Iowa Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements, Routes, and the PSI Exam

Iowa Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements and the Exam

Iowa licenses journeyman electricians statewide through the Electrical Examining Board, part of the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL). The exam is given by PSI, and passing it earns the Journeyman Electrician Class A license. Here is how to get there.

Six routes to the exam

Iowa law requires a US Department of Labor registered apprenticeship, or training and experience set by Board rule, plus the exam. The rule (481 IAC 401.2(6)) allows any one of these:

1. Registered apprenticeship. Complete a registered apprenticeship and four years as an apprentice electrician. DIAL's sponsorship sheet asks for a letter from your program director showing 8,000 on-the-job hours and 576 classroom hours, or your DOL completion certificate. The license is issued only once the apprenticeship is complete.
2. Class B Journeyman. A current Class B Journeyman (a grandfathered, no-exam license) moves up to Class A by passing the exam.
3. Out-of-state license. A journeyman or master license from another state's state-sponsored exam, plus 18 CE hours and 1,000 hours worked in Iowa as an unclassified person.
4. Experience as an Iowa licensee. A current Iowa license, 54 CE hours and 16,000 hours of licensed work, with category minimums (500 preliminary, 2,000 rough-in, 2,000 finish, 2,000 lighting and service, 500 troubleshooting, 500 motor control) and 4,000 of the hours in the last five years.
5. Residential to journeyman. A Residential or Residential Master license plus 4,000 commercial or industrial hours (100 / 500 / 500 / 500 / 100 / 100 across the same categories).
6. Post-secondary program. An approved post-secondary electrical program plus 6,000 hours of licensed work after starting it. The program itself must be at least 2,000 instruction hours.

The exam at a glance

It is open book, with the 2023 NEC or its Handbook as the only book. Ugly's is not allowed. There is no Iowa law section. The journeyman exam has seven content areas and, unlike the master and residential exams, no Communication Systems area. See what is on the Iowa journeyman exam.

Getting approved to test

1. Apply and send the Board a Testing Sponsorship Request, no earlier than a month before you are ready.
2. Receive the sponsorship letter by email, with your PSI registration code. It is good for two attempts or six months.
3. Pay and schedule with PSI.
4. After passing, finish your license application online at iowaelectrical.gov. The license fee is due only after you pass.

Your pass must fall within 24 months before the license application.

License fees

Iowa licenses run on a three-year term; the current cycle is 2026 to 2028. The journeyman fee is $75 per term, prorated by when it is issued: $75 at the start of the cycle (January 2026), $50 in 2027 and $25 in 2028. There is no separate application fee in the rules. Late renewal adds 10% of the fee per month, for up to three months.

Continuing education

18 contact hours per three-year term, at least 6 on the NEC. A contact hour is 50 minutes. A license issued in year two of a cycle needs 12 hours, and one issued in year three needs 6, with 6 NEC hours in each case. Hours do not carry over.

Reciprocity

Iowa has reciprocity agreements with 13 states, and all 13 map to the Iowa Journeyman Class A: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. You must have passed a state-sponsored exam at 70% or more, held the license a year without it lapsing or being suspended or revoked, never failed the Iowa exam, and completed an apprenticeship or 16,000 hours of work.

From any other state, the out-of-state route above applies if your license came from a state-sponsored exam: the Iowa exam plus 18 CE hours and 1,000 Iowa hours.

Pass rates

Neither PSI nor the Board publishes pass rates.

Moving up to master

The master exam needs one year as a licensed journeyman. See Iowa master electrician requirements.

Getting ready

Try our free Iowa journeyman practice test on the 2023 NEC, or see the full Iowa Journeyman Electrician exam prep. For the test itself, read Iowa journeyman exam day.