Nevada to Arkansas: master electrician license reciprocity
Nevada does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Arkansas'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 credited out-of-state experience (states without a master agreement)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A master electrician from a state without a master-level agreement gets no exam waiver at the master level; if the origin state is on the journeyman reciprocity list, the Board will reciprocate the master license only as an Arkansas journeyman license. To obtain the master license the applicant files the Board's electrician application and documents six years of construction-industry experience in residential and commercial work, including two years as a licensed journeyman, or an electrical engineering degree plus two years of construction experience, or a combination of apprenticeship, on-the-job training and experience the Board approves as equivalent; experience is verified by notarized employer affidavits and prior licenses are listed with their exam details. The applicant then passes the Arkansas master exam ($80) and pays the $50 license fee. A holder of a current master license from any state may also obtain a six-month temporary master license ($50) restricted to a specific industrial project while qualifying.
Rule 17 CAR §210-404(d) requires 'two (2) years' experience as a licensed journeyman electrician' without saying whether an out-of-state journeyman license satisfies it; the Board's general power to approve equivalent combinations of training and experience suggests case-by-case review, but no official page confirms this.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Six years of construction-industry experience (residential and commercial) including two years as a licensed journeyman electrician, or an electrical engineering degree plus two years of construction-related experience, or a Board-approved equivalent (17 CAR §210-404(d))
What you'll do to get licensed in Arkansas
- 1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($80). Master electrician examination fee (17 CAR §210-403(c)).
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Arkansas master electrician examination on the NEC edition adopted by the Board.
- 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($50). Master electrician license fee on passing the exam (Ark. Code §17-28-301); annual renewal $50.
- 4Other. Notarized Affidavit of Employment Experience from each employer, photocopies of licenses held, and transcripts or certificates for any education credit.
- 5Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Eight hours of continuing education per NEC code cycle to renew (Ark. Code §17-28-311).
Published fees on this path total $130, 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 · $80
- Trade exam
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
How Arkansas licenses master electricians
Arkansas master electrician · “Master Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing)
Arkansas issues a statewide Master Electrician license, an unlimited classification that authorizes the holder to plan, lay out and supervise electrical work; a journeyman who wants to contract with the public must employ at least one full-time master. A new applicant needs six years of construction-industry experience (residential and commercial) including two years as a licensed journeyman, or an electrical engineering degree plus two years of construction experience, or a Board-approved equivalent, then passes the master exam ($80) and pays the $50 license fee; the license renews annually for $50 with eight hours of continuing education per NEC cycle. Master-level reciprocity is limited: the Board's page lists Iowa, Oregon and Texas under its Master Reciprocal Agreement (and its explanatory text also names North Dakota). A master from any other journeyman-partner state can only be reciprocated into an Arkansas journeyman license, and the Board only reciprocates an original license, never one the partner state itself granted by reciprocity.
Why Nevada has nothing to transfer
Nevada master electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Nevada does not issue a master electrician license. The state-level electrical credential is a classification C-2 Electrical Contracting license from the Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB), which is a business license issued to a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation or LLC and qualified by a named individual, not a license held by the electrician personally. A master-level personal card exists only at the local level: Clark County, the City of Las Vegas and the City of Reno recognize a 'Master Electrician' category, obtained by passing the ICC G16 Master Electrician exam at 75% and holding an ESP-issued Nevada Electrical Qualifications Card, and Clark County code allows a master electrician or electrical qualified individual to satisfy the contractor's on-site supervision duty. None of these jurisdictions publish reciprocity for an out-of-state master license. To contract independently, an arriving master electrician must obtain a C-2 license: the qualifying individual needs four years of experience as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor within the past 15 years, must pass the PSI-administered Nevada Business and Law exam and the C-2 trade exam, and the business must pay the $300 application fee and $600 biennial license fee, submit a financial statement and background check, and post a bond of $1,000 to $500,000 set by the Board. Under licensure by endorsement (NAC 624.600 and 624.615) the C-2 trade exam and experience certification are waived for a qualified individual who has held an active electrical contractor license with no discipline for the past four years in Arizona (CR-11), California (C-10), Connecticut (E1), Louisiana (9 Electrical Work), North Carolina (Unlimited Electrical) or Tennessee (CE Electrical), while Florida (EC) and West Virginia (A Electrical) licensees get experience credit but must take the Nevada trade exam; the Business and Law exam is never waived.
How local licensing works in Nevada
State level. NRS 624 and NAC 624 create only contractor licenses. NAC 624.200 defines classification C-2 Electrical Contracting (C-2a Electrical Wiring, C-2b Integrated Ceilings, C-2c Fire Detection, C-2d Low Voltage Systems, C-2e Lines to Transmit Electricity, C-2f Residential Wiring, C-2g Photovoltaics). The license belongs to the business; the individual who qualifies it must have four years of journeyman-or-higher experience within 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)) and pass the Business and Law and trade exams unless the trade exam is waived under NAC 624.600 for an endorsing-state exam approved under NAC 624.615. Fees: $300 application, $600 to issue or renew (NAC 624.130), PSI exam fees, bond $1,000-$500,000 (NRS 624.270).
Clark County. Clark County Code §22.02.260 recognizes a Master Electrician (all aspects of electrical work) alongside the journeyman categories; a master or the contractor's qualified individual is responsible for supervision, inspection and code conformance of the contractor's permitted work, and a master found not to meet the NSCB qualified-individual standard is not recognized until re-examined. The exam is the ICC G16 Master Electrician (75% under the ESP program) and the card is issued by ESP with 30 CEU hours per three-year renewal, including an 8-hour NEC update. The code's only equivalency is for certificates from the accepted testing agency or other Nevada political subdivisions within Clark County.
City of Las Vegas and City of Henderson. Las Vegas Administrative Code §306 uses the same master electrician / qualified individual / journeyman supervision rule and the ESP card; Henderson is listed by ESP as requiring the card but its ordinance was not verified.
City of Reno. Reno's published journeyman program covers the ICC G17/G18 exams; the ESP presentation lists Reno as a participating jurisdiction for master cards as well, but Reno's own page does not describe a separate master card.
Out-of-state holders. No local jurisdiction publishes a waiver of the ICC master exam for an out-of-state master license. The practical route is to pass the ICC G16 exam and obtain the ESP card, or, if contracting, to apply for a C-2 license through NSCB, where the endorsement charts above may waive the trade exam.
- Clark County (Department of Building and Fire Prevention)
- City of Las Vegas (Department of Building and Safety)
- City of Henderson (per ESP program notice; ordinance not verified)
- City of Reno (Development Services)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Arkansas master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Nevada?
- Yes. Arkansas requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas master electrician license from Nevada?
- Published fees on this path total $130, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Nevada work hours count in Arkansas?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Arkansas's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Arkansas to Nevada?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Arkansas to Nevada, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Electrical Inspection and Licensing (Board of Electrical Examiners; Reciprocal Agreements) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the six license classes, the online exam application portal, and the Reciprocal Agreements table: Journeyman Reciprocal Agreement with Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming; Master Reciprocal Agreement column listing Iowa, Oregon and Texas. States that the Board only reciprocates an original license from the issuing state (a reciprocated license cannot be reciprocated), that a master license from a journeyman-only partner can only be reciprocated as a journeyman license 'except for Oregon and North Dakota which Arkansas has a Master License reciprocal Agreement', and that Wyoming only reciprocates a journeyman who completed a USDOL apprenticeship with at least 576 classroom hours. The explanatory paragraph (Oregon and North Dakota) and the master column (Iowa, Oregon, Texas) are not fully consistent.
- Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners - Electrician Application (examination, reciprocal, temporary) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Form · verified September 15, 2026Single application form with 'Reciprocal' as a licensing qualification checkbox alongside Examination and Temporary. Requires photocopies of any electrician licenses held, whether the license was issued by examination, the exam score, date and testing firm, and notarized employer verification of work experience (Affidavit of Employment Experience); an electrical engineering degree plus two years' experience qualifies for the master exam.
- Rules of the Board of Electrical Examiners of the State of Arkansas, 17 CAR Part 210 · 17 CAR §§ 210-403, 210-404, 210-508, 210-509 · Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners / Department of Labor and Licensing · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026§210-403(c): examination fees $80 for master, journeyman, residential master, residential journeyman and specialist sign electrician, $50 for industrial maintenance. §210-404(d): master applicants need an electrical engineering degree plus two years of construction experience, or six years in the construction industry (residential and commercial) including two years as a licensed journeyman, or a Board-approved equivalent. §210-404(e): journeyman applicants must have completed a four-year USDOL-approved apprenticeship (with a Released-for-Test form, or out-of-state completion certified by the responsible agency), or seek reciprocity with certification from the sister state that they are currently licensed as a journeyman in good standing, have held the license for one year, and were tested in the sister state, or have eight years (16,000 hours, maximum 2,000 per year) of electrical construction experience. §210-508: six-month temporary master ($50) or journeyman ($25) license for a holder of a current license of the same classification from another state, restricted to industrial projects. §210-509: the Board may license applicants holding equivalent licenses in other states, on payment of fees and proof of license, provided an agreement exists with that state.
- Board of Electrical Examiner Statutes, Ark. Code Ann. Title 17, Chapter 28 (2025 compilation) · Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-28-203, 17-28-301, 17-28-304, 17-28-306, 17-28-311 · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§17-28-203: exam fees may not exceed $100 (master, journeyman, residential classes). §17-28-301(a): license fees on passing the exam, $50 master and $25 journeyman; (b) annual renewal $50 master and $25 journeyman, late fee of one year's renewal plus $10 per month; reinstatement after 36 months requires retesting and a $1,000 penalty; (d) temporary six-month master or journeyman licenses for industry projects for applicants holding a current license of the same classification from another state. §17-28-304: no person may perform electrical work without a license. §17-28-306: the Board may issue licenses to applicants holding equivalent licenses in other states on payment of fees and proof of license, provided an agreement has been reached with that state to recognize Arkansas licenses. §17-28-311: eight hours of continuing education per NEC cycle for master and journeyman licensees.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.