Electrician License from Illinois to Delaware: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Delaware accept an Illinois electrician license?
There is no Illinois state license to carry to Delaware: Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license. Delaware does license this work, so ask the Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) whether it credits a local license or your documented experience; otherwise you qualify as a new applicant.
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Verdict
No state license to transfer
The issue on this move is the starting point: Illinois issues no statewide journeyman or master electrician license, so there is no Illinois state license for Delaware to verify, endorse or reciprocate. Delaware does license electricians, through the Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation), and it licenses out-of-state electricians by endorsement — but that route starts from a state license. Ask the board, in writing, whether it credits a local Illinois license or your documented hours; otherwise plan for its new-applicant route and exam. Delaware waives its journeyperson exam when the jurisdiction where you hold a current license has requirements the Board finds substantially similar (that state must require at least 4 years of full-time experience under a licensed master electrician plus a licensing test); applicants from non-substantially-similar jurisdictions must either show 5 years of full-time licensed practice or pass the Delaware journeyperson exam.
What's different between Illinois and Delaware
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Delaware. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to Delaware (this page): No state license to transfer.
Delaware to Illinois (the reverse move): No state license to transfer.
Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so neither direction is a state-license transfer.
- Does coming from Illinois matter?
Coming from Illinois matters here: only 13 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Delaware.
The others get: licensure by endorsement (37).
- Fee and processing
Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no Illinois state license application fee or processing time to compare with Delaware's.
- Exam rules on record
Delaware and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Delaware (this move): Delaware waives its journeyperson exam when the jurisdiction where you hold a current license has requirements the Board finds substantially similar (that state must require at least 4 years of full-time experience under a licensed master electrician plus a licensing test); applicants from non-substantially-similar jurisdictions must either show 5 years of full-time licensed practice or pass the Delaware journeyperson exam
- Illinois (the reverse move): Illinois has no statewide electrician license, so there is no state exam to waive or transfer; each municipality sets its own exam and licensing rules (for example, the City of Chicago administers its own Supervising Electrician examination through Continental Testing Services)
What changes, Illinois → Delaware
| Illinois (current) | Delaware (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | No statewide fee; fees are set by each municipality | $105 (Journeyperson application fee is $105 (Master $203). The biennial renewal fee is set at renewal time and not published as a fixed figure) |
| Processing time | Set by each municipality; there is no statewide process | No published timeframe; a reciprocity application requiring Board review is decided at the next scheduled Board meeting |
| Licensing authority | No statewide board — electrician licensing is municipal (e.g., City of Chicago Department of Buildings) | Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Delaware sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Review Delaware's requirements on the Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Ask the Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) whether it credits a local Illinois license or your documented experience: Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no state license to verify.
- Otherwise apply as a new applicant: meet Delaware's education/experience requirements and pass the exams it requires.
- Submit the application with fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Delaware Code Title 24 Ch. 14, Subchapter II (licensure and reciprocity, incl. substantially-similar and 5-year provisions) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Delaware DPR — Journeyperson Electrician (reciprocity pathway, exam waiver) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Delaware DPR — Board of Electrical Examiners FAQs (substantially-similar criteria: 4 years + licensing test) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Delaware DPR — Electrician Fee Schedule (journeyperson $105) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- City of Chicago — Trade Licensing (Department of Buildings) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- City of Chicago — Supervising Electrician License (municipal exam/licensing) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- City of Chicago — Electrical Contractor License ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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