Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors · Form · verified September 15, 2026Statewide journeyman licenses are issued by examination; applicants must document a minimum of 8,000 hours of experience by notarized employer affidavits (form JCE-4) with W-2/1099 forms, or a DOL registered apprenticeship work affidavit (JCE-5); one year of approved education or apprenticeship substitutes for 1,000 hours up to 2,000 hours; exam choices are the Alabama journeyman exam (Prov, $115) or the NASCLA Portable J exam ($115).
Form ERC-1 - Reciprocal Application for Licensure (Alabama Electrical Contractors Board) · Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors · Form · verified September 15, 2026Active Electrical Contractor by reciprocity: $315 effective February 14, 2026. Active contractors must submit corporation documents or certificate of foreign authority, the passing score sheet for the Alabama Business and Law Examination, the EC-2 business information form, and a Verification of License form or NASCLA exam waiver form. A letter of good standing and a copy of the state's rules must be sent directly from each listed jurisdiction's board to the Alabama Board. Only certified/cashier's checks, money orders or cards are accepted.
Code of Alabama 1975, Title 34, Chapter 36 - Electrical Contractors and Journeyman Electricians · Ala. Code §§ 34-36-3, 34-36-7, 34-36-13 · Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors (compilation of the Code of Alabama) · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§34-36-3 defines Electrical Contractor (a person qualified to plan, lay out and supervise electrical installations with four years as a journeyman in charge of jobs or four years in design and construction) and Journeyman Electrician. §34-36-7(b): the Board may recognize a license issued by any other state with standards equal to or higher than Alabama's and shall actively seek to reciprocate; §34-36-7(c): licenses are issued only to a person, never to a firm; §34-36-7(d): no new provisional (local-license-based) contractor licenses after May 15, 2024. §34-36-13(a): no person may perform work as a master or journeyman electrician without a license from the Board or from the county or municipality where the work is performed; §34-36-13(b)(2): local governments may examine electricians but a holder of a valid statewide Board license is deemed qualified in every county and municipality.
TDLR News - Texas Expands Electrician Reciprocity with Alabama (March 20, 2026) · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Texas-side announcement of the journeyman and master-level agreements with the Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors, dated March 20, 2026; used only for the effective date. Alabama's own page does not publish a date.

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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