# Journeyman's License Requirements in NJ?



## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

PDA22 said:


> hey guys, having some trouble finding the requirements for the NJ journeyman's license. are any of you from nj and have your license? is there any website i could go to that breaks it down state-by-state?i am mainly looking for the basics; length of apprenticeship, testing, insurance....



There was a similar question regarding PA awhile back the rules for PA and NJ are almost the same.(except NJ has state wide licensing and PA doesn't)

Here was the answer I provided for the PA question,hopefully this will help you out.



> A P.W. job is prevailing wage's.Government jobs that pay a defined wage(usually the local unions Journeyman wage and benefit package).
> Davis-Bacon by State
> In PA. This is how it works,to be an apprentice(as an official title.)You have to be enrolled in a state approved apprenticeship and registered as such with the PA dept. of labor.This is accomplished two ways.First way is to be enrolled in a local unions apprenticeship program.The second way is to be enrolled in the ABC's apprenticeship.The IECA is another organization but I don't think they offer an apprenticeship program.After completion of the apprenticeship you become a journeyman electrician and receive a journeyman card.
> 
> ...


Basically just swap PA for NJ and there your requirements.AS for each states requirements you'll have to do a little searching on google for that one.

This is probably pretty close for jersey,As I have worked in both NJ and Pennsy.


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

NJ has no real journeyman/master license.

Local 164 was lobbying for some journeyman certification that they had their members get in an attempt to promote the union men, but it didn't go anywhere. AFAIK it's on the books but its not enforced.

It's a big joke. In NJ they ban or restrict EVERYTHING, you can't even possess a slingshot anywhere in the state, yet there are no restrictions for being an electrician. 

The only license is for Electrical Contractors, but that only helps when dealing with a small shop in which the owner/license holder is also a worker. In any other case the electrician doing the work doesn't hold any type of license, certification, or any thing requiring a minimum of experience/skill.

I wish they would start a journeymen program and also raise the contractor license experience requirement to 10 years. I don't think 5 years of apprenticeship is enough for a person to go out and be an EC on his own.

That's just my opinion, but I think most of the current NJ EC's would agree. I know a lot of union men who finished their 5 year apprenticeship and went for their EC license. They paid the money for the material and study courses and got their licenses. Some of these guys are glorified laborers and coffee boys. Other's are competent electrician, but still not at the level that they should be in order to run a contracting company, IMO.


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

slickvic277 said:


> There was a similar question regarding PA awhile back the rules for PA and NJ are almost the same.(except NJ has state wide licensing and PA doesn't)
> 
> Here was the answer I provided for the PA question,hopefully this will help you out.
> 
> ...


That is no way at all ANYTHING like NJ's license.

If you don't know why would you give the guy a wrong answer?

Bad contact answer was what NJ's is.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

robnj772 said:


> That is no way at all ANYTHING like NJ's license.
> 
> If you don't know why would you give the guy a wrong answer?
> 
> Bad contact answer was what NJ's is.


"The only thing that is required to do electrical work in NJ. is either hold an electrical license and insurance OR work under someone who holds a license. "


There I just swapped PA for NJ so what did I miss besides bonding and cont.education?


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

slickvic277 said:


> "The only thing that is required to do electrical work in NJ. is either hold an electrical license and insurance OR work under someone who holds a license. "
> 
> 
> There I just swapped PA for NJ so what did I miss besides bonding and cont.education?


The bonding and CE are only a requirement for the EC, not the Journeyman.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

To work in Jersey as an electrical contractor you need the electrical license plus bonding and insurance,Right?

To work as an electrician you don't need either as long as the contractor(that your employed by) has them,Right?

There's no journeyman requirements to work in Jersey except for prevailing wage jobs,Right?


So what did I miss?


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

BadContact said:


> The bonding and CE are only a requirement for the EC, not the Journeyman.


That's what I said.


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

slickvic277 said:


> There's no journeyman requirements to work in Jersey except for prevailing wage jobs,Right?


There is no journeyman requirement on PW jobs at all. The only requirement is that you are not an apprentice. If you are ANYTHING except an apprentice (meaning a laborer, a car washer, a homeless drunk bum) you are entitled to PW pay as a journeyman.


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

slickvic277 said:


> That's what I said.


Oh, the thread is about Journeyman, not EC's.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

slickvic277 said:


> To work in Jersey as an electrical contractor you need the electrical license plus bonding and insurance,Right?
> 
> To work as an electrician you don't need either as long as the contractor(that your employed by) has them,Right?
> 
> ...


This is exactly the same for PA except we don't have a state wide license(stupid I know) and some municipalities don't require a license for residential work(again stupid)...

So like I said pretty much the same for both Pa and Jersey.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

BadContact said:


> There is no journeyman requirement on PW jobs at all. The only requirement is that you are not an apprentice. If you are ANYTHING except an apprentice (meaning a laborer, a car washer, a homeless drunk bum) you are entitled to PW pay as a journeyman.





Then there is some PW work were apprentices are not allowed and they require a journeyman card for all electricians.

But I see what you mean when you say "no journeyman requirement"


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

BadContact said:


> Oh, the thread is about Journeyman, not EC's.



:laughing: oops isn't there egg on my face.


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

slickvic277 said:


> :laughing: oops isn't there egg on my face.


It's ok, I'm not going to yell at you like rob did.


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

BadContact said:


> NJ has no real journeyman/master license.
> 
> Local 164 was lobbying for some journeyman certification that they had their members get in an attempt to promote the union men, but it didn't go anywhere. AFAIK it's on the books but its not enforced.
> 
> ...


Well, there might not be a "journeymen" class for non-union workers, but there's no way ANYONE gets paid as an electrician if they don't know what they're doing after 5 years. After they do their 5 years of working under a licensed EC they still have pass a pretty difficult test and no one passes that test unless they know their way around the code book. I think it's safe to say that yes after 5 years most electricians may know the book but don't have enough practical experience. Nobody knows everything, but to run a business you pretty much need to know almost everything.


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

Magnettica said:


> After they do their 5 years of working under a licensed EC they still have pass a pretty difficult test


What test does a journeyman electrician have to pass in NJ? Where is that requirement? 



> I think it's safe to say that yes after 5 years most electricians may know the book but don't have enough practical experience. Nobody knows everything, but to run a business you pretty much need to know almost everything.


Agreed.


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## ColoradoMaster3768 (Jan 16, 2010)

Speaking of licensing in PA, does Erie, PA still administer a closed book test? As I recall that test (circa 1984) it had multiple fill-in-the-blank questions, and unless I'm mistaken, if you missed one part of a question, you missed the whole question. I had heard that someone sued Erie to have a professional testing agency administer the test. Don't know if that's fact, or the outcome of it if the suit actually happened. 

...Man that was was one rough test. No doubt it was one of the roughest tests I've ever taken. Almost as rough as getting to the test site -- up hill both ways, barefoot in snow up to your chest...


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

BadContact said:


> What test does a journeyman electrician have to pass in NJ? Where is that requirement?



There isn't one. The only way to validate your experience is to get the license and electricians in NJ can do that after 5 years of working power and lighting systems. I think that's a good thing.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

ColoradoMaster3768 said:


> Speaking of licensing in PA, does Erie, PA still administer a closed book test? As I recall that test (circa 1984) it had multiple fill-in-the-blank questions, and unless I'm mistaken, if you missed one part of a question, you missed the whole question. I had heard that someone sued Erie to have a professional testing agency administer the test. Don't know if that's fact, or the outcome of it if the suit actually happened.
> 
> ...Man that was was one rough test. No doubt it was one of the roughest tests I've ever taken. Almost as rough as getting to the test site -- up hill both ways, barefoot in snow up to your chest...


I get a lot of crap from people on the 'net about not having a state license, but they don't understand that your experience in Erie is somewhat normal here in PA. Instead of getting to take one standardized test from an actual testing company, I get to take a multitude of local tests; some designed by Satan himself to fail you.


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

PDA22 said:


> hey guys, having some trouble finding the requirements for the NJ journeyman's license. are any of you from nj and have your license? is there any website i could go to that breaks it down state-by-state?i am mainly looking for the basics; length of apprenticeship, testing, insurance....


Here you go
*N.J.A.C​​​​. 13:31-5.1 Registration as qualified journeyman electrician​
*The term “Qualified Journeyman Electrician” as used in N.J.S.A. 45:5A-18(k) or N.J.A.C. 13:31-3.4 shall mean and include any person
who is either: (1) The holder of a current valid license to practice electrical contracting issued by the Board; or (2) A person who has
acquired 8,000 hours of practical experience working with tools in the installation, alteration, or repair of wiring for electric light, heat
or power and who has had a minimum of 576 classroom hours of related instruction. The requirement of practical experience shall not
include time spent in supervising, engineering, estimating, and other managerial tasks. At least 4,000 hours of the practical experience
shall have been obtained within five years of the date of application; or (3) A person who can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board
that he or she has gathered the required experience through alternative means.
A nonrefundable application filing fee of $60.00, in the form of a check or money order made out to the State of New Jersey, must be
submitted with this application.​ 
http://www.nj.gov/lps/ca/electric/journeyman.pdf

Despite what most think NJ does have a journeyman program
IMHO it is just a way to extort $60 from somebody BUT with work being the way it is these days this might not be bad idea to get


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

robnj772 said:


> Despite what most think NJ does have a journeyman program
> IMHO it is just a way to extort $60 from somebody BUT with work being the way it is these days this might not be bad idea to get


That's the program that I mentioned IBEW Local 164 was pushing, they had their guys get the license and were lobbying to make it mandatory so they could say that all their guys had it. 

But it didn't work and no one cares about it today.

The experience and training requirements for that journeyman license seem to be the same as for the electrical contractor license. That makes a lot of sense


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

Sounds like the unions up to some shenanigans


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

You just have to prove that you have worked the min hours under a Contractor. There is no test.Some people just can't pass the test. I passed on the first shot but there were alot of guys who were taking it over for the countless time.It is kinda stupid but if someone was trying to get a job somewhere it would look good a Resume.


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

Magnettica said:


> Sounds like the unions up to some shenanigans


Yea they tried to pass it while Corslime was in office.

There was some kind of a worker to Journeyman ratio they wanted.

It would have been nice in some ways. A contractor wouldn't be able to pump a job full of ******** without having atleast one qualifed guy on site.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

BadContact said:


> It's ok, I'm not going to yell at you like rob did.



Your still new here.That's how we communicate.:thumbup:


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

slickvic277 said:


> Your still new here.That's how we communicate.:thumbup:


He is not new. He is the troll that might be Peter D. Every week has has a new name.

Forgery,jackboot,live wire,bad splice. ETC ETC ETC.


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## BadContact (Mar 28, 2010)

robnj772 said:


> He is not new. He is the troll that might be Peter D.


 I am PeterD.


> Forgery,jackboot,live wire,bad splice. ETC ETC ETC.


Who is live wire??


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