States with no statewide journeyman electrician license

As of 2026, 16 states don't issue a statewide journeyman electrician license: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee. New Jersey registers journeymen but doesn't test them. In these states the license that matters is the contractor's, or a city or county card.

That doesn't mean anything goes. It means the rules sit somewhere else, and they change from one county line to the next. Confirm with the board or the local building department before you count on any of this. For the states that do license journeymen, see our license requirements by state, and for the path to a card, our guide on how to get your journeyman license.

01Who licenses instead, state by state

In most of these states, the state licenses the company that pulls permits and a city or county may license the hands.

Local rules shift county to county. Call the board or the local building department before you rely on any line in this table.

02What "no state license" means on your job

You work under a licensed contractor, and the contractor's license is what the inspector checks.

North Carolina is the cleanest example. The NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors licenses the company through a qualified individual in 10 classes. A Limited license covers one project up to $60,000, Intermediate up to $150,000, Unlimited any value. Nobody checks a state card for the hands, because there isn't one.

Tennessee splits it by job size. An electrical sub needs a state contractor license when its part of the job is $25,000 or more. The Limited Licensed Electrician covers work under $25,000 a project, and only where the state Division of Fire Prevention does the permits or inspections. Where a city runs its own licensing, the city decides who works.

Ohio's Construction Industry Licensing Board licenses commercial electrical contractors who pass the PSI exam, and says those licenses are "also referred to as Master Licenses." Local building departments handle residential contractors.

03Where a local card still decides who works

In some of these states the county or city card matters as much as a state card does elsewhere.

• Florida. Under Florida Statute 489.5335, counties and cities issue journeyman licenses. You need "at least 75 percent" on a proctored Block and Associates exam, plus a registered apprenticeship or "at least 12,000 hours of on-the-job training." Once any Florida county or city licenses you, every other one "must recognize" you. That rule covers Florida-issued cards only, so an out-of-state card doesn't get you in.
• Kansas. Cities and counties license, but a license from a standard exam (ICC, IAPMO or Prometric) is "valid in any other county or city" in Kansas that requires one, per K.S.A. 12-1526. A journeyman certificate needs "a minimum of two years field experience." Local CE is 12 hours every two years or 6 a year.
• New York City. The Department of Buildings licenses master and special electricians. Journeymen work under the master's license. Outside the city, it depends on the county or town.
• Philadelphia. The city's electrical contractor license wants 4 years of electrical work for a licensed company, the city exam through ICC and 8 hours on the current NFPA 70.
• Missouri. Cities and counties issue the journeyman and master cards. The state's contractor license is "optional, not mandatory," per the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors FAQ, and no city can make a statewide license holder pass another exam.
• Nevada. The state's C-2 license covers the company. Whether the hands need a card is up to the county or city, so ask the local building department.

04New Jersey registers journeymen but doesn't test them

New Jersey's "qualified journeyman electrician" is a registration with the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, with no exam, per Mike Holt Enterprises' state summary. The summary lists 8,000 hours of hands-on work, at least 576 hours of related instruction, and 4,000 of those hours inside the 5 years before you apply. Supervising and estimating time doesn't count.

The catch is portability. Because there's no exam behind it, a New Jersey registration usually won't reciprocate into a licensing state. Utah's endorsement map marks New Jersey "additional documentation needed": proof you passed exams equal to Utah's. Confirm the current rules with the New Jersey board.

05What it means if you move to a licensing state later

Your hours usually count toward the new state's exam. Your local card usually doesn't count as a license.

So a hand with 10 years in North Carolina and no state card can usually sit for a licensing state's exam on those hours. He can't skip the exam. Our guide to moving your license to another state walks the steps, and the reciprocity list shows which state cards do travel.

06Keep your own hour records

When no state tracks your hours, nobody but you can prove them later.

Licensing boards want proof on paper, and they're picky about the form. On its experience route, Connecticut wants notarized employer letters and says "Payroll records, W-2's, or tax returns will not be accepted." Kentucky goes the other way and takes tax returns, a Form 1099 or a sworn affidavit from an employer, per 815 KAR 35:060.

Do this before you need it:

1. Get a signed letter from every employer when you leave: dates, hours by year, and the work (residential, commercial, industrial).
2. Keep pay stubs and W-2s anyway. Some boards take them, and they back up a letter.
3. Save your apprenticeship completion certificate and classroom transcript with hour totals.
4. If you took an ICC or Prov exam for a city card, keep the score report. Utah, for one, lets you submit local licenses to document hours and exams even though it won't endorse the card.

07Why contractors screen harder here

With no state card to check, contractors in these states lean on skills checks instead.

One national electrical contractor told us agencies kept sending them so-called journeymen who couldn't bend conduit. Where there's no state card to look up, expect a bending question, a prints question, or a bench test before an offer. Our post on what contractors check before they hire a journeyman lays out what they ask.

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

FAQFAQs