State licensing boards · verified July 2026
Electrician license reciprocity, state by state
The short answer
As of July 2026, 27 states publish formal reciprocity agreements for electricians. Wyoming publishes the widest list, accepting licenses from 17 other states. Reciprocity is never automatic: receiving states generally require that the original license was earned by examination, remains in good standing, and in many cases has been held for a minimum period.
Which states accept licenses from where?
Each row below is a state that publishes an agreement list, and the states it names. Read it as "this state will consider an application from a license holder in these states", not as a guarantee of recognition.
| State | Accepts from | States named |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 8 | Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia |
| Alaska | 13 | Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming |
| Colorado | 14 | Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming |
| Idaho | 2 | Oregon, Wyoming |
| Iowa | 13 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
| Maine | 6 | Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Wyoming |
| Maryland | 4 | Delaware, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia |
| Massachusetts | 1 | New Hampshire |
| Minnesota | 9 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming |
| Mississippi | 4 | Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina |
| Nebraska | 13 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming |
| Nevada | 8 | Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia |
| New Mexico | 10 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming |
| North Carolina | 10 | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia |
| North Dakota | 13 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming |
| Ohio | 1 | North Carolina |
| Oklahoma | 10 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming |
| Oregon | 7 | Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Utah, Washington, Wyoming |
| South Carolina | 8 | Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania (City of Reading exam), Tennessee, Utah (exams passed before 05/2017) |
| South Dakota | 14 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming |
| Texas | 13 | Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming |
| Vermont | 2 | Maine, New Hampshire |
| Virginia | 7 | Alabama, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia |
| Washington | 1 | Oregon |
| West Virginia | 1 | Virginia |
| Wisconsin | 2 | Iowa, New Hampshire |
| Wyoming | 17 | Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah |
Source: each state's own licensing board. Verified July 2026.
Which license travels farthest?
Looked at the other way round, some state licenses are named in more agreements than others. Wyoming leads, named in 13 agreements. These are the licenses most widely accepted elsewhere for this trade:
- Wyoming: accepted by 13 states (Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas)
- Arkansas: accepted by 12 states (Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming)
- Montana: accepted by 11 states (Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming)
- Alaska: accepted by 10 states (Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming)
- Idaho: accepted by 10 states (Colorado, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming)
- Iowa: accepted by 10 states (Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
- Nebraska: accepted by 10 states (Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming)
- New Hampshire: accepted by 10 states (Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
- South Dakota: accepted by 10 states (Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming)
If you expect to move, this is worth knowing before you choose where to get licensed. It is also worth checking the hour requirement in both states, because a license earned under a lower requirement is sometimes the one a receiving state declines to accept.
What conditions apply?
Reciprocity agreements are conditional rather than automatic, and the conditions repeat across states. The original license generally has to have been earned by passing an examination rather than granted under a grandfathering provision. It usually has to be current and in good standing. Many states add a minimum holding period, commonly one year. Some require the receiving state's own business and law examination even when they waive the trade exam. Fees apply either way.
What if there is no agreement?
You apply as a new candidate and sit that state's examination. Experience earned elsewhere usually still counts toward the hour requirement, which is the part people miss: an electrician with eight years in a non-reciprocal state normally does not start over on hours, only on the exam. Check how the receiving state documents out-of-state experience, because that is where applications stall.
Sources and verification
How this was compiled
Every agreement above comes from the publishing state's own board page or rules, linked in the table. Where a state's rules allow reciprocity but publish no list of partner states, no agreement is asserted here. That conservative treatment is why some states you might expect are absent.
Last verified July 2026 · Found an error? Report it and it will be corrected and logged on the corrections page.
Compare requirements with the hours by state table, or see electricians pay and outlook.
Agreements change and conditions differ by state. This page is informational only, so confirm with the board you are applying to before relying on it. Not legal advice.