Louisiana to Texas: master electrician license reciprocity
Texas has a reciprocity agreement with Louisiana: a Louisiana master electrician can get a Texas license without retaking the trade exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Reciprocal agreement with Louisiana (master)
A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.
Texas has a long-standing master-level reciprocity agreement with Louisiana; TDLR recognizes the Louisiana state contractor's license as equivalent to a Texas master electrician license. A Louisiana licensee who passed Louisiana's statewide exam, has held the license in good standing for at least one year, has 12,000 hours under a master electrician, and held a journeyman license for at least two years receives a Texas Master Electrician license without taking the Texas exam. Apply with the Master Electrician by Reciprocity form, a copy of the Louisiana license, a letter of good standing, and the $45 fee.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- Your Louisiana license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
- You must have held your Louisiana license for at least 1 year.Reciprocal license (Louisiana state contractor's license) held at least one year
- Your Louisiana license must be active and in good standing.
- You must document at least 12,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Under the supervision of a master electrician
- Held a journeyman electrician license for at least 2 years
What you'll do to get licensed in Texas
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($45). Master Electrician by Reciprocity application fee (non-refundable).
- 2Other. Copy of the state-issued license and a letter of good standing / certification from the Louisiana licensing authority.
Published fees on this path total $45, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
How Texas licenses master electricians
Texas master electrician · “Master Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)
Texas issues a statewide Master Electrician license through TDLR. A new applicant must have held a journeyman electrician license for at least two years, have 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a master electrician (TDLR's application page specifies a Texas-licensed master), and pass the PSI-administered master exam. TDLR has master-level reciprocity agreements with seven states, four of them added between December 2025 and June 2026; qualifying licensees are licensed without the Texas exam. Licenses are valid for one year and renewed annually.
Why Louisiana has nothing to transfer
Louisiana master electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Louisiana does not issue a statewide master electrician license. The state-level credential for electrical work is the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) commercial license with the Electrical classification, mandatory for any electrical project of $10,000 or more; it is a contractor license issued to the business (or to a sole proprietor) and qualified by a natural person, the qualifying party, who passed the Electrical trade exam through PSI, so it is treated here as a business license rather than a person-held master credential, even though Texas recognizes the Louisiana statewide license as master-equivalent. Master electrician licenses exist only at the local level: New Orleans issues a Class 'A' Master Electrical License ($125 per year) to an applicant who passed the ICC F49 Electrical Contractor exam or holds the LSLBC statewide license as its qualifying party, carries $500,000 of general liability insurance, and is the only Class 'A' holder for the company; Jefferson Parish issues a parish trade contractor license ($200) built on the state license. For the state contractor license the LSLBC waives the trade exam for any applicant who passed a comparable classification exam in any other state, with no partner-state list since October 23, 2024, but the Business and Law course/exam, the financial statement and the other licensing requirements are never waived. No parish or city page reviewed publishes reciprocity for out-of-state master licenses.
How local licensing works in Louisiana
State contractor license (not a master license). Under La. R.S. 37:2150.1 an electrical contractor is anyone contracting for electrical work of $10,000 or more, and the LSLBC issues the commercial license to that person or business with an Electrical classification qualified by a designated qualifying party. Applicants file the online application with a financial statement (required of all applicants), Secretary of State registration for any business entity including out-of-state companies, the online Business and Law course/exam, and the PSI trade exam for the classification; statutory fee caps are $50 per examination, $100 license and $100 renewal, plus a surcharge of up to $400 that the board may assess on a contractor not domiciled in Louisiana. Reciprocity for the state license: R.S. 37:2153(F)(5) directs the board to waive the trade portion of the exam for an applicant licensed in a comparable classification in another state on written certification that the applicant passed that classification's exam and is in good standing, and the Executive Director's October 23, 2024 letter extends this to any state: a classification exam passed in any other state 'with no waivers, exemptions, or grandfathering in effect' is accepted for the equivalent Louisiana classification, and all previous state-to-state agreements were declared null and void. The applicant has the origin board complete the Reciprocity Request form (license status, disciplinary history, and the name, exam developer, date and score of each person who passed the trade exam) and uploads it with the application; the exam/administrative fee is still charged, and the business law requirement 'shall not be waived'.
New Orleans. The Class 'A' Master Electrical License doubles as the city's electrical contractor license: the applicant submits a passing ICC Official Results Report for exam F49 Electrical Contractor, or a copy of the LSLBC statewide license with the qualifying party letter, plus certificates of general liability insurance of at least $500,000 and workers' compensation naming the City as certificate holder; the license costs $125 per year active or $30 inactive, with a $10 per month delinquent fee, and only one Class 'A' holder is allowed per company. The city page states no experience requirement and no reciprocity.
Jefferson Parish. A parish trade contractor license ($200 new) is issued to a license holder/qualifying party and lists the state license, occupational license, sales tax registration, liability insurance and workers' compensation on its checklist; the parish also administers its own electrical exam.
Shreveport. Requires city contractor registration for anyone performing electrical work and the state license for work over $10,000; master testing is referred to the ICC or the LSLBC.
Baton Rouge and Lafayette. No official page describing a master electrician license was located for East Baton Rouge Parish or Lafayette Consolidated Government.
Out-of-state holders. A master electrician from another state who wants to contract in Louisiana applies for the LSLBC commercial license and, if the master license was earned by a trade exam, requests the trade-exam waiver by reciprocity; the Business and Law course and financial statement are still required. City licenses such as New Orleans Class 'A' can then be obtained on the state license or the ICC F49 exam.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Texas master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Louisiana?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Louisiana.
- How long do I need to have held my Louisiana license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Texas master electrician license from Louisiana?
- Published fees on this path total $45, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Does it work the other way, from Texas to Louisiana?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Texas to Louisiana, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1305 - Electricians · Tex. Occ. Code §§1305.153, 1305.155, 1305.164 · Texas Legislature · Statute · verified September 14, 2026§1305.155 journeyman: 8,000 hours OJT under a master electrician and pass the exam. §1305.153 master: 12,000 hours OJT, journeyman license held at least two years, pass the exam. §1305.164: the executive director may license an applicant licensed in a state with which Texas has an agreement to recognize licenses.
- TDLR - Apply for a New Master Electrician License · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026
- TDLR - Electrician Exam Information · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026
- TDLR Form ELC-LIC-008 - Master Electrician License by Reciprocity Application · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Form · verified September 14, 2026$45 non-refundable fee; requires a copy of the state license and a letter of certification from the issuing licensing authority; all requirements must be met within 12 months of filing.
- TDLR - Transfer Your Out-of-State Electrician License to Texas · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Lists the current journeyman and master reciprocity partner states, the eligibility bullets, fees, and the reciprocity application forms.
- TDLR - Removing Barriers for Out-of-State Licensees at a Glance (AAG FORM-019, Jan. 2025) · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Other · verified September 14, 2026Agency-wide summary: substantial-equivalence review under Occupations Code 51.4041(b)(1) is described as the primary case-by-case method for out-of-state licensees; reciprocity agreements require the Governor's approval. Its electrician partner lists are as of January 2025.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.