LicensebyState

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

Tennessee does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no reciprocity to speak of. Here is what that means in practice.

Tennessee journeyman electrician

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 15, 2026· 11 sources

Issued by Local code enforcement offices (Nashville, Memphis/Shelby County, Knoxville, Chattanooga and other exempt jurisdictions); no state journeyman license

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.

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