Transfer Your Electrician License to Arkansas: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing) ↗
Arkansas grants journeyman reciprocity to electricians licensed by examination in 16 named partner states (Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming). Come from one of them and the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing) waives its journeyman exam once you show a license held at least a year and can document 8000 hours of experience; come from anywhere else and you apply and sit the exam. No Arkansas examination is required if the applicant qualifies for reciprocity: they must hold a current, in-good-standing journeyman license from a listed reciprocal state, have held it at least one year, and have been tested (examined) for it in that state. Applicants from non-reciprocal states, or whose license was not earned by exam, must pass the Arkansas journeyman exam.. Fee: $25–$75 (Journeyman license fee is $25 per year; a license is issued for 1-3 years depending on the year within the NEC code cycle (about $25-$75 up front), and reciprocal applicants pay no $80 examination fee because they are not examined. Master license fee is $50 per year.).
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Verdict
Reciprocity with 16 states
Arkansas's reciprocity is a bilateral list, and the list governs — not your years on the tools. If your license comes from a state Arkansas names below and you earned it by exam, the journeyman exam is waived; if it does not, no amount of experience substitutes for sitting the test. Two cautions specific to electrical reciprocity: the list is directional (it names who Arkansas accepts, which says nothing about the reverse), and a license you were grandfathered into rather than examined for is generally not eligible.
NERA-style bilateral reciprocity. The 16 journeyman reciprocal partners are listed above; NERA lists are bilateral and differ between states (Minnesota, for example, is on Arkansas's MASTER list but not its journeyman list). Master reciprocity is narrower: agreements with Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon and Texas, but a master from most states reciprocates only as an Arkansas journeyman — full master-to-master reciprocity is limited to Oregon and North Dakota. Reciprocity requires an exam-earned, one-year-held, good-standing original license. No interstate electrician compact exists; the Board of Electrical Examiners sits within the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing.
Arkansas requirements at a glance
| Exam | No Arkansas examination is required if the applicant qualifies for reciprocity: they must hold a current, in-good-standing journeyman license from a listed reciprocal state, have held it at least one year, and have been tested (examined) for it in that state. Applicants from non-reciprocal states, or whose license was not earned by exam, must pass the Arkansas journeyman exam. |
|---|---|
| Training hours | 8,000 hours |
| Additional requirements |
|
| Fees | $25–$75 (Journeyman license fee is $25 per year; a license is issued for 1-3 years depending on the year within the NEC code cycle (about $25-$75 up front), and reciprocal applicants pay no $80 examination fee because they are not examined. Master license fee is $50 per year.) |
| Processing time | Board does not publish a processing time; applications must be received at least 5 business days before the monthly board meeting at which they are reviewed |
Step by step
- Confirm Arkansas's current requirements on the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing) website — rules change.
- Submit the reciprocity/endorsement application to the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Provide certification from the sister state that you are currently licensed as a journeyman and in good standing.
- Have held the sister-state license for at least one year and have been tested (examined) for it — grandfathered/non-exam licenses are not eligible.
- Only an original license from a listed state qualifies; you cannot reciprocate a license that was itself obtained by reciprocity.
- Non-reciprocal journeyman experience is a 4-year (8,000-hour) DOL-approved apprenticeship, or 16,000 hours without an approved apprenticeship.
- Pay the fees ($25–$75 (Journeyman license fee is $25 per year; a license is issued for 1-3 years depending on the year within the NEC code cycle (about $25-$75 up front), and reciprocal applicants pay no $80 examination fee because they are not examined. Master license fee is $50 per year.)) and allow Board does not publish a processing time; applications must be received at least 5 business days before the monthly board meeting at which they are reviewed.
Official links
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Frequently asked questions
Does my electrician license transfer to Arkansas?
Arkansas grants journeyman reciprocity to electricians licensed by examination in 16 named partner states (Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming). Come from one of them and the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing) waives its journeyman exam once you show a license held at least a year and can document 8000 hours of experience; come from anywhere else and you apply and sit the exam. No Arkansas examination is required if the applicant qualifies for reciprocity: they must hold a current, in-good-standing journeyman license from a listed reciprocal state, have held it at least one year, and have been tested (examined) for it in that state. Applicants from non-reciprocal states, or whose license was not earned by exam, must pass the Arkansas journeyman exam.. Fee: $25–$75 (Journeyman license fee is $25 per year; a license is issued for 1-3 years depending on the year within the NEC code cycle (about $25-$75 up front), and reciprocal applicants pay no $80 examination fee because they are not examined. Master license fee is $50 per year.).
Will I have to retake the journeyman exam in Arkansas?
No Arkansas examination is required if the applicant qualifies for reciprocity: they must hold a current, in-good-standing journeyman license from a listed reciprocal state, have held it at least one year, and have been tested (examined) for it in that state. Applicants from non-reciprocal states, or whose license was not earned by exam, must pass the Arkansas journeyman exam..
What does licensing in Arkansas cost an out-of-state electrician?
$25–$75 (Journeyman license fee is $25 per year; a license is issued for 1-3 years depending on the year within the NEC code cycle (about $25-$75 up front), and reciprocal applicants pay no $80 examination fee because they are not examined. Master license fee is $50 per year.) (Journeyman license fee is $25 per year; a license is issued for 1-3 years depending on the year within the NEC code cycle (about $25-$75 up front), and reciprocal applicants pay no $80 examination fee because they are not examined. Master license fee is $50 per year.).
How long does Arkansas take to process the application?
Board does not publish a processing time; applications must be received at least 5 business days before the monthly board meeting at which they are reviewed — Board does not publish a processing time; applications must be received at least 5 business days before the monthly board meeting at which they are reviewed.
Which states does Arkansas have electrician reciprocity with?
Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming (16 states, verified 2026-07-21 against the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Department of Labor and Licensing)). The list is bilateral, so a state Arkansas recognizes does not necessarily recognize Arkansas in return.
How many experience hours does Arkansas require?
8000 hours of documented on-the-job experience for the journeyman license; out-of-state hours generally count toward this minimum.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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