For this month’s “State of the State” we are discussing our latest licensing reciprocity updates. Texas House Bill 11 became law on September 1, 2025. This bill states that TDLR “shall maximize licensing reciprocity agreements, with respect to licenses issued by the department, to the extent allowed by law.” Since September of 2025, we have added five master electrician agreements and one journeyman electrician agreement with various states.

The current reciprocal agreements we have for Master Electrician are with Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa (Class A master electrician), Louisiana (state contractor’s license), Nebraska, North Carolina (master electrician or unlimited electrical contractor), Ohio, and Tennessee (Electrical Contractor).

Current list of reciprocal agreements we have for Journeyman Electrician are with Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

To qualify for reciprocity in Texas for journeyman, an out-of-state applicant must have held their license in good standing for at least one year and qualified for their license by taking said state’s administered exam. To qualify for reciprocity for a master, the out-of-state applicant requirements are the same as above, plus proof of having held a journeyman license. We hope to add many more reciprocity agreements as we continue to talk to other states.

In closing, if there are any questions on reciprocity and you are unsure if you qualify for any of our agreements contact me at josh.hall@tdlr.texas.gov and I can walk you through the requirements. Although we might not have an agreement with a state you previously or currently worked or have worked in, we can still accept your hours performing electrical work in that state if there is a master or equivalent in that state that will sign off on your hours on our Texas application. However, the exam would not be waived if there is no agreement with that state. See y’all next month!