Do I have to take the Minnesota master electrician exam if I'm licensed in New York?

Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.

What does it cost to get a Minnesota master electrician license from New York?

Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my New York work hours count in Minnesota?

Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Minnesota's eligibility requirements.

Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to New York?

Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to New York, the mechanism is not applicable.

New York to Minnesota: master electrician license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 15, 2026· 7 sources

New York does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Minnesota'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 without a reciprocity agreement

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

A master electrician licensed in a state that is not on Minnesota's master reciprocity list gets no exam waiver and qualifies by examination like any other candidate. Out-of-state experience does count: Minn. R. 3800.3520 credits electrical work performed outside Minnesota that DLI determines is substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor, documented on the Work Experience Verification form by each employer. The applicant must meet one of the subd. 1 qualifications (a four-year electrical engineering degree, at least one year of experience as a licensed journeyworker, or at least five years of planning, laying out, supervising and installing experience, 60 months under the rule tables), file the Personal Electrical License Examination Application with the $50 fee (marking 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' and attaching a copy of the license), and pass the Class A Master exam. The license fee is paid separately once the exam is passed. Minnesota has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.

Whether experience as a journeyworker licensed by another state satisfies the 'one year as a licensed journeyworker' route was not confirmed from an official page; the five-year experience route is available regardless. The initial license fee is prorated to the February odd-year expiration from the statutory base of $40 per year plus a $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7); DLI's licensing page states the amount is determined after the exam is passed.

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 60 months of qualifying work experience.At least 60 months of qualifying experience under Minn. R. 3800.3520 (including planning, laying out and supervising), or one year as a licensed journeyworker, or a four-year electrical engineering degree (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 1). Out-of-state work is credited when DLI finds it substantially equivalent.

What you'll do to get licensed in Minnesota

1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($50). Application and examination fee (non-refundable), Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 1.
2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Minnesota Class A Master Electrician written examination administered by DLI.
3Other. Electrical Work Experience Verification form completed by each employer (or original engineering transcript), plus a copy of the out-of-state license.
4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Class A Master license fee on approval, prorated from $40 per year plus $4 per year board fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subd. 7).

Published fees on this path total $50, 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 · $50
Trade exam

How Minnesota licenses master electricians

Minnesota master electrician · “Class A Master Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 4 sources

Issued by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Board of Electricity

Minnesota issues a statewide, person-held Class A Master Electrician license through DLI; the separate electrical contractor license is a business license that must employ a master, and is not covered here. A new master applicant qualifies under Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 1 with a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year of experience as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of experience planning, laying out, supervising and installing electrical systems (60 months under Minn. R. 3800.3520), pays the $50 application and examination fee, and passes the DLI-administered written exam. Reciprocity agreements under subd. 20 waive the exam for master electricians from Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Master licenses expire on the last day of February of each odd-numbered year and renewal requires 16 hours of continuing education, 12 of them on the NEC.

Moving to Minnesota Leaving Minnesota

Why New York has nothing to transfer

New York master electrician

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 15, 2026· 18 sources

New York issues no statewide master electrician license; the Department of State's Division of Licensing Services licenses no electricians, and master electrician licenses are issued by city and county examining boards under local ordinances. The largest is New York City's Department of Buildings Master Electrician license (with a companion Special Electrician license for in-house work), which requires seven years of experience within the last ten working with tools under a licensed master or special electrician in the United States, at least two of them in New York City, a $585 written and $530 practical exam, a background investigation, and a New York City business with general liability, workers' compensation and disability insurance; the license costs $310 and is renewed yearly for $60. Buffalo requires 11 years (22,000 hours) of experience and a 75 percent ICC G-16 score; Rochester requires four years (6,000 hours of three-phase work) and an ICC-based exam; Westchester County licenses master and special electricians by examination ($500 license) and its license is what Yonkers permits require; Suffolk County licenses master and restricted electricians; Syracuse and Albany run their own boards. None of these jurisdictions publishes a reciprocity or endorsement path for a master license from another state, although Westchester's fee schedule lists a 'Reciprocal Electrician' license category. A master electrician arriving from another state must qualify with each local board where they intend to work, and in New York City must first accumulate two years of supervised experience inside the city.

How local licensing works in New York

How local licensing works. New York has no state electrical board. Licensing authority rests with individual cities and counties, each with its own examining board, ordinance, exam and fee schedule; a license is valid only in the issuing jurisdiction.

New York City. The Department of Buildings issues the Master Electrician license (independent contracting anywhere in the city) and the Special Electrician license (work as an employee in or on specific buildings). Qualifications (NYC Admin. Code 28-430.3; 1 RCNY 104-01): age 18, read and write English, fitness and good moral character, and one of: seven years within the last ten working with tools on wiring and appliances for light, heat and power under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master or special electrician in the United States, at least two years of it in NYC; a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or engineering technology plus three years within five (two in NYC); a New York State DOL-registered apprenticeship plus five years within ten (two in NYC); or electrical-inspection employment credited at 50 percent up to 2.5 years. Candidates pay $585 for the closed-book written exam on the 2025 NYC Electrical Code (70 percent to pass) and $530 for the practical, which must be passed within 24 months of the written result; the background application (experience verification signed by supervisors, Social Security earnings history, physical exam) is filed through DOB NOW within one year. License fee $310, seal $50, annual renewal $60 with continuing education, late renewal $310. The licensee must be an officer, partner or sole proprietor of a business with a NYC location carrying general liability, workers' compensation and disability insurance. The exam can be waived only for city-agency applicants (28-430.6); no out-of-state waiver exists, and the two-years-in-NYC rule means an out-of-state master cannot qualify immediately.

Buffalo. The Electrical Examining Board's Master Electrician License requires 11 years (22,000 hours) of experience in electrical construction within the last 11 years, structured as four years (8,000 hours) as an apprentice plus seven years (14,000 hours) as a journeyman working for a licensed master, documented by notarized employer and master electrician affidavits; a passing (75 percent or higher) ICC G-16 Master Electrician exam taken within one year; a $100 application fee; and general liability and workers' compensation certificates before issuance. The master electrician affidavit asks in which city the supervising master is licensed, so experience under masters licensed elsewhere is accepted as documentation.

Rochester. The Electrical Examining Board issues a Master (three-phase) license requiring four years of applicable experience, interpreted as at least 6,000 hours of three-phase experience within the past ten years (at least half in the field with tools; up to 3,000 hours may be course work, estimating, design, supervision or single-phase work), and an ICC-based exam with a 70 percent passing grade. Applications are filed online; the Board's rules contain no reciprocity clause.

Westchester County and Yonkers. The Department of Consumer Protection's Electrical Board licenses Master and Special Electricians by examination: exam application $50, master license $500 with $500 annual renewal, special electrician $350. The fee schedule also lists a 'Master and Reciprocal Electrician' license at the same $500, but the conditions for a reciprocal license are not published on the pages that could be opened. Yonkers does not license electricians; its electrical permits are issued to master electricians licensed by Westchester County.

Suffolk County. The Department of Consumer Affairs issues Master Electrician and Restricted Electrical licenses (codes ME and RE). Experience, exam and fee details are in the county code and were not available on the pages that could be opened.

Syracuse and Albany. Syracuse licenses electricians through its Division of Code Enforcement (2026 applications were due June 26 with in-person consideration July 28). Albany's Electrical Examining Board, under General Code Chapter 171, Article III, examines every applicant and includes master electricians licensed by the city for at least five years. Neither city publishes reciprocity rules on the pages reviewed.

Nassau County. The county FAQ treats electricians as a trade licensed under a 'standard of competency', but no Nassau page describing the master electrician license, its requirements or fees could be opened, so Nassau's rules are unverified here.

Out-of-state holders. No New York jurisdiction reviewed publishes an agreement with another state. The practical route is to meet each local board's experience threshold (documented under licensed masters, wherever they were licensed, where the board allows), pass that board's exam, which in Buffalo, Rochester and several other boards is an ICC exam that may already have been taken elsewhere, and pay the local fees; in New York City the two years of supervised experience inside the city must be earned first.

Moving to New York Leaving New York

Common questions

Do I have to take the Minnesota master electrician exam if I'm licensed in New York?: Yes. Minnesota requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Minnesota master electrician license from New York?: Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my New York work hours count in Minnesota?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Minnesota's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Minnesota to New York?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Minnesota to New York, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

Minnesota DLI - Personal Electrical License Examination Application and Work Experience Verification Form · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Form · verified September 15, 2026Exam application fee $50.00, non-refundable. Has a checkbox for applicants 'Licensed in a state other than Minnesota' (copy of license required). Experience is verified per employer on the Work Experience Verification form; credit capped at 160 hours per month / 2,000 hours per year and must qualify under Minn. Stat. 326B.33 and Minn. R. 3800.3520. Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is an alternative qualification for the Master A exam.
Minnesota DLI - Experience requirements for an electrical license · Minn. R. 3800.3520; Minn. Stat. 326B.33 · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Class A Journeyworker: 48 months minimum (24 months wiring/installing); Class A Master: 60 months minimum. Up to one year of credit for an approved two-year electrical course. Electrical work performed outside Minnesota counts if the department determines it substantially equivalent to work for a Minnesota licensed contractor; foreign-country experience capped at 12 months.
Minnesota DLI - Electrical licensing basics · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Journeyworker and master licenses both require passing a written exam after documenting experience; exam application fee $50. Work experience credit is given for verifiable electrical work performed in another state. Journeyworker licenses expire every two years (renewal $53); master licenses expire the last day of February of odd-numbered years (renewal $93); 16 hours of CE per cycle including 12 on the NEC.
Minnesota DLI - Electrical license reciprocity · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Lists the Class A Journeyworker reciprocity states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming) and the Class A Master reciprocity states (Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska); the eligibility bullets (license obtained by state-level exam, held at least one year, current and in good standing, no failed Minnesota exam of the same or greater class, no pending denial/suspension/revocation); and the $50 application fee plus the license fee due on approval.
Minnesota Rules 3800.3520 - Experience requirements for electrical licenses · Minn. R. 3800.3520 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Sets the month-by-category experience tables (48 months journeyworker, 60 months master) and allows credit for electrical work performed outside Minnesota that the department determines is substantially equivalent to work in the employ of a Minnesota licensed contractor, based on employer certification. Military experience is credited on the same basis; foreign experience is capped at 12 months.
Minnesota Statutes 326B.092 - License fees and license renewal fees · Minn. Stat. 326B.092, subds. 1, 7 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: application and examination fee of $50, separate from the license fee. Subd. 7: base license fee journeyworker $20 per year ($40 for two years), master $40 per year ($80 for two years), plus a $4 per year board fee and a $5 continuing-education fee on renewal.
Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 - Electrical licenses and registration · Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subds. 1, 2, 20 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Subd. 1: Class A master requires a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of planning/laying out/supervising/installing experience. Subd. 2: Class A journeyworker requires four years of experience (one year credit for approved coursework). Subd. 20: the commissioner may enter into reciprocity agreements with another state if approved by the Board of Electricity, and may then issue a personal license without exam to an applicant who holds a valid comparable license obtained under a statewide program with comparable exam and experience, has held it continuously for at least one year, and has not failed the same or greater class Minnesota exam or had such a license revoked or suspended.

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

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