Wisconsin to Arkansas: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Arkansas has a reciprocity agreement with Wisconsin: a Wisconsin journeyman electrician can get a Arkansas license without retaking the trade exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Reciprocal agreement with Wisconsin (journeyman)
A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.
Arkansas lists Wisconsin under its Journeyman Reciprocal Agreement. A Wisconsin journeyman applies with the Board's electrician application marked 'Reciprocal' and certification from Wisconsin that the applicant is currently licensed as a journeyman in good standing, has held that license for at least one year, and was tested in Wisconsin; the Arkansas journeyman exam is waived and the $25 license fee is paid. The license must be Wisconsin's original license, not one Wisconsin itself granted by reciprocity.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- Your Wisconsin license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have held your Wisconsin license for at least 1 year.
- Your Wisconsin license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
What you'll do to get licensed in Arkansas
- 1License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($25). Journeyman electrician license fee (Ark. Code §17-28-301).
- 2Other. Board electrician application marked 'Reciprocal', photocopy of the Wisconsin license, and certification from the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services.
Published fees on this path total $25, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
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 Wisconsin?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Wisconsin.
- How long do I need to have held my Wisconsin license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas journeyman electrician license from Wisconsin?
- Published fees on this path total $25, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Does it work the other way, from Arkansas to Wisconsin?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Arkansas to Wisconsin, the mechanism is experience credit.
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, 2026
- Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners - Electrician Application (examination, reciprocal, temporary) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Form · verified September 15, 2026
- 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 23, 2026
- 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 23, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.