Idaho Electrical License Reciprocity Guide (2026)

Idaho electrical license reciprocity is a DOPL file, not a work permit. Idaho Code § 54-1007(6) lets the administrator license an electrician from another state without Idaho's written exam when that state's qualifications are at least equal to Idaho's and the applicant pays the fee and proves it. Two official documents name the partner states, and they do not match. Use the application posted on dopl.idaho.gov the day you file, and call (208) 334-3233 if your state is on one list and missing from the other.

The cards below are the Idaho locals GoHereBro tracks. The Boise semiconductor calls are written up in the Micron and Local 291 guide. The national map of these deals is the electrician license reciprocity guide.

Updated Oct 5 · View live job calls →

Updated Oct 5 · View live job calls →

Which list DOPL is using

The electrician FAQ says yes, Idaho has reciprocal agreements, and the states are in the Reciprocal Information document. That document, still posted as bcre-reciprocal-info.pdf, is dated October 26, 2020. For electrical journeyman licenses it requires three things: you tested for the current license, you have held it one year, and you show four years of schooling and on-the-job training. The states on that sheet are Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Wyoming is the only row that also says master.

The August 2024 journeyman application instructions split the same idea into two blocks.

NERA applicants, as that form lists them: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. DOPL says it will contact those states for an active license, proof the license was issued by examination, and the original issue date. That block does not repeat the one-year hold or the four-year school rule from the 2020 sheet.

Oregon applicants are separate. The Oregon verification has to show an active license, four years of apprenticeship school and 8,000 hours, proof of examination, and the issue date. The posted Oregon agreement says the same standard in more detail: 576 classroom hours, 8,000 hours under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman, a current license in good standing, and a passing score on the Oregon or Idaho exam. The Oregon license guide is the other direction of that agreement.

Arizona and Illinois are names on the 2024 NERA block. Neither state issues a statewide journeyman electrician license in the way Colorado or Texas does. Do not mail an Idaho reciprocity fee on the strength of a city card or a union ticket from those states. Call DOPL first.

A license that is on the 2020 sheet and missing from the 2024 instructions, or the reverse, is not something to guess. The statute allows agreements. It does not publish the partner list. The form you submit is the list that has to match.

Journeyman routes that are not reciprocity

DOPL's licensing page gives initial journeyman applicants two hour paths, then the exam, then the application:

8,000 hours of work experience and four years of approved schooling, or
16,000 hours of work experience

Idaho Code § 54-1007(2) and (4) are the same split. Apprentice hours claimed in Idaho count only while the apprentice registration was active. The FAQ says hours worked during a lapsed registration do not count. The application says work hours can be earned in or out of Idaho, and that appliance repair, motor winding, and communications do not count.

IDAPA 24.39.10.100, as published in the Idaho administrative code, says an applicant may sit the exam after the four-year instruction sequence or after 16,000 hours. A provisional journeyman license can be issued to someone who has the 16,000 hours and has not passed the exam. The Electrical Board fee table lists that provisional license at $55 for six months.

Initial applicants have to pass the NASCLA examination through PSI before they send the DOPL application. The April 2024 exam bulletin sets the journeyman exam at four hours, a 70 percent passing score, and a $75 nonrefundable exam fee. A fail can be retaken by paying the exam fee again. Register at PSI's Idaho construction page or (855) 340-3713. The licensing page says the candidate bulletin for the exam you select is where the reference list lives. This guide does not name a code edition the bulletin did not print in the scoring section.

The signature block on the August 2024 application still says the applicant has one year from the application date to pass the required exam. The exam section and the licensing page say initial applicants must already have passed before they apply. If you have not tested, follow the licensing page and pass first. If those two sentences are read the other way, you pay a fee on a file DOPL may not open.

What the reciprocity file contains

On the August 2024 application, mark Reciprocal. The processing fee printed on that form is $70, nonrefundable, and DOPL says not to send cash. A card payment adds 2.5 percent through Access Idaho. The Electrical Board fee table on dopl.idaho.gov/ele lists a separate $15 application fee and a $55 journeyman license fee, with renewal at $45 and reinstatement at $55, on a three-year term. Fifteen dollars plus $55 is $70. Pay the amount on the form you are submitting, and ask the cashier if the table and the PDF have drifted apart.

A copy of your home-state license is not enough. The July and August 2024 instructions both say a copy of the license cannot be accepted in place of verification. For Oregon, you send Oregon's license verification. For the NERA states named on the August form, DOPL says it will contact the other state. The 2020 sheet's one-year hold is not restated in that NERA block. Do not assume a license you earned last month qualifies until DOPL says the issue date is old enough.

The form also asks for a Social Security number under Idaho Code § 73-122, a mailing address, and an email under Idaho Code § 67-2609. Blank fields are not processed. Email the package to [email protected], or mail it to Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, C/O Trade Licensing, PO Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0063. Counter service is at 11341 W. Chinden Blvd., Boise; 1250 Ironwood Dr., Suite 220, Coeur d'Alene; and 155 N. Maple St., Blackfoot. The licensing page lists office hours as 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday through Friday, except state holidays. Phone: (208) 334-3233.

Master license

The licensing page says a master applicant must have held an active journeyman license for four years and must pass the NASCLA master exam before applying. The April 2024 bulletin sets that exam at four hours and 75 percent. The fee table lists the master license at $65, renewal at $45, on a three-year term. Idaho Code § 54-1007(3) says that when a master license is issued, the administrator also issues a journeyman license at no added cost.

The 2020 reciprocal sheet lists a master transfer only for Wyoming. The August 2024 journeyman form does not create a master reciprocity path. A master card from another state is not automatically an Idaho master.

Renewal for journeyman and master, under IDAPA 24.39.10.100, requires 24 hours in the prior three-year cycle: 16 hours of Idaho Electrical Code training and 8 hours that can be National Electrical Code update training, other code-related training, industry-related training, or independent study.

Working after the Idaho license

An Idaho journeyman license is the state credential. It is not a referral from Local 291 in Boise or Local 449 in Pocatello. Those are the two Idaho inside locals GoHereBro tracks. Current calls are on the cards above, on the job call map, and on the Hot Spots dashboard.

Texas accepts an Idaho journeyman on TDLR's list. That direction is the Texas reciprocity guide. South Dakota's agreement table includes Idaho journeyman and a master-electrician equivalent. That direction is the South Dakota license guide. Coming into Idaho is this page.

Watch Boise and Pocatello while DOPL reviews the file Founder alerts flag call changes at Local 291 and Local 449.

See Founder alerts

Frequently Asked Questions

Which states does Idaho reciprocate for a journeyman electrician license?

Two official documents disagree. The October 26, 2020 reciprocal sheet lists Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, with a one-year hold. The August 2024 application lists a longer NERA group and pulls Oregon into its own section. Call (208) 334-3233 and use the form posted that day.

Does Idaho accept an Oregon journeyman license?

Yes, under the posted Oregon agreement and the August 2024 application. Oregon's verification has to show an active license, four years of apprenticeship school, 8,000 hours, and passage of the Oregon or Idaho exam.

Do I have to take the Idaho exam if I qualify for reciprocity?

Idaho Code § 54-1007(6) says applicants who qualify under a reciprocal agreement are not required to take a written examination. Initial applicants do have to pass the NASCLA exam through PSI before they apply.

What is the Idaho journeyman exam?

The April 2024 bulletin says four hours, 70 percent to pass, and a $75 nonrefundable exam fee. The master exam in that bulletin is four hours and 75 percent.

How much does the Idaho application cost?

The August 2024 application prints a $70 nonrefundable processing fee. The Electrical Board fee table lists a $15 application fee and a $55 journeyman license fee. Confirm which lines you are paying when you submit.

Will a copy of my out-of-state license work?

No. The 2024 instructions say a copy of the license cannot be accepted. Oregon applicants need Oregon's verification form. For the NERA states on the August form, DOPL contacts the other state.

Does an IBEW ticket replace the Idaho license?

No. DOPL asks the other state for an active journeyman license earned by examination, or it asks for the hour path and the NASCLA exam.

How long is an Idaho journeyman license good?

The Electrical Board fee table lists a three-year term. Renewal on that table is $45. Continuing education under IDAPA 24.39.10.100 is 24 hours in the three-year cycle, 16 of them Idaho Electrical Code.

Official sources

Checked October 6, 2026:

Call (208) 334-3233 before you pay if your state, your issue date, or your school record sits between the 2020 sheet and the 2024 application.