State guide

Which States Accept the NASCLA Electrical Exam?

Updated September 2026

Seventeen licensing boards recognize the NASCLA Master/Unlimited electrical exam: Alabama, Arizona, Washington DC, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Vanderburgh County in Indiana.

But the list alone is misleading - the boards accept it in very different ways, and three caveats matter before you plan a multi-state career around one exam pass.

How the transfer normally works

You apply through NASCLA's National Examination Database, pass the exam once, and your score lives in the database. When you apply to a participating board, you send them an official NASCLA transcript electronically - no retesting.

That is the promise, and for most of the 17 boards it works exactly that way.

Caveat 1: the endorsement-only states

Utah and New Mexico only recognize the exam AFTER it has earned you a license somewhere else - Utah wants that license held at least 12 months, New Mexico wants a letter of good standing showing at least a year. Neither takes the exam as a direct substitute for a first license.

If you hold no license anywhere yet, start with a direct-acceptance state and endorse into Utah or New Mexico later.

Caveat 2: the test-through-us boards

Nebraska and Vanderburgh County (Evansville, Indiana) administer the NASCLA exam as their own exam but do NOT accept incoming transcripts - a pass earned for another state will not transfer in. If either is your home jurisdiction, apply there first and take the exam through them.

A pass taken through Nebraska still lands in the national database, so it counts everywhere else too - the door only swings one way.

Caveat 3: score windows

Kentucky and South Carolina accept scores only within 3 years of the exam date, and Tennessee treats exams as valid for about 2 years. An old pass can quietly expire for those boards - apply while your score is fresh.

Every board also layers its own requirements on top: business and law exams, experience hours, insurance, financial statements. Our state pages break down each board's stack - and always confirm current rules with the board itself before scheduling.

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