Indiana electrician license: who licenses, local cards, pay

Indiana doesn't license individual electricians at the state level as of 2026. Cities and counties may license electricians or electrical contractors; Indianapolis and Marion County is the usual example. The state's part is the electrical code. The median Indiana electrician made $32.93 an hour in May 2025, per BLS.

Most of the local licensing detail here is secondhand. Confirm every local rule with the city or county building department where the job is before you act on it. For the state-by-state picture, see electrician license requirements in every state.

01Indiana licensing facts, as of 2026

02If the state doesn't license you, who does?

The city or county where the work is, if it licenses at all. Indiana has no state board that tests or cards journeymen, so there's no state license to apply for, renew or move.

Some cities and counties license electricians or electrical contractors. Indianapolis and Marion County is the common example. Others only want the contractor licensed or registered so he can pull permits. The rules, fees and any test are whatever that city or county set. Call its building department and ask two questions: does the contractor need a local license, and do I?

Illinois and Ohio work much the same way for journeymen. Our guide to states with no statewide journeyman license explains how local cards work and where they stop.

03Which electrical code does Indiana use?

The state code is the Indiana Electrical Code, 2009 Edition, which adopts the 2008 NEC. The Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission's rules page lists it (675 IAC 17-1.8) as the electrical code currently in effect, effective August 26, 2009.

That's six NEC editions back. If you trained or tested on the 2020 or 2023 book in another state, some of what you know isn't in Indiana's adopted code, and some of what an Indiana inspector enforces may look dated to you. Two habits help:

1. Ask the inspector which edition he enforces before you rough in, not after.
2. If a city tests you for a local card, ask which NEC edition the test is written on before you buy a code book.

Codes change through rulemaking, so confirm the current edition with the commission or your local inspector.

04Does an Indiana license work in other states?

There's no Indiana state card, so there's nothing for another state's board to reciprocate. If you move or travel to a state that licenses, plan on that board's full process.

One odd note: the Maine Electricians' Examining Board FAQ lists Indiana among the states Maine has a reciprocity agreement with. With no Indiana state license, it's unclear what that covers. Call Maine before you count on it.

Start your paper trail now

Most licensing boards want proof of hours, and the time to collect it is while your old foremen still answer the phone. Keep W-2s that say electrician, your apprenticeship completion certificate, and the names of two or three contractors who'd sign an affidavit for you. Next door, Kentucky counts 8,000 documented hours for its electrician card; our Kentucky electrician license guide lists the proof it takes.

05What gets checked when there's no state card?

Your skills and your papers. With no card to look up, a contractor in Indiana has to take your word, call your references, or watch you work.

One national electrical contractor told us their agencies kept sending "so-called journeymen that can't bend conduit." That's the fear on the other side of the table in a no-card state. Walk in with proof: an apprenticeship certificate if you have one, OSHA 10 or 30, the last three jobs you ran or worked and what you did on them. Our list of what contractors check before they hire a journeyman shows what they ask.

06What does an Indiana electrician make?

The median Indiana electrician made $32.93 an hour in May 2025, and the top 10% made $47.75 or more. These are BLS OEWS straight-time wages for all electricians, apprentices included. They leave out overtime, per diem and benefits, and they're market data, not what any one contractor will pay you.

The surprise is Indianapolis. It has the most electricians in the state, and its median sits $1.62 below the state's. Evansville runs $6.79 above Indianapolis, and Kokomo $12.58 above it. Where you work inside Indiana moves the number more than the state line does.

BLS also counts part of northwest Indiana inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro, where the median was $49.21. That metro is mostly Illinois, so don't read it as an Indiana rate. The medians next door were $47.87 in Illinois, $36.67 in Michigan, $31.11 in Ohio and $28.71 in Kentucky. If you're near a line, the Illinois electrician license guide and Ohio electrician license guide cover what working there takes. Our journeyman electrician pay guide explains what moves a rate inside these ranges.

Run your Pay Check to see what electricians with your license make near you. Takes about a minute and your boss never hears about it.

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