Electrician License from Massachusetts to New Hampshire: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does New Hampshire accept a Massachusetts electrician license?
An electrical license transfers from Massachusetts to New Hampshire by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification), verify your Massachusetts license, and meet New Hampshire's endorsement requirements. New Hampshire deems Massachusetts electrical licenses equivalent and usually waives its journeyman exam for them, which is what this endorsement application relies on. No New Hampshire exam is required to license a journeyman by endorsement if you hold a current license in a listed qualifying jurisdiction and have at least 1 year of professional experience in the journeyman category (Plc 313.24); applicants from non-listed jurisdictions must license by examination (verify 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and pass the NH journeyman exam).
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Massachusetts is on New Hampshire's list of qualifying jurisdictions for licensure by endorsement — states New Hampshire deems equivalent, which is not a reciprocity agreement. A journeyman licensed in Massachusetts applies to the New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) by endorsement, usually without its journeyman exam, and still meets the conditions New Hampshire attaches. Master electricians should check the board's separate master-level rules before relying on the journeyman list.
What's different between Massachusetts and New Hampshire
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into New Hampshire. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Massachusetts to New Hampshire (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
New Hampshire to Massachusetts (the reverse move): Reciprocity agreement.
The two directions differ: Massachusetts and New Hampshire do not give each other's licensees the same route.
- Does coming from Massachusetts matter?
Massachusetts gets New Hampshire's most common result: 37 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get the same one, so for most movers the origin does not change the answer.
The others get: no state license to transfer (13).
- Reciprocity agreements
Massachusetts's reciprocity agreement list names 1 state (New Hampshire), including New Hampshire.
- Application fee
Massachusetts lists $208–$310 for the reverse move; New Hampshire has no verified fee figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Experience hours
New Hampshire's first-time-applicant standard is 8,000 hours of documented experience for the journeyman license; Massachusetts's is 8,000.
The two standards are the same.
- Exam rules on record
New Hampshire and Massachusetts carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- New Hampshire (this move): No New Hampshire exam is required to license a journeyman by endorsement if you hold a current license in a listed qualifying jurisdiction and have at least 1 year of professional experience in the journeyman category (Plc 313.24); applicants from non-listed jurisdictions must license by examination (verify 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and pass the NH journeyman exam)
- Massachusetts (the reverse move): Massachusetts licenses WITHOUT examination (waives its journeyman/master exam) only for a New Hampshire licensee whose NH license was earned by passing the New Hampshire exam; applicants from every other state must pass the Massachusetts journeyman or master examination
What changes, Massachusetts → New Hampshire
| Massachusetts (current) | New Hampshire (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| Application fee | $208–$310 (Journeyman reciprocity application fee is $208; master reciprocity application fee is $310 (non-refundable, per 237 CMR 15.02)) | OPLC application/license fees are published only on the board's fee page (the application states 'SEE WEBSITE FOR FEES'); the official fee schedule was access-restricted and could not be retrieved as of 2026-07-21 - see https://www.oplc.nh.gov/find-board/electricians-board/electricians-license-fees |
| Processing time | The Board of State Examiners of Electricians does not publish a processing-time range for reciprocity applications | OPLC does not publish a processing time for endorsement/reciprocal applications |
| Licensing authority | Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians (Division of Occupational Licensure) | New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Hampshire sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Hampshire's current requirements on the New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current electrician license in a listed qualifying jurisdiction with at least 1 year of professional experience in the journeyman category (Plc 313.24).
- Applicants by examination must verify a minimum of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training (master applicants: 2,000 hours as a licensed journeyman).
- Provide 3 professional references and a recent color photograph (Elec 302.04).
- Disclose any felony convictions and any license discipline in any jurisdiction.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does this route work for a master electrician?
Not necessarily — master licenses move on separate terms. Some boards keep their own master reciprocity list; otherwise they review the master license individually. Confirm the New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification)'s master-level experience and exam requirements, which are separate from the journeyman track this site's grid tracks.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- NH OPLC - New Changes for Reciprocity (Plc 313.24 Electricians' Board qualifying jurisdictions) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NH OPLC Electricians' Board - Journeyman/Master/Reciprocal Application (8,000-hour journeyman requirement; reciprocity section) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Mass.gov — 237 CMR 15.00: Licensure without examination ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Mass.gov — Apply for reciprocity for an out-of-state electrician's license ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com