Illinois to Minnesota: master electrician license reciprocity
Illinois does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Minnesota's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Out-of-state master without a reciprocity agreement
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A master electrician licensed in a state that is not on Minnesota's master reciprocity list gets no exam waiver and qualifies by examination like any other candidate. Out-of-state experience does count: Minn. R. 3800.3520 credits electrical work performed outside Minnesota that DLI determines is substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor, documented on the Work Experience Verification form by each employer. The applicant must meet one of the subd. 1 qualifications (a four-year electrical engineering degree, at least one year of experience as a licensed journeyworker, or at least five years of planning, laying out, supervising and installing experience, 60 months under the rule tables), file the Personal Electrical License Examination Application with the $50 fee (marking 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' and attaching a copy of the license), and pass the Class A Master exam. The license fee is paid separately once the exam is passed. Minnesota has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.
Whether experience as a journeyworker licensed by another state satisfies the 'one year as a licensed journeyworker' route was not confirmed from an official page; the five-year experience route is available regardless. The initial license fee is prorated to the February odd-year expiration from the statutory base of $40 per year plus a $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7); DLI's licensing page states the amount is determined after the exam is passed.
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 60 months of qualifying work experience.At least 60 months of qualifying experience under Minn. R. 3800.3520 (including planning, laying out and supervising), or one year as a licensed journeyworker, or a four-year electrical engineering degree (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 1). Out-of-state work is credited when DLI finds it substantially equivalent.
What you'll do to get licensed in Minnesota
- 1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($50). Application and examination fee (non-refundable), Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 1.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Minnesota Class A Master Electrician written examination administered by DLI.
- 3Other. Electrical Work Experience Verification form completed by each employer (or original engineering transcript), plus a copy of the out-of-state license.
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Class A Master license fee on approval, prorated from $40 per year plus $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7).
Published fees on this path total $50, 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 · $50
- Trade exam
How Minnesota licenses master electricians
Minnesota master electrician · “Class A Master Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Board of Electricity
Minnesota issues a statewide, person-held Class A Master Electrician license through DLI; the separate electrical contractor license is a business license that must employ a master, and is not covered here. A new master applicant qualifies under Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 1 with a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year of experience as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of experience planning, laying out, supervising and installing electrical systems (60 months under Minn. R. 3800.3520), pays the $50 application and examination fee, and passes the DLI-administered written exam. Reciprocity agreements under subd. 20 waive the exam for master electricians from Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Master licenses expire on the last day of February of each odd-numbered year and renewal requires 16 hours of continuing education, 12 of them on the NEC.
Why Illinois has nothing to transfer
Illinois master electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Illinois does not issue a statewide master electrician license and has no state electrical board; the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation does not license electricians. The master-level credential exists only at the municipal level, under names that vary by city: Chicago issues a Supervising Electrician license (2 years of experience plus a written exam) and separately licenses Electrical Contractors, Springfield issues an Electrical License based on 5 years of experience and the ICC Master Electrician exam, and Peoria, Aurora, Naperville and Elgin accept ICC Master/Residential Electrician certificates or licenses from Illinois testing municipalities. An out-of-state master electrician license carries no state-level recognition in Illinois and none of the major jurisdictions publish a reciprocity or endorsement path for it. A master electrician from another state must apply with each municipality where they will work, which typically means passing the ICC or local exam once and then registering as an electrical contractor in each additional city.
How local licensing works in Illinois
How local licensing works. Illinois has no state electrician license and no state electrical board. The Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1) allows each municipality to require registration of electrical contractors, with an annual fee of $25, and provides that a contractor registered in one municipality cannot be required to register or pay a fee in another. Anything beyond registration (examinations, experience requirements, supervising or master licenses) comes from each city's or county's own ordinance.
Chicago. The Department of Buildings licenses Supervising Electricians (individuals) and Electrical Contractors (businesses); the supervising electrician is Chicago's equivalent of a master electrician. Eligibility for the supervising electrician exam is age 21 and at least 2 years of experience installing, altering, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring under a supervising electrician or equivalent, verified by supervisor letters. General and low-voltage exams are administered by Continental Testing Services (2026 fees: $150 per exam, $150 initial license, $150 annual renewal). An electrical contractor license ($150 initial, $150 renewal) is issued to a business, including a sole proprietorship, that is owned by or employs at least one licensed supervising electrician, who must perform or supervise all of the contractor's electrical work and may be the primary supervising electrician for only one contractor. Chicago's pages do not describe any reciprocity or endorsement for out-of-state licenses.
Springfield. The Building and Zoning Department issues an Electrical License to individuals who document 5 years of practical electrical experience with at least 2 years overseeing and directing electrical work and pass the ICC National Standard Master Electrician exam (W16). Applications go before the Springfield Electrical Commission; the fee is $25 and licenses expire December 31. A grandfather clause allows applicants licensed in another Illinois or out-of-state municipality with reciprocal testing to substitute proof of that exam only if the license was originally issued before 10/10/2007 and has not lapsed more than two years; otherwise the ICC exam is required.
Peoria. Electrical licenses are issued to individuals ($150 annual). Holders of Normal or Pekin licenses may register without testing; all others submit an ICC contractor exam certificate from the 2017 code cycle or newer.
Rockford. Registration only ($25 per calendar year, or free with proof of registration or license in another Illinois municipality); no exam.
Naperville and Aurora. Both accept current ICC certifications (Standard Master Electrician for commercial, Standard Residential Electrician for residential) or a license from a listed testing municipality (Naperville lists Chicago, Elgin, Libertyville, Orland Park, Ottawa, Peoria and Woodstock) in lieu of local testing. Naperville no longer renews or issues its own electrical licenses as of December 31, 2022 and registers electrical contractors through its Civic Access portal; Aurora requires a certificate of insurance naming the city.
Elgin. Requires a contractor's license from any Illinois city that gives a written NEC-based examination, or Elgin's own exam administered monthly through CLEC Enterprises.
Unincorporated Cook County. Electrical contractors must register with the Department of Building and Zoning ($150 initial, $75 annual renewal per trade), provide $1,000,000 general liability insurance naming the department, and submit a current supervising electrician's license from an Illinois city, town or village that has an electrical commission administering an examination.
Out-of-state holders. No reciprocity or endorsement path for other states' master licenses was found in any of these jurisdictions. The practical route is to pass the ICC National Standard Master Electrician exam (accepted by Springfield, Peoria, Aurora and Naperville) or a testing city's exam such as Chicago's, then register as an electrical contractor in each municipality where work will be performed.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Minnesota master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Illinois?
- Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Minnesota master electrician license from Illinois?
- Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Illinois work hours count in Minnesota?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Minnesota's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to Illinois?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to Illinois, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Minnesota DLI - Personal Electrical License Examination Application and Work Experience Verification Form · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Form · verified September 15, 2026Exam application fee $50.00, non-refundable. Has a checkbox for applicants 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' (copy of license required). Experience is verified per employer on the Work Experience Verification form; credit capped at 160 hours per month / 2,000 hours per year and must qualify under Minn. Stat. 326B.33 and Minn. R. 3800.3520. Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is an alternative qualification for the Master A exam.
- Minnesota DLI - Experience requirements for an electrical license · Minn. R. 3800.3520; Minn. Stat. 326B.33 · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Class A Journeyworker: 48 months minimum (24 months wiring/installing); Class A Master: 60 months minimum. Up to one year of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Electrical work performed outside Minnesota counts if the department determines it substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor; foreign-country experience capped at 12 months.
- Minnesota DLI - Electrical licensing basics · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Journeyworker and master licenses both require passing a written exam after documenting experience; exam application fee $50. Work experience credit is given for verifiable electrical work performed in another state. Journeyworker licenses expire every two years (renewal $53); master licenses expire the last day of February of odd-numbered years (renewal $93); 16 hours of CE per cycle including 12 on the NEC.
- Minnesota DLI - Electrical license reciprocity · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the Class A Journeyworker reciprocity states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming) and the Class A Master reciprocity states (Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska); the eligibility bullets (license obtained by state-level exam, held at least one year, current and in good standing, no failed Minnesota exam of the same or greater class, no pending denial/suspension/revocation); and the $50 application fee plus the license fee due on approval.
- Minnesota Rules 3800.3520 - Experience requirements for electrical licenses · Minn. R. 3800.3520 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Sets the month-by-category experience tables (48 months journeyworker, 60 months master) and allows credit for electrical work performed outside Minnesota that the department determines is substantially equivalent to work in the employ of a Minnesota licensed contractor, based on employer certification. Military experience is credited on the same basis; foreign experience is capped at 12 months.
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.092 - License fees and license renewal fees · Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subds. 1, 7 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: application and examination fee of $50, separate from the license fee. Subd. 7: base license fee journeyworker $20 per year ($40 for two years), master $40 per year ($80 for two years), plus a $4 per year board fee and a $5 continuing-education fee on renewal.
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 - Electrical licenses and registration · Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subds. 1, 2, 20 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: Class A master requires a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of planning/laying out/supervising/installing experience. Subd. 2: Class A journeyworker requires four years of experience (one year credit for approved coursework). Subd. 20: the commissioner may enter into reciprocity agreements with another state if approved by the Board of Electricity, and may then issue a personal license without exam to an applicant who holds a valid comparable license obtained under a statewide program with comparable exam and experience, has held it continuously for at least one year, and has not failed the same or greater class Minnesota exam or had such a license revoked or suspended.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.