Electrician License from Illinois to Utah: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Utah accept an Illinois electrician license?
There is no Illinois state license to carry to Utah: Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license. Utah does license this work, so ask the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) — Electrician licensing 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 Utah to verify, endorse or reciprocate. Utah does license electricians, through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) — Electrician licensing, 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. Utah waives its journeyman electrician exam for an out-of-state applicant qualifying by endorsement — i.e., holding a current, active license obtained by examination (minimum 75% score) in a state DOPL determines has substantially similar standards; applicants whose state does not qualify apply 'not by endorsement' and must sit the Utah exam. Master applicants must pass the Utah law-and-rules exam regardless.
What's different between Illinois and Utah
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Utah. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to Utah (this page): No state license to transfer.
Utah 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 Utah.
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 Utah's.
- Experience hours
Utah'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
Utah and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Utah (this move): Utah waives its journeyman electrician exam for an out-of-state applicant qualifying by endorsement — i.e., holding a current, active license obtained by examination (minimum 75% score) in a state DOPL determines has substantially similar standards; applicants whose state does not qualify apply 'not by endorsement' and must sit the Utah exam. Master applicants must pass the Utah law-and-rules exam regardless
- 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 → Utah
| Illinois (current) | Utah (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | — | 8,000 |
| Application fee | No statewide fee; fees are set by each municipality | DOPL's fee schedule lists the electrician license application fee (DOPL page content indicates roughly $110 initial, ~$78 renewal); the official fee-schedule PDF and DOPL application pages returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval, so the exact current amount is not reproduced here — verify on the DOPL fee schedule |
| Processing time | Set by each municipality; there is no statewide process | DOPL does not publish a fixed processing time for licensure by endorsement |
| Licensing authority | No statewide board — electrician licensing is municipal (e.g., City of Chicago Department of Buildings) | Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) — Electrician licensing |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Utah sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Review Utah's requirements on the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) — Electrician licensing website (linked below) — rules change.
- Ask the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) — Electrician licensing 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 Utah'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.
- Oregon BCD — signed Utah/Oregon Journeyman & Master reciprocal agreement (Utah endorsement terms: without exam, 75%+, current/active, 8,000 hrs) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Utah DOPL — Journeyman Electrician, Out-of-State Applicants Applying by Endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Utah DOPL — Division fee schedule ↗ (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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