North Dakota Master Electrician License: Requirements and How to Apply
What North Dakota requires for a master electrician license: 10,000 hours or a year as a licensed journeyman, the State Electrical Board's exam, the three master statuses, contracting rules, reciprocity and renewal.
Contents
North Dakota Master Electrician License: Requirements and How to Apply
The North Dakota State Electrical Board licenses master electricians and writes and gives the master exam itself. Everything below comes from North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-09, the Board's rules in N.D. Admin. Code title 24.1 (the 2026 Laws, Rules, Wiring and Conveyance Standards booklet) and the Board's licensing pages.
What a master may do
A master electrician plans, lays out and supervises the installation and repair of wiring and equipment for light, heat, power and power limited systems (NDCC 43-09-01). Only a master (or a power limited electrician, for that work) may contract to install electrical wiring; a class B electrician may contract only for farmstead wiring and for one- and two-family dwellings in towns of 2,500 or fewer (NDCC 43-09-20).
After passing, a master chooses one of three statuses (NDAC 24.1-03-01-02):
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Contracting master | Responsible for following North Dakota's laws, rules and wiring standards, with proof of liability insurance |
| Master of record | The responsible master for one company, covered by its insurance; may work only on property the company owns or leases |
| Noncontracting master | Same responsibility as a journeyman; works under a contracting master or master of record |
Experience
You need 10,000 hours of experience, or, as a licensed North Dakota journeyman, one year and 2,000 hours working as a journeyman under a contracting master or master of record (NDCC 43-09-11; NDAC 24.1-03-01-02; SFN 11858).
How to apply
- Apply to the Board with the Application for Electrician's License by Exam (SFN 11858), employment verification and the $50 application fee.
- Wait for approval. The Board's invitation lists the open exam dates.
- Pick a date and test within six months of the invitation.
- Pass the exam, then pay the $50 license fee.
The exam in brief
| Item | North Dakota Master Electrician |
|---|---|
| Given by | The State Electrical Board, at its office in Bismarck |
| Parts | A 1-hour closed-book part and a 3.5-hour open-book part |
| Questions | Not published |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Books | Provided by the Board, with calculators and pencils |
| Code | The 2026 NEC and the 2026 North Dakota laws, rules and wiring standards from the December 2026 exams |
See what is on the Master exam and exam day.
Contracting
There is no separate contractor exam. To contract, a master registers the business with the North Dakota Secretary of State (NDCC chapter 43-07), files the Board's contracting application and carries public liability insurance of at least $500,000 (NDCC 43-09-20). A master may use the license for one shop or business, must actively supervise every project certified under it and must keep records of everyone doing electrical work for the business (NDAC 24.1-03-01-09). Installations worth $500 or more need an electrical wiring certificate filed by the supervising master (NDAC 24.1-05-01-01).
Licensed in another state?
North Dakota grants master reciprocity only to Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota licensees: a passed written exam, a license held continuously for a year and 10,000 hours under a contracting master. The application and license fees are $50 each. Masters from other reciprocal states may qualify for a North Dakota journeyman license instead.
Renewal and continuing education
A master license runs for one year and expires April 30; renewal is $50. You need 8 hours of continuing education each two-year cycle, at least half of it on the 2026 NEC (NDCC 43-09-15.1; NDAC 24.1-04-01-01). An expired license costs a reinstatement fee equal to the annual fee, and a license left unrenewed for three consecutive years means taking the exam again.
Practice for the exam
Our North Dakota Master practice test is built on the 2026 NEC and North Dakota's rules, and every question cites the section you would look up.
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