Electrician License from South Dakota to Illinois: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Illinois accept a South Dakota electrician license?
There is no Illinois state license to transfer into: Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license. Any licensing for this work is handled below the state level (a city, county or contractor-level authority), so check with the authority where you will work.
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Verdict
No state license to transfer
There is nothing to transfer into Illinois, and it has nothing to do with South Dakota: Illinois issues no statewide journeyman or master electrician license. 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). Identify the authority that governs electrical work at your Illinois jobsite and apply there; your South Dakota license and documented hours may count with that authority, but no state agreement applies.
What's different between South Dakota and Illinois
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Illinois. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
South Dakota to Illinois (this page): No state license to transfer.
Illinois to South Dakota (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 South Dakota matter?
Coming from South Dakota does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Illinois.
- 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
Illinois and South Dakota carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Illinois (this 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)
- South Dakota (the reverse 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
What changes, South Dakota → Illinois
| South Dakota (current) | Illinois (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | 8,000 | — |
| Application fee | $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.) | No statewide fee; fees are set by each municipality |
| Processing time | The Electrical Commission does not publish a processing time; no written exam is required under an existing reciprocal agreement | Set by each municipality; there is no statewide process |
| Licensing authority | South Dakota Electrical Commission (Dept. of Labor & Regulation) | No statewide board — electrician licensing is municipal (e.g., City of Chicago Department of Buildings) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Illinois sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Illinois issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no state license to transfer: confirm with the authority linked on this page who licenses the work where you will practice.
- Contact that city, county or contractor-level authority for its own requirements, exams and fees.
- Keep records of your current license, exams and documented experience — a local authority may credit them, but nothing transfers at state level.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Who do I apply to if Illinois has no state journeyman license?
The authority covering your jobsite: the city or county office that licenses individual electricians, where that jurisdiction licenses them at all. Illinois sets no statewide journeyman requirement, so whether that authority credits your South Dakota license and documented experience is its decision — confirm it with the specific Illinois jurisdiction where you will work.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 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)
- 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)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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