Maine has no state general contractor license, and the Maine Attorney General says plainly that general contractors and trades like roofing and framing are not licensed or regulated at the state level.
Requirements checked against the Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (Electricians' Examining Board, Plumbers' Examining Board, Maine Fuel Board) published requirements on September 29, 2026.
| Licensing board | No state general contractor license or board. Trades are licensed by the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR): Electricians' Examining Board, Plumbers' Examining Board, Maine Fuel Board. |
|---|---|
| License required when | No monetary or project value tiers at all. General building is regulated only at the city or town level; electrical, plumbing, and fuel work require an individual state trade license. |
| What the state calls the qualifier | None; Maine licenses the individual tradesperson (master electrician, master plumber), not the company |
| NASCLA exam accepted | no |
| Reciprocity and endorsement | Electricians, Master level: New Hampshire, Vermont. Journeyman level: New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, plus NERA. Plumbers: no fixed list, case by case equivalency. General contracting: not applicable. |
| Exam waivers | Master Electrician reciprocity requires a sworn application, proof of home state licensure, having passed that state's own written exam, and at least six years as an electrician. Plumber reciprocity is granted case by case when the home state's standards are at least equivalent and reciprocate back. No GC exam exists to waive. |
| Experience required | Master Electrician: roughly 12,000 or more work hours plus exam. Master Plumber: one year (2,000 hours) as journeyman or four years (8,000 hours) as trainee. Master fuel technician: at least 4 years licensed, 2 at Journeyman. |
| Application and exam fees | Master Electrician license $150 plus $21 background check, $171 total. Master Plumber $200 plus $21, $221 total. Prov exam fees: Master Electrician $90, Master Plumber $65. |
| Renewal | Two year renewal: Master Electrician 150 dollars, Master Plumber 200 dollars; a 50 dollar late fee applies up to 90 days after expiration. |
| Time to license | Not published by any of the three boards. |
| Bond and financial requirements | No net worth statement, bank reference, or bond. Workers compensation coverage mandatory for any employer with one or more employees. |
| Penalty for unlicensed work | Not stated |
| Time to replace a qualifier | No statutory replacement deadline published; confirm with the relevant board. |
| Companies one qualifier may qualify | No cap found. Maine licenses the individual, not the company; there is no company level electrical or plumbing license (former Title 32 section 1202-A repealed 2023) and no formal qualifier of record filing. |
Facts checked on August 18, 2026.
Each line was checked against the state board’s published requirements on the date shown. Not stated means the board material we reviewed did not state it, so we do not guess. Boards change rules; confirm the current figure with the board before you file.
What Maine does license are individuals in specific trades through the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation: electricians through the Electricians' Examining Board, plumbers through the Plumbers' Examining Board, and heating fuel work through the Maine Fuel Board. Instead of licensing, Maine leans on its Home Construction Contracts Act, which requires a written contract for any home construction or repair job over $3,000 and caps the down payment at one third of the contract price. Since there is no state contractor license, there is no state qualifying agent requirement, and compliance runs through municipal building permits town by town.
Maine has no state license for general contracting; check your city or town. Electricians, plumbers, and fuel technicians are licensed individually by OPOR boards (Electricians' Examining Board, Plumbers' Examining Board, Maine Fuel Board). There is no company level license or filed qualifying agent; a business needs a Master level individual as owner or employee to perform that trade's work.
There are no monetary or project dollar value tiers anywhere in Maine's licensing structure, state or trade. Classifications are skill and scope tiers, not bonding tiers the way Tennessee or Nevada license by dollar amount.
Electrician tiers, from the statute (Title 32, section 1202-B, Maine Legislature): Helper Electrician, Apprentice Electrician, Journeyman-in-Training Electrician (requires a 45 hour National Electrical Code course within 2 years of application and 2,000 to 6,000 work hours depending on pathway), Journeyman Electrician (roughly 8,000 work hours depending on pathway), Master Electrician (roughly 12,000 or more work hours depending on pathway, plus exam), and several Limited Electrician specialty categories scoped to narrower work (135 to 270 hours of education and 2,000 to 6,000 work hours depending on the specialty, Maine state website, Electricians' Examining Board pages). A Master Electrician may make electrical installations without limitation and is the only tier that can contract directly with the public without restriction (Title 32 section 1202-B).
Plumber tiers, from the Plumbers' Examining Board's own individual licenses page (Maine Plumbers Board individual licenses page, checked September 29, 2026): Trainee Plumber requires only a completed application, no hour minimum, and is a two year renewable license. Journeyman-in-Training requires one year or two semesters at a board approved community college, or a two year plumbing course at an approved career and technical program or registered apprenticeship, plus passing the journeyman exam at 70 percent or better; it is a four year non-renewable license. Journeyman Plumber requires a minimum of two years, 4,000 hours, as a licensed trainee under a master plumber's supervision, or 2,000 hours as a journeyman-in-training within four years of that license's issuance; it is a two year renewable license. Master Plumber requires a minimum of one year, 2,000 hours, as a licensed journeyman, or four years, 8,000 hours, as a licensed trainee under a master plumber's supervision; it is also a two year renewable license (Title 32 chapter 49, Maine Legislature). All four tiers carry the same $200 license fee (Trainee is $100) plus the $21 background check fee described in the experience and financial requirements section below. According to the Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation and Plumbers Examining Board, the renewal schedule is as follows: two year renewal, Master Electrician $150, Master Plumber $200; a $50 late fee applies up to 90 days after expiration.
Fuel trades, from the Maine Fuel Board (Maine state website, Fuel Board licensing and FAQ pages): Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master levels exist separately for Oil Burner and Solid Fuel technicians, and separately again for Propane and Natural Gas technicians. Master Oil Burner or Solid Fuel Technician requires at least 4 years of licensed experience, with at least 2 of those years at the Journeyman level (Title 32 section 18132, Maine Legislature). A business must have at least one Master level technician on staff for each fuel type it services: oil, solid fuel, propane, or natural gas.
Maine does not run a company level state contractor license with a filed qualifying agent of record, the way Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Tennessee do. There is no state electrical contractor license or state plumbing contractor license as a business entity at all; the license is held by the individual (Helper through Master, or Trainee through Master Plumber), not by the company.
In practice, because a Master Electrician is the only tier that may contract directly with the public without limitation, and Maine law prohibits electrical installations except by a licensed electrician (Title 32 section 1102, Maine Legislature, which lists narrow exemptions such as public utilities and does not otherwise permit unlicensed electrical work), a business performing electrical contracting needs a Master Electrician who is either its owner or its employee. The same logic applies to plumbing through the Master Plumber tier, and to oil, solid fuel, and propane or natural gas work through each fuel type's Master technician.
A formal business entity affiliation filing for electricians or plumbers, a stated cap on how many businesses one Master Electrician or Master Plumber may be affiliated with at the same time, and a statutory grace period or deadline to replace a company's only Master license holder if that person leaves are not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. An older statute, former Title 32 section 1202-A, once governed the issuance of a "license to operate an electrical company" validated by a master or limited electrician, which is likely the source of any site or memory describing Maine as having a company level electrical license. That section was repealed by PL 2023, chapter 327, section 1 (Maine Legislature), so under current law there is no such company license. Maine's structure is individual license based rather than company license based; the specific mechanics of multi company affiliation and replacement timing should be confirmed directly with the Electricians' Examining Board (207 624 8603) or the Plumbers' Examining Board.
A statutory replacement deadline for a departing Master Electrician, Master Plumber, or Master fuel technician is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. Confirm the applicable timeframe directly with the relevant board.
Both the Electricians' Examining Board and the Plumbers' Examining Board have contracted with Prov, Inc. to administer their licensing exams (Maine state website, OPOR professions overview page, checked September 29, 2026). Treat Prov as the current exam vendor; vendors can change, so confirm the exam format or fee directly with the board before relying on it.
The detailed question counts, time limits, and fees in the testing section below reflect the exam bulletin as last verified on 2026-07-14. Confirm a current copy of the bulletin directly with the relevant board before relying on an exact fee or question count.
No, and not applicable. Maine is absent from NASCLA's own list of participating state agencies for electrical exams, checked September 29, 2026. A NASCLA path does not apply generally in Maine; it would only be relevant for electrical or plumbing work in a state that runs its own separate trade reciprocity, and Maine handles electrician reciprocity through NERA rather than NASCLA (see the reciprocity section below).
Maine's Electricians Examining Board, Plumbers Examining Board, and Maine Fuel Board all use the same vendor and the same combined bulletin, Prov Inc's State of Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation Candidate Information Bulletin, trades edition. There is no state GC exam, since Maine has no state GC license. The four exams below are the major Prov administered trade exams covered on this page: Master Electrician, Journeyman Electrician, Master Plumber, and Master Oil Burner Technician, 1 and 2 oils, up to 15 gph, the Maine Fuel Board's core heating oil credential.
Vendor and scheduling. All four exams are developed and delivered by Prov Inc under contract to the State of Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, OPOR. A candidate must first apply to and be approved by the relevant board, the Electricians Examining Board, the Plumbers Examining Board, or the Maine Fuel Board, before Prov will allow scheduling. Once approved, the board emails an exam approval notice with scheduling instructions. Candidates then schedule at provexam.com/schedule using their Candidate ID, which is their Maine license ID, plus their last name, or by calling Prov toll free at 801 733 4455, Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm Eastern. Rescheduling or cancelling is free if done at least three business days before the test date; a no show or a late cancellation forfeits the exam fee.
Where to test. The bulletin lists four fixed Prov testing centers inside Maine: Central Maine Community College in Auburn, United Technologies Center in Bangor, Southern Maine Community College in Portland, and Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle. The bulletin states plainly that Prov has four testing centers in Maine; a fifth center, in Calais, appears on the state's exam summary webpage but is not confirmed in this bulletin, so check directly with Prov before relying on Calais as an open center. A candidate may take the exam at any Prov testing center located in the US; the bulletin does not name specific New Hampshire or Massachusetts centers, so confirm proximity case by case at provexam.com/schedule. Remote proctoring is available through Prov's Examroom service, which lets a candidate test at home on their own computer under live video monitoring, subject to system requirements: an operating system less than three to four years old, a Chrome or Firefox browser, a working webcam and microphone, and an upload speed above 3 Mbps, verified in advance at examroom.ai/systemtest. Candidates whose home computer does not qualify can rent a Chromebook from Prov by calling 801 733 4455.
Retake rules, general. A two year eligibility window applies to Prov's Maine trade exams. Within that window, Electrician failed exams have no restriction on retesting, and Plumber failed exams can be retaken as often as necessary, both per the bulletin's own retesting policy section. Fuel Board failed exams likewise have no restriction on retesting inside the two year window. The bulletin does not describe a discounted or waived retake fee, so every attempt appears to require paying the exam fee again; confirm this directly with Prov before relying on a specific retake cost. A candidate who fails a category twice and scores within 10 percent of the passing cut score may request a paid review of the missed questions, same cost as the exam, 1.5 hours long. A hand score recheck can be requested within 90 days of the test for $25.
Test day rules common to all. Government issued photo ID is required: driver's license, passport, or military ID; a non photo state ID plus a birth certificate is the fallback. Doors open 15 minutes before the session and a late arrival forfeits the fee and requires a reschedule. No cameras, recorders, cell phones, or other communication devices are allowed, no talking, eating, drinking, or tobacco in the testing room, only a simple 4 function calculator is allowed (no scientific or programmable calculators, no phone or tablet used as a calculator), and results are scored on site immediately with no separate scoring fee.
Question count and time limit: 100 questions, 4 hours. Passing score: 70 percent, the standard Prov Maine trade cut score. Open or closed book: closed book. The bulletin states that all electrician examinations are closed book except where a reference is specifically marked Permitted, and no reference in the Master Electrician exam's list carries that marking, so no code book or other material may be brought into the room. Some third party study sites describe Maine's electrician exams as open book, with the National Electrical Code allowed inside the testing room; that is not accurate for the Master or Journeyman level under the current bulletin. What it covers: the bulletin's content outline names General Electrical Knowledge, Communication Systems, Equipment for General Use, Service Feeders and Branch Circuits, Motors and Controls, and Special Conditions as the subject areas for the Master exam. The bulletin's own per topic question count table did not extract cleanly for this page and summed to only 44 of the 100 questions, so confirm the exact per topic breakdown directly with the board or Prov before relying on it. Approved references, study material, not permitted in the room since the exam is closed book: American Electrician's Handbook, 17th Edition, ISBN 978 1260457919; Maine Electrician's Laws and Rules, State of Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation; Mike Holt's Illustrated Guide to Basic Electrical Theory, 2007, ISBN 978 1932685121; NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2023 edition. Tabbing and highlighting: not applicable, no personal books of any kind are allowed in the room for this closed book exam. Where to test, retake rules, fee mechanics: see the shared section above. Exam fee: $90.
Question count and time limit: 80 questions, 3 hours. Passing score: 70 percent. Open or closed book: closed book, same rule as Master Electrician; no reference is marked Permitted for this exam. What it covers: General Electrical Theory and Principles, Wiring and Protection, Wiring Methods and Materials, Motors and Controls, Equipment for General Use, Special Occupancies, Special Equipment, Special Conditions, and Communication Systems, nine subject areas totaling 80 questions per the bulletin's table for this exam. Approved references, study material only: the same four references listed for Master Electrician above. Tabbing and highlighting: not applicable, closed book, no personal materials allowed. Where to test, retake rules, fee mechanics: see the shared section above. Exam fee: $90.
Question count and time limit: 100 questions, 3 hours. Passing score: 75 percent, the one exam among these four with a higher cut score than the standard 70 percent (Elevator Inspector, Elevator Mechanic, and Lift Mechanic sit even higher at 80 percent under the same bulletin, but those are not covered on this page). Open or closed book: closed book. All Plumber examinations are delivered in closed book format per the bulletin. One exception on test day: the Maine Plumbing Tables, drawn from the 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code, are provided to the candidate as a printed handout by the proctor at the testing site. A candidate's own printed copy of those tables is not allowed; only the proctor supplied printout may be used. What it covers: General Knowledge, General Regulations, Water Supply Systems including Backflow Prevention and Water Heaters, Drainage Waste and Sanitary Venting, Plumbing Fixtures, Traps and Interceptors, Specialty Venting, Indirect Waste, and Roof Drainage, nine subject areas totaling the full 100 questions per the bulletin's table. Approved references, study material only: Maine Plumbing Laws and Rules, 2016, State of Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation; Plumbing Basics for Contractors, 3rd Edition, 2014, ISBN 978 1 269 78624 9, Pearson; Uniform Plumbing Code 2015, ISBN 0733 2335, International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. Tabbing and highlighting: not applicable for personal books, this is a closed book exam. The only printed material in the room is the proctor supplied UPC tables handout described above; the bulletin does not specify whether that handout itself may be marked on, so assume not and confirm with Prov if it matters. Where to test, retake rules, fee mechanics: see the shared section above; Plumber failed exams can be retaken as often as necessary inside the two year window, the most permissive retake language of the three trades covered here. Exam fee: $65.
Question count and time limit: 100 questions, 3 hours. Passing score: 70 percent. Open or closed book: open book. All Fuel Technician examinations, unlike the electrician and plumber programs, are delivered in open book format per the bulletin, meaning the approved references below may be brought into and used during the exam. What it covers, with the bulletin's own question split: General Knowledge, 2; NFPA 70 National Electrical Code, 3; Oil Heat Technician Manual, 19; NFPA 31 Standard for the Installation of Oil Burning Equipment, 32; NFPA 211 Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel Burning Appliances, 1; NFPA 30A Code for Motor Fuel Dispensing Facilities and Repair Garages, 2; NFPA 88A Standard for Parking Structures, 2; NFPA 90A or 90B, 3; Maine Fuel Board Laws and Rules, 31; Uniform Plumbing Code, 5; this table sums to the full 100 questions. Approved references, permitted in the room since this exam is open book: Maine Fuel Board Laws and Rules, 2023; Maine Fuel Board Memorandum of Understandings; NFPA 211, 2019 edition; NFPA 30A, 2021 edition; NFPA 31, Standard for the Installation of Oil Burning Equipment, 2020 edition; NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2020 edition, ISBN 9781455922970; NFPA 88A, Standard for Parking Structures, 2019 edition; NFPA 90A, 2012 edition, or NFPA 90B, 2021 edition; the Oil Heat Technician's Manual, National Oil Heat Research Alliance, NORA; Uniform Plumbing Code 2021, ISBN 9781944366476. Tabbing and highlighting: the bulletin lists Approved References as an allowed item for open book exams but does not specify whether a candidate's personal copy may be tabbed, highlighted, or written in for the fuel technician program specifically. Do not assume tabs are allowed; confirm directly with Prov before bringing a marked up copy to the test. Where to test, retake rules, fee mechanics: see the shared section above; Oil and Solid Fuel failed exams have no restriction on retesting inside the two year window, the same language used for electrician. Exam fee: $90.
For testing logistics: Prov Inc, 200 W Civic Center Dr, Suite 160, Sandy, UT 84070, toll free 801 733 4455, fax 386 518 6419, Prov (Prov), office hours 8am to 6pm Eastern. For licensing eligibility questions: State of Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, 35 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333, phone 207 624 8603, fax 207 624 8636.
The bulletin cited throughout this section is the State of Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation Candidate Information Bulletin, trades edition, covering Electrical, Fuel Technician, Plumber, Boiler and Steam Engineer, and Geologist and Soil Scientist examinations, document code MOPOR 2025.05.14, Prov Inc 2025, last verified 2026-07-14.
No net worth statement, bank reference, or bond is required for any Maine state trade license. Fee figures are confirmed against primary Maine state website board pages: a Master Electrician license is $150 plus a mandatory $21 criminal background check fee, for an all in total of $171 (Maine state website, Electricians' Examining Board Master Electrician and Senior Master Electrician page), and a Master Plumber license is $200 plus the same $21 background check fee, for an all in total of $221 (Maine state website, Plumbers' Examining Board individual licenses page). The lower plumbing tiers, Journeyman-in-Training and Journeyman Plumber, carry the same $200 plus $21 structure; Trainee Plumber is $100 plus $21. A separate exam fee is not stated on a primary board page reviewed for this page; other sources cite roughly $25 for the electrician exam, but treat that figure as approximate and confirm the exact exam cost directly with the relevant board.
A processing time or turnaround is not stated in the Electricians' Examining Board, Plumbers' Examining Board, or Maine Fuel Board materials reviewed for this page. Confirm the timeline by phone with the relevant board.
Electricians: Maine has reciprocity agreements at the Master Electrician level with New Hampshire and Vermont, requiring a sworn application, proof of licensure from the reciprocating state, passage of that state's own written exam, and at least six years actively engaged as an electrician (Maine state website, Electricians' Examining Board reciprocity materials). At the Journeyman Electrician level, Maine's reciprocity list is wider: New Hampshire, Vermont, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming. Maine also participates in NERA, the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance, for electrician reciprocity. The reciprocity application fee tracks the standard license fee, roughly $171; treat that figure as approximate.
Plumbers: Maine's reciprocity is not a fixed list of named states. Title 32 section 3504-A (Maine Legislature) requires the board to grant a reciprocal license when the applicant's home state or territory has licensing standards and experience requirements at least equivalent to Maine's and extends the same reciprocal privilege back to Maine license holders, evaluated case by case, and specifies that reciprocal licenses may not be denied on the basis of current residency. This means an out of state Master Plumber is not automatically reciprocal in Maine; the board reviews equivalency each time.
General contracting: not applicable, since there is no state GC exam or license to waive into.
Maine has no single overarching HVAC license. Heating and cooling work is covered by fuel specific licenses issued by the Maine Fuel Board: Oil Burner and Solid Fuel Technician (Apprentice, Journeyman, Master) and Propane and Natural Gas Technician and Helper (Maine state website, Fuel Board pages). Refrigeration handling requires the federal EPA Section 608 certification regardless of state license; this is a standard federal requirement, not specific to Maine.
Two previously unverified points are now confirmed directly from primary sources. First, the plumbing tier experience hour thresholds are confirmed from the Plumbers' Examining Board's own individual licenses page on the Maine state website, see the classifications section below. Second, on the electrician side, the statute has been checked directly for language suggesting Maine issues a formal "license to operate an electrical company." That provision, former Title 32 section 1202-A, was repealed by PL 2023, chapter 327, section 1 (Maine Legislature), so no such business level electrical license exists under current law. Maine licenses individuals, not companies, for electrical work. Older marketing material or outdated pages describing a company level electrical license in Maine reflect pre-2023 law and should not be relied on.
LD 1226, which would have created a state license for residential building contractors, died on adjournment April 29, 2026, confirmed against its official Maine Legislature bill status page and full status history. Older 2025 press coverage describing the bill as pending funding is outdated; it does not reflect the bill's final status, and the bill should not be described as coming in 2027.
Maine has no state license, registration, or exam for general contracting. Always check with the specific city or town clerk, since the rule in Portland will not necessarily match the rule in Bangor.
A bill that would have changed this, LD 1226, "An Act to Protect Consumers by Licensing Residential Building Contractors," passed the Maine House and Senate on 06/03/2025 and would have created a new Residential Construction Board and a state license requirement for residential jobs over $15,000 or jobs involving two or more licensed trades, with an intended effective date of January 1, 2027 (Maine Legislature bill status page for LD 1226, HP 801, 132nd Legislature; BillTrack50). It did not become law. The bill died on adjournment April 29, 2026, at the end of the 132nd Legislature's second regular session, following referral to the Housing and Economic Development committee on March 25, 2025, and a divided committee report on May 29, 2025 (OTP AM from both the majority and minority factions, meaning both sides supported passage with amendments). Some marketing sites and 2025 dated press coverage still describe the bill as pending funding before the Appropriations Committee, as if headed for the governor's desk; that is outdated, since the bill never reached that point and died at adjournment. Maine does not have a state GC license coming in 2027. The bill could be reintroduced in a future legislative session, but currently there is no state GC license and none scheduled.
Maine licenses specific trades through the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation's Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, OPOR (Maine OPOR licensed professions). The construction relevant boards are the Electricians' Examining Board, the Plumbers' Examining Board, and the Maine Fuel Board, which covers oil and solid fuel technicians and propane and natural gas technicians. OPOR also licenses architects, landscape architects, interior designers, land surveyors, boiler inspectors and operators, elevator contractors and mechanics, and manufactured housing installers, which are less central to contractor licensing questions but worth knowing about.
Official Licensing Authority
All contractor license applications, renewals, and qualifying agent changes must go through this board.
We place a licensed qualifying agent with your company as a full time W-2 employee and prepare the qualifier filing with the Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (Electricians' Examining Board, Plumbers' Examining Board, Maine Fuel Board). Tell us your trade and what you have going on, and pick a time for a discovery call. Or call 615-219-2110.
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