Electrician License from New Hampshire to Maine: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Maine accept a New Hampshire electrician license?
Yes — Maine has a reciprocity arrangement covering New Hampshire license holders. Apply to the Maine Electricians' Examining Board (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional & Financial Regulation) under its reciprocity/endorsement track; it typically waives the journeyman exam and complete Maine's remaining requirements.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Reciprocity agreement
New Hampshire is on Maine's journeyman reciprocity list, which puts this move on the fast track: Maine waives its journeyman exam for electricians who earned a qualifying New Hampshire license by examination, held it at least a year, and meet the experience hours. Two conditions decide whether you actually qualify — your New Hampshire license must have come from an exam, not a grandfather clause, and it must be current. The list is also revocable; the verification date on this page is when we last confirmed New Hampshire on it, and the Maine Electricians' Examining Board (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional & Financial Regulation) is the live source.
What's different between New Hampshire and Maine
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Maine. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
New Hampshire to Maine (this page): Reciprocity agreement.
Maine to New Hampshire (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The two directions differ: New Hampshire and Maine do not give each other's licensees the same route.
- Does coming from New Hampshire matter?
Coming from New Hampshire matters here: only 6 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Maine.
The others get: licensure by endorsement (31) and no state license to transfer (13).
- Reciprocity agreements
Maine's reciprocity agreement list names 6 states (New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming), including New Hampshire.
- Application fee
Maine lists $150 for an out-of-state applicant; New Hampshire has no verified fee figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Experience hours
Maine's first-time-applicant standard is 8,000 hours of documented experience for the journeyman license; New Hampshire's is 8,000.
The two standards are the same.
- Exam rules on record
Maine and New Hampshire carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Maine (this move): No Maine exam is required for a journeyman who holds a current license from a reciprocal state and passed that state's written examination; applicants from non-reciprocal states must qualify by experience and pass the Maine journeyman examination
- New Hampshire (the reverse 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)
What changes, New Hampshire → Maine
| New Hampshire (current) | Maine (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| Application fee | 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 | $150 (Reciprocity license fee is $150 for journeyman or master; a separate $21 criminal-records-check fee brings the total 'Required Fee' stated on the application to $171.) |
| Processing time | OPLC does not publish a processing time for endorsement/reciprocal applications | The board does not publish a processing time; applications show as Pending then Active in the ALMS online license search |
| Licensing authority | New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) | Maine Electricians' Examining Board (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional & Financial Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Maine sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Maine's current requirements on the Maine Electricians' Examining Board (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional & Financial Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the reciprocity application to the Maine Electricians' Examining Board (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional & Financial Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current journeyman license from a reciprocal state and have passed that state's written exam.
- Submit affidavits documenting at least 8,000 hours in electrical installations (12,000 hours for master).
- Submit license verification directly from the reciprocating state's board.
- Undergo a criminal history records check (SBI).
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What could disqualify me even though New Hampshire is on Maine's list?
A New Hampshire license you were grandfathered into rather than earning by exam, a license held less than a year, or falling short of the experience-hour minimum. Maine's reciprocity is conditional, not automatic.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Maine Electricians' Examining Board — Journeyman Electrician licensing (reciprocity states, fees, experience) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Maine Electricians' Examining Board — Reciprocity License Application (Journeyman/Master), rev. 01/2020 ↗ (accessed 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)
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