Georgia and South Carolina's electrical exam waiver now runs one way

South Carolina electrical contractors licensed in Georgia can still get a South Carolina license by waiver, even though Georgia ended its side of the deal. Georgia's electrical board canceled the exam waiver agreement effective May 25, 2026, and South Carolina's board voted on April 30, 2026 to keep honoring it from its end anyway.

At a glance

• Who: the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board (CLB) and Georgia's Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Electrical Contractors.
• What changed: Georgia ended its exam waiver/reciprocity agreement with South Carolina for electrical contractors. South Carolina's board voted to keep accepting Georgia's electrical exam for South Carolina licenses anyway.
• When: Georgia's termination took effect May 25, 2026. South Carolina's board vote was April 30, 2026.
• Who it affects: Georgia licensed electrical contractors who want a South Carolina electrical license by waiver. The waiver no longer runs the other way, into Georgia.

For the full picture of how South Carolina licenses contractors, start with the South Carolina contractor license page.

What Georgia did

South Carolina's board was notified on February 23, 2026 that the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Electrical Contractors, had requested to terminate its exam waiver and reciprocity agreement with South Carolina for electrical contractors, effective May 25, 2026. The request was not aimed at South Carolina specifically. Georgia sent the same termination notice to every state it had an exam waiver agreement with.

South Carolina's board later learned why. Georgia explained that the termination was ahead of expected legislation that would change parts of how its Construction Industry Licensing Board is structured, and that Georgia would know more about its statute amendments in May 2026, after which it would look at putting a new agreement in place.

What South Carolina decided to do about it

South Carolina did not have to follow Georgia's lead. At its April 30, 2026 meeting, the board voted to keep accepting the technical exam waiver from Georgia applicants applying for a South Carolina electrical license, even though Georgia had withdrawn its own agreement. The motion carried unanimously.

That means an electrical contractor licensed in Georgia can still apply for a South Carolina electrical license using Georgia's unrestricted electrical exam to waive South Carolina's technical exam, the same as before Georgia's termination notice. The applicant still has to pass South Carolina's Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam, through PSI, and meet every other South Carolina licensing requirement. Only the technical portion of the exam is waived, and it only ever was.

What South Carolina's waiver chart shows now

South Carolina's revised waiver chart, dated May 2026, still lists Georgia's unrestricted electrical exam as accepted for South Carolina's electrical classification, and Georgia's unrestricted conditioned air exam (passed after June 30, 1980) as accepted for South Carolina's air conditioning and heating classifications. But the Georgia row now carries a note: Georgia no longer accepts South Carolina waiver applicants.

In practice, a Georgia licensed electrical contractor can still waive into South Carolina. A South Carolina licensed electrical contractor can no longer waive into Georgia on the strength of this agreement.

This has happened before

South Carolina's board pointed to a similar situation in 2022. Georgia sent a comparable termination notice for its conditioned air and heating waiver agreement with South Carolina. At its October 13, 2022 meeting, the South Carolina board voted to keep accepting Georgia's unrestricted conditioned air and heating exam for South Carolina's air conditioning and heating classifications, despite Georgia having withdrawn reciprocity. The April 2026 vote on electrical followed the same pattern.

What it means for contractors already licensed in South Carolina

Nothing changes for a South Carolina license already issued. This is a change to how new applicants qualify, not to any license already on the books. A South Carolina electrical contractor's license, its classification, and its renewal cycle are unaffected.

What has changed is the path into Georgia. A South Carolina electrical contractor who was counting on a Georgia exam waiver to pick up a Georgia license no longer has that option through this agreement. Anyone in that position should check current requirements directly with Georgia's Construction Industry Licensing Board before assuming reciprocity still applies.

For companies that want to work in South Carolina

For a Georgia licensed electrical contracting company that wants to add a South Carolina license, the waiver is still open. The company's qualifying individual can use the Georgia exam to waive South Carolina's technical exam, then pass South Carolina's Business Management and Law exam and meet South Carolina's other requirements. The South Carolina contractor license page covers the classifications, net worth and bond requirements, and the rest of what South Carolina requires.

A company that does not already have an owner or employee who holds the right license can still be qualified by a licensed qualifying agent who is a real, full time employee of the company. Contractor qualifier services explains how The Licensing Company helps with that, in South Carolina and other states.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Georgia licensed electrical contractor still get a South Carolina license by waiver? Yes. South Carolina's board voted on April 30, 2026 to keep accepting Georgia's unrestricted electrical exam for South Carolina's electrical classification, even though Georgia ended its own agreement with South Carolina effective May 25, 2026.

Can a South Carolina licensed electrical contractor still use this agreement to get licensed in Georgia? No. Georgia's termination notice, effective May 25, 2026, ended that direction of the agreement. South Carolina's waiver chart now notes that Georgia no longer accepts South Carolina waiver applicants.

Does the waiver cover South Carolina's Business Management and Law exam? No. South Carolina's reciprocity agreements only waive the technical portion of the exam. Every waiver applicant, regardless of state, still has to pass South Carolina's Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam through PSI.

Why did Georgia end the agreement? South Carolina's board was told the termination was ahead of expected legislation that would change parts of Georgia's Construction Industry Licensing Board structure, and that Georgia expected to know more in May 2026.

Has this happened before between these two states? Yes. Georgia sent a similar termination notice in 2022 for its conditioned air and heating waiver agreement, and South Carolina's board voted to keep accepting that Georgia exam too.

This article is general education, not legal advice. The board or a licensed attorney in the state can confirm how the change applies to a specific company.

Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski are both licensed general contractors, master electricians, master plumbers and master mechanical contractors. Together they founded The Licensing Company, and they help contractors get licensed the right way in South Carolina and nationwide.

Sources

• South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board, Board Meeting Minutes, April 30, 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-30)
• South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board, Technical Exam Waiver Agreements, as of May 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-30)
• South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board, South Carolina Reciprocity/Waiver Agreements, rev. 02/2019 (retrieved 2026-10-30)
• South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board minutes index (retrieved 2026-10-30)
• South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board (retrieved 2026-10-30)