Transfer Your Contractor License to Vermont: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety (electricians and plumbers); Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation (residential contractor registration) ↗

Vermont offers trade-specific reciprocity through the Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety (electricians and plumbers); Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation (residential contractor registration), covering electrical work for licensees from states including New Hampshire, Maine. These agreements waive the relevant trade exam — not the business and law exam, bond, or registration. Fee: $90–$150 (Division of Fire Safety trade licenses are 3-year: Electrical Master $150, Electrical Journeyman $115, Electrical Specialist $115 per field; Plumbing Master $120, Plumbing Journeyman $90, Plumbing Specialist $50 per field. Exam fees are not included in the application. The separate OPR residential-contractor registration carries its own fee, which is published only behind OPR's online fee page and is not asserted here.). Select your trade and origin in the checker for the exact answer.

Moving to Vermont from a specific state?

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Read Vermont's agreements one trade at a time — that is the mistake most contractors make here. A deal that waives the electrical exam says nothing about general building, and a commercial agreement rarely covers residential work. The tables below separate them so you can see exactly which of your licenses travels and which does not.

Vermont clearly does offer an out-of-state path, so endorsement_available is true. Two claims that circulate about Vermont were checked and are NOT supported by the current official applications and so are excluded: there is no 2-hour Vermont code course required of universal-license plumbers, and there is no 'Vermont Energy Goals' education module in either the electrical or plumbing application. There is no separate state HVAC licence — heating work sits under the plumbing specialist fields. firesafety.vermont.gov returns 403 to automated clients, so its three documents were read through Internet Archive captures of those official URLs (electrical application captured 2026-05-28, electrical instructions 2025-04-17, plumbing application 2024-05-11 — the plumbing figures are therefore the oldest evidence in this row and should be re-checked at the next cadence); the OPR page was read live on sos.vermont.gov.

Vermont requirements at a glance

Out-of-state contractor license transfer requirements for Vermont, verified 2026-08-07
Exam	Vermont has no state general-contractor license — residential contractors merely register with the Secretary of State's Office of Professional Regulation, with no exam and therefore nothing to reciprocate. The Division of Fire Safety licenses electricians and plumbers statewide, and both boards issue licenses without the Vermont examination on two routes: a bilateral reciprocal license for residents of Maine or New Hampshire (electrical), and a 'universal license' for anyone currently licensed outside Vermont at a level equal to the Vermont credential sought, supported by a certified letter of licensure from the issuing state.
Additional requirements	Submit a certified letter of licensure from the issuing state — a photocopy of the license alone is not accepted Maine and New Hampshire bilateral electrical reciprocity is limited to residents of those states; applicants from elsewhere use the universal-license route Universal-license plumbers must document the apprenticeship or schooling required for the out-of-state license plus 8,000 hours (journeyman) or 12,000 hours (master) of experience File the application at the Division of Fire Safety two weeks before the licensing board meeting, signed and notarized Residential contractors on work valued at $10,000 or more must separately register with the Secretary of State's OPR, carry liability insurance and use a written contract
Fees	$90–$150 (Division of Fire Safety trade licenses are 3-year: Electrical Master $150, Electrical Journeyman $115, Electrical Specialist $115 per field; Plumbing Master $120, Plumbing Journeyman $90, Plumbing Specialist $50 per field. Exam fees are not included in the application. The separate OPR residential-contractor registration carries its own fee, which is published only behind OPR's online fee page and is not asserted here.)
Processing time	No week range is published. Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of Fire Safety two weeks before the board meeting date or they are held for a later agenda, and incomplete applications are returned.

Step by step

Confirm Vermont's current requirements on the Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety (electricians and plumbers); Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation (residential contractor registration) website — rules change.
Submit the endorsement application to the Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety (electricians and plumbers); Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation (residential contractor registration) (application linked on this page).
Arrange license verification from your current state.
Submit a certified letter of licensure from the issuing state — a photocopy of the license alone is not accepted.
Maine and New Hampshire bilateral electrical reciprocity is limited to residents of those states; applicants from elsewhere use the universal-license route.
Universal-license plumbers must document the apprenticeship or schooling required for the out-of-state license plus 8,000 hours (journeyman) or 12,000 hours (master) of experience.
File the application at the Division of Fire Safety two weeks before the licensing board meeting, signed and notarized.
Residential contractors on work valued at $10,000 or more must separately register with the Secretary of State's OPR, carry liability insurance and use a written contract.
Pay the fees ($90–$150 (Division of Fire Safety trade licenses are 3-year: Electrical Master $150, Electrical Journeyman $115, Electrical Specialist $115 per field; Plumbing Master $120, Plumbing Journeyman $90, Plumbing Specialist $50 per field. Exam fees are not included in the application. The separate OPR residential-contractor registration carries its own fee, which is published only behind OPR's online fee page and is not asserted here.)) and allow No week range is published. Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of Fire Safety two weeks before the board meeting date or they are held for a later agenda, and incomplete applications are returned..

Official links

Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety (electricians and plumbers); Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation (residential contractor registration) ↗Vermont application ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Vermont:

California → Vermont Florida → Vermont Georgia → Vermont Illinois → Vermont Maine → Vermont Michigan → Vermont New Hampshire → Vermont New York → Vermont North Carolina → Vermont Ohio → Vermont Pennsylvania → Vermont Texas → Vermont

Frequently asked questions

Does my contractor license transfer to Vermont?

Which states does Vermont have electrical contractor reciprocity with?

New Hampshire, Maine (verified 2026-08-07 against the Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety (electricians and plumbers); Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation (residential contractor registration)). Two distinct routes on the Division of Fire Safety application. Bilateral reciprocity with Maine and New Hampshire is open to RESIDENTS of those states only. Separately, a 'Reciprocal universal license' route accepts a current out-of-state license equal to the Vermont Master or Journeyman from any state on a certified letter of licensure plus a photocopy of the license. A military reciprocal route also exists (DD-214 plus 12R course and hours).

Does reciprocity waive all of Vermont's requirements?

No. Vermont's reciprocity waives the relevant trade exam only; the business/law exam, financial statement, bond, and insurance still apply.

What does a Vermont contractor license cost and how long does it take?

$90–$150 (Division of Fire Safety trade licenses are 3-year: Electrical Master $150, Electrical Journeyman $115, Electrical Specialist $115 per field; Plumbing Master $120, Plumbing Journeyman $90, Plumbing Specialist $50 per field. Exam fees are not included in the application. The separate OPR residential-contractor registration carries its own fee, which is published only behind OPR's online fee page and is not asserted here.); processing No week range is published. Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of Fire Safety two weeks before the board meeting date or they are held for a later agenda, and incomplete applications are returned..

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]