Electrician License from North Carolina to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Tennessee accept a North Carolina electrician license?
There is no Tennessee state license to transfer into: Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license. Any licensing for this work is handled below the state level (a city, county or contractor-level authority), so check with the authority where you will work.
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Verdict
No state license to transfer
There is nothing to transfer into Tennessee, and it has nothing to do with North Carolina: Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman or master electrician license. Not applicable — Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman or master electrician license, so there is no state journeyman exam to waive. The state Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE) requires passing its exam and is expressly excluded from the Board's trade-exam-waiver reciprocity. Journeyman/master licenses are examined and issued by individual cities and counties. Identify the authority that governs electrical work at your Tennessee jobsite and apply there; your North Carolina license and documented hours may count with that authority, but no state agreement applies.
What's different between North Carolina and Tennessee
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Tennessee. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
North Carolina to Tennessee (this page): No state license to transfer.
Tennessee to North Carolina (the reverse move): Reciprocity agreement — conditional.
Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so neither direction is a state-license transfer.
- Does coming from North Carolina matter?
Coming from North Carolina does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Tennessee.
- Reciprocity agreements
North Carolina's reciprocity agreement list names 10 states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia), including Tennessee.
- Fee and processing
Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no Tennessee state license application fee or processing time to compare with North Carolina's.
- Exam rules on record
Tennessee and North Carolina carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Tennessee (this move): Not applicable — Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman or master electrician license, so there is no state journeyman exam to waive. The state Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE) requires passing its exam and is expressly excluded from the Board's trade-exam-waiver reciprocity. Journeyman/master licenses are examined and issued by individual cities and counties
- North Carolina (the reverse move): North Carolina waives its technical written examination for an electrical contractor of the same or equivalent classification licensed by exam in a reciprocal state, but every reciprocity applicant must still pass NC's 25-question open-book Laws, Rules and Business Practices exam (70% to pass); applicants from non-reciprocal states must sit the full NC examination.
What changes, North Carolina → Tennessee
| North Carolina (current) | Tennessee (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $100–$200 (License fee by classification, submitted with the reciprocity application: Limited $100, Intermediate $150, Unlimited $200; specialty (SP) classifications $100 each. Unlimited/Intermediate also require a statement of bonding ability.) | No statewide journeyman/master license fee exists; local authorities set their own fees. The state LLE and CE contractor fees are separate credentials not equivalent to a journeyman license |
| Processing time | 1–2 weeks (Board instructs applicants to allow 7-10 business days for processing.) | No statewide journeyman license, so no state processing time; local code authorities vary |
| Licensing authority | North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC) | Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Dept. of Commerce & Insurance) — state CE/LLE only; journeyman/master are local |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Tennessee sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Tennessee issues no statewide journeyman electrician license, so there is no state license to transfer: confirm with the authority linked on this page who licenses the work where you will practice.
- Contact that city, county or contractor-level authority for its own requirements, exams and fees.
- Keep records of your current license, exams and documented experience — a local authority may credit them, but nothing transfers at state level.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Who do I apply to if Tennessee has no state journeyman license?
The authority covering your jobsite: the city or county office that licenses individual electricians, where that jurisdiction licenses them at all. Tennessee sets no statewide journeyman requirement, so whether that authority credits your North Carolina license and documented experience is its decision — confirm it with the specific Tennessee jurisdiction where you will work.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors — Trade Exam Waiver (Reciprocity) with Tennessee ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors — main page ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Electrician application ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCBEEC — Reciprocity (partner states; technical exam waived without written examination) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCBEEC — Application for License by Reciprocity (classification fees; 25-question NC laws/rules exam; allow 7-10 business days) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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