LicensebyState

Tennessee to Wisconsin: master electrician license reciprocity

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

Tennessee does not issue a statewide master electrician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Wisconsin'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 any state other than Iowa gets no exam waiver in Wisconsin and applies under Category A of Form 3107 like a first-time candidate. The out-of-state license itself is not credited, but experience is: the applicant documents 60 months with at least 10,000 hours installing, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring (or 1,000 hours per year for seven years) on the Experience Table (Form 3107T), or uploads a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering. The 12-months-as-a-licensed-journeyman route asks for a copy of the journeyman license and the form does not say whether an out-of-state journeyman license qualifies. The application and fees are submitted in LicensE ($35 application, $30 examination and $200 license fee under Table 305.02), DSPS makes the applicant eligible to test, and the applicant must pass the Wisconsin master electrician exam. Wisconsin has no separate law or business exam for individual electricians.

DSPS publishes no endorsement route for non-reciprocal states. Whether an out-of-state journeyman license satisfies the 12-month journeyman route was not confirmed from an official page; the 10,000-hour route is available regardless. Fee amounts are from Table 305.02 of the administrative code; the forms say fees are calculated in LicensE.

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 10,000 hours of qualifying work experience.At least 10,000 hours over at least 60 months installing, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring (or 1,000 hours per year for seven years); up to 3,000 hours and three years may come from full-time electrical schooling. Alternatives: 12 months of experience while licensed as a journeyman electrician, or an electrical engineering degree.

What you'll do to get licensed in Wisconsin

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($35). Master Electrician license application fee (Table 305.02 line 25g), paid in LicensE.
  2. 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($30). Master Electrician examination fee (Table 305.02 line 25g); paid again for each retake.
  3. 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Wisconsin Master Electrician examination (open book on SPS 305, SPS 316 and the NEC).
  4. 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($200). Master Electrician initial license fee (Table 305.02 line 25g); two-year credential.
  5. 5Other. Experience Table (Form 3107T) with witness signatures, journeyman license copy, or engineering transcripts, uploaded to LicensE.

Published fees on this path total $265, 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 · $30
  • Trade exam

How Wisconsin licenses master electricians

Wisconsin master electrician · “Master Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS)

Wisconsin issues a statewide, person-held Master Electrician license through DSPS; the separate Electrical Contractor license is a business credential that must designate a master electrician and is not covered here. A new applicant under Wis. Stat. 101.868 qualifies with 12 months of experience as a licensed journeyman electrician, or 60 months with at least 10,000 hours of experience, or a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, applies in the LicensE portal, and passes the DSPS master electrician exam. Under Wis. Stat. 101.874 DSPS may enter into reciprocal agreements; Form 3107 currently waives the exam only for Iowa Master A Electricians. The license is renewed every two years for $40.

Moving to WisconsinLeaving Wisconsin

Why Tennessee has nothing to transfer

Tennessee master electrician

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 15, 2026· 13 sources

Issued by Local code enforcement offices (Nashville, Memphis/Shelby County, Knoxville, Chattanooga and other exempt jurisdictions); state issues only the CE contractor license

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.

Moving to TennesseeLeaving Tennessee

Common questions

Do I have to take the Wisconsin master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Tennessee?
Yes. Wisconsin requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Wisconsin master electrician license from Tennessee?
Published fees on this path total $265, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Tennessee work hours count in Wisconsin?
Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Wisconsin's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Wisconsin to Tennessee?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Wisconsin to Tennessee, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. Wisconsin DSPS Form 3107 - Master Electrician License Application Information (Rev. 12/04/2025) · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Form · verified September 15, 2026Category A (experience/degree and examination): 12 months of experience as a licensed journeyman electrician, or 60 months with at least 10,000 hours of experience (or 1,000 hours per year for seven years; up to 3,000 hours / three years of schooling credit), or a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering. Category C (reciprocity): a valid, unexpired Master Electrician license acquired through a state examination in Iowa (Master A), held continuously for at least one year immediately before applying, licenses without the Wisconsin exam. Fees are calculated in LicensE.
  2. Wisconsin DSPS - Master Electrician · Wis. Stat. 101.862; Wis. Admin. Code SPS 305.43 · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Program page: applications (Form 3107) are filed in LicensE; exams reflect SPS 316 and the NEC; links to the Trades Renewal Dates and Fees document. Does not itself list reciprocity states.
  3. DSPS - Trades Renewal Dates and Fees · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Other · verified September 15, 2026HVAC Qualifier: 4-year credential renewing from date of issuance, renewal fee $100, no CE, reinstatement $200. HVAC Contractor: 4-year registration from date of issuance, renewal $40, reinstatement $200. (SPS 305 Table 305.07 still lists a 2-year term for these credentials; DSPS's current schedule is used here.) Read with pdftotext after download.
  4. Wisconsin DSPS - Trades Credentialing Examination Information · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Trades exams are given at DSPS locations or, at a marginally higher fee, at Pearson test centers selected in the LicensE application; exam reviews are $15.
  5. Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 305 - Licenses, Certifications and Registrations (Register August 2025) · SPS 305.02 Table 305.02; SPS 305.70; SPS 305.71 · Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Table 305.02: HVAC Contractor registration $15 application fee and $160 registration fee; HVAC Qualifier certification $15 application fee, $25 examination fee, $60 certification fee. SPS 305.70: HVAC contractor registration is mandatory for any person, entity or business installing or servicing HVAC equipment and is applied for by the owner, partner or chief executive; a note reminds that federal Section 608 technician certification is required for refrigerant work. SPS 305.71: an individual may obtain an HVAC qualifier certification by meeting the 4-year experience/education standard, passing the exam under SPS 305.09 and paying the certification fee; a business that uses a qualifier is a 'certified HVAC business' that cannot be required to obtain local approval. The chapter contains no reciprocity or credential-by-endorsement provision for HVAC. Read with pdftotext after download.
  6. Wis. Stat. 101.868 - Master electrician license · Wis. Stat. 101.868 · Wisconsin Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026Master electrician qualifications: a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, or 12 months of experience while licensed as a journeyman electrician, or 60 months with at least 10,000 hours of experience installing, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring; each followed by passage of the department's examination.
  7. Wis. Stat. 101.874 - Reciprocal agreements (electrical credentials) · Wis. Stat. 101.874 · Wisconsin Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026DSPS may enter into a reciprocal agreement with another state recognizing electrician credentials as comparable only if the other state's education, experience and examination requirements are at least equivalent to Wisconsin's; under an agreement DSPS issues a credential to an applicant who submits an application, pays the fee under s. 101.82(4), and holds a valid comparable credential from the other state.

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

Report an error on this page

Related