Arkansas Electrician License Reciprocity
By License Tier — Journeyman and Master are genuinely different
Last researched September 4, 2026
Arkansas treats these two license tiers differently — read each section below carefully.
The reciprocity rules for Journeyman and Master electricians are separately sourced and may cover different qualifying states. See each section below for the full, separately-sourced details.
Journeyman Electrician
Reciprocity Available
Reciprocity RulesArkansas reciprocates ORIGINAL (non-reciprocated) journeyman electrician licenses from 17 states: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A license that was itself obtained by reciprocity in the issuing state cannot be re-reciprocated into Arkansas — only an original license qualifies. Wyoming licenses reciprocate only if the applicant completed a USDOL-approved apprenticeship program of at least 576 classroom hours; no such extra condition applies to the other 16 states. Per 17 CAR 210-404(e)(2), the applicant must also hold the sister-state journeyman license in good standing, have held it for at least one year, and have been tested (examined) in that state.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Board of Electrical Examiners ↗Licensing BoardArkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Board of Electrical Examiners ↗Exam RequirementA written examination ($80 fee) is required for standard/apprenticeship-path journeyman licensure, per 17 CAR 210-403(a),(c). The rules do not state an explicit examination exemption for reciprocal journeyman applicants — unlike the exemption explicitly granted to specialist sign electricians under 210-404(i)(2) — so reciprocal applicants are inferred, but not explicitly confirmed, to still sit Arkansas's own journeyman exam.
Source: Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) ↗Experience RequirementFor the RECIPROCITY pathway specifically (distinct from Arkansas's own original-licensure paths): certification from the sister state confirming the applicant currently holds a journeyman license in good standing, has held it for at least one year, and was tested (examined) in that state (17 CAR 210-404(e)(2)).
Source: Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) ↗Application FeeNot yet confirmed
Processing TimeNot yet confirmed
Universal License RecognitionNot yet confirmed
Master Electrician
Reciprocity Available
Reciprocity RulesArkansas recognizes a separate, smaller Master Reciprocal Agreement list of only 4 states: Iowa, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas — distinct from the 17-state Journeyman Reciprocal Agreement list. Critically, a master license from any of the OTHER 15 states on the Journeyman list (including Iowa and Texas, which appear on both lists) reciprocates into Arkansas as a JOURNEYMAN license only, not a master license. Only Oregon and North Dakota have a genuine master-to-master reciprocal agreement with Arkansas: a master license from those two states reciprocates directly into an Arkansas master license. As with the journeyman list, only an original (non-reciprocated) out-of-state license qualifies — a license itself obtained by reciprocity in the issuing state cannot be re-reciprocated into Arkansas.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Board of Electrical Examiners ↗Licensing BoardArkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Board of Electrical Examiners ↗Exam RequirementA written examination ($80 fee) is required for standard/apprenticeship-path master licensure, per 17 CAR 210-403(a),(c). No explicit examination exemption is stated for master reciprocity applicants anywhere in the rules text — the master qualification section (210-404(d)) does not even include a dedicated reciprocity subsection, unlike journeyman's 210-404(e)(2) — so whether reciprocal master applicants must sit Arkansas's exam is unconfirmed and inferred only from the rule's general structure.
Source: Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) ↗Experience RequirementArkansas's rules do not codify a master-tier-specific reciprocity experience or testing condition (unlike the explicit condition set for journeyman reciprocity under 17 CAR 210-404(e)(2) — see arkansas-journeyman.json). For ORIGINAL (non-reciprocal) Arkansas master licensure: a degree in electrical engineering plus 2 years of construction-related experience; OR 6 years of construction industry experience (both residential and commercial) including 2 years as a licensed journeyman electrician; OR a board-approved equivalent combination of training and experience (17 CAR 210-404(d)).
Source: Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) ↗Application FeeNot yet confirmed
Processing TimeNot yet confirmed
Universal License RecognitionNot yet confirmed