Tennessee to Arkansas: master electrician license reciprocity
Tennessee 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 Tennessee has nothing to transfer
Tennessee master electrician
Licensed by cities and counties
Tennessee does not issue a master electrician license. The state-level credential for electrical contracting is a contractor license with the CE (electrical) classification from the Board for Licensing Contractors, which is issued to a business (sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC or corporation) that names a qualifying agent, and which is required for any electrical project of $25,000 or more. To obtain it the qualifying agent passes the Tennessee Business & Law exam and the CE trade exam (Prov), and the business files a reviewed or audited CPA financial statement (or, from July 1, 2026, a surety bond) that sets its monetary limit, proves general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and pays a $250 application fee ($200 biennial renewal). The Board has trade-exam-waiver agreements under which a contractor licensed in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina or West Virginia, or one who passed the NASCLA electrical exam, skips the CE trade exam but still takes the Business & Law exam and meets every other requirement; the Board stresses that these 'do NOT allow using another state's license in Tennessee'. Master electrician licenses proper exist only at the local level in the jurisdictions that run their own inspection programs: Nashville (Metro Master Electrician, six years of experience), Memphis/Shelby County (Master Electrician, four years as a journeyman), Chattanooga (Class I electrical contractor, three years as a journeyman) and other exempt jurisdictions, each with its own exam and fees and none publishing reciprocity for out-of-state masters. An out-of-state master electrician who only wants to work for an employer needs no state license; to pull permits for small jobs they need the local master license or an LLE where accepted, and to contract for work of $25,000 or more they need the state CE contractor license.
How local licensing works in Tennessee
State CE contractor license (business level). Required statewide for electrical projects of $25,000 and up and accepted by every local jurisdiction for permits, but it is a business license, not a personal master credential. Requirements: qualifying agent (owner, officer or full-time employee) passes the Tennessee Business & Law exam and the Electrical (CE) trade exam administered by Prov; reviewed or audited financial statement less than 12 months old (or a contractors' surety bond at 50% of the requested limit from July 1, 2026) setting a monetary limit of 10 times the lesser of working capital or net worth ($300,000 of each for an unlimited limit); general liability insurance scaled to the limit; workers' compensation or exemption; $250 initial fee, $200 renewal every two years; exam scores valid about two years. Trade exam waiver (the only state reciprocity): a contractor licensed in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina or West Virginia whose board verifies a comparable electrical exam on the Request for Contractor License Verification form, or who passed the NASCLA Electrical exam, files that verification in place of the CE trade exam score. The Business & Law exam is never waived, applicants with discipline, open complaints or felonies are ineligible, and the waiver cannot be used for the LLE. Arkansas's agreement covers only building classifications, not electrical.
Nashville (Metro Codes and Building Safety). The Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board issues the Metropolitan Master Electrician certificate. Applicants need six years of experience (an electrical engineering degree may substitute), employer verification letters, a character letter and approval by the Chief Electrical Inspector, then pass the Prov-administered Metro master exam with 70%. The application asks whether the applicant holds a master license in another city or state and how long, but no exam waiver is described. Nashville registers state CE contractors separately.
Memphis / Shelby County (Office of Construction Code Enforcement). The Master Electrician license (Sec. 1305 of the joint electrical code) requires age 24 and either an electrical engineering degree plus two years of installation experience or four certified years as a journeyman; application in person with three industry recommendations, 30-day investigation, exam before the Electrical Code Advisory Board on theory, installation, the NEC and local codes. Fees: exam $150, initial license $100, active renewal $150. A separate Electrical Contractor license ($150 exam, $150 license, $150 registration) must be held by or employ a master; state-certified CE contractors register for $150 instead of testing. No reciprocity provision appears in the code.
Chattanooga (Land Development Office). The Class I electrical license is the contractor/master credential: three or more years as a journeyman or plant electrician (or three years as a Class II residential contractor, a prior Class I license, a Tennessee PE license, or equivalent), city examination, $415 per two-year term. A Board of Electrical Examiners oversees testing; no reciprocity is mentioned.
Knoxville (Plans Review & Inspections). Knoxville is on the state's exempt list and requires a city registration to pull permits; a state CE contractor registers directly. Details of Knoxville's own electrical contractor/master exam and fees are not published on the pages found (865-215-4311).
Out-of-state holders. No Tennessee city or the state endorses another state's master license as such. The realistic paths are: (1) obtain the state CE contractor license, using the trade-exam waiver if licensed in AL, LA, MS, NC, OH, SC or WV or NASCLA-tested, which every jurisdiction accepts; or (2) apply for the local master license in each exempt jurisdiction where you will work, documenting the experience required there and passing the local exam.
- Nashville / Davidson County (Metro Codes and Building Safety)
- Memphis / Shelby County (Office of Construction Code Enforcement)
- Knoxville (Plans Review & Inspections)
- Chattanooga (Land Development Office)
- Hamilton County
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Jackson
- Kingsport
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Arkansas master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Tennessee?
- Yes. Arkansas requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas master electrician license from Tennessee?
- Published fees on this path total $130, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Arkansas to Tennessee, 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.