Minnesota electrician license: levels, hours, reciprocity, pay

A Minnesota Class A journeyworker electrician license takes 48 months of experience, at least 24 of them wiring and installing, then a $50 state exam. Since Sept. 8, 2026 that exam is on the 2026 NEC. The median Minnesota electrician made $37.58 an hour in May 2025, per BLS.

Everything below is as of 2026, from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) and the Board of Electricity. Rules change, so confirm with DLI before you file anything. To see how Minnesota compares with the rest of the country, start with electrician license requirements in every state.

01Minnesota license facts at a glance

02Who can do electrical work in Minnesota?

Only licensed electricians and registered unlicensed electricians, and both have to work for a licensed contractor or a registered employer. DLI also sets the minimum age at 17.

An apprentice or helper registers as an unlicensed electrician. It's $14 online, you get a number that starts with "RE," and it runs one year. Renewal is $19 plus 2 hours of approved CE and a work experience form.

Two rules shape every crew in the state:

• Two to one. "A licensed electrician may not supervise more than two unlicensed individuals." Supervision has to be direct, all the time.
• Same company. The licensed hand and the unlicensed hand have to work for the same contractor or registered employer. A journeyworker can't cover another outfit's helpers.

03How do the 48 months add up?

DLI wants a minimum of 48 months total for the Class A journeyworker exam, with a minimum of 24 months in wiring and installing. Both numbers have to be met.

Here's where hands come up short. Say you've got 4 years in, but 2 of them were mostly service calls and maintenance and only 20 months were wiring and installing. You have the 48 months and you're still 4 months short on installing. Count both before you apply.

Three more things that move your count:

1. Registration. Minnesota hours after Jan. 1, 2009 count when you were registered as an unlicensed electrician while you worked them, for a DLI-licensed contractor or registered employer. Months on the tools unregistered can cost you credit.
2. Out-of-state work counts. Verifiable experience for a licensed electrical contractor in another state gets credit.
3. School. A board-approved two-year, post-high-school electrical course is worth up to one year.

A Class A master takes more time on top of that. The experience paths are on DLI's experience and education page.

04What changed with the 2026 NEC?

Minnesota is one of the first states on the 2026 code. The Board of Electricity adopted the 2026 NEC "with an effective date of Aug. 17, 2026," and licensing exams moved to it starting Sept. 8, 2026.

If you're testing this fall or next year, study the 2026 book. A prep course built on the 2023 code will have you answering questions from the wrong edition.

05Which states reciprocate with Minnesota?

Minnesota gives a journeyworker license without the exam to hands who passed the journeyworker exam in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wyoming. A master from one of those states also qualifies for the journeyworker card. Master to master only works from Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

The conditions are strict:

• State exam only. The license has to come from a state-level exam, not through a city's agreement.
• Held a year. At least one year, current and in good standing.
• No failed Minnesota test. If you already failed the same Minnesota exam, reciprocity is off the table.
• Lapsed Minnesota cards. A former Minnesota licensee who didn't renew within two years of expiration has to retest.
• Fee. $50 with the application, then the license fee once approved.

Wisconsin isn't on the list. That matters in Duluth and on the east side of the Twin Cities, where both BLS metro areas cross into Wisconsin. A Wisconsin card doesn't get you a Minnesota card without the test. Our Wisconsin electrician license guide covers the other side of the river, and the Iowa and North Dakota guides cover two states that do trade cards with Minnesota. For how these agreements work across the plains states, see our electrician license reciprocity guide.

06CE and renewal

A journeyworker renews every two years, at the end of the month the license was first issued. You need 16 hours of DLI-approved CE, at least 12 of them on the NEC, and a $53 fee. Renew late and it's $20 more.

07Does a Minnesota noncompete hold up?

Mostly no. Minnesota Statutes 181.988, passed in 2023, says "Any covenant not to compete contained in a contract or agreement is void and unenforceable." The exceptions are for selling or dissolving a business.

Non-solicit and confidentiality clauses aren't covered by that ban, so read what you signed. If you're weighing a move to another Minnesota shop, our post on noncompetes for electricians walks through what's left.

08What does a Minnesota electrician make?

The median Minnesota electrician made $37.58 an hour in May 2025, ninth highest among the states and DC in the BLS data. 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 contractor will pay you.

Minnesota had 14,350 electricians on payroll and a $78,160 median annual wage. The Twin Cities metro alone counted 8,810. Notice Duluth's median sits above the Twin Cities, while the Twin Cities have the bigger top end.

Next door, the medians were $36.80 in Wisconsin, $29.26 in Iowa, $31.59 in North Dakota and $29.51 in South Dakota, same survey. A Minnesota card earned by exam can move to the Dakotas and Iowa, but the median there runs $5.99 to $8.32 an hour lower (our math on the BLS medians). Our journeyman electrician pay breakdown explains what moves a rate inside those 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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