Indiana to Minnesota: master electrician license reciprocity
Indiana does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Minnesota's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Out-of-state master without a reciprocity agreement
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A master electrician licensed in a state that is not on Minnesota's master reciprocity list gets no exam waiver and qualifies by examination like any other candidate. Out-of-state experience does count: Minn. R. 3800.3520 credits electrical work performed outside Minnesota that DLI determines is substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor, documented on the Work Experience Verification form by each employer. The applicant must meet one of the subd. 1 qualifications (a four-year electrical engineering degree, at least one year of experience as a licensed journeyworker, or at least five years of planning, laying out, supervising and installing experience, 60 months under the rule tables), file the Personal Electrical License Examination Application with the $50 fee (marking 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' and attaching a copy of the license), and pass the Class A Master exam. The license fee is paid separately once the exam is passed. Minnesota has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.
Whether experience as a journeyworker licensed by another state satisfies the 'one year as a licensed journeyworker' route was not confirmed from an official page; the five-year experience route is available regardless. The initial license fee is prorated to the February odd-year expiration from the statutory base of $40 per year plus a $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7); DLI's licensing page states the amount is determined after the exam is passed.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must document at least 60 months of qualifying work experience.At least 60 months of qualifying experience under Minn. R. 3800.3520 (including planning, laying out and supervising), or one year as a licensed journeyworker, or a four-year electrical engineering degree (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 1). Out-of-state work is credited when DLI finds it substantially equivalent.
What you'll do to get licensed in Minnesota
- 1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($50). Application and examination fee (non-refundable), Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 1.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Minnesota Class A Master Electrician written examination administered by DLI.
- 3Other. Electrical Work Experience Verification form completed by each employer (or original engineering transcript), plus a copy of the out-of-state license.
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Class A Master license fee on approval, prorated from $40 per year plus $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7).
Published fees on this path total $50, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Exam fee · $50
- Trade exam
How Minnesota licenses master electricians
Minnesota master electrician · “Class A Master Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Board of Electricity
Minnesota issues a statewide, person-held Class A Master Electrician license through DLI; the separate electrical contractor license is a business license that must employ a master, and is not covered here. A new master applicant qualifies under Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 1 with a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year of experience as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of experience planning, laying out, supervising and installing electrical systems (60 months under Minn. R. 3800.3520), pays the $50 application and examination fee, and passes the DLI-administered written exam. Reciprocity agreements under subd. 20 waive the exam for master electricians from Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Master licenses expire on the last day of February of each odd-numbered year and renewal requires 16 hours of continuing education, 12 of them on the NEC.
Why Indiana has nothing to transfer
Indiana master electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Indiana has no statewide master electrician or electrical contractor license and no state electrical board; the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency's list of regulated professions contains no electrical trade. The master-level credential exists only at the local level and under varying names: Indianapolis/Marion County licenses Electrical Contractors whose craft license holder has passed the city's exam, Allen County (Fort Wayne) issues an Electrical Supervisors License that it expressly treats as a master electrician license, Evansville and Bloomington license Master Electricians by local examination, and South Bend and Terre Haute license electrical contractors on proof of a passing ICC National Master Electrician (or Experior/master) exam score. An out-of-state master electrician license carries no state-level recognition in Indiana and none of the major jurisdictions publish a formal reciprocity path for other states' licenses; a master must apply in each city or county where they will pull permits, which in practice means holding an ICC national master exam score or passing the local exam, then meeting that jurisdiction's bond and insurance requirements.
How local licensing works in Indiana
How local licensing works. Indiana regulates plumbers at the state level but has never created a state electrician or electrical contractor license. Each city or county building department decides whether and how to license electrical contractors and master-level electricians, and there is no statewide portability rule. Several jurisdictions accept the ICC National Standard Master Electrician exam as the qualifying test, which makes an ICC score the most portable credential inside the state.
Indianapolis / Marion County. The Department of Business and Neighborhood Services issues an Electrical Contractor license to a business that has at least one electrical craft license holder who has passed the required examination (contact the Trade Board & Licensing Coordinator for the exam); a license holder may be connected to only one partnership, LLC or corporation. The packet requires proof of business registration, a certificate of insurance ($500,000 per occurrence bodily injury and $100,000 property damage, or $500,000 combined) naming the Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County as additional insured, workers' compensation coverage or an Indiana exemption certificate (Ohio-based companies need an Indiana Certificate of Compliance), and a $10,000 license or permit surety bond expiring 12/31/2027. 2026 fees: new license holder $377 (applied for January-June 2026), $283 (July-December 2026) or $189 (2027); new business license $247, $185 or $124; business and license-holder renewals $247 each; more than five authorized agents $63 each. Licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years.
Fort Wayne / Allen County. The Building Department's Electrical Supervisors License requires four years and 7,000 hours as a journeyman (or eight years and 14,000 hours of documented OJT plus 30 days as a licensed journeyman) and a passing examination; the holder 'shall be considered a master electrician' and may qualify a business for the Electrical Contractors Business Registration ($90; supervisor license $25). Section H of the rules grants licensing reciprocity subject to the trade's reciprocity guidelines and the minimum qualifications, and allows the Building Commissioner to grant reciprocity at his discretion to applicants who present the necessary credentials.
Evansville. The Building Commission licenses Master Electricians (persons, firms or corporations installing or contracting to install electrical wiring and equipment). Applicants submit three notarized letters on letterhead proving at least four years of experience, are approved by the trade board to test, sit the exam through Ivy Tech and must score 75% or higher on each part, then receive a provisional license on paying the $300 fee and providing insurance and a surety bond; the Licensing and Disciplinary Board gives final approval. Renewal is $225 with a $25 late fee after January 31.
South Bend. The Building Department licenses electrical contractors after review of an application showing at least 21 years of age, four years of experience verified by employer letters (or business tax records), and a passing score of at least 70% on the ICC National Master Electrician exam (F16-N) via Pearson Vue or Prometric or a comparable nationally recognized exam approved by the Board of Examiners; a $5,000 surety bond naming the City of South Bend/St. Joseph County, workers' compensation proof, a $50 application review fee and $125 annual registration are required. South Bend issues reciprocal letters ($70) only to municipalities that accept the ICC master exams and cannot guarantee acceptance elsewhere.
Terre Haute. Commercial and residential electrical contractor licenses are issued to businesses; a full-time employee must have passed the Experior Assessment master electrician exam or equivalent for the commercial license (master, journeyman or residential exam for the residential license), proven by a letter from the testing agency. General contractor registration requirements also apply: a $10,000 bond on the city's form and $500,000/$100,000 insurance naming the city; a non-owner master signs a letter accepting responsibility as designated supervisor.
Bloomington. A city ordinance makes it unlawful to engage in electrical contracting without a city license and creates a Board for the Examination and Registration of Electricians that examines and licenses master electricians; current fees were not confirmed from the archived ordinance.
Out-of-state holders. No jurisdiction reviewed publishes reciprocity for another state's master or contractor license. Allen County has a discretionary reciprocity clause; South Bend and Terre Haute accept ICC/Experior national exam scores regardless of where they were earned; Indianapolis and Evansville require their own examinations. Expect to license separately in each jurisdiction and to meet each one's bond and insurance rules.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Minnesota master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Indiana?
- Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Minnesota master electrician license from Indiana?
- Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Indiana work hours count in Minnesota?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Minnesota's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to Indiana?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to Indiana, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Minnesota DLI - Personal Electrical License Examination Application and Work Experience Verification Form · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Form · verified September 15, 2026Exam application fee $50.00, non-refundable. Has a checkbox for applicants 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' (copy of license required). Experience is verified per employer on the Work Experience Verification form; credit capped at 160 hours per month / 2,000 hours per year and must qualify under Minn. Stat. 326B.33 and Minn. R. 3800.3520. Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is an alternative qualification for the Master A exam.
- Minnesota DLI - Experience requirements for an electrical license · Minn. R. 3800.3520; Minn. Stat. 326B.33 · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Class A Journeyworker: 48 months minimum (24 months wiring/installing); Class A Master: 60 months minimum. Up to one year of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Electrical work performed outside Minnesota counts if the department determines it substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor; foreign-country experience capped at 12 months.
- Minnesota DLI - Electrical licensing basics · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Journeyworker and master licenses both require passing a written exam after documenting experience; exam application fee $50. Work experience credit is given for verifiable electrical work performed in another state. Journeyworker licenses expire every two years (renewal $53); master licenses expire the last day of February of odd-numbered years (renewal $93); 16 hours of CE per cycle including 12 on the NEC.
- Minnesota DLI - Electrical license reciprocity · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the Class A Journeyworker reciprocity states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming) and the Class A Master reciprocity states (Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska); the eligibility bullets (license obtained by state-level exam, held at least one year, current and in good standing, no failed Minnesota exam of the same or greater class, no pending denial/suspension/revocation); and the $50 application fee plus the license fee due on approval.
- Minnesota Rules 3800.3520 - Experience requirements for electrical licenses · Minn. R. 3800.3520 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Sets the month-by-category experience tables (48 months journeyworker, 60 months master) and allows credit for electrical work performed outside Minnesota that the department determines is substantially equivalent to work in the employ of a Minnesota licensed contractor, based on employer certification. Military experience is credited on the same basis; foreign experience is capped at 12 months.
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.092 - License fees and license renewal fees · Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subds. 1, 7 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: application and examination fee of $50, separate from the license fee. Subd. 7: base license fee journeyworker $20 per year ($40 for two years), master $40 per year ($80 for two years), plus a $4 per year board fee and a $5 continuing-education fee on renewal.
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 - Electrical licenses and registration · Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subds. 1, 2, 20 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: Class A master requires a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of planning/laying out/supervising/installing experience. Subd. 2: Class A journeyworker requires four years of experience (one year credit for approved coursework). Subd. 20: the commissioner may enter into reciprocity agreements with another state if approved by the Board of Electricity, and may then issue a personal license without exam to an applicant who holds a valid comparable license obtained under a statewide program with comparable exam and experience, has held it continuously for at least one year, and has not failed the same or greater class Minnesota exam or had such a license revoked or suspended.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.