Electrician License from Illinois to South Dakota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does South Dakota accept an Illinois electrician license?
There is no Illinois state license to carry to South Dakota: Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license. South Dakota does license this work, so ask the South Dakota Electrical Commission (Dept. of Labor & 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 South Dakota to verify, endorse or reciprocate. South Dakota does license electricians, through the South Dakota Electrical Commission (Dept. of Labor & 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. No South Dakota examination is required under an existing reciprocal agreement if you hold a license earned by examination in a reciprocal state and have held it in active status for at least one year; applicants from states with no agreement must qualify and sit the South Dakota journeyman exam.
What's different between Illinois and South Dakota
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into South Dakota. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to South Dakota (this page): No state license to transfer.
South Dakota 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 South Dakota.
The others get: licensure by endorsement (23) and reciprocity agreement (14).
- Reciprocity agreements
South Dakota's reciprocity agreement list names 14 states, not including Illinois.
- 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 South Dakota's.
- Experience hours
South Dakota's first-time-applicant standard is 8,000 hours of documented experience for the journeyman license; Illinois sets none at state level because it issues no statewide journeyman electrician license.
- Exam rules on record
South Dakota and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- South Dakota (this move): No South Dakota examination is required under an existing reciprocal agreement if you hold a license earned by examination in a reciprocal state and have held it in active status for at least one year; applicants from states with no agreement must qualify and sit the South Dakota journeyman 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 → South Dakota
| Illinois (current) | South Dakota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | — | 8,000 |
| Application fee | No statewide fee; fees are set by each municipality | $80 (SDCL 36-16-17 sets the biennial journeyman electrician license fee at eighty dollars; the electrical contractor (master-equivalent) biennial fee is $200. Reciprocal applicants pay 'the required fee' (SDCL 36-16-23). The Commission's online portal has been offline since Oct 21, 2025; no separate reciprocal application/processing fee is published on accessible pages.) |
| Processing time | Set by each municipality; there is no statewide process | The Electrical Commission does not publish a processing time; no written exam is required under an existing reciprocal agreement |
| Licensing authority | No statewide board — electrician licensing is municipal (e.g., City of Chicago Department of Buildings) | South Dakota Electrical Commission (Dept. of Labor & Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — South Dakota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Review South Dakota's requirements on the South Dakota Electrical Commission (Dept. of Labor & Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Ask the South Dakota Electrical Commission (Dept. of Labor & 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 South Dakota'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.
- SD Electrical Commission — Reciprocal Agreements for Licensing ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SD Electrical Commission — Licensing (4 yrs / 8,000 hrs) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SDCL 36-16-23 — Reciprocal licenses to electricians from other states ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SDCL 36-16-17 — Biennial license fees ↗ (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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