Kansas to Oregon: master electrician license reciprocity
Kansas does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Oregon'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.
Examination with credit for out-of-state journeyman experience (all non-reciprocal states)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A master or journeyman electrician licensed in a state without an Oregon supervising-level agreement applies for the General Supervising Electrician license on the standard Electrical License Application. The applicant must either hold an Oregon General Journeyman license or meet the Oregon journeyman qualifications (which accept out-of-state classroom and on-the-job hours), and must document an additional 8,000 hours of on-the-job journeyman experience. ORS 479.630 phrases this as at least four years of experience as a general journeyman electrician or its equivalent. The Oregon supervising exam is required: four hours, two sections, 52 code questions and 12 calculation questions, open book, 75 percent to pass.
The License Directory notes that the 300 percent rule applies when documenting journeyman hours. A separate application or exam fee could not be confirmed from a machine-readable official source; the License Directory lists only the $100 license fee.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Typical processing
- About 21 days
What you must already have
- Hold an Oregon General Journeyman license, or meet the Oregon General Journeyman qualifications (576 classroom hours plus 8,000 on-the-job hours, or 16,000 on-the-job hours)
- You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.
What you'll do to get licensed in Oregon
- 1License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($100). General Supervising Electrician license fee (three-year license).
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Oregon General Supervising Electrician exam: 4 hours, 2 sections (52 code questions, 12 calculation questions), open book; minimum score 75 percent.
Published fees on this path total $100, 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.
- Trade exam
How Oregon licenses master electricians
Oregon master electrician · “General Supervising Electrician (S)”
Statewide license
Issued by Oregon Building Codes Division (Department of Consumer and Business Services)
Oregon does not use the title "master electrician"; its closest equivalent is the General Supervising Electrician (S) license, which authorizes the holder to design, plan and lay out electrical work, sign permits, and direct, supervise or control the installation or alteration of an electrical service. It is treated here as the master level. An applicant must hold or qualify for the Oregon General Journeyman license, document an additional 8,000 hours of journeyman-level experience, and pass the Oregon supervising exam. Oregon has signed supervising-level reciprocity agreements with Arkansas and Utah only; master electricians from other states go through the standard application and exam. Licenses renew every three years on October 1 with 24 hours of continuing education.
Why Kansas has nothing to transfer
Kansas master electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Kansas does not issue a master electrician license; the master credential exists only at the county and city level under the framework in K.S.A. 12-1525 to 12-1527. State law requires a master certificate of competency to rest on a valid journeyman certificate held for at least two years plus a passing score of 75% on an ICC, IAPMO or Prometric standard master exam, and makes that certificate valid proof of competency in every Kansas jurisdiction that licenses electricians. Sedgwick County/Wichita (MABCD) issues master electrician certificates ($35) to certified journeymen with two more years of field experience who pass ICC 554/KGD/F16/G16/T16; Kansas City, Kansas licenses master electricians after four years of experience including two years of commercial or industrial work; Lawrence certifies masters with four years of field experience or two years as a journeyman ($20); and Johnson County uses the ICC Standard Master Electrician exam (554/KGD) to qualify the individual behind a Class DE electrical contractor license ($325 for a new license). None of these jurisdictions has a reciprocity agreement with another state - MABCD states it does not reciprocate with other jurisdictions - so an out-of-state master's advantage is limited to submitting an already-passed ICC master exam score (Johnson County and MABCD accept the ICC national master exams) and documented experience in place of retesting.
How local licensing works in Kansas
How local licensing works. Kansas has no state master electrician license. K.S.A. 12-1526(f) requires applicants for a master certificate to have held a valid journeyman certificate for at least two years, and 12-1525 designates the ICC, IAPMO and Prometric master exams (75% minimum). A master certificate of competency earned on a standard exam is accepted for licensure in any other Kansas county or city without re-examination; a license based on a local alternative exam is valid only in that jurisdiction unless a reciprocal agreement exists (12-1527).
Sedgwick County and Wichita (MABCD). Master electrician certificate: current electrical journeyman certificate plus two years of field experience as a certified journeyman, and a 75% score on ICC 554, KGD, F16, G16 or T16 Master Electrician. New certificate $35, two-year term, renewal $35 with six trade and six general CEUs. An electrical contractor license additionally needs a qualified person holding the master certificate, $300,000 general liability insurance naming MABCD, and 12 hours of CE per renewal; trade contractor licenses expire December 31 of odd years. MABCD states it does not reciprocate with other jurisdictions or with state testing.
Johnson County. The county licenses electrical contractors (Class DE, electrical services only) rather than individual masters. The company's Qualifying Individual must show a passing score on the ICC Standard Master Electrician exam (554 or KGD, Pearson VUE); the county accepts equivalent ICC, Prometric, ETS-subsidiary and IAPMO exams and may recognize ICC National exams with a verified score of 75% or higher. Fees: $100 application plus $225 per license type ($325 for one new license), $225 renewal, $75 late fee; eight hours of CE per classification per year for the Qualifying Individual.
Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government). Code sec. 8-158: no one may work as a master electrician without a Unified Government master electrician's license. Applicants must be 21 and document one year of experience planning, laying out and supervising electrical installations plus three additional years under a licensed electrical contractor or master electrician, at least two of them in commercial or industrial work; an approved post-high-school electrical course earns up to two years' credit. Testing is through Prometric via the Building Inspection division; fees and reciprocity are not published.
Lawrence. Master electrician certification requires four years of practical field experience or two years as a journeyman, verified by notarized employer statements, and a 75% score on the K.S.A. standard exam ($50 exam application); license $20, renewal $10, six hours of CE per year. Certificates of competency from other Kansas jurisdictions are accepted.
Out-of-state masters. No interstate reciprocity is published anywhere in Kansas. A master who already passed an ICC master exam elsewhere should present the score (Sedgwick County lists the national ICC 554/F16/G16/T16 exams; Johnson County will consider ICC National scores of 75%+) with experience documentation; otherwise the ICC or Prometric master exam must be taken through a sponsoring Kansas jurisdiction, after which the certificate is portable statewide.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Oregon master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Kansas?
- Yes. Oregon requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Oregon master electrician license from Kansas?
- Published fees on this path total $100, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Kansas work hours count in Oregon?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Oregon's eligibility requirements.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 21 days.
- Does it work the other way, from Oregon to Kansas?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Oregon to Kansas, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Oregon Building Codes Division - Apply for an electrical license · Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Building Codes Division · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Application steps for individual electrical licenses; notes that reciprocal agreements exist only for the General Supervising Electrician and General Journeyman Electrician licenses, so the LME has no reciprocity.
- Building Codes Division - Reciprocal licenses · Oregon Building Codes Division (DCBS) · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Lists reciprocal states per license type: General Journeyman (J): Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Utah, Washington, Wyoming; General Supervising (S): Arkansas, Utah. States the apprenticeship/8,000-hour qualification and the Washington-specific apprenticeship condition.
- OAR chapter 918, division 30 - General licensing requirements · OAR 918-030-0020, 918-030-0045 · Oregon Secretary of State · Admin Rule · verified September 14, 2026918-030-0020: an applicant required to pass a written examination must score at least 75 percent.
- OAR chapter 918, division 282 - Electrical licensing · OAR 918-282-0140, 918-282-0170 · Oregon Secretary of State · Admin Rule · verified September 14, 2026918-282-0170 general journeyman experience categories (8,000 hours); 918-282-0140 general supervising electrician (licensed journeyman documents 8,000 additional journeyman hours).
- ORS chapter 479 - Protection of Buildings from Fire and Electrical Hazards · ORS 479.630, 479.632, 479.840 · Oregon Legislature · Statute · verified September 14, 2026479.630: general journeyman requires four years as apprentice or equivalent and a written exam; general supervising requires four years as general journeyman or equivalent and a written exam. 479.632: the board may refuse to examine an applicant whose out-of-state training or experience is not equivalent.
- Oregon License Directory - General Supervising Electrician (S) · Oregon Secretary of State / Building Codes Division · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Eligibility: Oregon journeyman license or journeyman qualifications plus 8,000 additional journeyman hours; exam 4 hours, 2 sections, 52 code + 12 calculation questions, open book; license fee $100. Page last updated 01/23/2026.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.