Washington to North Carolina: master electrician license reciprocity
North Carolina has no reciprocity agreement with Washington. Your Washington experience counts toward eligibility, but you must pass the North Carolina exam.
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)
Nothing is waived, but your documented out-of-state hours count toward eligibility to sit the exam.
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. 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
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.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the North Carolina master electrician exam if I'm licensed in Washington?
- Yes. North Carolina requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a North Carolina master electrician license from Washington?
- Published fees on this path total $325, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Washington 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 Washington?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from North Carolina to Washington, the mechanism is no credit.
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 23, 2026
- N.C.G.S. 93B-15.3 - Licensure recognition for individuals licensed in neighboring states · N.C.G.S. 93B-15.3 (S.L. 2025-61) · North Carolina General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- 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 23, 2026
- NCBEEC Examination Information Handbook 2026 (PSI) · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors / PSI · Form · verified September 23, 2026
- NCBEEC - Examinations (PSI) · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- NCBEEC - Fees & Services · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors - Home · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
- NCBEEC - Licensing (classifications, fees, qualified individuals) · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- NCBEEC - Application for License: NASCLA Qualified Individuals · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Form · verified September 15, 2026
- NCBEEC - Reciprocity · N.C.G.S. 87-50 · NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.