Nevada to South Carolina: master electrician license reciprocity
Nevada does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is South Carolina'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.
Licensure by examination with credit for out-of-state experience (states without a waiver agreement)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A contractor from a state (or classification) not on the Board's waiver list is told plainly: 'you are not eligible for waiver/reciprocity. You will be required to take the SC exams.' The applicant passes the South Carolina Electrical technical exam through PSI, or the NASCLA Accredited Trade Examination for Electrical Contractors (accepted for the EL classification), and the South Carolina Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors exam, then files the Qualifying Party application (Doc. 168) with proof of at least 2 years of full-time work experience performed within the past 5 years in the electrical classification, which may have been earned in any state and should primarily reflect commercial work. The business files the Mechanical Contractor license application with the $350 licensure fee and a financial statement (or surety bond) meeting the group limit it wants. Section 40-11-290 separately allows the Board to exempt the technical exam for an applicant who verifies passing an 'essentially the same' exam in another state even without a reciprocal agreement, but the Board's published waiver list and instructions do not describe a process for invoking it outside the listed states. A licensee who only wants residential work can instead apply to the Residential Builders Commission for the Residential Electrician license (one year of residential experience, residential technical and Business Management and Law exams, $135 application and $220 license fees, $10,000 bond for work over $5,000).
PSI exam fees are paid directly to PSI and are not published on LLR's pages. The Board's licensure page shows a $350 licensure fee but no separate qualifying-party application fee. The current Mechanical Group financial thresholds on the licensure page (Group 2: $10,000 working capital or $15,000 net worth, $15,000 bond) differ from the 2019 waiver document's table ($10,000 net worth, $20,000 bond); the web page is treated as current.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- At least 2 years of full-time work experience in the electrical classification performed within the past 5 years, documented on Work Experience Affidavits (Doc. 167); out-of-state experience is accepted
What you'll do to get licensed in South Carolina
- 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. South Carolina Electrical technical examination (PSI), or the NASCLA Accredited Trade Examination for Electrical Contractors with the transcript sent by NASCLA to the Board.
- 2Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. South Carolina Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors examination (PSI), required of all applicants.
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. PSI examination fees paid directly to PSI at registration (amounts not published by LLR).
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($350). Mechanical Contractor licensure fee (license issued to the entity the qualifying party certifies).
- 5Other. Financial statement dated within 12 months showing working capital of $10,000 or net worth of $15,000 for Mechanical Group 2 (higher groups require more), or a surety bond in lieu.
- 6Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($15,000) (if applicable). Surety bond accepted in lieu of the financial statement for Mechanical Group 2 (larger bonds for higher groups).
- 7Other. Qualifying Party initial application (Doc. 168) with exam score sheets, Work Experience Affidavits, ID, Social Security card and notarized Verification of Lawful Presence.
Published fees on this path total $350, 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
- Law / code exam
- Exam fee
Surety bond
A license or contractor bond is bought from a surety, not the state. Price is a small percentage of the bond amount and depends on your credit.
- Surety bond · $15,000 · if applicable
How South Carolina licenses master electricians
South Carolina master electrician · “Mechanical Contractor, Electrical (EL) classification - Qualifying Party certification”
Statewide license
South Carolina has no 'master electrician' license. The highest person-held electrical credential is the Contractor's Licensing Board's Qualifying Party certification in the Electrical (EL) classification of the Mechanical Contractor license: the individual passes the South Carolina electrical technical exam (or the NASCLA Accredited Electrical exam) and the South Carolina Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors exam, documents two years of experience within the past five, and is certified as the primary qualifying party for a licensed entity (which may be a sole proprietorship); the certification stays with the person and can be transferred to another licensee. The license itself is issued to the business, with a $350 licensure fee and a financial statement or surety bond sized by license group (Mechanical Group 2, jobs to $50,000: working capital $10,000 or net worth $15,000, or a $15,000 bond). A residential-only alternative is the Residential Builders Commission's Residential Electrician license ($135 application, $220 license), issued to the individual after one year of residential experience and the residential technical plus Business Management and Law exams. South Carolina has technical-exam waiver agreements, listed in the Board's Reciprocity/Waiver Agreements document, that cover the electrical classification for Alabama, Georgia (Un-Restricted), Mississippi, North Carolina (Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited with matching group limits), Ohio, Reading (Pennsylvania), Tennessee (CE) and Utah (S200), plus the MASC/CAGC Master Electrician card; every waiver applicant must still pass the South Carolina Business Management & Law exam. Licensees from other states take the South Carolina (or NASCLA) technical exam.
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 South Carolina master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Nevada?
- Yes. South Carolina requires the trade exam on this path, plus a law or code exam.
- What does it cost to get a South Carolina master electrician license from Nevada?
- Published fees on this path total $350, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Nevada work hours count in South Carolina?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward South Carolina's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from South Carolina to Nevada?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from South Carolina to Nevada, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- S.C. Code of Laws Title 40, Chapter 11 - Contractors · S.C. Code Ann. §§ 40-11-30, 40-11-290, 40-11-410(5)(a)-(c), (h) · South Carolina Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§ 40-11-30: no entity or individual may practice mechanical contracting where the cost of the work exceeds $10,000 without a license. § 40-11-290: the Board may license an applicant holding a license in good standing in another state with requirements 'equal to or greater than those required by this chapter' where it has authorized an exam waiver agreement, and may exempt the technical exam for an essentially identical exam passed elsewhere; such applicants may be required to pass the 'South Carolina Commercial Contractors Business, Law and Project Management examination'. § 40-11-410(5) defines the mechanical subclassifications: (a) Air Conditioning ('installation, replacement, alteration, and repair of air conditioning equipment and systems'), (b) Heating (steam, vapor and hot water systems), (c) Packaged Equipment (combined air conditioning, ventilation and duct work limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating per unit), (h) Refrigeration. The chapter has no journeyman license.
- General and Mechanical Contractors - Primary Qualifying Party (PQP) and Qualifying Party (QP) Initial Application, Doc. 168 (12/31/2025 v2.3) · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Form · verified September 15, 2026Text extracted from the PDF. Methods: PSI technical exam or NASCLA transcript, exam waiver/reciprocity, or CAGC/MASC trades certification; all require the SC Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors exam and 'at least 2 years of full-time work experience, performed within the past 5 years in the license classification(s)' (primarily commercial), or a PHCC Academy of North Carolina apprenticeship certificate (Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing). 'A current HARV (Master Mechanical) Certification that was issued by examination between September 7, 2013, and December 2025, from MASC, or issued after January 1, 2026, by Carolinas AGC (CAGC). Corresponding licensure classifications: Air Conditioning and Heating.' Waiver applicants have the SC Examination Waiver form completed by the origin board ('Copies of your license or exam results are not accepted'); licenses obtained by waiver or grandfathering are not eligible; 'If your state is listed but your trade/classification is not listed, you are not eligible.' The certified qualifying party 'is not a licensed contractor'; the entity holds the license. Classifications on the form include Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration and Packaged Equipment.
- SC Contractor's Licensing Board - Licensure (classifications, exams, waiver/reciprocity, fees) · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Mechanical Contractor classifications with a PSI technical exam include Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration, Packaged Equipment, Lightning Protection, Electrical and Process Piping (register at test-takers.psiexams.com/sccon). 'All individuals must pass the S.C. Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam' regardless of how they qualify. Accepted trades certification: 'A current HARV (Master Mechanical) Certification ... from MASC, or issued after January 1, 2026, by Carolinas AGC (CAGC)' for the Air Conditioning and Heating classifications. Exam waiver applicants must hold 'a license in good standing in a jurisdiction' on the Technical Exam Waiver Agreement list. 'At least 2 years of work experience performed within the past 5 years' in the classification. Licensure fee $350. Mechanical group limits: Group 1 $35,000 per job (working capital $3,500 / net worth $7,000 / bond $7,000), Group 2 $100,000 ($10,000 / $15,000 / $15,000), Group 3 $200,000 ($20,000 / $30,000 / $30,000), Group 4 $400,000 ($40,000 / $60,000 / $60,000), Group 5 unlimited ($200,000 / $300,000 / $300,000).
- SC Contractor's Licensing Board - Reciprocity/Waiver Agreements (Rev. 02/2019) · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Agreement Document · verified September 15, 2026Text extracted from the PDF. 'THE SOUTH CAROLINA RECIPROCITY AGREEMENTS ONLY WAIVE THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE EXAM.' Reciprocal states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Reading Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, plus MASC. HVAC-relevant exams accepted and the SC classifications issued: Georgia 'Un-Restricted Conditioned Air (if exam passed after 6/30/80)' = AC, HT; Louisiana 'Statewide Mechanical' = AC, HT; Ohio 'HVAC' = PK; Tennessee 'CMC' = AC, RG, PB and 'CMC-C' = AC, RG; Texas 'Class A Air Conditioning/Refrigeration, or, Class A Air Conditioning' = AC, HT, 'Class B Air Conditioning, or, Class B Air Conditioning/Refrigeration' = PK, 'Class A Air Refrigeration' = RG; Utah 'S350 HVAC' = AC, 'S353 Warm Air Heating' = HT, 'S351 Refrigerated Air Conditioning' = PK, 'S360 Refrigeration' = RG; MASC 'Master HVAC (if exam passed after 1/1/1990)' = AC, HT, PK, RG (page 1 says 'Master Mechanical/HVAC (if exam passed after 9/6/2013)'). Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina and Reading PA have no HVAC exam listed. Grandfathered or waived-in licensees do not qualify; 'If your state is not listed, or if your state is listed but the exam you took is not listed, you are not eligible for waiver/reciprocity. You will be required to take the SC exams.' Every waiver applicant must pass the SC Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam and obtain a license verification showing the exam was taken. Page 3 defines AC = Air Conditioning, HT = Heating, PK = Packaged Equipment, RG = Refrigeration, and gives 2019 mechanical group limits (Group 2: $50,000 per job, $10,000 net worth, $20,000 bond).
- SC Residential Builders Commission - Residential Electrician license · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Fees: application $135, license $220, renewal $220, late renewal $50, reinstatement $480. Technical exam waived for a current SC Mechanical Contractor (EL) licensed by exam for 1+ year, a current North Carolina or Mississippi license obtained by exam and held 1+ year, a NASCLA Residential Electrical Contractors exam passed within 3 years, or a Master (Residential) Electrician certification from MASC/CAGC. Business Management and Law portion always required.
- Residential Electrician License Application - Requirements and Instructions (Rev. 01/2026 v1.5) · S.C. Code Ann. § 40-59-250 (credit report) · South Carolina Residential Builders Commission (LLR) · Form · verified September 15, 2026Licensure by exam requires a minimum of one year of residential electrical experience within the past 5 years; exam waiver for NC and MS licensees (by exam, 1+ year), NASCLA Accredited Electrical exam within 3 years, or MASC/CAGC Master Electrician certification, with the Business Management and Law portion still required; $135 application fee; credit report within 30 days; $10,000 surety bond in the individual's name before doing work over $5,000.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.