LicensebyState

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

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

New Jersey journeyman electrician · “Class A Journeyman Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (Division of Consumer Affairs)

New Jersey issues a statewide, person-held Class A Journeyman Electrician license through the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors. Until recently the credential was a voluntary 'qualified journeyman electrician' registration; P.L. 2021, c.479 converted it into a license and, with the Class A electrical apprentice and Class B wireman licenses, made a Board license mandatory for anyone performing electrical work for a business-permit holder, with the implementing rules taking effect June 2, 2025. The license is earned on experience rather than examination: 8,000 hours of practical hands-on work with tools in the installation, alteration or repair of wiring (at least 4,000 within the last five years) plus 576 classroom hours of related instruction, documented by employer work-experience certifications; supervising, estimating and managerial time does not count. Licenses run on a three-year cycle with 15 hours of NEC continuing education per renewal. A Class A journeyman may perform in-house electrical work for an employer under N.J.S.A. 45:5A-18(k) and may supervise electrical work, but contracting still requires the separate Electrical Contractor license and business permit. New Jersey's rules include a reciprocity path (N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.8) and a 30-day temporary license for out-of-state journeymen, but the Board publishes no list of reciprocal states.

Every origin state

Endorsement 34No credit 16
Every state's path into New Jersey
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaEndorsement2026-09-15
AlaskaEndorsement2026-09-15
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
ArkansasEndorsement2026-09-15
CaliforniaEndorsement2026-09-15
ColoradoEndorsement2026-09-15
ConnecticutEndorsement2026-09-15
DelawareEndorsement2026-09-15
District of ColumbiaEndorsement2026-09-15
FloridaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
GeorgiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
HawaiiEndorsement2026-09-15
IdahoEndorsement2026-09-15
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IndianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IowaEndorsement2026-09-15
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
KentuckyEndorsement2026-09-15
LouisianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MaineEndorsement2026-09-15
MarylandEndorsement2026-09-15
MassachusettsEndorsement2026-09-15
MichiganEndorsement2026-09-15
MinnesotaEndorsement2026-09-15
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MontanaEndorsement2026-09-15
NebraskaEndorsement2026-09-15
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
New HampshireEndorsement2026-09-15
New MexicoEndorsement2026-09-15
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North DakotaEndorsement2026-09-15
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
OklahomaEndorsement2026-09-15
OregonEndorsement2026-09-15
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
Rhode IslandEndorsement2026-09-15
South CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
South DakotaEndorsement2026-09-15
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
TexasEndorsement2026-09-15
UtahEndorsement2026-09-15
VermontEndorsement2026-09-15
VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-15
WashingtonEndorsement2026-09-15
West VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-15
WisconsinEndorsement2026-09-15
WyomingEndorsement2026-09-15

Getting licensed in New Jersey from scratch

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

Verified September 23, 2026· 5 sources

Class A Journeyman Electrician license by documented experience

New Jersey issues the Class A Journeyman Electrician license on documented experience and classroom training; there is no journeyman examination. You qualify with 8,000 hours of practical, hands-on work with tools installing, altering or repairing wiring in compliance with the National Electrical Code, at least 4,000 of them within the five years before you apply, plus at least 576 classroom hours of related instruction. Time spent supervising, engineering, estimating or on managerial tasks does not count. You file the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors application with a work-experience certification from each employer and certificates of completion for your classroom hours, and the Board bills the license fee once it approves the application.

Since P.L. 2021, c.479 and the rules effective June 2, 2025, anyone performing electrical work for a business-permit holder must hold a Board license, so the qualifying hours are normally worked under a Class A electrical apprentice license while enrolled in a U.S. Department of Labor-approved apprenticeship, or under a Class B wireman license. The Board's journeyman application form still carries the older 'qualified journeyman electrician' registration title. The application must be notarized and include a 2x2 photograph, and it asks you to disclose any arrests, convictions, pending charges and licensing actions in any jurisdiction, with court documents and an explanation for each; the Board does not list a fingerprint background check. Licenses run on the Board's triennial cycle, so the initial license fee is prorated by the year of the cycle in which it is issued.

Trade exam
Not required
Law / code exam
Not required
Renewal
Every 3 years
Continuing education
15 hours per cycle

Who can apply

  • You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Practical experience working with tools in the installation, alteration or repair of wiring for electric light, heat or power, done in compliance with the NEC; at least 4,000 hours within five years of the application date (N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1).
  • Complete at least 576 hours of classroom or related instruction.

Other ways to qualify

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

Licensed New Jersey electrical contractor

A person who holds a current, active New Jersey Electrical Contractor license qualifies for the Class A journeyman license without documenting the hours and classroom instruction.

  • Holds a current valid active New Jersey Electrical Contractor license issued by the Board

Equivalent experience shown by alternative means

The Board may also license an applicant who shows, to its satisfaction, that the required experience and instruction were gathered through alternative means. The Board does not publish what it accepts under this route; contact it at (973) 504-6410 before applying.

  • Demonstrates to the Board's satisfaction that the required experience was gathered through alternative means

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Non-refundable application fee for all Board licenses (N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6).
  2. 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Initial Class A journeyman electrician license fee, billed after approval: $150 in the first year of the triennial period, $100 in the second, $50 in the third.
  3. 3Other. Notarized application with a 2x2 photograph, a work-experience certification from each employer covering the hours claimed, and certificates of completion for the classroom instruction.

Published fees on this path total $250, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every 3 years with 15 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $150 renewal fee.

15 hours of Board-approved continuing education on the most recent edition of the National Electrical Code each triennial renewal, attested on the renewal application; keep certificates for six years for audit. A journeyman who is also a licensed electrical contractor meets this by completing the contractor continuing education.

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. Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors - Application for a Certificate of Registration to Practice as a Qualified Journeyman Electrician · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  2. N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6 - Fee schedule (Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors) · N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.6 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  3. N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1 - Class A journeyman electrician license required; qualifications · N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.1 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  4. N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.5 - Continuing education for Class A journeyman electricians · N.J.A.C. 13:31-5.5 · New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (text via Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  5. P.L. 2021, c.479 - An Act concerning the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (Class A journeyman, Class A apprentice and Class B wireman licenses) · N.J.S.A. 45:5A-9, 45:5A-11.1, 45:5A-11.7, 45:5A-11.8, 45:5A-11.9 · New Jersey Legislature · Statute · verified September 23, 2026

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