Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

The state says journeyworker

Journeyman Electrician Minnesota: The Journeyworker License

The license people search for as a Minnesota journeyman electrician license is called the Class A journeyworker electrician license, code AJ. Same credential, same exam, same application. This page uses the state's word and answers to both.

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What the license allows

Minnesota Statutes 326B.31, subdivision 8 defines a Class A journeyworker electrician as an individual having the necessary qualifications, training, experience and technical knowledge to perform and supervise any electrical work except for planning or laying out. The mn.gov elicense entry repeats that sentence.

So the boundary between this license and the master license is one clause. Planning and laying out belong to the Class A master. Everything else you can do and supervise.

Under 326B.33, subdivision 12(a) you may supervise no more than two unlicensed individuals at a time.

The 48 months

326B.33, subdivision 2 asks for at least four years of experience, acceptable to the commissioner, in wiring for, installing and repairing electrical wiring, apparatus or equipment. DLI counts that in months, not hours, and publishes the split.

Forty eight months in total. At least 24 of them have to be wiring for and installing, and that category can carry all 48. Maintaining and repairing can carry up to 24 months, process control circuits up to 12, technology circuits up to 6, installing elevators up to 6 and line work up to 3.

Planning, laying out and supervising carry a zero maximum on this license. Time spent doing the master's work does not count toward the journeyworker license.

What school is worth

DLI puts it in one sentence: a maximum of one year of experience credit will be allowed for the successful completion of a two year, post high school electrical course approved by the board.

One year, not more, and only for an approved course. DLI publishes no list of approved two year programs, so the evidence a given college is approved is that college's own statement. Several Minnesota colleges print one, and we name them on the experience page and on the city pages.

The exam

Eighty questions. Five and a half hours. Seventy percent to pass. The Licensing Examination Guide gives the same time limit and the same cut score to every electrical examination Minnesota runs, from the 25 question installer paper up.

DLI runs the exam itself. There is no PSI, no Pearson VUE and no Prov in Minnesota. Examinations are held weekly, generally every Wednesday, at 443 Lafayette Road N. in St. Paul, and every exam type starts at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 1:45 p.m.

The department provides the code book, and it has no tabs. Read what you may bring into the building before you plan your preparation around a tabbed book.

The money and the wait

The examination fee is $50 and it is not refundable, including for applicants who turn out not to qualify. The license itself is $40 plus an $8 board fee, so a new license totals $48. Renewal adds the $5 continuing education fee and comes to $53, or $73 with the $20 late fee.

The elicense entry puts the whole cycle at approximately 60 days, dependent on response time for experience verification, board approval and examination scheduling. Your application goes in first and DLI approves it before a test date exists.

What the license asks of you afterwards

Sixteen hours of DLI approved continuing education per renewal period, with at least 12 of them on the National Electrical Code and the rest on the statutes and rules governing electrical installations. That split is in Minnesota Rules 3800.3602.

The renewal cycle itself is stated two different ways by two state pages, and we print both rather than picking one. DLI says the license expires every two years at the end of the original issue month. The elicense entry says two years, expiring on the anniversary date of initial issue.

DLI also warns that renewing without completing continuing education may result in license suspension and a fine of $1,000.

Questions people ask

Is there a journeyman electrician license in Minnesota?

Yes, and the state spells it journeyworker. The Class A journeyworker electrician license, code AJ, is the credential people mean when they search for a Minnesota journeyman license. Every DLI page, the statute and the fee schedule use journeyworker.

How many years to become a journeyworker electrician in Minnesota?

Four. Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 2 asks for at least four years of experience, and the DLI matrix counts it as 48 months with at least 24 in wiring for and installing.

How many questions is the Minnesota journeyworker exam?

Eighty. The time allowed is five and a half hours and the passing score is 70 percent, which are the same for every electrical examination DLI administers.

What does the Minnesota journeyworker license cost?

Fifty dollars for the examination application, which is not refundable, and $48 for the license itself once you pass. That $48 is a $40 license fee plus an $8 board fee. Renewal adds a $5 continuing education fee and comes to $53.

Can a two year college program count toward the license?

Up to one year of experience credit for the successful completion of a two year post high school electrical course approved by the board. DLI publishes no list of approved programs, so ask the college for its own approval statement.

Can a journeyworker plan and lay out electrical work?

No. Minnesota Statutes 326B.31, subdivision 8 gives the Class A journeyworker every part of electrical work except planning or laying out. Those two belong to the Class A master electrician license.

How long does the application take?

The mn.gov elicense entry says approximately 60 days, dependent on response time for experience verification, board approval and examination scheduling. DLI has to approve the application before you can schedule a date.

What this page cites

• Minnesota Statutes 326B.31 Subdivision 8 defines the Class A journeyworker electrician and the exception for planning and laying out. source
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 Subdivision 2 sets the four years of experience and subdivision 12(a) the supervision ratio. source
• DLI experience requirements The 48 month matrix with the 24 month minimum in wiring for and installing and the maximums in every other category. source
• DLI Licensing Examination Guide Gives the 80 question count, the five and a half hour limit, the 70 percent pass mark and the weekly Wednesday schedule in St. Paul. source
• mn.gov elicense, Class A Journeyworker Electrician Repeats the scope, prints the two year term on the anniversary date and gives the 60 day processing estimate. source
• CCLD licensing fee schedule Source for the $50 exam fee, the $48 new total, the $53 renewal and the $20 late fee. source