Moving to Illinois as a journeyman electrician: every state's rule
Illinois does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no reciprocity to speak of. Here is what that means in practice.
Illinois journeyman electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Illinois does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license; the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation does not license electricians at any level, and state law only authorizes municipalities to register electrical contractors. Licensing of individual electricians is done, where it exists, by cities and counties under their own ordinances, and requirements vary by jurisdiction. In the largest jurisdictions the individual credential is a supervising or master-level license (Chicago's Supervising Electrician, Springfield's Electrical License based on the ICC Master Electrician exam) rather than a journeyman card, and non-supervising electricians work as employees under that licensed person or contractor. An out-of-state journeyman license has no state-level recognition in Illinois; a journeyman must check the rules of each municipality where they will work and apply locally if that municipality licenses individuals.
How local licensing works in Illinois
How local licensing works. Illinois has no state electrician license and no state electrical board. The Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1) allows each municipality to require registration of electrical contractors, with an annual fee of $25, and provides that a contractor registered in one municipality cannot be required to register or pay a fee in another. Anything beyond registration (examinations, experience requirements, supervising or master licenses) comes from each city's or county's own ordinance. Employees of an electrical contractor are expressly excluded from the statutory definition of 'electrical contractor', so state law does not require any personal license for a journeyman-level worker.
Chicago. The Department of Buildings licenses Supervising Electricians (individuals) and Electrical Contractors (businesses). There is no Chicago journeyman license. The supervising electrician exam requires age 21 and at least 2 years of experience under a supervising electrician or equivalent, verified by supervisor letters; general and low-voltage exams are offered through Continental Testing Services (2026 fees: $150 exam, $150 initial license, $150 annual renewal). For 'Class 1' work (buildings over 55 feet or large assembly occupancies before a certificate of occupancy), every worker must be a licensed supervising electrician or have completed or be enrolled in a U.S. Department of Labor-recognized apprenticeship of at least 8,000 hours; this apprenticeship standard is the closest thing Chicago has to a journeyman qualification. All other work is done by employees under the contractor's supervising electrician. Chicago's pages do not describe any reciprocity or endorsement for out-of-state licenses.
Springfield. The Building and Zoning Department issues an Electrical License to individuals who document 5 years of electrical experience (2 supervisory) and pass the ICC National Standard Master Electrician exam (W16); the Springfield Electrical Commission approves applications and the fee is $25. A limited grandfather clause applies to licenses from other Illinois or out-of-state municipalities with reciprocal testing that were issued before 10/10/2007; otherwise the ICC exam is required. Contractors performing work in the city must also register.
Peoria. Electrical licenses are issued to individuals, not businesses ($150 annual). Holders of Normal or Pekin licenses may register without testing; everyone else must submit an ICC contractor exam certificate (2017 code cycle or newer).
Rockford. Electrical contractors are not licensed, only registered ($25 per calendar year, or free with proof of current registration or license in another Illinois municipality).
Naperville and Aurora. Both accept current ICC certifications (Standard Master Electrician for commercial, Standard Residential Electrician for residential) or a license from a listed testing municipality in lieu of local testing; Naperville stopped issuing its own electrical licenses after 2022 and now registers electrical contractors. Insurance naming the city is required.
Elgin. Requires a contractor's license from any Illinois city that gives a written NEC-based examination, or Elgin's own exam administered through CLEC Enterprises.
Unincorporated Cook County. Electrical contractors must register ($150 initial, $75 annual renewal per trade), provide $1,000,000 general liability insurance, and submit a supervising electrician's license from an Illinois city, town or village that has an electrical commission administering an examination.
Out-of-state holders. None of these jurisdictions publish a reciprocity or endorsement path for licenses from other states. In practice the portable credentials inside Illinois are the ICC National Standard Master/Residential Electrician exams and licenses from testing municipalities such as Chicago; an electrician arriving from another state should expect to take the ICC exam or the local exam and apply separately in each municipality that licenses individuals.