Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

One credential, two words

Journeyworker or Journeyman? Minnesota Uses One of Them

If you typed journeyman you are in the right place, and if you typed journeyworker you are in the right place too. Minnesota uses one of those words on every official page and the study material market uses the other, which leaves candidates wondering whether they have found the wrong license.

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What the state calls it

Journeyworker, without exception. Minnesota Statutes 326B.31, subdivision 8 defines the Class A journeyworker electrician. 326B.33, subdivision 2 is headed Journeyworker electrician. 326B.32, subdivision 1 seats two journeyworker electricians on the Board of Electricity.

Minnesota Rules 3800.3602 lists Class A journeyworker electrician and Class B journeyworker electrician among the licenses that carry a 16 hour continuing education requirement.

The fee schedule prints AJ Class A journeyworker. The licensing basics page, the experience page, the reciprocity page and the continuing education page all use it. So does mn.gov elicense, and so does the Licensing Examination Guide.

Even the minutes

The Board of Electricity counts journeyworker electricians in its quarterly minutes, and the April 14, 2026 set puts the figure at 12,435 active licenses.

DLI's construction electrician apprenticeship page uses the word as well, and so do the Electrical Training Network of Minnesota apprenticeship standards, which name the occupation as Class A Journeyworker Electrician over 8,000 hours.

Where journeyman comes from

Journeyman is the national word and it is what most study material is titled with. It is also what people type into a search box far more often, which is why it is in the title of this page and in the address of our license page.

Even inside Minnesota the usage is mixed. Hennepin Technical College writes Class A Journey-worker with a hyphen when quoting the statute. St. Cloud Technical and Community College quotes the statute with journeyworker and then writes journeyperson in the next sentence. Lake Superior College uses Journeyman Electricians in the career text on its program page. The St. Paul Electrical JATC uses journeyworker.

Does the word ever matter

On the application, yes, in the sense that the form and the fee schedule use journeyworker and you should expect to see it. It does not create a second license and it does not change a single requirement.

Where it does matter is study material. A book titled for a journeyman exam is usually written for a national audience, and Minnesota has state specific content in the room with you in the form of a Laws and Rules Booklet the department supplies. Check what a study product actually covers before you assume the word on the cover tells you.

The other word people get wrong

Class is the term that trips more candidates than journeyworker does. Minnesota's electrician classes are Class A and Class B, and Class B master and Class B journeyworker have been closed to new applicants since August 1, 1985. Class A installer closed on December 1, 2007.

So somebody searching for a Class B electrician in Minnesota cannot get one, while somebody searching for Class B installer can. That distinction costs people more money than the journeyworker spelling ever has.

How this site handles it

Journeyworker in headings and in the body, because that is the word on the license, on the application and on every DLI page you will read next. Journeyman named as the same credential wherever a reader might arrive on it.

Nobody who typed the state's own word should be made to feel they typed it wrong.

Questions people ask

Is it journeyman or journeyworker in Minnesota?

Journeyworker. The statute, the rules, the fee schedule, DLI, mn.gov elicense and the Board of Electricity minutes all use it. Journeyman is the national word and the one most people search for, and it means the same license.

Is a journeyman license different from a journeyworker license in Minnesota?

No. There is one license, the Class A journeyworker electrician license, code AJ. The two words point at the same credential, the same 48 months of experience and the same 80 question examination.

Why does Minnesota use journeyworker?

The word is written into the statute. Minnesota Statutes 326B.31, subdivision 8 defines the Class A journeyworker electrician, and 326B.32 seats two journeyworker electricians on the Board of Electricity.

Do Minnesota colleges use journeyworker?

Not consistently. Hennepin Technical College writes Class A Journey-worker with a hyphen, St. Cloud Technical and Community College writes journeyperson in one sentence after quoting the statute, and Lake Superior College uses Journeyman Electricians in its career text.

Will using the wrong word cause a problem on my application?

No. The form and the fee schedule use journeyworker, so expect to see it, but nothing turns on which word you say. Class A and Class B is the distinction that actually matters.

What should I search for when buying study material?

Search either, then check the contents rather than the cover. Minnesota supplies a Laws and Rules Booklet in the examination room, so a title written for a national journeyman audience may not cover the state material at all.

What this page cites

• Minnesota Statutes 326B.31 Subdivision 8 defines the Class A journeyworker electrician, using the state spelling. source
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.32 Subdivision 1 seats two journeyworker electricians on the Board of Electricity. source
• CCLD licensing fee schedule Prints AJ Class A journeyworker and BJ Class B journeyworker. source
• Minnesota Rules 3800.3602 Lists Class A and Class B journeyworker electricians among the 16 hour continuing education licenses. source
• Board of Electricity minutes, April 14, 2026 Counts 12,435 journeyworker electricians, using the state spelling. source
• mn.gov elicense, Class A Journeyworker Electrician The state licensing entry, titled with the state spelling. source