LicensebyState

Moving to Arkansas as a master electrician: every state's rule

Arkansas has reciprocity agreements with 4 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.

Arkansas master electrician · “Master Electrician”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 3 sources

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.

States Arkansas reciprocates with

Every origin state

Reciprocity 4Experience credit 35No credit 11
Every state's path into Arkansas
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaExperience credit2026-09-15
AlaskaExperience credit2026-09-15
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
CaliforniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
ColoradoExperience credit2026-09-15
ConnecticutExperience credit2026-09-15
DelawareExperience credit2026-09-15
District of ColumbiaExperience credit2026-09-15
FloridaExperience credit2026-09-15
GeorgiaExperience credit2026-09-15
HawaiiExperience credit2026-09-15
IdahoExperience credit2026-09-15
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IndianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IowaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-15
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
KentuckyExperience credit2026-09-15
LouisianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MaineExperience credit2026-09-15
MarylandExperience credit2026-09-15
MassachusettsExperience credit2026-09-15
MichiganExperience credit2026-09-15
MinnesotaExperience credit2026-09-15
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MissouriExperience credit2026-09-15
MontanaExperience credit2026-09-15
NebraskaExperience credit2026-09-15
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
New HampshireExperience credit2026-09-15
New JerseyExperience credit2026-09-15
New MexicoExperience credit2026-09-15
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North CarolinaExperience credit2026-09-15
North DakotaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-15
OhioExperience credit2026-09-15
OklahomaExperience credit2026-09-15
OregonReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-15
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
Rhode IslandExperience credit2026-09-15
South CarolinaExperience credit2026-09-15
South DakotaExperience credit2026-09-15
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
TexasReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-15
UtahExperience credit2026-09-15
VermontExperience credit2026-09-15
VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-15
WashingtonExperience credit2026-09-15
West VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-15
WisconsinExperience credit2026-09-15
WyomingExperience credit2026-09-15

Getting licensed in Arkansas from scratch

No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Arkansas issues a master electrician license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 6 sources

Master Electrician license by examination

A journeyman electrician becomes an Arkansas Master Electrician by documenting six years of experience in the construction industry, both residential and commercial, including two years as a licensed journeyman, and passing the master exam. An electrical engineering degree plus two years of construction-related experience also qualifies, and the Board may approve another combination of apprenticeship, on-the-job training and experience as equivalent. You apply online for exam clearance and schedule the exam with Prov once the Board approves the application. The exam is open book on the National Electrical Code, and you must score at least 70%. There is no separate law or business exam.

The Board's Electrician Employment Verification form states the master requirement as 12,000 hours of qualifying on-the-job training, credited at no more than 2,000 hours a year with no overtime, and each employer's form must be notarized and signed by the contracting master electrician. Applications must reach the Board at least five business days before a scheduled Board meeting. The master exam has 60 questions in 3 hours, weighted toward grounding and bonding and services, feeders and overcurrent protection, with the NEC as the reference book. A candidate who passes must obtain the license within six months of the end of the month the exam was taken, or retest. A master electrician may plan, lay out and supervise electrical work, and a journeyman who contracts with the public must employ at least one full-time master.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Exam given by
Prov
Exam format
Open book
Passing score
70%
Renewal
Every year

Who can apply

  • Hold a Journeyman electrician license for at least 2 years first.Two years of experience as a licensed journeyman electrician, counted within the six years of construction experience (17 CAR §210-404(d)(2)).
  • You must document at least 6 years of qualifying work experience.The Board's employment verification form expresses this as 12,000 hours at a maximum of 2,000 hours per year.

Other ways to qualify

Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.

Electrical engineering degree plus two years of experience

An applicant with a degree in electrical engineering qualifies for the master exam with two years of construction-related experience. Submit a transcript with the application.

  • Degree in electrical engineering
  • You must document at least 2 years of qualifying work experience.

Board-approved equivalent training and experience

The Board may approve any combination of training and experience it finds equivalent to the degree or six-year routes, such as a Board-approved formal electrical apprenticeship, Board-approved on-the-job training, or a mix of training and construction experience. Approval is case by case.

  • A combination of apprenticeship, on-the-job training and construction experience that the Board approves as equivalent (17 CAR §210-404(d)(3))

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Arkansas Master Electrician exam administered by Prov: 60 questions in 3 hours, open book with the National Electrical Code, 70% to pass; offered in English or Spanish.
  2. 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($80). Examination fee for the computer-based exam, paid to Prov when scheduling (17 CAR §210-403(c)); Prov lists $56 for a paper-and-pencil sitting.
  3. 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($50). Master electrician license fee, paid after passing the exam (Ark. Code §17-28-301(a)). No separate application fee is set by statute or rule..
  4. 4Other. Online Application for Electrician's Exam Clearance with a notarized Electrician Employment Verification form from each employer, copies of electrician licenses held, and transcripts for any education credit.

Published fees on this path total $130, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every year and a $50 renewal fee.

Eight hours of Board-approved instruction on the National Electrical Code are required once per NEC code cycle, not every year: they must be completed in the first year of each new code cycle before you renew. The code cycle begins on January 1 of each NEC publication year.

The license expires on the last day of the month one year after it is issued. A late renewal costs one year's renewal fee plus $10 for each month late; after 36 months the exam must be retaken and a $1,000 penalty paid.

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
  • Exam fee · $80

Sources for this section

  1. 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, 2026
  2. Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners - Electrician Application (examination, reciprocal, temporary) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Form · verified September 15, 2026
  3. Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners - Electrician Employment Verification (form ABOEE 1-2025) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  4. 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 23, 2026
  5. 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 23, 2026
  6. Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing HVAC Section - Candidate Information Bulletin (Prov) · Prov, Inc. (testing vendor contracted by the Arkansas HVACR Board) · Other · verified September 23, 2026

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