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Mississippi to District of Columbia: master electrician license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 15, 2026· 10 sources

Mississippi does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is District of Columbia'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 from a state other than Maryland or Virginia

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

The Board of Industrial Trades publishes reciprocity only for Maryland and Virginia. A master electrician from any other state applies through the DLCP online portal as a new applicant with employment verification letters, a letter of good standing and a copy of the state-issued license, pays the $65 application fee, must document the journeyman-level prerequisites plus at least 4 years of work as a journeyman electrician, and schedules the master exam with PSI. D.C. Code § 47-2853.12(b) directs boards to waive the exam for anyone licensed in good standing in a state with equivalent standards that reciprocates with the District, and § 47-2853.08 lets the Board find another state's standards substantially equivalent and license by reciprocity or endorsement, so an applicant may ask the Board to apply those provisions case by case; the Board's pages describe no such process beyond Maryland and Virginia. The national-certification substitute in § 47-2853.92(b-1) is written for the journeyman license only. No District-law exam is published for master electricians.

The Board's fee table refers exam fees to 17 DCMR § 3500.3, which charges national exams at actual cost; PSI's candidate bulletin for District of Columbia exams lists the master exam fee as $52. DLCP's application instructions state the master experience requirement as 8 years and 16,000 work hours, and ask an applicant who is already a master electrician in another state to submit a copy of that license with the employment verification letters. The Board does not publish whether journeyman years worked under an out-of-state license count toward the 4-year journeyman requirement.

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 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Journeyman-level prerequisite: at least 8,000 apprentice hours over at least 4 years, or an electrical engineering degree plus 2 certified years, or equivalent (D.C. Code § 47-2853.92(b)).
  • Worked as a journeyman electrician for at least 4 years (D.C. Code § 47-2853.92(c))
  • Completed a class on Title 12C DCMR (DC Electrical Code) or an equivalent code within the 2 years before applying

What you'll do to get licensed in District of Columbia

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($65). Application fee (non-refundable).
  2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. DC Master Electrician examination administered by PSI, open book (schedule directly at psiexams.com or 1-855-557-0616 under the Board's test-first process).
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($52). PSI examination fee as listed in PSI's District of Columbia candidate bulletin (17 DCMR § 3500.3 charges national exams at actual cost).
  4. 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($120). Master electrician license fee, 2-year term (renewal $155).

Published fees on this path total $237, 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
  • Exam fee · $52

How District of Columbia licenses master electricians

District of Columbia master electrician · “Master Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 4 sources

Issued by DC Board of Industrial Trades (Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection)

The District of Columbia issues a person-held Master Electrician license through the Board of Industrial Trades in the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). It is the District's highest individual electrician credential; the Board also issues a Master Electrician Limited (low voltage) specialty license with journeyman-level qualifications, and a separate Electrical Contractor business license that requires an electrical bond. Under D.C. Code § 47-2853.92(c) a master applicant must meet the journeyman requirements (a DC Electrical Code class within 2 years and 8,000 apprentice hours over 4 years or equivalent) and in addition have worked as a journeyman electrician for at least 4 years, then pass the PSI-administered master exam. Fees are a $65 application fee and a $120 license fee for a 2-year term ($155 on renewal). Maryland and Virginia master electricians licensed by examination are licensed by reciprocity without the DC exam under a program the Board opened on February 8, 2021.

Moving to District of ColumbiaLeaving District of Columbia

Compare: getting a District of Columbia license from scratch

Why Mississippi has nothing to transfer

Mississippi master electrician

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 15, 2026· 10 sources

Mississippi does not issue a personal master electrician license. The state-level electrical credential is the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) contractor license in the Electrical classification (commercial, required on projects over $50,000; application $400, renewal $400) or the Residential Electrical classification (application $50), issued to the business through a Certificate of Responsibility with a named qualifying party who passes the open-book PSI electrical trade exam (or the NASCLA Master Electrical exam) and the mandatory Mississippi Law and Business Management exam. Because it is a business license, a master electrician who only wants to work for an employer has nothing to transfer to at the state level; the master-level personal credential exists only in cities such as Southaven (Master Electrician, $100, which itself requires an active MSBOC license, $10,000 bond and liability insurance) and Hattiesburg (Master Electrical Contractor License, five years of experience and the SBCCI exam). MSBOC does waive its electrical trade exam, for $50 per exam, for qualifying parties licensed at least one year by the Alabama Electrical Board, the North Carolina Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, the South Carolina Contractors Licensing Board or Residential Builders Commission, and the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, and its Universal Recognition form (Miss. Code 73-50-2) waives the trade exam for new Mississippi residents licensed elsewhere for a year; the Law and Business exam is never waived.

How local licensing works in Mississippi

State contractor license (business level). MSBOC's Electrical major classification covers installation, repair, alteration and design of electrical wiring, fixtures, raceways and conduit and includes nine specialties; the qualifying party passes the PSI electrical trade exam or the NASCLA-accredited Master Electrical exam, and every applicant passes the Mississippi Law and Business Management exam. Fees (schedule effective January 1, 2016): commercial application $400, renewal $400, additional classification $100, reciprocity/verification of license $25, request for waiver of exam $50; residential application $50, renewal $100. Reciprocity (revised 07/2025) waives the trade exam only, $50 per exam waived, for a qualifying party who has held the reciprocal license one year with no discipline in the agreement's look-back period: Alabama Electrical Board (Alabama exam taken), North Carolina Electrical Contractors Board (electrical and alarm systems; one year), Ohio CILB (electrical, HVAC, plumbing, refrigeration; no discipline in the last year), South Carolina Contractors Licensing Board (building and electrical; exam by PSI, Experior, Block or NAI), South Carolina Residential Builders Commission (residential electrical; no discipline in 3 years) and Tennessee (all exams; no discipline in the last year). Arkansas and Louisiana agreements exclude electrical work. Form UROL additionally waives the trade exam for an individual who has established Mississippi residency and held a similar license in any other state for at least one year (or worked three years in a state without construction licensing).

Southaven. Master Electrician license $100: application, photo ID of the license qualifier, certificate of liability insurance, a $10,000 general surety bond in favor of the city, an active MSBOC contractor's license certificate and the company EIN. An out-of-state applicant without an MSBOC license must provide a letter of good standing from a municipality where their license is active and may not take residential projects or commercial projects over $50,000; the city applies MSBOC's reciprocity standards.

Hattiesburg. The Electrical Examining Review Board issues the Master Electrical Contractor License: age 21, five years of proven experience attested by affidavits from licensed master electrical contractors (an electrical engineering degree substitutes for three years, a trade-school certificate for two), three character letters, and the SBCCI examination with a 70% minimum, given four times a year. Insurance and bond requirements of the city code and MSBOC regulations also apply. The ordinance allows a license for a person who holds a valid license from another city meeting the requirements of House Bill 359; no interstate reciprocity is described.

Jackson. Trade-license requirements are not published on the city's website.

Out-of-state masters. The realistic route is the MSBOC license: use the reciprocity verification form (AL, NC, OH, SC, TN electrical boards) or Form UROL to waive the trade exam, pass the Law and Business exam, then obtain any city master license that the local ordinance requires, which in Southaven is granted on the strength of the MSBOC license plus bond and insurance.

Moving to MississippiLeaving Mississippi

Common questions

Do I have to take the District of Columbia master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Mississippi?
Yes. District of Columbia requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a District of Columbia master electrician license from Mississippi?
Published fees on this path total $237, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Mississippi work hours count in District of Columbia?
Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward District of Columbia's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from District of Columbia to Mississippi?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from District of Columbia to Mississippi, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. D.C. Code § 47-2853.08 - Powers of the boards (reciprocity and endorsement) · D.C. Code § 47-2853.08(2) · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
  2. D.C. Code § 47-2853.12 - License, certification, and registration criteria; waiver · D.C. Code § 47-2853.12(b)-(d), (l) · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  3. D.C. Code § 47-2853.91 - Scope of practice for electricians · D.C. Code § 47-2853.91 · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 15, 2026
  4. D.C. Code § 47-2853.92 - Electricians: eligibility requirements · D.C. Code § 47-2853.92 · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  5. 17 DCMR § 3500 - Licensing fees · 17 DCMR § 3500.2(o), 3500.3 · District of Columbia Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  6. District of Columbia Board of Industrial Trades · District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  7. DLCP Board of Industrial Trades - Electrician License (Low and Regular Voltage) Application Instructions · District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  8. DC DLCP - Board of Industrial Trades landing page (apply, items needed, examination, reciprocity) · District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  9. DC Board of Industrial Trades - Test First Examination Process Notice · District of Columbia Board of Industrial Trades (DLCP) · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  10. PSI Candidate Information Bulletin - Washington D.C. Contractor/Trades Examinations · PSI Services LLC for the District of Columbia Board of Industrial Trades · Form · verified September 23, 2026

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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