North Dakota Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements and How to Apply
What North Dakota requires for a journeyman electrician license: 8,000 hours over three years, approved apprentice training, the State Electrical Board's closed- and open-book exam, reciprocity and renewal.
Contents
North Dakota Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements and How to Apply
North Dakota licenses electricians statewide through the North Dakota State Electrical Board, which also writes and gives the exams itself. Everything below comes from North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-09, the Board's rules in N.D. Admin. Code title 24.1 (the 2026 Laws, Rules, Wiring and Conveyance Standards booklet) and the Board's own licensing pages.
What a journeyman may do
A journeyman electrician wires, installs and repairs electrical apparatus and equipment, and power limited systems, under the rules and the wiring standards (NDCC 43-09-01). A journeyman works under a contracting master or master of record and may supervise apprentices: no licensed electrician may supervise more than three apprentices, and an apprentice may not work without a North Dakota licensed electrician working with them at the site (NDAC 24.1-03-01-09). You must carry the Board's identification card and a government photo ID while doing electrical work (NDAC 24.1-03-01-01).
Experience and training
To be approved for the exam you need (NDCC 43-09-11; NDAC 24.1-03-01-03 and 24.1-03-01-07):
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Experience | 8,000 hours, earned over at least three years, as a registered apprentice |
| Supervision | Under a contracting master or master of record, in a jurisdiction with licensing and inspection rules like North Dakota's |
| Training | Two years of Board-approved electrical school, 576 hours of approved training classes, or a recognized apprenticeship program |
| School credit | A two-year electrical school can credit up to 2,000 hours |
| Practical work | At least 4,000 hours of the credit must be wiring and installing; repair work, fire alarm, process control and military experience have their own caps |
An apprentice who has not finished the training must still register with the Board but cannot take the journeyman exam. If you gained your experience outside North Dakota, a placement exam can verify it. A failed placement exam cannot be retaken, though you may appeal in writing within 30 days.
How to apply
- Apply to the Board with the Application for Electrician's License by Exam (SFN 11858), your employment verification (SFN 11845) and the $25 application fee.
- Wait for approval. The Board reviews your hours and sends an invitation that lists the open exam dates.
- Pick a date and tell the Board. You must test within six months of the invitation; a cancellation or no-show means a new application and fee.
- Pass the exam, then pay the license fee ($25) to have the license issued.
The exam in brief
| Item | North Dakota Journeyman Electrician |
|---|---|
| Given by | The State Electrical Board, at its office in Bismarck |
| Dates | Paired days each month (November 16–17 and December 14–15, 2026, then monthly) |
| Parts | A 1-hour closed-book part and a 3.5-hour open-book part |
| Questions | Not published |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Books | Provided by the Board, with calculators and pencils |
| Code | The 2026 NEC and the 2026 North Dakota laws, rules and wiring standards from the December 2026 exams; the 2023 NEC before that |
See what is on the Journeyman exam for the topics, and exam day for the logistics.
Licensed in another state?
North Dakota has journeyman reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, and belongs to the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance. You need a passed written exam, a license held continuously for the year before you apply and 8,000 hours under a contracting master. The application and license fees are $25 each. If your state requires no continuing education, you also need a North Dakota approved 8-hour code class.
Renewal and continuing education
A journeyman license runs for one year and expires March 31; renewal is $25. You need 8 hours of continuing education each two-year cycle, at least half of it on the 2026 NEC, in Board-approved classes (NDCC 43-09-15.1; NDAC 24.1-04-01-01). An expired license costs a reinstatement fee equal to the annual fee, and a license left unrenewed for three consecutive years means taking the exam again (NDCC 43-09-15).
Practice for the exam
Our North Dakota Journeyman practice test is built on the 2026 NEC and North Dakota's own rules, and every question cites the section you would look up.
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