Electrician License Requirements in North Dakota
- Training hours
- 8000 hrs
- Upfront cost
- $50
- Exam
- Journeyman Electrician Examination
- Renewal cycle
- Every 1 year
- Issuing board
- North Dakota State Electrical Board
How to get licensed
- 1
Meet the prerequisites
Meet the eligibility requirements set by the issuing board. N.D. Admin. Code sets a minimum age of 16 for apprentice electricians ('An individual over sixteen years of age may work as apprentices'), but no separate minimum age is stated specifically for the journeyman license itself (in practice the 8,000-hour, 3-year-minimum apprenticeship requirement means most journeymen are older). No criminal history background check requirement for journeyman applicants was found in the Board's laws/rules booklet; a criminal penalty section exists but addresses violations of the licensing chapter, not applicant screening. [4]
- 2
Complete approved training
Complete 8000 hours of training at a state-approved program. 8,000 hours of experience registered as an apprentice electrician (cannot be completed in less than 3 years) under a contracting master/master of record, plus completion of apprentice electrician training (N.D. Admin. Code 24.1-03-01-03). Practical hands-on wiring/installation experience must be at least 4,000 of the 8,000 hours; up to 3,000 hours may apply from Class B qualifications; up to 2,000 hours credit is granted for a graduate of a board-accepted 2-year+ electrical school; other capped credits exist for repair work, fire alarm wiring, process-control/power-limited wiring, and qualifying military electrical experience. [1]
- 3
Journeyman Electrician Examination
Pass the Journeyman Electrician Examination. Passing grade is 70%. The Board sends an exam invitation after approving the applicant's employment-verification packet; the applicant must test within the allotted time (per exam-dates page, within 6 months of the invitation) or may need to reapply and pay the fee again. Examination fees (separate from the license application fee) are paid to the examination testing center provider per N.D. Admin. Code 24.1-03-01-01(1); no dollar figure for the testing-center exam fee itself was found on an official ND page, so it is left null (see the $25 journeyman application fee under Fees, which is a separate charge). [2]
- 4
Submit your application
Submit your application to North Dakota State Electrical Board with the $25 application fee. [3]
- 5
Receive your license
Once your application is approved, North Dakota State Electrical Board issues your Journeyman Electrician License for North Dakota.
Fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee [3] | $25 |
| License fee [3] | $25 |
| Renewal fee [3] | $25 |
| Journeyman Electrician Examination [2] | None specified |
N.D. Admin. Code 24.1-03-01-01(4) sets the Journeyman license application fee at $25.00 (Master is $50, Class B is $40, Apprentice registration is $10). The Board's renewal page separately lists the Journeyman annual renewal fee as $25.00, and an expired license requires a reinstatement fee equal to the annual fee. Examination fees paid directly to the testing center are a separate, unpublished charge (see exams[].notes).
Renewal & continuing education
Renew every 1 year. 8 continuing education hours required per cycle.
Journeyman licenses expire every year on March 31. Renewal requires 8 hours of continuing education on file with the Board, of which 4 hours must be code-related; the training provider must submit the roster to the Board within 15 days of the class.
Reciprocity
Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.
North Dakota is part of the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance (NERA), a multi-state reciprocal licensing group, not a formal compact-commission-administered compact, so compacts is left []. For the Journeyman license specifically, ND has reciprocal agreements with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming (Master-license reciprocity is narrower: Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota only). Reciprocal applicants must have passed the written exam in the reciprocating state, hold a current/active/good-standing license held continuously for at least 1 year, list 8,000 hours (Journeyman) or 10,000 hours (Master) of qualifying supervised experience, and — if reciprocating from a state without a CE requirement — complete an 8-hour ND-approved code class. Reciprocal application fee is $25 (Journeyman) / $50 (Master), plus the same amount again as a license fee once approved.
1 state-approved training provider in North Dakota — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.
Cost calculator
- $25
- $25
Frequently asked questions
How many hours of experience does a North Dakota journeyman electrician need?
8,000 hours registered as an apprentice electrician, which cannot be completed in less than 3 years, under a contracting master or master of record, plus apprentice electrician training. A 2-year+ accredited electrical school graduate can receive up to 2,000 hours of credit.
What score is needed to pass the journeyman exam?
A passing grade of 70% is required. The Board reviews the applicant's experience documentation first, then sends an exam invitation with available testing dates.
How much does it cost to apply?
The journeyman license application fee is $25, and the annual renewal fee is also $25. Reciprocal (out-of-state) applicants pay a $25 reciprocal application fee plus a $25 license fee once approved.
What continuing education is required to renew?
8 hours of continuing education per year, including at least 4 hours of code-related instruction, must be on file with the Board before the March 31 renewal deadline.
Does North Dakota have reciprocity with other states?
Yes. North Dakota participates in the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance and has direct journeyman-license reciprocal agreements with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, subject to holding a current license and meeting ND's supervised-experience and (if applicable) continuing-education conditions.
Sources
- [1] ndseb.com/licensing/applying-for-an-electrical-license/ — accessed 2026-07-11
- [2] ndseb.com/licensing/exam-dates-information/ — accessed 2026-07-11
- [3] ndseb.com/licensing/electricians-license-renewal/ — accessed 2026-07-11
- [4] ndseb.com/image/cache/Booklet.2020.Final_-_W-Revised_Apendix.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11
- [5] ndseb.com/licensing/reciprocal-license-agreements-requirements/ — accessed 2026-07-11