Utah to Arkansas: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Arkansas has no reciprocity agreement with Utah. Your Utah experience counts toward eligibility, but you must pass the Arkansas exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Examination with credited out-of-state experience (states without an agreement)
Nothing is waived, but your documented out-of-state hours count toward eligibility to sit the exam.
A journeyman from a state that has no reciprocity agreement with Arkansas gets no exam waiver: Ark. Code §17-28-306 and rule 17 CAR §210-509 allow licensure on proof of an out-of-state license only where an agreement exists with that state. The applicant instead files the Board's electrician application, listing prior licenses and exam scores, and qualifies for the journeyman exam either by proving completion of a four-year USDOL-approved apprenticeship (out-of-state completion is accepted with certification from the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training or the responsible state agency) or by documenting eight years (16,000 hours, credited at no more than 2,000 hours per year) of electrical construction experience with notarized employer affidavits; military electrical experience counts. The applicant then passes the Arkansas journeyman exam ($80) and pays the $25 license fee. Arkansas has no separate law or business exam for electricians. A holder of a current journeyman license from any state may also obtain a six-month temporary journeyman license ($25) restricted to a specific industrial project while qualifying.
Rule 17 CAR §210-404(e)(3) sets the non-apprenticeship route at 16,000 hours rather than the 8,000 hours typical of other states; no Arkansas page describes crediting an out-of-state license itself toward that requirement. Exam fees are set by rule at $80 (statutory cap $100).
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must document at least 16,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Eight years of electrical construction experience or Board-approved training, maximum 2,000 hours credited per year; not required of applicants who completed a four-year USDOL-approved apprenticeship (17 CAR §210-404(e)).
What you'll do to get licensed in Arkansas
- 1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($80). Journeyman electrician examination fee (17 CAR §210-403(c)).
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Arkansas journeyman electrician examination on the NEC edition adopted by the Board.
- 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($25). Journeyman electrician license fee on passing the exam (Ark. Code §17-28-301); annual renewal $25.
- 4Other. Notarized Affidavit of Employment Experience from each employer, apprenticeship completion certificate or Released-for-Test form, and photocopies of licenses held.
- 5Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Eight hours of continuing education per NEC code cycle to renew (Ark. Code §17-28-311).
Published fees on this path total $105, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
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.
- Exam fee · $80
- Trade exam
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
How Arkansas licenses journeyman electricians
Arkansas journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing)
Arkansas issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Board of Electrical Examiners in the Department of Labor and Licensing; the Board also issues residential journeyman, residential master, industrial maintenance, air conditioning and specialist sign electrician licenses. A new applicant qualifies by completing a four-year USDOL-approved apprenticeship or by documenting eight years (16,000 hours, maximum 2,000 per year) of electrical construction experience, then passes the journeyman exam ($80 exam fee) and pays the $25 license fee; the license renews annually for $25 and requires eight hours of continuing education each NEC cycle. Arkansas has journeyman reciprocity agreements with seventeen states, and a qualifying journeyman from one of them is licensed without taking the Arkansas exam; a master electrician from a journeyman-only partner state can likewise be reciprocated into an Arkansas journeyman license. The Board only reciprocates an original license issued by the partner state, never a license that was itself obtained by reciprocity.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Arkansas journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Utah?
- Yes. Arkansas requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas journeyman electrician license from Utah?
- Published fees on this path total $105, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Utah work hours count in Arkansas?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Arkansas's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Arkansas to Utah?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Arkansas to Utah, the mechanism is endorsement.
Sources
- Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Electrical Inspection and Licensing (Board of Electrical Examiners; Reciprocal Agreements) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the six license classes, the online exam application portal, and the Reciprocal Agreements table: Journeyman Reciprocal Agreement with Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming; Master Reciprocal Agreement column listing Iowa, Oregon and Texas. States that the Board only reciprocates an original license from the issuing state (a reciprocated license cannot be reciprocated), that a master license from a journeyman-only partner can only be reciprocated as a journeyman license 'except for Oregon and North Dakota which Arkansas has a Master License reciprocal Agreement', and that Wyoming only reciprocates a journeyman who completed a USDOL apprenticeship with at least 576 classroom hours. The explanatory paragraph (Oregon and North Dakota) and the master column (Iowa, Oregon, Texas) are not fully consistent.
- Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners - Electrician Application (examination, reciprocal, temporary) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Form · verified September 15, 2026Single application form with 'Reciprocal' as a licensing qualification checkbox alongside Examination and Temporary. Requires photocopies of any electrician licenses held, whether the license was issued by examination, the exam score, date and testing firm, and notarized employer verification of work experience (Affidavit of Employment Experience); an electrical engineering degree plus two years' experience qualifies for the master exam.
- Rules of the Board of Electrical Examiners of the State of Arkansas, 17 CAR Part 210 · 17 CAR §§ 210-403, 210-404, 210-508, 210-509 · Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners / Department of Labor and Licensing · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026§210-403(c): examination fees $80 for master, journeyman, residential master, residential journeyman and specialist sign electrician, $50 for industrial maintenance. §210-404(d): master applicants need an electrical engineering degree plus two years of construction experience, or six years in the construction industry (residential and commercial) including two years as a licensed journeyman, or a Board-approved equivalent. §210-404(e): journeyman applicants must have completed a four-year USDOL-approved apprenticeship (with a Released-for-Test form, or out-of-state completion certified by the responsible agency), or seek reciprocity with certification from the sister state that they are currently licensed as a journeyman in good standing, have held the license for one year, and were tested in the sister state, or have eight years (16,000 hours, maximum 2,000 per year) of electrical construction experience. §210-508: six-month temporary master ($50) or journeyman ($25) license for a holder of a current license of the same classification from another state, restricted to industrial projects. §210-509: the Board may license applicants holding equivalent licenses in other states, on payment of fees and proof of license, provided an agreement exists with that state.
- Board of Electrical Examiner Statutes, Ark. Code Ann. Title 17, Chapter 28 (2025 compilation) · Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-28-203, 17-28-301, 17-28-304, 17-28-306, 17-28-311 · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§17-28-203: exam fees may not exceed $100 (master, journeyman, residential classes). §17-28-301(a): license fees on passing the exam, $50 master and $25 journeyman; (b) annual renewal $50 master and $25 journeyman, late fee of one year's renewal plus $10 per month; reinstatement after 36 months requires retesting and a $1,000 penalty; (d) temporary six-month master or journeyman licenses for industry projects for applicants holding a current license of the same classification from another state. §17-28-304: no person may perform electrical work without a license. §17-28-306: the Board may issue licenses to applicants holding equivalent licenses in other states on payment of fees and proof of license, provided an agreement has been reached with that state to recognize Arkansas licenses. §17-28-311: eight hours of continuing education per NEC cycle for master and journeyman licensees.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.