Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Code JE

Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician License: Full Guide

The journeyman card is the general electrician license in Wisconsin and the one most people are asking about when they search for a state license. Here are the three routes in, the exam, the fees and the renewal rule that catches apprenticeship graduates.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

What it allows

DSPS puts the scope in a single sentence: a journeyman electrician "shall perform electrical wiring activities under the general supervision of a person who holds a license as a licensed Master Electrician."

General supervision, not direct. A journeyman is not free of the master, because Wis. Stat. 101.862(3) says no person who is not a master electrician may install, repair or maintain electrical wiring "unless a master electrician is at all times responsible for the person's work."

The scope is not limited by occupancy or by employer, which is what separates this license from the residential and industrial journeyman grades.

The three routes in

SPS 305.44(3) gives two: completion of "a construction electrician apprenticeship program... that has a duration of at least 3 years," or "Experience in installing, repairing, and maintaining electrical wiring during a period of not less than 48 months, with at least 8,000 hours of experience over that period."

Form 3106, Rev. 12/04/2025, prints a third under Category A: "at least 1,000 hours per year for at least five (5) years."

An apprenticeship is not required. It is one of three routes, and the form treats them as alternatives.

What school is worth

Quoted from form 3106: "Each semester spent full-time in a school of electrical engineering or other accredited college, university, technical or vocational school in an electrical-related program shall be considered equivalent to 500 hours of experience, with no more than 2,000 hours and two 2 years of experience through education being credited toward the required experience."

Four full-time semesters is the ceiling. Beyond that the hours have to be worked and witnessed on form 3106T.

The exam

The journeyman exam is open book with a passing score of 70 percent, and Pearson VUE gives it four hours of seat time. DSPS does not publish a question count for it, and no DSPS page or Pearson VUE document we read states one.

You can carry four reference items into the room, and two of them are Wisconsin's own chapters. The exam pages allow one binder holding SPS 305, SPS 316 and printed notes, a National Electrical Code book or handbook, and up to two printed bound reference books.

The code edition on that middle item is changing this autumn. Read which edition the exam uses and what you may bring before you book.

What it costs

Table 305.02 sets $35 to apply, $30 for the state examination fee and $100 for the license fee on issue. Pearson VUE's own fee schedule prints $95.00 for the journeyman examination, under a column headed "Total Candidate Fee Payable to Pearson VUE."

Those two exam figures do not reconcile, and DSPS's news release announcing the Pearson partnership says candidates registering through Pearson "will pay a small administration fee to the testing service in addition to the state trades exam fee." The exam cost page prints both sides and does not pick one.

Renewal, and the trap for apprenticeship graduates

The license runs four years and expires June 30. The renewal fee is $100.00 and continuing education is "at least 24 hours of acceptable continuing education" under SPS 305.44(6)(b)1.

Now the trap. SPS 305.44(6)(b)3. reads: "A person who initially obtained his or her journeyman electrician license without having successfully passed a journeyman electrician license examination and whose request to renew his or her license is denied because of the failure to fulfill the continuing education requirements of subd. 1., shall be required to take and pass the journeyman electrician license examination in order to reacquire the journeyman electrician license."

So an electrician who came in through an apprenticeship rather than the exam, and then misses the hours, has to sit the exam to get the card back. The industrial journeyman section carries the same rule.

Coming in from another state

Two states are named on form 3106, and only two. The applicant must have held "an Iowa Journeyman A Electrician license or a New Hampshire Journeyman Electrician license continuously for at least one year immediately prior to submitting an application in Wisconsin."

Iowa applicants "must have completed either an apprenticeship or the experience hours described." New Hampshire applicants "must have completed an electrical apprenticeship-schooling program with a minimum of 600 hours, 24 hours of which are safety-related."

Nothing we read names Minnesota or Illinois. The reciprocity page has the detail.

How many hold it

The DSPS count file, as of 06/01/2026, gives 6,791 in state active journeyman electricians, 1,887 in state inactive, and 9,832 in total across in state and out of state records.

That makes it the largest licensed electrician grade in the state, ahead of master at 5,480 in state active.

Questions people ask

How do I get a journeyman electrician license in Wisconsin?

Qualify on one of three routes, apply in LicensE, sit the open book examination and pass at 70 percent, then pay the $100 license fee. The routes are a construction electrician apprenticeship of at least three years, 8,000 hours over at least 48 months, or 1,000 hours a year for five years.

How long is the Wisconsin journeyman electrician exam?

The Pearson VUE fee schedule gives it four hours of seat time. DSPS does not publish a question count for any Wisconsin electrician exam.

What can a journeyman electrician do in Wisconsin?

Perform electrical wiring activities under the general supervision of a licensed master electrician. Wis. Stat. 101.862(3) keeps a master responsible for the work at all times.

How much does the Wisconsin journeyman license cost?

Table 305.02 sets $35 to apply, $30 for the state examination fee and $100 on issue. Pearson VUE separately publishes $95.00 as the candidate fee for the exam.

How often does a Wisconsin journeyman license renew?

Every four years, on June 30, at $100.00, with at least 24 hours of continuing education completed before expiration.

Can I lose my license for missing continuing education?

Renewal can be denied for it. If you obtained the license without passing the journeyman examination, SPS 305.44(6)(b)3. then requires you to take and pass that examination to get the license back.

Which states can transfer a journeyman license into Wisconsin?

Iowa and New Hampshire, on form 3106. The Iowa credential named is the Journeyman A license, and the license must have been held continuously for at least one year before you apply here.

What this page cites

• DSPS Journeyman Electrician page The scope sentence and the department's statement of the licensing duty. source
• SPS 305.44, Journeyman electricians The experience routes, the 24 hours of continuing education and the re-examination rule at (6)(b)3. source
• Form 3106, Rev. 12/04/2025 Three experience routes, the school credit cap and the Iowa and New Hampshire reciprocity conditions. source
• DSPS Journeyman Electrician exam page Open book, 70 percent, and the four reference items allowed in the room. source
• Pearson VUE trade exam fee schedule Four hours of seat time and a $95.00 candidate fee for the journeyman examination. source
• DSPS license counts, as of 06/01/2026 The active, inactive and total counts for the journeyman grade. source