New Hampshire Contractor License: Requirements, Cost and Exams

Exams

NASCLA acceptance

No. Twenty listed jurisdictions across the Commercial exam program currently accept the NASCLA Accredited Commercial Building Contractor exam (Alabama through West Virginia, spanning two Alabama boards and two South Carolina boards), and New Hampshire is not among them, per NASCLA's own participating agencies page (checked August 20, 2026). This is expected, since New Hampshire has no general contractor license for a commercial trade exam to substitute into in the first place.

Testing and exams (from the candidate bulletins)

New Hampshire has no general contractor exam because it has no general contractor license. The exams that matter for placements are the electrical and plumbing trade exams described above, and all of them are developed and administered by the same vendor, Prov Inc, under contract to the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC), per the primary candidate bulletins. The Electricians' Board and the Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board each publish their own Prov branded candidate information bulletin (CIB). The four exams covered here, capped at four as scoped, are Journeyman Electrician, Master Electrician, Journeyman Plumber, and Master Plumber. A First Year Plumbing Apprentice Bypass exam (100 questions, 3.33 hours) also exists in the plumbing CIB, and gas fitting exams run through separate providers described below, but both are outside the four exam cap and are not detailed here.

Journeyman Electrician

Vendor and scheduling. Prov Inc administers this exam for the Electricians' Board. A candidate registers and is approved through OPLC first; once OPLC notifies Prov of that approval, the candidate schedules at Prov (the Prov Exam Scheduler) or by calling or texting Prov at (801) 733 4455. The eligibility window to schedule and sit the exam after approval is one year. Question count and time limit. 110 questions, 4.5 hours, per the current (2023 NEC edition) exam listed in the bulletin. An older 2017 NEC edition of the same exam is also still printed in the bulletin at 110 questions and 4.5 hours with a slightly different question mix by subject area; confirm with OPLC or Prov which edition a given candidate will actually sit. Passing score. 70 percent cut score, the same standard stated once for every exam in this bulletin. Open or closed book. Open book. Only authorized references on the exam's own reference list may be used. What the exam covers, 2023 edition content outline by subject area and question count out of 110: General Electrical Knowledge 22, Equipment for General Use 9, Motors and Generators 19, Control Devices 5, Special Conditions 2, Special Equipment 2, Special Occupancies 2, Services and Service Equipment 12, Branch Circuits and Conductors 6, Feeders 8, Wiring Methods and Materials 14, Administrative 9. Approved references, 2023 edition list as printed. NFPA 70 National Electric Code 2023 edition (National Fire Protection Association, no ISBN printed for this citation in the bulletin); a separately listed "The National Electrical Code, 2020," ISBN 978 1 45592 290 1 (National Fire Protection Association, printed this way in the bulletin alongside the 2023 code, an inconsistency in the bulletin itself, so confirm which edition governs before relying on it); Ugly's Electrical References 2020, ISBN 978 1 284 19453 1 (Jones and Bartlett Publishers); American Electrician's Handbook 17th Edition, ISBN 978 1260457919 (McGraw Hill); plus four New Hampshire specific state amendment and rule documents (Amendment to 2017 NEC section 210.12 New Hampshire; HB85 Chapter 157 2017 NEC New Hampshire; EL170217 Amendment to Chapter 210.5 NEC; EL170117 Amendment to NEC 2017 several chapters; New Hampshire Laws and Rules Elec 300 400, RSA319_C), all published by the Electricians' Board and posted at oplc.nh.gov/find board/electricians board/electricians education information, with candidate printed versions of those state documents allowed at the testing site. Tabbing and highlighting rules. Same program wide rules apply to all four exams in this section: permanent tabs (gummed tabs, self adhesive tabs with printable inserts, or insertable tab dividers for three ring binders only) are permitted; movable or repositionable tabs and Post it notes are never permitted; highlighting and underlining in pen only is allowed, but nothing may be marked in a book during the test itself; handwritten notes are not allowed anywhere in a reference book; photocopied pages, formula sheets, and stickers cannot be added, glued, or taped into a reference book; older or newer editions of a listed title are always permitted, and substitute titles are allowed only if the substitute is itself named in the exam's reference list. Where to test. Four Prov administered New Hampshire testing centers as printed in the bulletin: Prov Testing Center, 2 Pillsbury Street Suite 102, Concord NH 03301; Brainseed Testing Services Concord, 2 Whitney Road, Concord NH 03301; X.L.o.s. Testing Center, 71 Spit Brook Road Suite 106, Nashua NH 03060; Brainseed Testing Services Newington, 100 Arboretum Drive, Newington NH 03801. The bulletin also states there are testing centers in bordering states that populate automatically when scheduling, without naming them. Remote proctoring is available through Examroom.ai (PC, Mac, or Chromebook only, no iPad or tablet, working webcam and microphone, upload speed above 3 Mbps required); Prov will also loan a laptop to a candidate who lacks qualifying equipment, at the candidate's cost for shipping. Retake rules. Failed exams can be retaken as often as scheduling allows. The testing voucher is valid for 365 days from approval; if it lapses, the candidate must reapply to the Electricians' Board and pay the exam fee again for a new voucher, per RSA 319 C:8 effective 9/13/2025. Candidates must wait two days between attempts. A passed exam cannot be retaken unless the Board requires it. Fees. Journeyman Electrician exam 90 dollars, the same fee whether it is a first attempt or a retake, effective 2/1/2025. A review of a failed exam category (available after failing that category twice, if the score is within 10 percent of passing) costs 90 dollars. A hand score recheck costs 25 dollars and must be requested within 90 days of the test date.

Master Electrician

Vendor and scheduling. Identical program to Journeyman Electrician above: same vendor Prov Inc, same OPLC approval step, same scheduling channels, and the same one year eligibility window. Question count and time limit. 126 questions, 5 hours, per the current (2023 NEC edition) exam listed in the bulletin. An older 2017 NEC edition of the same exam is also still printed at 125 questions and 5 hours with a slightly different subject mix. Passing score. 70 percent cut score, the same standard as every exam in this bulletin. Open or closed book. Open book, authorized references only. What the exam covers, 2023 edition content outline by subject area and question count out of 126: General Electrical Knowledge 21, Equipment for General Use 9, Motors and Generators 19, Control Devices 5, Special Conditions 2, Special Equipment 2, Special Occupancies 3, Services and Service Equipment 12, Branch Circuits and Conductors 6, Feeders 8, Wiring Methods and Materials 14, Administrative 25. Administrative carries by far the heaviest weight of any subject area on this exam. Approved references, as printed for this exam. American Electrician's Handbook 17th Edition, ISBN 978 1260457919 (McGraw Hill); NFPA 70 National Electric Code 2023 (National Fire Protection Association, no ISBN printed); Ugly's Electrical References 2020, ISBN 978 1 284 19453 1 (Jones and Bartlett); plus the same family of New Hampshire specific state amendment and rule documents as the Journeyman exam (HB85 Chapter 157 2017 NEC New Hampshire; Amendment to 2017 NEC section 210.12 New Hampshire; EL170217 Amendment to Chapter 210.5 NEC; EL170117 Amendment to NEC 2017 several chapters; New Hampshire Laws and Rules Elec 100 400, RSA319_C), the same publisher and the same New Hampshire OPLC posting location, with candidate printed versions allowed at the testing site. Tabbing and highlighting rules. Same program wide rules as Journeyman Electrician above. Where to test. Same four New Hampshire Prov centers, the same bordering state centers populated at scheduling, and the same Examroom.ai remote proctoring option described above. Retake rules. Same as Journeyman Electrician: retake as often as scheduling allows within the 365 day voucher window, a two day minimum wait between attempts, and no retake once passed unless the Board requires it. Fees. Master Electrician exam 90 dollars, the same fee for a first attempt or a retake, effective 2/1/2025. Review 90 dollars, hand score recheck 25 dollars, the same terms as Journeyman Electrician. A related Electrical Relicensing exam also exists in this bulletin at 70 dollars, 25 questions, 1 hour, offered in both a 2017 NEC and a 2020 NEC version, for licensees who need to relicense rather than test fresh; it is not one of the four exams detailed here but is worth knowing about.

Journeyman Plumber

Vendor and scheduling. Prov Inc administers this exam for the Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board, per the primary bulletin. A site, NH Gasfitters, separately claims to also administer this exam; that claim is addressed in the exam vendor section below. Registration and scheduling run through Prov exam registration, selecting "NH New Hampshire Mechanical Board (Plumbing)" as the certifying body, or by phone or text to Prov at (801) 733 4455. Question count and time limit. 85 questions, 3 hours. Passing score. 70 percent, stated once in the bulletin as the standard for all written exams in this program. A separate source claims 75 percent for the master exam specifically, which conflicts with the primary bulletin and should not be quoted. Open or closed book. Open book, authorized references only. What the exam covers, content outline by subject area and question count out of 85: Calculations 10, Drainage Requirements 15, Fixtures and Faucets 10, Plumbing and Fundamentals 10, Traps and Interceptors 10, Venting Regulations 20, Water Distribution 10. Venting Regulations carries the single heaviest weight on this exam. Approved references, as printed. International Plumbing Code 2018 edition, ISBN 978 1 60983 745 7 (International Code Council); and a state issued document titled Purpose and Scope of Administrative Rules of the Board, State of New Hampshire, 7 Eagle Square, Concord NH 03301 (no ISBN, an agency publication rather than a commercial title). This bulletin, dated November 2025, still names the 2018 IPC edition rather than a newer code cycle; confirm the governing edition with OPLC before relying on a different year's code. Tabbing and highlighting rules. Same program wide rules as the electrical exams above: permanent tabs allowed; movable tabs and Post it notes never allowed; highlighting and pen only underlining allowed, but nothing may be marked during the test itself; handwritten notes never allowed; no photocopies or stickers added into a reference book; older and newer editions always permitted. Where to test. Same four Prov New Hampshire centers as the electrical exams (Prov Testing Center in Concord, Brainseed Testing Services in Concord, X.L.o.s. Testing Center in Nashua, Brainseed Testing Services in Newington), plus unnamed bordering state centers that populate at scheduling, plus Examroom.ai remote proctoring under the same equipment rules described above. Retake rules. Failed exams can be retaken as many times as necessary within a one year eligibility period. Candidates must wait two days between attempts. A passed exam cannot be retaken unless OPLC requires it. Fees. 90 dollars, the same for a first attempt or a retake. An older, superseded 80 dollar figure tied to a 2023 dated bulletin also appears elsewhere and should not be quoted. Review of a failed category (after failing it twice, if within 10 percent of passing) costs 90 dollars. Hand score recheck costs 25 dollars and must be requested within 90 days of the test.

Master Plumber

Vendor and scheduling. Identical program to Journeyman Plumber above: same vendor Prov Inc, same registration and scheduling channels, and the same unresolved vendor claim addressed below. Question count and time limit. 100 questions, 3 hours. Passing score. 70 percent, the same standard as every exam in this bulletin, not the 75 percent claimed elsewhere. Open or closed book. Open book, authorized references only. What the exam covers, content outline by subject area and question count out of 100: Calculations 15, Drainage Requirements 15, Fixtures and Faucets 10, Plumbing and Fundamentals 10, Scope and Administration 15, Traps and Interceptors 10, Venting Regulations 15, Water Distribution 10. Scope and Administration is a subject area unique to the Master level and not tested at the Journeyman level. Approved references, as printed. The same two references as Journeyman Plumber: International Plumbing Code 2018, ISBN 978 1 60983 745 7 (International Code Council); and Purpose and Scope of Administrative Rules of the Board, State of New Hampshire (agency publication, no ISBN). The same caution applies about the 2018 code edition appearing in a bulletin revised in November 2025. Tabbing and highlighting rules. Same program wide rules as above. Where to test. Same four New Hampshire Prov centers, the same bordering state centers, and the same Examroom.ai remote option as described for Journeyman Plumber. Retake rules. Same as Journeyman Plumber: retake as many times as necessary within the one year eligibility period, a two day minimum wait between attempts, and no retake once passed unless OPLC requires it. Fees. 90 dollars, the same for a first attempt or a retake. Review 90 dollars, hand score recheck 25 dollars, the same terms as Journeyman Plumber.

Source bulletins: "State of New Hampshire Electrician Board Examinations, Candidate Information Bulletin," internally dated NH Electrician CIB 2025.12.12, Prov Inc 2025; and "State of New Hampshire Mechanical Board Plumbing Examinations, Candidate Information Bulletin," internally dated NH Mechanical (Plumbing) CIB 2025.11.15, Prov Inc 2025. Current search summaries of Prov and New Hampshire OPLC content found nothing suggesting a newer bulletin edition or changed fee, aside from the plumbing vendor conflict noted above (checked August 20, 2026).

Fees and timeline

Application timelines

A fixed processing timeline for New Hampshire trade license applications is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. Treat any specific number of days or weeks quoted by a third party site as unverified until confirmed directly with OPLC.

Correction to common outside sources, not to The Licensing Company's own materials

This does not contradict The Licensing Company's own state licensing reference, which already places New Hampshire in the "largely no state GC requirement, trades licensed" bucket alongside Maine. What this page adds is the depth behind that line: the trades that are licensed, electrical, plumbing, and gas, run on a qualifying individual model close to The Licensing Company's core product, just for a different license than a GC license, and New Hampshire's own replacement rules for that qualifier are sharper and less forgiving than what applies in the core southeast states.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity, and a genuinely unusual state law worth knowing

New Hampshire does not work off narrow state to state exam waiver pairs the way the southeast core states do. In June 2023, Governor Sununu signed House Bill 594, a broad "universal license recognition" law: OPLC "shall issue licenses to professionals who present evidence of an active license in good standing from another jurisdiction," provided that jurisdiction's requirements are judged "substantially similar" to New Hampshire's for that specific license type, per the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, the ACEC New Hampshire engineers' council, and New Hampshire OPLC's own "New Changes for Reciprocity in New Hampshire" and "FAQs about new Reciprocity Rules" pages (checked September 29, 2026). The reciprocity program became effective August 27, 2023. Applicants do not need to reside in New Hampshire to use it, and it does not allow anyone to practice unlicensed while a New Hampshire license is otherwise required; a New Hampshire license must still be obtained before working in the state. Under this rule, qualifying endorsement applicants skip resubmitting transcripts, exam results, experience evidence, and reference letters that a from scratch applicant would need. Journeyman Electrician is named among the priority professions OPLC identified for this rule, and journeyman plumber reciprocity is reported by aggregator sites to reach a long list of states including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia, alongside roughly thirty other states; confirm which states are covered directly with OPLC rather than treating this as exact. An out of state master electrician or master plumber already licensed in one of the core states has a real, named path to a New Hampshire license by endorsement, not just a fresh from scratch application.

Exam vendor

Prov is the current exam administrator for both the Electricians' Board and the Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board's plumbing exams, per official candidate bulletins hosted on the New Hampshire OPLC domain and current search summaries of Prov and New Hampshire OPLC content describing Prov administered Journeyman and Master Electrician exams at 90 dollars each and Prov administered plumbing exams at the same 90 dollar fee level (checked September 29, 2026). An older, superseded 80 dollar plumbing exam fee also appears elsewhere tied to an October 2023 dated bulletin; the 90 dollar figure from the more recent primary bulletin is the one to use. Gas fitting exams run through multiple board approved providers rather than a single vendor: at least three, Advanced Trade School, Granite State Trade School, and NH Gasfitters, each describe themselves as an approved gas fitting testing agency. Whether these three appear on a primary New Hampshire OPLC list of approved providers should be confirmed directly with OPLC. NH Gasfitters also describes itself as "approved as a testing agency" for the Journeyman and Master Plumbing exams specifically. This is not corroborated by, and may conflict with, the Prov administered plumbing exam documented from a primary bulletin. A plumbing exam vendor other than Prov should not be quoted until this is resolved directly with OPLC.

Trades

The New Hampshire qualifying model for electrical businesses, this is the real find

A corporation or partnership can hold an electrical contracting license, but only if one or more officers or employees directly in charge of that business's affairs is a licensed master electrician, or a member of the partnership is (RSA 319 C). This is functionally the same qualifying individual structure The Licensing Company already works with in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the rest of its core states, just attached to an electrical trade license instead of a general contractor license. The statute names no cap on how many corporations one master electrician may qualify at the same time. It also states plainly that the corporation's or partnership's license "shall be void upon the death of or the severance from the company of said person," with no replacement grace period written into the statute itself (RSA 319 C). A New Hampshire electrical business that just lost its qualifying master should be treated as an emergency, not a 90 day cushion.

What New Hampshire actually licenses: plumbers and fuel gas fitters

The Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board, also under OPLC, licenses this trade family under RSA chapter 153. The individual classifications are apprentice plumber, journeyman plumber, and master plumber, plus a family of fuel gas classifications: fuel gas trainee, fuel gas piping installer, fuel gas installation technician, fuel gas service technician, domestic appliance technician, and hearth system installation and service technician (RSA 153:27). A property owner performing plumbing work in their own single family detached home or townhouse is exempt (RSA 153:36). Journeyman plumber requires a four year, 8,000 hour apprenticeship; sources differ on the classroom hour figure, one citing 600 hours and another 576 hours (144 hours per year for four years), and the exact figure should be confirmed directly with New Hampshire OPLC. Master plumber requires holding the journeyman license for at least six months before sitting the master exam. One source gives the passing score for the master exam as 75 percent, which conflicts with the 70 percent cut score printed in the primary Prov candidate bulletin on file for every exam in this program; treat 70 percent as the reliable figure. Confirm exact classroom hour figures with New Hampshire OPLC before relying on them.

The qualifying model for plumbing and gas businesses, and the sharper deadline

Exactly like electrical, a corporation, partnership, or LLC needs an officer, partner, manager, or designee who holds an active license as a master plumber or one of the fuel gas classifications, "directly in charge of the business affairs," to operate as a plumbing or fuel gas fitting business (RSA 153:29a). No cap on how many entities one licensed person can qualify was found in the statute. If that qualifying person dies or leaves, the business has 30 days to notify the Board, and the statute is explicit that if no other licensed officer, partner, manager, or designee remains, "the corporation, or partnership, or limited liability company shall not act as a fuel gas fitter or plumber until some other officer, member, or designee, has obtained a license" (RSA 153:29a). Read plainly, this is not a 30 day operating grace period the way Tennessee's is; the 30 days is for notifying the Board, and the business already cannot legally act in the trade the moment nobody licensed is left in charge. This should be treated as a same day priority, sharper than anything in the core southeast states.

What changed

What changed since the last verification on 2026-07-14

The headline fact is unchanged. New Hampshire still has no statewide general contractor license, and no 2026 legislative bill was found that would create one. Prov Inc remains the exam vendor for both the Electricians' Board and the Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board's plumbing exams, at the same 90 dollar fee for journeyman and master level exams in both trades, per Prov and New Hampshire OPLC materials (checked September 29, 2026). New Hampshire remains absent from NASCLA's list of 20 participating jurisdictions (checked August 20, 2026). The claim that New Hampshire requires "Home Improvement Contractor registration" under "RSA 310 A:188 through 210" continues to circulate on SEO contractor licensing sites in 2026, including at least one site dated 2026, so the correction on this point stays necessary.

A new, unresolved conflict has surfaced: a site, NH Gasfitters, now describes itself as an approved testing agency for New Hampshire's Journeyman and Master Plumbing exams. This sits alongside, rather than clearly replacing, the Prov administered exam documented in a primary source bulletin, and it should not be treated as a confirmed vendor change. Confirm it directly with New Hampshire OPLC or by phone before quoting it to anyone.

The board

Who licenses general contractors, the headline fact

Nobody, at the state level. New Hampshire has no statewide general contractor license of any kind. The Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC), based in Concord, administers more than 50 professional boards, and general building and remodeling contractors are not among them, per New Hampshire OPLC's welcome and professional licensing pages (checked September 29, 2026). Building and remodeling work runs on local city or town permitting only, and most New Hampshire cities and towns run no contractor licensing program of their own. This makes New Hampshire different from the core NASCLA states where The Licensing Company works today: there is no general contractor license to qualify a company for, no qualifying agent seat tied to a GC license, and nothing NASCLA covers here.

The fake "home improvement contractor registration," a live myth to kill on sight

Multiple SEO contractor licensing sites, repeating each other, claim New Hampshire requires "Home Improvement Contractor registration" under "RSA 310 A:188 through 210" for residential jobs over 1,000 dollars. This was checked directly against the New Hampshire General Court's own statute text and found false. RSA chapter 310 A is the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification's chapter for Professional Engineers, Architects, Land Surveyors, Professional Geologists, Natural Scientists, Foresters, Landscape Architects, Court Reporters, Home Inspectors, Septic System Evaluators, and Medicaid reimbursement eligible doulas and lactation providers; it says nothing about home improvement contractors, per the New Hampshire General Court's RSA 310 A table of contents and full text. The one real, adjacent statute is RSA 359 G, titled Residential Construction Defects, Dispute Resolution, not a "Home Improvement Contracts" law and not a registration or licensing law at all. It only requires a contractor to give a homeowner written notice of the right to a pre lawsuit repair opportunity on any residential construction or improvement contract over 5,000 dollars (RSA 359 G:7). There is no state registry, no license number, and no state agency approval involved. A separate, widely repeated claim that RSA 359 G also makes a written contract mandatory over 500 dollars does not appear anywhere in the text of the chapter's eight sections; treat that 500 dollar figure as an unverified, likely fabricated citation. Actual consumer protection for New Hampshire home improvement work runs through the general Consumer Protection Act, RSA 358 A, enforced by the Attorney General's office, again with no contractor registration step. The myth is still circulating on SEO sites dated 2026, so this remains a live correction, not settled history. If the "RSA 310 A home improvement registration" claim, or the "500 dollar written contract mandate under RSA 359 G" claim, comes up, it should be corrected. Neither exists in the statute.

What New Hampshire actually licenses: electricians

The Electricians' Board, under OPLC, licenses electricians statewide under RSA chapter 319 C. The classifications are apprentice electrician, journeyman electrician, master electrician, and a separate high or medium voltage electrician license for work on systems over 600 volts. A journeyman needs 8,000 hours of supervised apprentice field experience plus 600 hours of electrical schooling. A master needs a passed journeyman exam plus 2,000 hours of field experience working as a journeyman (roughly a year full time) plus the 600 hours of schooling, including at least 24 hours on electrical safety, or alternatively 10 years of experience as a journeyman or master licensed in another jurisdiction, or an associate degree or higher in an electrical curriculum (RSA 319 C and N.H. Admin. Code Elec 304.01). A homeowner performing electrical work in or on their own single family, owner occupied residence is exempt from licensure entirely (RSA 319 C). A site describes the journeyman requirement as "four years and 8,000 hours" and names PSI Services LLC as the exam vendor; the hours figure is roughly consistent with the statute, but the PSI vendor claim conflicts with Prov, which is confirmed as the vendor from primary source exam bulletins, so PSI should be treated as an error on that site rather than a second vendor unless OPLC confirms otherwise. Per the New Hampshire OPLC electrician fee schedule and Prov bulletin, the application fees are as follows: no state general contractor license; trade licenses only, Master Electrician 198 dollars, Electrical Corporation 137 dollars; Prov electrical exam 90 dollars. Per the same fee schedule, the renewal fees are: no state general contractor license; Master Electrician renewal 198 dollars, Electrical Corporation renewal 137 dollars (checked September 29, 2026).