Which states have electrician license reciprocity?

About two dozen states will take another state's journeyman card without making you retest, but only from the states on their own list, and usually only for a card you earned by exam and have held for at least a year. As of 2026, the widest door is Alaska, which has taken journeyman applications from any U.S. state since August 8, 2025. California, Connecticut, Hawaii and Michigan take nobody's card. Confirm with the board where you're going before you move.

Every row below comes from that state's own board page, linked by name. Last checked October 19, 2026. Still working toward your card? Start with how to get your journeyman license and come back when you've held it a year.

01The rules almost every board uses

Before the list, know the terms, because they knock out more hands than the list does.

• Earned by exam. Minnesota only takes a license earned "by examination at the state level," not through a city (Minnesota DLI). Oklahoma and Wyoming won't take a grandfathered license.
• Held at least a year. North Dakota wants it held continuously for the year before you apply. Wyoming counts the year from the date you passed the exam.
• Original license only. Arkansas "only reciprocates an original license from the issuing state," and you can't reciprocate a card you got by reciprocity.
• Don't fail their test first. If you failed North Dakota's or Minnesota's exam, you can't reciprocate into that state. Wyoming makes you hold your home card 3 years.
• Once. Wyoming lets you reciprocate one time. Let that card lapse and you test.
• Enough hours in your home state. Nebraska issues a "Restricted" license if you have under 4,000 hours of verifiable experience in Nebraska, and a Restricted license can't reciprocate anywhere.

These are the NERA terms in practice. More on NERA below.

02Journeyman reciprocity, state by state

Read the list for the state you're going to, not the one you're from. Agreements often run one way.

Where a board's own list includes one more state that isn't shown here, the row says so. Check the board's current list for it.

No statewide journeyman card, so nothing to reciprocate (cross-checked against the South Dakota Electrical Commission's list): Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee. There, the city, the county or the contractor's license decides who works. See states with no statewide journeyman license for how local cards work.

Rows marked "reported" or "confirm with the board" come from boards whose pages we couldn't read directly or that contradict themselves. Don't move on those rows without a phone call.

03What NERA is and how it really works

NERA, the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance, is a group of state electrical boards working toward mutual recognition of licenses, so states can "respond quickly to emergencies, natural disasters, and construction booms" (NERA).

Membership doesn't make one card good everywhere. Each board keeps its own list, and the lists don't match. Wisconsin is a NERA state and takes only Iowa and New Hampshire. Oklahoma's list is shorter than Nebraska's. New Mexico only takes one class of journeyman, the EE-98J.

The plains and mountain states are where the lists overlap most: the Dakotas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Arkansas, Alaska and Idaho. If you test in one of them and hold the card a year, a lot of doors open.

04Alaska now takes any state

Since August 8, 2025, Alaska accepts applications to reciprocate a journeyman certificate from other U.S. states and jurisdictions without a mutual agreement (Alaska Mechanical Inspection).

While that's processed, a provisional certificate costs $150, lasts one year or until your home license expires, whichever comes first, and can't be renewed. Carry both cards. A provisional holder can't supervise trainees.

05Utah takes cards by endorsement

Utah doesn't trade lists. It endorses licenses it rates as equivalent, after you've held yours at least a year.

Utah's journeyman endorsement map shows which states' licenses it treats as equivalent, but it was last updated July 1, 2020, so confirm your state with DOPL. A Canadian Construction Electrician Red Seal held a year counts as equivalent; an Industrial Electrician Red Seal doesn't. If you end up testing for Utah's card instead, the theory exam can be taken remotely, but the practical is in person at a Utah testing center.

Endorsement works one way. Utah may take your card without your home state taking Utah's.

06The two-way deals: Oregon and Washington, and the Mid-Atlantic

Oregon and Washington trade journeyman cards with each other, but only for apprenticeship-trained hands.

Oregon takes a Washington 01 holder who finished an Oregon or Washington apprenticeship and passed Washington's exam. Washington takes an Oregon J holder who finished an 8,000-hour apprenticeship with at least 576 classroom hours and passed Oregon's exam. Washington takes nobody else.

On the East Coast, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and DC have their own web of agreements. Maryland takes Virginia, Delaware and DC journeymen. Virginia takes DC, and trades exams with Kentucky and West Virginia. These don't all run both ways, so check each board.

07The states that take nobody's card

California, Connecticut, Hawaii and Michigan don't reciprocate journeyman cards at all, as of 2026.

• California: your out-of-state license makes you eligible to sit for the test, and "there is no grace period." You must be certified before you start working.
• Connecticut: "does not have reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction." By equivalency it also wants 720 classroom hours, which a 576-hour apprenticeship doesn't meet.
• Hawaii: "All applicants must meet the same licensing and examination requirements."
• Michigan: no reciprocity with any state; the board reviews your license and your state's requirements.

08Master and contractor licenses rarely travel

Reciprocity is mostly a journeyman thing. Master and contractor deals are fewer and pickier.

North Dakota takes masters only from Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. Minnesota takes masters from Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. Wyoming takes masters from Idaho, South Dakota and Iowa. Arkansas turns most out-of-state master licenses into a journeyman card, except from Oregon and North Dakota.

09Before you move your card

Do these in order, and start before you take the job.

1. Read the destination board's list and terms, not your home board's.
2. Count your year. If you topped out 8 months ago, most of these states will say wait.
3. Order verification from your home board. Many boards want it sent straight from your board to theirs; Wyoming requires that for Oregon and Utah cards. Oregon's own verification takes 4 to 6 weeks.
4. Have your hours and transcript ready. Wyoming asks for your apprenticeship transcript and 16 hours of CE.
5. Don't start work until the card is in hand in states that require one.

One national electrical contractor told us they bring licensed journeymen in from other states once the hand has held his home license for over a year. That one-year line is the first thing a contractor will ask about if you're coming from out of state.

For the full step-by-step paperwork, see how to move your electrician license to another state. For hours, levels and the board in each state, see electrician license requirements by state. Planning to follow the work? The traveling electrician guide covers pay, per diem and what to ask.

Run your Pay Check to see what electricians with your license make in the state you're looking at. Takes about a minute and your boss never hears about it.

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