LicensebyState

Moving to Montana as a journeyman electrician: every state's rule

Montana has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: endorsement.

Montana journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 6 sources

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 Montana registered program or a substantially equivalent one), 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.

Every origin state

Endorsement 20Experience credit 14No credit 16
Every state's path into Montana
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
AlaskaEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
ArkansasEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
CaliforniaExperience credit2026-09-15
ColoradoEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
ConnecticutEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
DelawareExperience credit2026-09-15
District of ColumbiaExperience credit2026-09-15
FloridaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
GeorgiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
HawaiiEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
IdahoEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IndianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IowaEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
KentuckyExperience credit2026-09-15
LouisianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MaineExperience credit2026-09-15
MarylandExperience credit2026-09-15
MassachusettsExperience credit2026-09-15
MichiganExperience credit2026-09-15
MinnesotaExperience credit2026-09-15
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
NebraskaExperience credit2026-09-15
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
New HampshireEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
New JerseyExperience credit2026-09-15
New MexicoExperience credit2026-09-15
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North DakotaEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
OklahomaEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
OregonEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
Rhode IslandEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
South CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
South DakotaEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
TexasExperience credit2026-09-15
UtahEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
VermontEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
VirginiaEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
WashingtonEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
West VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-15
WisconsinEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15
WyomingEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-15

Getting licensed in Montana from scratch

No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Montana issues a journeyman electrician license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 9 sources

Journeyman Electrician license by examination

The Montana State Electrical Board issues the Journeyman Electrician license to an applicant who documents qualifying training or experience and then passes the state journeyman exam. The board's main route is completion of an approved electrical apprenticeship: a program registered under Montana's apprenticeship law or a substantially equivalent program. Applicants without a completed apprenticeship may instead document 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience, or 20,000 hours of electrical maintenance work certified by the employer. The exam is given by PSI, is open book on the 2020 NEC and Montana electrical law and rules, and requires 70% to pass. The $190 application fee includes the original license.

Apply online through the department's licensing portal or on the paper application, and list every professional license you hold or have ever held, with verifications. Each employer completes a Journeyman Experience Verification Affidavit that must be signed by a third party such as an owner or officer of the business; an apprenticeship completion certificate or union travel letter replaces the affidavit. After the board approves the application you receive an admission letter, then pay PSI and schedule the exam; you have one year from approval to pass, and after a second failure you must attend a board-approved eight-hour code seminar before retesting. The exam has at least 60 questions covering the National Electrical Code and Montana electrical law and rules; you may bring a tabbed and annotated NEC, a non-programmable calculator, the Montana statutes and rules, and Hittinger's Printreading. There is no separate law exam. The application asks personal history questions and requires documents for any criminal conviction or license discipline; a conviction is not an automatic bar.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Exam given by
PSI
Exam format
Open book
Passing score
70%
Renewal
Every 2 years
Continuing education
16 hours per cycle

Who can apply

  • Complete a registered apprenticeship: Completion of an approved electrical apprenticeship program registered under Montana's apprenticeship law (Title 39, chapter 6, MCA) or a substantially equivalent program.Submit the apprenticeship completion certificate (or, for a union apprenticeship, a union travel letter showing the completion date) instead of experience affidavits.

Other ways to qualify

Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.

8,000 hours of practical experience

8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience in wiring for, installing and repairing electrical apparatus and equipment for light, heat and power, verified by each employer on the Journeyman Experience Verification Affidavit. No more than half the hours may be residential; the rest must be commercial, industrial or institutional. Hours worked in an apprenticeship that was not completed do not count.

  • You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Legally obtained under the laws of the jurisdiction where the work was done; no more than 50% residential (ARM 24.141.515); experience from an uncompleted apprenticeship is excluded (MCA 37-68-305(5)(b)).

20,000 hours of electrical maintenance work

At least 20,000 hours in the electrical maintenance field while working for one employer, with the employer's written certification that the applicant has those hours and is qualified to take the exam. At least 8,000 of the hours must be practical experience.

  • You must document at least 20,000 hours of qualifying work experience.At least 8,000 of the hours must be practical experience.

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($190). Application for license by examination, including the original license fee; nonrefundable (ARM 24.141.405).
  2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Montana Journeyman Electrician exam administered by PSI: at least 60 questions on the 2020 NEC and Montana electrical law and rules, open book, 70% to pass.
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($75). PSI examination fee, paid to PSI after board approval; nonrefundable and valid for one year from payment.
  4. 4Other. Official verification of every professional license you hold or have ever held, in any state or jurisdiction, and documents for any license discipline or criminal conviction.

Published fees on this path total $265, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every 2 years with 16 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $140 renewal fee.

16 hours of board-approved courses per two-year cycle, at least 8 of them on NEC updates. Courses approved by reciprocal states are accepted. Graduates of approved apprenticeship programs are exempt for their first renewal; licensees who move up from journeyman or residential to a higher license are not.

Every Montana electrician license expires on July 15 of even-numbered years, and renewal opens 60 days before. The board cut the 2026 renewal fee in half.

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

Continuing education

Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.

  • Continuing education

Sources for this section

  1. Montana State Electrical Board - Continuing Education · ARM 24.141.2102 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  2. Montana State Electrical Board - Exam Information · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  3. Montana State Electrical Board / PSI Examination Information Sheet (3/27/2025) · Montana Department of Labor & Industry / PSI Services · Other · verified September 23, 2026
  4. Montana State Electrical Board - Home · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  5. 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 23, 2026
  6. Montana State Electrical Board - Journeyman Electrician license information · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  7. 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 23, 2026
  8. Montana State Electrical Board - Renewal Process · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  9. MCA 37-68-305 - Journeyman and residential electricians -- application -- qualifications -- contents of examination · MCA 37-68-305 · Montana Legislature · Statute · verified September 23, 2026

Related