Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements, Experience, and How to Apply

Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements and How to Apply

Wisconsin licenses electricians through the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS). The Journeyman Electrician license is the one for electricians doing the work in the field. Here is what it takes to get one by examination.

Experience

DSPS accepts either of two routes into the journeyman exam:

• An electrical apprenticeship of three years approved by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), or
• 48 months and 8,000 hours of electrical experience.

A two-year electrical degree counts toward the experience route as 12 months and 2,000 hours.

Applying and testing

1. Apply through LicensE, DSPS's online licensing system, with your documented apprenticeship or experience.
2. Pay the exam fees: $95 to Pearson VUE and $30 to DSPS.
3. Sit the exam at a DSPS paper-exam site or a Pearson VUE computer-based testing center in Wisconsin: 100 questions in 4 hours, open book, 70% to pass. What is on the exam covers the topics.

Wisconsin now tests the 2023 NEC. SPS 316.007 adopted it effective September 1, 2026 (it replaced the 2017 NEC), and DSPS says the trades exam questions reflect the change from October 1, 2026. Prep material that mentions PSI as the testing vendor, or the 2014 or 2017 NEC, is out of date.

Wisconsin also issues Residential and Industrial journeyman credentials; this article covers the general Journeyman Electrician license.

Keeping the license

Wisconsin electrical licenses run on four-year terms and expire on June 30. A journeyman needs 24 hours of continuing education each term to renew.

Going further

With 60 months and 10,000 hours of experience you can sit for the master license. See Wisconsin Master Electrician requirements.

Getting ready

Try our free 10-question practice test on the 2023 NEC, or see the full Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician exam prep.