Arkansas Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements, Fees, and Reciprocity

Arkansas Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements and the Exam

Arkansas licenses electricians statewide through the Board of Electrical Examiners, part of the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (ADLL). The Board's page is Electrical Inspection and Licensing. The exams are given by Prov. Here is what the journeyman license takes.

Experience

The Board's rules (17 CAR 210-404(e)) give two routes:

• Apprenticeship: complete a 4-year electrical construction apprenticeship approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL/BAT), with a "Released for Test/Completion" form.
• Experience: 8 years (16,000 hours) of electrical construction experience, counted at no more than 2,000 hours a year. Military experience can count.

The Board's Employment Verification form puts it in hours: a completed USDOL apprenticeship with 8,000 hours of on-the-job training, or 16,000 hours of qualified on-the-job training in a licensed jurisdiction out of state.

A few rules apply to every class:

• Overtime does not count, and no more than 2,000 hours a year are credited.
• Verification letters must be dated within 6 months of your application.
• Experience gained working unlicensed in violation of state law does not count.

Applying

1. Apply to the Board through its online licensing portal (linked from the Board's page) and attach the notarized Employment Verification form.
2. Get approved. Applications must reach the Board 5 business days before a Board meeting. The Board then issues its list of approved applicants.
3. Schedule with Prov once you are approved. Your approval is good for 183 days.

Fees

Fee	Amount
Exam (paid to Prov)	$80
Journeyman license	$25
Annual renewal	$25

We found no separate application fee in the Board's rules or statutes.

The exam

Item	Journeyman exam
Vendor	Prov
Questions	60
Time	180 minutes
Passing score	70%
Reference	NFPA 70, 2023 edition (open book)

There is no Arkansas law or business section: every item is electrical knowledge or the Code. What is on the exam breaks down all 10 areas.

Which code?

The exam is written from the 2023 NEC, the only reference Prov lists. That is not the code Arkansas enforces. The Board's rules previously adopted the 2020 NEC, and the current rules adopt the 2026 NEC with Arkansas amendments; the update went to a public hearing in April 2026, and we have not found a published effective date. Prov has announced no date for moving the exam to 2026. Study the 2023 edition.

After you pass, you must obtain the license within 6 months after the end of the month you tested, or test again.

Renewal and CE

• Licenses renew every year and expire on the last day of the month, one year after issue.
• Late renewal within 36 months costs a year's renewal plus $10 a month. After 36 months it is a $1,000 penalty and a retest.
• Continuing education: 8 hours per NEC code cycle, completed in the first year of each new cycle, before you renew. Courses must be Board-approved and are tracked through StateReporting.com.

Reciprocity

Arkansas has a journeyman reciprocal agreement with 17 states: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Wyoming counts only for a USDOL apprenticeship with at least 576 classroom hours.

The rules for a reciprocity applicant: you must be licensed in the other state, have held that license for one year, and have tested there. Only an original license qualifies. As the Board puts it, "You cannot reciprocate a reciprocated license."

Moving up to master

The master license takes 6 years in construction, including 2 as a licensed journeyman, or an electrical engineering degree plus 2 years of construction experience. See Arkansas Master Electrician requirements.

Getting ready

Try our free practice test on the 2023 NEC, or see the full Arkansas Journeyman Electrician exam prep. For test-day logistics, see Arkansas Journeyman Electrician exam day.