Moving to Ohio as a master electrician: every state's rule
Ohio has reciprocity agreements with 7 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.
Ohio master electrician · “Electrical Contractor (OCILB state license)”
Statewide license
Issued by Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB), Ohio Department of Commerce
Ohio has no license called 'master electrician'; its top person-held electrical credential is the statewide Electrical Contractor license issued by the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) to an individual (R.C. 4740.01(A)), who must then assign it to a contracting company. It is the credential Texas treats as equivalent to a master electrician license, and other states' reciprocity forms pair it with their master electrician licenses. A new applicant must be 18, a citizen or legal alien, have five years as a tradesperson in the electrical trade immediately before applying (or be an Ohio registered engineer with three years of construction business experience), pass BCI and FBI background checks, pass both sections of the PSI-administered examination (trade and Business & Law), carry $500,000 of contractor liability insurance in one company name, and pay a $25 application fee and $25 license fee. OCILB publishes reciprocity application pages for Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana, and Texas announced a master-level agreement with OCILB in June 2026. Licenses expire annually and renew with continuing education.
States Ohio reciprocates with
Every origin state
| State | Mechanism | Note | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Alaska | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Arizona | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Arkansas | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| California | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Colorado | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Connecticut | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Delaware | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| District of Columbia | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Florida | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Georgia | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Hawaii | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Idaho | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Illinois | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Indiana | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Iowa | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Kansas | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Kentucky | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-15 |
| Louisiana | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-15 |
| Maine | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Maryland | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Massachusetts | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Michigan | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Minnesota | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Mississippi | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Missouri | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Montana | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Nebraska | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Nevada | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| New Hampshire | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| New Jersey | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| New Mexico | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| New York | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| North Carolina | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-15 |
| North Dakota | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Oklahoma | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Oregon | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Pennsylvania | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Rhode Island | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| South Carolina | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-15 |
| South Dakota | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Tennessee | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-15 |
| Texas | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-15 |
| Utah | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Vermont | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Virginia | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Washington | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| West Virginia | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-15 |
| Wisconsin | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Wyoming | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 |
Getting licensed in Ohio from scratch
No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Ohio issues a master electrician license to a first-time applicant.
Electrical Contractor license by examination
Ohio has no state journeyman license, so there is no lower tier to hold first: an electrician qualifies for the state Electrical Contractor license directly from documented trade experience. The usual route is five years as a tradesperson in the electrical trade immediately before applying, shown with five consecutive years of tax records plus permits, an active journeyman card, an apprenticeship completion certificate or 40 hours of code courses. After OCILB approves the notarized application you complete BCI and FBI background checks, then pass two open-book PSI exams, the Electrical Contractor trade exam and the Ohio Contractor's Business and Law exam, with 70% on each. The license is issued to you personally on proof of passing, a $25 fee and $500,000 of liability insurance, and must be assigned to one contracting company.
The trade exam has 100 scored questions in 4 hours and is based on the 2023 National Electrical Code; you bring your own NEC or NEC Handbook, Ugly's Electrical References and a field reference book, which may be tabbed and highlighted but not written in. The Business and Law exam has 50 scored questions in 2 hours with the NASCLA Ohio contractor's guide provided at the test center, and it need only be passed once every three years if you later add another trade. Board approval is valid for one year, and results come at the end of the exam. After a failed exam you wait 60 days to retake; after five failures you must reapply. By statute the board authorizes the license within 90 days after the application is filed for a qualified applicant who passes. Holders of a substantially similar out-of-state license have a separate examination route under R.C. 4740.06(C).
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Required
- Exam given by
- PSI
- Exam format
- Open book
- Passing score
- 70%
- Renewal
- Every year
- Continuing education
- 10 hours per cycle
Who can apply
- You must document at least 5 years of qualifying work experience.Documented with W-2s, Schedule C or K-1 for the last five consecutive years, plus one of: at least one permit for each of those years pulled by the licensed contractor you worked for; an active journeyman card; a certificate of completion from an Ohio- or U.S. Department of Labor-approved apprenticeship; or 40 hours of live or webinar electrical code courses from an OCILB-approved training agency, dated within one year of the application. Active military service may be credited.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- United States citizen or legal alien with documentation
- No disqualifying offense or crime of moral turpitude, no violation of R.C. Chapter 4740, and no fraud in obtaining a license or in the conduct of business
Other ways to qualify
Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.
Ohio registered professional engineer
A currently registered Ohio professional engineer with three years of business experience in the electrical construction industry may sit for the exam. An engineer not registered in Ohio needs five years of business experience in the trade.
- Currently registered as a professional engineer in Ohio
- You must document at least 3 years of qualifying work experience.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- United States citizen or legal alien with documentation
- No disqualifying offense or crime of moral turpitude, no violation of R.C. Chapter 4740, and no fraud in obtaining a license or in the conduct of business
Five years as an Ohio government electrical inspector
- You must document at least 5 years of qualifying work experience.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- United States citizen or legal alien with documentation
- No disqualifying offense or crime of moral turpitude, no violation of R.C. Chapter 4740, and no fraud in obtaining a license or in the conduct of business
Five years in the trade, not immediately before applying
The electrical section may accept five years of trade experience that does not fall in the five years before the application, provided at least three of the five years were construction work on commercial or residential electrical projects. Education programs other than an Ohio-approved apprenticeship may substitute for up to one year of the five.
- You must document at least 5 years of qualifying work experience.Up to one year may be replaced by an education program. Counter sales, purchasing, clerical and unrelated general-contractor work do not count.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- United States citizen or legal alien with documentation
- No disqualifying offense or crime of moral turpitude, no violation of R.C. Chapter 4740, and no fraud in obtaining a license or in the conduct of business
Owner, partner or employee of a licensed electrical contracting company
- You must document at least 5 years of qualifying work experience.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- United States citizen or legal alien with documentation
- No disqualifying offense or crime of moral turpitude, no violation of R.C. Chapter 4740, and no fraud in obtaining a license or in the conduct of business
Uniformed services experience
An applicant who was actively engaged in substantially similar electrical work in the uniformed services for at least three of the five years before applying may sit for the exam. Veterans attach a DD214 and may add training records or a commanding officer's letter.
- You must document at least 3 years of qualifying work experience.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- United States citizen or legal alien with documentation
- No disqualifying offense or crime of moral turpitude, no violation of R.C. Chapter 4740, and no fraud in obtaining a license or in the conduct of business
Steps to get licensed
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($25). Notarized OCILB Examination Application fee per trade, nonrefundable, payable to Treasurer, State of Ohio.
- 2Background check. Complete a background check. BCI (Ohio) and FBI fingerprint background checks after the board approves the application and before the exam, with results sent directly to OCILB; the checks are valid for one year.
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Ohio Electrical Contractor exam (PSI): 100 scored questions, 4 hours, open book on the 2023 NEC, 70% to pass.
- 4Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Ohio Contractor's Business and Law exam (PSI): 50 scored questions, 2 hours, open book, 70% to pass.
- 5Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($69). PSI examination fee per registration, first attempt or retake, nonrefundable.
- 6License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($25). License issuance fee per trade, sent with the passing score report.
- 7Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($500,000). Certificate of contractor liability insurance of at least $500,000, including complete operations coverage, in one contracting company's name with OCILB as certificate holder.
- 8Other. Assignment of the license to one contracting company (no DBAs), or a written request for inactive status.
Published fees on this path total $119, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
Keeping it active
Every year with 10 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $60 renewal fee.
Ten hours each year from OCILB-approved training agencies: at least five hours of electrical code and five hours of health and safety, business or technology courses. Hours do not carry over. After a year of compliance you may join the compliant contractor program, which lowers the requirement to eight hours for an annual renewal or allows a three-year renewal with 24 hours of CE and a $180 fee.
Licenses expire annually on the original license date and may be renewed up to 90 days before expiration. A late renewal within one year of expiration carries a late fee of up to $120; after more than one year you must reapply and retest. You must keep $500,000 of liability insurance in force but no longer file proof with the renewal.
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
- Law / code exam
- Exam fee · $69
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance · $500,000
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
Sources for this section
- Ohio Adm.Code 4101:16-1-08 - Compliant contractor program · Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Ohio Administrative Code) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- Ohio Adm.Code 4101:16-2-01 - Examination qualifications · Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Ohio Administrative Code) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- Ohio Adm.Code 4101:16-2-02 - Application for examination; criminal records check · Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Ohio Administrative Code) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- Ohio Adm.Code 4101:16-2-08 - Continuing education hours of instruction requirements · Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Ohio Administrative Code) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- Ohio Adm.Code 4101:16-2-09 - Fees and insurance · Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (Ohio Administrative Code) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- OCILB - Contractors & Contracting Companies (five licensed trades, requirements, reciprocity list) · Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Industrial Compliance · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- OCILB Examination Application (form DIC 3524, PDF) · Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board · Form · verified September 23, 2026
- Ohio Revised Code 4740.01 - Construction industry licensing board definitions · R.C. 4740.01 · Ohio Legislative Service Commission · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Ohio Revised Code 4740.06 - License application; qualifications for examination · R.C. 4740.06(B), (C), (E), (F), (G), (H) · Ohio Legislative Service Commission · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- PSI Candidate Information Bulletin - Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board contractor examinations · PSI Services LLC for the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board · Form · verified September 23, 2026