Montana's electrical reciprocity covers journeyman licenses from 20 states, master licenses from 5 and residential licenses from 4. The 5 master states are Alabama, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming. If your license is on the list, you skip Montana's PSI exam, and there is no other exam to take. You still send the Montana application, the $190 application fee and a verification of every license you've held.
| In short | Montana electrical reciprocity |
|---|---|
| Who licenses you | Montana State Electrical Board, part of the Department of Labor and Industry |
| Licenses Montana accepts | Journeyman: 20 states. Master: Alabama, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming. Residential: Alaska, Arkansas, Oregon, Utah. Full list: the Board's state-by-state chart (August 2026). |
| What reciprocity skips | The Montana PSI exam. Montana has no business and law exam, so nothing else replaces it. |
| What you still need | The application and $190 fee (the same fee as the exam route). A verification of every license you hold or ever held. An active, unrestricted license in good standing. |
| Never accepted | City, county or other local licenses. Also 28 states marked "No" at every level, including Texas, Minnesota and New Mexico. |
| Most portable Montana license | Journeyman. 14 states take it by agreement or endorsement map. A Montana master keeps master level only in Idaho, South Dakota (as Electrical Contractor), Utah, Vermont and Virginia. |
Montana electrical reciprocity: licenses Montana accepts
Montana doesn't sign one-on-one deals with other states. Instead, the Board looks at what each state requires for its license. If that state demands an exam plus an apprenticeship or enough hours, Montana treats the license as a match.
The Board calls a match "substantially equivalent." It rates the state's rules, not your personal record. That's why the chart lists states, not people.
| Montana license | Accepted from | You still need |
|---|---|---|
| Master Electrician | Alabama, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming | The master application, $190 and license verifications. Your state must have required an exam plus 8,000 journeyman-level hours, or an electrical engineering degree plus 2,000 hours. |
| Journeyman Electrician | Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming | The journeyman application, $190 and license verifications. Your state must have required an exam plus an apprenticeship, a union or trade program, 8,000 hours, or 20,000 maintenance hours. |
| Residential Electrician | Alaska, Arkansas, Oregon, Utah | The residential application, $190 and license verifications. Your state must have required an exam plus an apprenticeship, a union or trade program, or 4,000 hours. |
| Electrical Contractor | No reciprocity needed. This license has no exam to skip. | A workers' comp policy that lists Montana, unemployment insurance, and a Montana-licensed master (unlimited license) or journeyman (limited license) working full time as your responsible electrician. The application fee is $210. |
Watch two splits on the chart. Nebraska masters qualify, but Nebraska journeymen don't. Washington journeymen qualify, but Washington residential licenses don't.
Your state says "No"? It isn't automatically the end. Under Montana law (MCA 37-1-304), the Board must still check whether your own training and work history make up the difference.
Marked "No" on Montana's chart? You'll take Montana's PSI exam, which still tests the 2020 NEC. JCR's Montana course preps the Residential, Journeyman and Master exams.
What you get for $495: 100 video lessons, a 152-page workbook, a 500+ question mock exam that also runs online, and permanent code tabs.
What to send the Montana Board
- The application for your level: journeyman, master or residential. The Board recommends applying online through Montana's licensing portal.
- The $190 fee, marked "by reciprocity or endorsement" on the form.
- A verification for every license you hold or ever held, expired ones included. Copies of online verifications are fine.
- Records of any discipline or criminal conviction the personal history questions ask about.
- A license in the same category you're applying for. ARM 24.141.504 requires it.
Montana's board-to-board verification form asks your home board whether you earned the license by exam and what you scored.
Using a Montana license in other states
The journeyman license travels farthest. Each state below sets its own rules, and most want the license earned by exam and held at least 1 year.
| State | Montana license it accepts | You still need |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Montana journeyman or master counts for Alaska's reciprocal Electrician Journeyman certificate. Alaska has no master certificate. | Held a full year. Fees: $50 to apply and $200 for the certificate (Alaska requirements). No exam. |
| Arkansas | Montana journeyman counts for Arkansas journeyman. A Montana master also gets the Arkansas journeyman. | Your original Montana license, earned by exam and held 1 year |
| Colorado | Montana journeyman or master counts for a Colorado journeyman license | Montana state exam passed and license held 1 year. Grandfathered licenses don't count. |
| Idaho | Montana journeyman counts for Idaho journeyman. A Montana master can use Idaho's master reciprocity route. | Journeyman: license earned by exam. $70 fee. Master: license earned by exam and 4 years as a journeyman. $80 fee. Idaho says it may also require a passing score on its PSI master exam. |
| Iowa | Montana journeyman or master counts for Iowa Journeyman Class A | Exam score of 70% or higher, license held 1 year, and you've never failed Iowa's exam |
| Minnesota | Montana journeyman or master counts for Minnesota Class A journeyworker | State exam passed, license held 1 year, no failed Minnesota exam. $50 fee |
| Nebraska | Montana journeyman counts for Nebraska journeyman | 75% or higher on the state exam, license held 1 year. It works once: let the Nebraska license lapse and you must test. |
| New Mexico | Montana journeyman counts for New Mexico's journeyman electrician certificate (EE-98J) | License held 1 year. $75 application fee paid to PSI |
| North Dakota | Montana journeyman counts for North Dakota journeyman | License held 1 year. 8,000 hours under a contracting master. $25 application fee plus $25 license fee |
| Oklahoma | Montana journeyman counts for Oklahoma journeyman | License held 1 year and not grandfathered. Proof of your work history |
| Oregon | Montana journeyman counts for Oregon General Journeyman (J) | A 4-year apprenticeship (576 classroom hours) and 8,000 hours behind your exam |
| South Dakota | Montana journeyman counts for South Dakota journeyman. Montana master counts for South Dakota Electrical Contractor. |
License earned by exam and active 1 year |
| Utah | Montana journeyman counts for Utah journeyman. Montana master counts for Utah master. Montana residential counts for Utah Residential Journeyman. |
License held 1 year. Masters also pass the Utah Master Electrician Law and Rule exam. |
| Wyoming | Montana journeyman counts for Wyoming journeyman | 70% or higher exam score, license held 1 year. 8,000 on-the-job hours, 576 school hours and 16 CE hours. $100 fee. One time only. |
| Vermont | Montana journeyman or master counts for the same Vermont level | 3 years licensed in good standing |
| Virginia | Montana journeyman or master counts for the same Virginia tradesman license, through universal license recognition | License held 1 year and earned by exam. $171.75 fee on the tradesman ULR application. DPOR may require an exam on Virginia law. |
| Louisiana | A Montana electrician exam you passed counts toward a Louisiana contractor license. Louisiana picks the classification. | An exam that wasn't waived or grandfathered. The Louisiana Business and Law course, plus a financial statement with at least $50,000 in net worth. A residential license adds $100,000 of liability coverage and workers' comp. |
Where Montana licenses get turned away
- Texas: Montana isn't on either Texas list. Montana doesn't accept Texas licenses either.
- Washington: its reciprocal certificate is for Oregon licensees only, even though Montana accepts Washington journeymen.
- Wyoming, master level: Wyoming takes masters only from Idaho, Iowa and South Dakota.
- New Hampshire, Maine and Wisconsin: Montana isn't on their lists.
Every other state is in JCR's 50-state reciprocity guide.
Coming from next door? See the Idaho reciprocity guide.
Testing in Montana instead? See how to get a Montana electrical license, or compare exams on the state requirements page.
How to apply for a Montana license by reciprocity
- Find your state and level on the Board's equivalency chart.
- Start an application in Montana's licensing portal and pick the reciprocity or endorsement route.
- Ask every board that ever licensed you for a verification. Upload them, or email them with your application number.
- Answer the personal history questions and attach any records they ask for.
- Pay the $190 fee and watch your email. It's how the Board reaches you.
- Running your own shop? File the electrical contractor application too, with a Montana-licensed responsible electrician.
Montana reciprocity questions
Does Montana have reciprocity with Idaho?
Yes, both ways. Montana accepts Idaho journeyman and master licenses. Idaho lists Montana for journeyman reciprocity, and a Montana master with 4 years as a journeyman can apply under Idaho's master route.
Can I use my Washington journeyman license in Montana?
Yes. Montana lists the Washington journeyman license as a match, so you apply without the exam. It doesn't work in reverse: Washington's reciprocal certificate is for Oregon electricians only.
Does Montana accept a Texas electrical license?
No. The Board marks both Texas journeyman and master licenses "No." You can still ask the Board to weigh your own training and hours under MCA 37-1-304, or take the PSI exam.
Does Montana have reciprocity with Wyoming?
Yes, for journeymen in both directions. Montana also accepts Wyoming masters, but Wyoming won't take a Montana master at the master level.
Will a city electrical license get me a Montana license?
No. Montana's rule (ARM 24.141.504) doesn't count licenses from a city, county or other local government. You need a statewide license or the Montana exam.
Not on Montana's list? Get ready for the PSI exam
Montana's master, journeyman and residential exams still test the 2020 NEC. JCR's Montana self-study course covers code lookups, theory and calculations with video lessons, a digital mock exam and a printed workbook. It's built on the lessons behind a 93% pass rate for JCR classroom students.
The course is $495. Start the videos and practice exams the day you buy, and printed workbooks ship the same business day. Most people finish in 6–8 weeks, about an hour a night.
Want a quick gut check first? Take the free practice quiz.
More Montana guides
Sources JCR used
- Montana Substantial Equivalency Determinations (Aug 2026)
- Montana journeyman checklist and application
- Montana master checklist and application
- Montana electrical contractor checklist
- Montana electrical laws and rules (ARM 24.141.504, .505)
- MCA 37-1-304
- Alaska Mechanical Inspection reciprocity
- Iowa reciprocal agreements (Jan 2026)
- Wyoming electrical licensing
- Louisiana LSLBC reciprocity notice (Oct 2024)
- TDLR out-of-state electricians
- Washington L&I electrician licensing
JCR checked each rule above against the licensing agency's own pages, forms and statutes on October 13, 2026. The Board can change its chart at any meeting, so confirm with the Montana State Electrical Board before you apply.