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What is a journeyman?

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 11, 2026

Journeyman, journeyworker, journey level: what the word means

The U.S. Department of Labor's rules for registered apprenticeship (29 CFR part 29) use the word "journeyworker." They define it as "a worker who has attained a level of skill, abilities and competencies recognized within an industry as having mastered the skills and competencies required for the occupation." The same rule says the term can also mean a skilled worker who has documented enough skill and knowledge "either through formal apprenticeship or through practical on-the-job experience and formal training."

An apprentice is the learner: "a worker at least 16 years of age, except where a higher minimum age standard is otherwise fixed by law," employed to learn the trade. A registered apprenticeship ends with "an appropriate certificate issued by the Registration Agency" (the Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized state apprenticeship agency). The Department of Labor calls it "a portable, nationally-recognized credential."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts it this way for electricians: "After completing an apprenticeship program, electricians are considered to be journey workers and may perform duties on their own, subject to local or state licensing requirements." That last part is the catch: in many trades, the state (or in some places a city) decides who may work at the journeyman level. To find a program, see how to get an apprenticeship and the Apprenticeship Job Finder. [1][2][7][8]

Journeyman status vs. a journeyman license

Finishing an apprenticeship gives you journeyman status: a completion certificate that shows what you learned. A journeyman license is permission from a state (or city) to do the work. BLS describes plumbers this way: they "complete an apprenticeship program and pass the required licensing exam to become journey-level workers."

States handle the journeyman level in four main ways:

• The state licenses journeymen. Texas issues a Journeyman Electrician license and a Journeyman Plumber license. Georgia issues a Journeyman Plumber license.
• The state uses another name. Washington certifies "general journey level" electricians. Illinois licenses a "plumber" (the level after "apprentice plumber"); its plumbing law has no separate journeyman title.
• The state licenses only contractors. Georgia's 2026 law (Act 472) lists the licenses its divisions issue. For electricians that's "Electrical Contractor Class I" and "Electrical Contractor Class II," and for heating and air conditioning, "Conditioned Air Contractor Class I" and "Class II." There is no journeyman electrician or HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) license.
• Cities do the licensing. For Illinois electricians, the state law we found is a section of the Illinois Municipal Code that lets each municipality "require the registration of electrical contractors." Chicago licenses its own supervising electricians. See our Illinois electrician page.

So "journeyman license" means different things from state to state. Before you plan, check your state's page from the electrician, plumber or HVAC hub. [3][4][5][6][9][10][11][12]

Which trades use it: examples

Electricians

• Texas: a Journeyman Electrician needs "the full 8,000 hours required for licensure" of on-the-job training under a Texas master electrician. You may apply to take the exam at 7,000 hours. More on our Texas electrician page.
• Washington: a general journey level electrician (01) "may perform all types of electrical and telecommunications installations." The exam requires 8,000 hours of experience and 96 hours of basic classroom instruction. More on our Washington electrician page.
• Georgia: no journeyman electrician license; the state licenses electrical contractors only. See our Georgia electrician page.

Plumbers

• Texas: for the Journeyman Plumber exam you need "at least 8,000 hours of experience working in the plumbing trade." You also need a 48-hour board-approved course, or enrollment in or completion of a Department of Labor-approved program. More on our Texas plumber page.
• Georgia: under Act 472 (signed May 11, 2026, effective July 1, 2026), a journeyman plumber needs "one year of full-time experience" under a licensed master plumber and a minimum exam score of 70. The law defines full-time experience as "at least 2,000 hours in a calendar year." More on our Georgia plumber page.
• Illinois: the law lets you take the state exam for a "plumber's license" after at least 4 years as a licensed apprentice plumber under supervision, or after an approved plumbing course at a college, university or trade school. More on our Illinois plumber page.

HVAC

BLS says "some states and localities require HVAC technicians to be licensed." Journeyman titles are less common here:

• Texas: anyone who assists a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor "must register as a technician." A certified technician credential is voluntary and requires 24 months of supervised work or a 2,000-hour approved program plus an exam. See our Texas HVAC page.
• Georgia: licenses only Conditioned Air Contractors (Class I and Class II). See our Georgia HVAC page.

[3][4][5][10][11][13][14][15][16]

What a journeyman can do, compared with an apprentice and a master

Each step up the ladder brings more independence. Texas shows the pattern clearly:

• Texas electrical apprentice: licensed "to perform electrical work under the general supervision of a Master Electrician, Journeyman Electrician, or Residential Wireman."
• Texas journeyman electrician: licensed "to perform electrical work under the general supervision of a Master Electrician."
• Texas master electrician: licensed to install, maintain or extend electrical wiring systems, "including service entrance conductors." You must have held a journeyman license "for at least two years" and have 12,000 hours of supervised training.

Texas plumbing works the same way. An apprentice works under "direct supervision," meaning a licensed plumber "is on the job site with you at all times you are performing plumbing work." A journeyman plumber "may install, change, repair, service, or renovate plumbing under the supervision of a Responsible Master Plumber." A journeyman may also directly supervise an apprentice.

In Washington, trainees work on the same jobsite as their supervising electrician. L&I (Washington State Department of Labor & Industries) says the ratio is generally "1 trainee to 1 general journey level electrician when doing journey level type work."

For more on the master and contractor levels, see journeyman vs. master. [3][4][17][18][19][20]

How your hours are documented

To get a journeyman license you must prove your experience, and the proof usually comes from the licensed person or employer who supervised you. Keep your own record of where you worked, for whom and how many hours.

• Texas electricians: your experience "must be documented and signed by each supervisor on an Experience Verification Form." TDLR (Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation) "may contact individuals to verify the experience."
• Texas plumbers: "You MUST register as a Plumber's Apprentice before you can start counting the hours." Hours worked before you register don't count. Your exam application includes "Employer Certification Form(s)."
• Washington electricians: every two years you request affidavits of experience from your employers. L&I must receive them within 180 days of each expiration date on your training certificate: "YOU WILL LOSE CREDIT FOR YOUR HOURS IF YOUR AFFIDAVIT IS LATE." (The deadline doesn't apply to hours worked in Washington apprenticeship programs or recognized Oregon apprenticeship programs.) Hours don't count if you worked without a training certificate or out of the supervision ratio.
• Georgia plumbers: you submit a signed affidavit from each licensed master plumber who supervised you.

In a registered apprenticeship, the program itself must keep "appropriate progress records." [3][4][5][7][19][20]

The journeyman exam

Every journeyman license in the examples below requires an exam. Testing companies give most of them and publish candidate information; read it before you book. Some examples:

• Texas electrician: run by PSI (a testing company). Since March 11, 2025, the exam has two parts. The NEC (National Electrical Code) Knowledge part is "59 Items (including 3 Non-Scored Items)" in 130 minutes, and the Calculations part is "26 Items (including 2 Non-Scored Items)" in 110 minutes. You need 70% on each part, and the fee is $78. The exam is open book: you bring your own soft-bound copy of the National Electrical Code (NEC), the national wiring rulebook. TDLR's page names the 2026 edition.
• Washington electrician: run by PSI and open book. "You must pass each section of the examination with a score of 70% or greater," and you have one year from your approval letter to pass.
• Texas plumber: a computer-based test at Pearson VUE centers. Apprentices moving up to journeyman also take a practical (hands-on) exam, given at board sites in Austin and Waco. You get up to five attempts at the computer test within one year.
• Georgia plumber: the law requires "a minimum score of 70" on a board-approved exam.

Our state pages give each exam's details. For the apprenticeship entrance test (a different exam), see apprenticeship aptitude test. [5][21][22][23][24]

Your license card

None of the agencies cited on this page calls its license a "journeyman card." What you get is a license, and usually a wallet card to carry on the job. The Texas plumbing board, for example, charges a $40 fee after you pass "to obtain your certificate of licensure and pocket card," and later mentions a "plastic card" mailed after you pay. Washington L&I mails electricians a card after each renewal and asks trainees to "visibly display your certificate while you are on the job."

Licenses also have to be renewed. Texas electrician licenses "must be renewed annually." Washington electrician certificates renew "every 3 years" with 24 hours of continuing education. [3][4][10][20][24]

Moving to another state

A journeyman license usually works only in the state that issued it. Some states have agreements with each other. Washington, for example, says its reciprocal general journey level (01) certificate is "generally available" to people who earned an Oregon general journeyman (J) license through an "8,000-hour Apprenticeship" with at least 576 classroom hours and passed Oregon's exams. Texas lets a journeyman or master plumber licensed in another state apply for the Texas journeyman exam without registering as a Texas apprentice, and skips the 48-hour course for them (the 8,000 hours of experience still apply).

See license reciprocity for how these agreements work and the reciprocity map for which states list which partners. [4][10]

Journeyman requirements by state and trade

From our state pages (each checked against the licensing office's sources). "n/a" means the state doesn't state a journeyman figure in hours, licenses only contractors, or leaves licensing to cities; open the state page for the details.

Step by step

1. Find out who licenses your trade where you live

   It may be the state, a city, or nobody at the journeyman level. Start from your state's page on the electrician, plumber or HVAC hub. [5][6]

2. Register before you start work, if your state requires it

   Texas requires an electrical apprentice license ($20, no exam) and a plumber's apprentice registration ($15, age 16 or older). Washington requires an electrical training certificate (age 16 or older). [17][19][20]

3. Earn supervised hours

   Through a registered apprenticeship or a job under a licensed worker. BLS says most electricians train in a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship with "2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training" a year. See how to get an apprenticeship and helper jobs. [2][7]

4. Finish any required classroom hours

   Examples: 96 hours of basic classroom instruction for Washington's (01) exam, and a 48-hour course for the Texas journeyman plumber exam unless you're in or finished a Department of Labor-approved program. [4][10]

5. Get your hours signed off

   Use the forms your licensing office requires, such as Texas's Experience Verification Form or Washington's affidavits of experience, and meet their deadlines. [3][20]

6. Apply, then pass the exam

   The licensing office approves your application, then you schedule with the testing company (PSI for Texas and Washington electricians, Pearson VUE for Texas plumbers). Texas and Washington electricians need 70%, and Georgia's plumbing law sets a minimum score of 70. [5][21][23][24]

7. Keep the license current

   Renew on time and complete any continuing education: yearly in Texas, every 3 years with 24 hours of education for Washington electricians. [3][10]

Questions people ask