Montana electrician license: levels, hours, reciprocity, pay

A Montana journeyman electrician license takes an approved apprenticeship, a union or trade association program, 8,000 hours of practical experience, or 20,000 maintenance hours, then an open-book PSI exam on the 2020 NEC. A card from another state can come in by endorsement for $190. The median Montana electrician made $36.90 an hour in May 2025, per BLS.

Everything below is as of 2026, from the Montana State Electrical Board and its laws and rules booklet. Rules change, so confirm with the board before you file. For how Montana compares with the other states, see electrician license requirements by state.

01Montana license facts at a glance

02Which licenses does Montana issue?

Montana licenses electricians statewide, so the card works in every town. The board issues residential electrician, journeyman, master and electrical contractor licenses.

• Residential electrician. Covers residential buildings of less than five living units. It takes a residential apprenticeship, 4,000 hours of residential experience, a union or trade association program, or the 20,000-hour maintenance path.
• Journeyman. Covers the full trade. Details below.
• Master. An electrical engineering graduate plus 2,000 hours, or at least 8,000 hours of journeyman-level experience. Apprentice hours don't count as journeyman level.
• Electrical contractor. The company has to certify workers' comp and unemployment insurance coverage and name a Montana-licensed responsible electrician who works for it full time. A limited contractor license needs a journeyman in that seat; an unlimited license needs a master.

That last rule is why an out-of-state contractor coming in for a job needs at least one Montana-licensed hand on the payroll before day one. And one card can only be the responsible electrician for one contractor.

03How do you qualify for the journeyman exam?

Montana law (MCA 37-68-305) gives four ways in. You need written evidence of one:

1. An approved apprenticeship in the electrical trade.
2. A training program run by "a bona fide union or trade association."
3. "8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience" wiring, installing and repairing.
4. 20,000 hours in electrical maintenance, with your employer certifying you're ready. At least 8,000 of those hours have to be practical experience.

The residential cap, worked out

A 2024 rule (ARM 24.141.515) says no more than 50% of a journeyman applicant's practical experience can be residential. The rest has to be commercial, industrial or institutional.

Say you have 8,000 hours: 5,000 in houses and 3,000 on commercial jobs. The board counts 4,000 residential, the 50% cap, plus your 3,000 commercial. That's 7,000. You're 1,000 commercial hours short even though your total says 8,000.

If you came up in resi and want the journeyman card, get on commercial or industrial work early and keep the paperwork.

04What's the exam like?

The exam runs through PSI on the 2020 NEC with Montana amendments, and approved applicants can test within a week. The rules (ARM 24.141.503) spell out the rest:

• 70% to pass for journeyman and residential. Masters need 75%.
• Open book. You can bring a tabbed, highlighted NEC, a basic non-programmable calculator, Montana's electrical statutes and rules, and Hittinger's Printreading.
• At least 60 questions on the NEC and Montana law, per the statute.
• One year to pass from board approval, or you reapply and pay again.
• Two fails means you need an 8-hour board-approved code seminar before the next try.

While you wait on the exam, a 90-day temporary practice permit lets you work for a licensed contractor. It doesn't let you be the responsible electrician on the license. Score 64% or less on the journeyman exam and you don't get a second permit.

05Can you bring your license to Montana?

Usually, case by case. The board can sign reciprocity agreements for journeyman and residential licenses with states whose standards are "substantially equivalent or greater." It can also license by endorsement if you hold a current license in good standing in the same category. Either way the fee is $190, including the license.

One hard rule: "A license that was issued by a city, county, or other similar municipality will not be considered." A city card from a state with no statewide license won't get you in. You'd test.

Montana sits in the plains and mountain reciprocity group. Boards in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming all list Montana among the journeyman licenses they accept. Our electrician license reciprocity guide explains the common terms, and the Wyoming, Idaho and North Dakota guides cover the neighbors.

06Carry your card

Montana law says a licensed electrician carries the license at all times on the job, and fines hands who can't show it or proof of it. Under MCA 37-68-316 it's $100 the first time, $250 the second and $500 after that, and each day is a separate offense. The first fine is dropped if you show proof of your license within 5 days. Keep a photo of the card on your phone and the card in your wallet.

07CE and renewal

Licenses renew every two years. The journeyman renewal fee is $140, and $210 for a contractor.

CE is where the board's own pages disagree. The journeyman page says "16 hours of Board approved courses per renewal cycle," with at least 8 on code. The rule (ARM 24.141.2102) says "Sixteen hours of continuing education must be obtained for each year in the renewal cycle." Call the board before your renewal and ask which number it's auditing to.

Two things are clear. New apprenticeship graduates skip CE for their first renewal cycle. And the board accepts CE from any reciprocal state, which helps if you're working across the line.

08What does a Montana electrician make?

The median Montana electrician made $36.90 an hour in May 2025, well above the national median of $30.38. 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.

Montana's band is tight. The 90th percentile, $43.03, sits only $6.13 above the median, against $21.79 nationally (our math). The middle of the market pays well and the top doesn't stretch far. The statewide median annual wage was $76,760.

Next door, the medians were $36.59 in Wyoming, $30.29 in Idaho, $31.59 in North Dakota and $29.51 in South Dakota, same survey. 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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