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

Yes. North Carolina requires the trade exam on this path.

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

Published fees on this path total $325, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my New York work hours count in North Carolina?

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

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

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

New York to North Carolina: master electrician license reciprocity

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

New York does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is North 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.

Out-of-state master or electrical contractor without a reciprocity agreement (examination)

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

A master electrician or electrical contractor from a state that has no agreement with the Board gets no license by endorsement: the Board's rules (21 NCAC 18B .0701) waive the written examination only for the eleven named reciprocal states. Everyone else applies to sit the PSI-administered classification exam like a first-time candidate. Out-of-state experience does count: Rule .0202 credits work as a journeyman electrician, foreman, supervisor or estimator at 100% and apprentice or helper time at 80-100%, with 2,000 hours equal to one year, toward the 3,000 / 5,750 / 9,000-hour thresholds for Limited / Intermediate / Unlimited, and the rule does not require the experience to have been earned in North Carolina. The exam application fee is $125, Board approval is required before scheduling, one attempt is allowed per approval, and the 100-question open-book exam (70% to pass) includes 15-18 questions on the North Carolina licensing law, Board rules and the NASCLA business guide, so no separate law exam is given to examinees. After passing, the applicant files the license application with the classification fee ($100 Limited/SP, $150 Intermediate, $200 Unlimited), character statements, bonding-ability statements for Intermediate and Unlimited, and completes the free 4-hour Laws and Rules class within 12 months. One exception: an applicant who already passed the NASCLA Accredited Electrical Examination (Electrical Contractor/Master Electrician) in another state may skip the NC technical exam and apply directly for any classification, taking only the 25-question NC laws, rules and business exam that reciprocity applicants take.

G.S. 93B-15.3 (neighboring-state recognition for Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia licensees held at least one year) adds no additional origin states because all five already have Board reciprocity agreements. Rule .0701 also names Louisiana as a recognized state, but Louisiana is absent from the Board's reciprocity page, its forms list and its per-state pages (the /louisiana/ page returns 404), so Louisiana is not recorded as an agreement here. No NC-specific exam fee beyond the $125 application/exam fee is published; the Board's fee page lists the two together.

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 9,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Unlimited classification: 9,000 hours with at least 8,000 primary. Intermediate: 5,750 (5,000 primary). Limited and Special Restricted: 3,000 (2,000 primary). 2,000 hours = one creditable year (21 NCAC 18B .0201-.0202; G.S. 87-43.3).
Primary experience is work as a journeyman electrician, electrical foreman, supervisor or estimator on the installation of electrical wiring and equipment (100% credit); approved apprenticeship 100%, helper/apprentice outside an approved program 80%, electrical college coursework 50%, utility lineman work 10% (21 NCAC 18B .0202).

What you'll do to get licensed in North Carolina

1Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($125). Application and examination fee, all classifications (21 NCAC 18B .0209); $25 for an examination review after a failure.
2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. NCBEEC electrical contracting examination administered by PSI: 100 multiple-choice questions, 6 hours, open book (2020 NEC, NFPA 72, NASCLA NC Electrical business guide), 70% to pass; includes laws, rules and business-practice questions.
3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($200). Annual license fee for the Unlimited classification; Intermediate $150; Limited and Special Restricted $100 (G.S. 87-44; 21 NCAC 18B .0404).
4Surety bond. Post a surety bond. Statement of bonding ability from a surety, or a bank line-of-credit letter, of at least $150,001 for Unlimited or $60,001 for Intermediate (G.S. 87-43.2(a)(4)); not required for Limited or Special Restricted.
5Other. Two character statement forms; for Unlimited, two supervise-and-direct statements from people who can attest to the applicant's ability to supervise all electrical work; corporations and LLCs must hold a certificate of authority from the NC Secretary of State.
6Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Free 4-hour NCBEEC Laws and Rules class within 12 months of becoming a qualified individual, then 8 hours of approved CE per license year for Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited and SP-SFD qualifiers (21 NCAC 18B .1101).

Published fees on this path total $325, 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 · $125
Trade exam

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

Continuing education

Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.

Continuing education

How North Carolina licenses master electricians

North Carolina master electrician · “Electrical Contractor (Limited / Intermediate / Unlimited) - Listed Qualified Individual”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 8 sources

Issued by North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC)

North Carolina has no license called 'master electrician'; its highest and only exam-qualified electrical credential is the electrical contracting license issued by the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors under G.S. 87-43 in the Limited (single projects up to $60,000, equipment up to 600 V), Intermediate (up to $150,000) and Unlimited (any value) classifications, plus seven Special Restricted classifications such as SP-SFD (single-family dwellings) and SP-FA/LV (fire alarm/low voltage). The license is issued in the name of a business, which may be a sole proprietorship, but it is earned by a listed qualified individual: the person who passed the PSI-administered classification exam and is named on the license with the statutory duty and authority to supervise and direct all electrical work done in the licensee's name (G.S. 87-41.1). That qualification is personal, follows the individual between licenses through the Board's add/drop form, carries the continuing-education duty, and is what Texas and Virginia treat as equivalent to their master electrician licenses, so this site maps it to the master level. A new qualified individual needs 3,000 hours of experience (2,000 primary) for Limited, 5,750 (5,000 primary) for Intermediate or 9,000 (8,000 primary) for Unlimited, and must pass a 100-question open-book exam (6 hours, 70% to pass) that also covers the licensing law, Board rules and business practices; the exam application fee is $125 and annual license fees are $100, $150 and $200 by classification. Intermediate and Unlimited applicants must also show bonding ability ($60,001 and $150,001). Licenses expire one year after issuance; qualifiers complete a free 4-hour Laws and Rules class within 12 months and 8 hours of CE per year. The Board has reciprocity agreements with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia under G.S. 87-50, which waive the technical exam but not a short NC laws, rules and business exam.

Moving to North Carolina Leaving North Carolina

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 North Carolina master electrician exam if I'm licensed in New York?: Yes. North Carolina requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a North Carolina master electrician license from New York?: Published fees on this path total $325, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my New York work hours count in North Carolina?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward North Carolina's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from North Carolina to New York?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from North Carolina to New York, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

N.C.G.S. Chapter 87, Article 4 - Electrical Contractors Licensing Law (as published by the Board) · N.C.G.S. 87-41.1, 87-43, 87-43.3, 87-44, 87-50 · North Carolina General Assembly (reproduced by NCBEEC) · Statute · verified September 15, 202687-43 defines electrical contracting as engaging or offering to engage in the business of installing, maintaining, altering or repairing electric work. 87-43.3 sets the classifications and their experience floors (Limited 3,000 hrs / 2,000 primary; Intermediate 5,750 / 5,000; Unlimited 9,000 / 8,000). 87-41.1 defines the 'listed qualified individual' as the person who passed the qualifying exam and is listed on the license with the duty and authority to supervise and direct all electrical contracting done in the licensee's name. 87-44 caps annual license fees at $100/$150/$200. 87-50 authorizes reciprocal licensing without written examination. The Article contains no journeyman license.
N.C.G.S. 93B-15.3 - Neighboring states licensure recognition · N.C.G.S. 93B-15.3 (S.L. 2025-61) · North Carolina General Assembly · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Requires occupational licensing boards to license an applicant who has established residence in North Carolina, has been licensed at the same or substantially equivalent level in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia for at least one year, passed any examination required there, is in good standing in every jurisdiction, has no disqualifying criminal history or unresolved discipline, and pays all fees; the board may verify competency through methods it determines, including minimum education, supervision or work-experience requirements.
21 NCAC 18B - Board Rules for the Electrical Contractors Licensing Law · 21 NCAC 18B .0201, .0202, .0209, .0404, .0701, .1101 · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026.0201 experience per classification; .0202 primary experience (journeyman electrician, foreman, supervisor, estimator at 100%; 2,000 hours = 1 year) and secondary experience (approved apprenticeship 100%, helpers 80%, college coursework 50%, lineman 10%); .0209/.0404 fees ($125 exam application, $25 review, $100-$200 license). .0701 reciprocity: the Board recognizes licenses from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia; the applicant must furnish certification of the current reciprocal-state license, list the same qualified individual as on the original license, document that all non-examination requirements of Sections .0200-.0400 for the classification are met, and pay the license fee. .1101 CE: free 4-hour Laws and Rules course within 12 months of becoming a qualified individual; 8 hours CE per year for Limited/Intermediate/Unlimited/SP-SFD qualifiers.
NCBEEC Examination Information Handbook 2026 (PSI) · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors / PSI · Other · verified September 15, 2026Passing score 70% for all exams. Board approval is required before scheduling; one attempt per approval; 3-month wait after a failure. Exam content for Limited/Intermediate/Unlimited includes 15-18 questions on the licensing law, 21 NCAC 18B and the NASCLA business/law guide, so there is no separate law exam for examinees. References the 2020 NEC. Until licensed it is unlawful to engage in electrical contracting (G.S. 87-43).
NCBEEC - Examinations (PSI) · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Exams are administered by PSI. Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited exams are 100 multiple-choice questions in 6 hours, open book (NEC, NFPA 72, NASCLA business guide). The page contains no journeyman license or exam.
NCBEEC - Fees & Services · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Application & examination fee $125 (all classifications); examination review $25; license fees Limited $100, Intermediate $150, Unlimited $200, Special Restricted $100; verification of license $25. No separate reciprocity fee is listed.
North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors - Home · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Board mission under G.S. Chapter 87, Article 4. Lists the ten current reciprocity states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
NCBEEC - Licensing (classifications, fees, qualified individuals) · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Limited ($100/yr, single project up to $60,000, equipment up to 600 V), Intermediate ($150/yr, up to $150,000, bonding ability statement), Unlimited ($200/yr, any value, bonding ability statement) plus seven Special Restricted classifications ($100/yr). The license is issued to the business and the person who passed the exam is listed as the Qualified Individual; qualified individuals may be added or dropped. Licenses expire one year after issuance; $25 late renewal fee.
NCBEEC - Application for License: NASCLA Qualified Individuals · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Form · verified September 15, 2026A person who passed the NASCLA Accredited Electrical Examination: Electrical Contractor/Master Electrician may obtain any NC classification; the NASCLA Residential Electrical Contractor exam qualifies only for SP-SFD. Transcripts must arrive through NASCLA's NED system. Same checklist, license fees and 25-question NC laws/rules/business exam as the reciprocity packets.
NCBEEC - Reciprocity · N.C.G.S. 87-50 · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Quotes G.S. 87-50: 'the Board may grant licenses of the same or equivalent classification to electrical contractors licensed by other states without written examination.' Lists the ten reciprocal states and links to a page and application packet per state.

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

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