ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area National (USA) lisencing - informal survey.

Samurai, "national licensing" is a topic that reaches far beyond our trade, and I seriously doubt that we'll see any solution in our lifetime ... let alone find a solution that satisfies everyone.

Look at it this way: what's the worst crime you can think of? Murder? Yet, 'murder' laws are left to the individual states. Put in this context, licensing and building codes are pretty minor things.

Our Constitution does provide that you 'retain all rights and privileges' when in another State; this has been applied to require the recognition of, among other things, drivers; licenses and marriage licenses. Yet, the same logic has not been applied to trade licenses. Indeed, for the longest time the AMA had not a single board member licensed to practice medicine in the State where the AMA is based (Illinois). Whether this recognition should be extended to trade licenses is the question at the heart of the issue.

Nor is trade licensing even uniformly considered to be a "State" issue; many States leave it to the counties and cities.
For example, the State of Nevada licenses electrical contractors, but your journeyman card is issued by the city.

As for "national" codes .... I'm sure the NFPA, and every other code writing group, would love to be in charge of a truly 'national' code. Yet, last I heard, our national laws were passed by Congress - not conventioneers. Our codes really are local codes .... even when the locale chooses to adopt a 'model' code without any changes. Again, this distinction was critical in the Veeck copyright case.

That's just the way this country is set up.

Not that your time, training, and certifications are wasted. I am sure that, should you relocate, that you will at least be allowed to apply - something not allowed those without other qualifications.

I actually like the idea of local(state) licensing for several reasons. I think when work is slow in certain areas, the market will be flooded in other areas.If it was a blanket license. It's based purely on supply and demand. And when the supply outweighs the demand the price drops. I personally like making more than the guy sweeping the parking lot. I feel that the licensing fees i pay every yr to MA, R.I, and CONN, make me a valuable asset to my company. Since they operate in all those states I can work in all of them when needed.
The Second reason I'm against a national license is fly by night electricians. With no roots in a particular area how can you possibly maintain any kind of warranty. Additionally what kind of insurance premiums will you be paying for hopping all over the place?Just my opionon

I would tend to agree. It would only benefit those few who went state to state. The vast majority of contractors work around their home and the surrounding counties.

Look at New England a license in Conneticut is not valid in Rhode Island,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,Vermont and Maine. The Rhode Island license is only good in Rhode Island( although supposedly Oregon is reciprocal) And in Massachusett the license is valid in New Hampshire,Vermont,and Maine. And this is the set up in New England.

Because the Contractors Nationwide are going to see it only from their perspective. They'll all think they're way is the ultimate answer.
The paperwork, discussions, court cases, etc. would provide enough red tape to tie up the process for at least 100 years.

I see all the previous answers are from back East, with the exception of Reno.
There is not even a Master's classification in California, the classification just doesn't exist.

Then there's the issue that Don brought up about State's rights.

Are you willing to admit that your way isn't the best way?

Better to let sleeping dogs lie.

I like the idea of a national licensing standard with full reciprocity. I know that will never happen due to regional differences in climate, etc. Still, I'd be happy if I could just write one check instead of the thousands of dollars' worth of separate checks to each state, county, city and town in Maryland/Virginia and DC. It is ridiculous and they all work on different renewal cycles. Some two years, some one. It is almost a full-time job to keep up with them.

Forget about that part of it for a moment. I'd rather see a uniform standard in the permit process. Many areas around here are simple rubber stamp upon payment in full deals. Others require a full plan review with a return trip to receive the permit. In some cases, these jurisdictions are across the street from each other. It is just crazy.

Then we have jobs that have a "county" addresses that appear to be in the city or vice-versa. We can have a job in with a Fairfax, VA mailing address, but it is actually not in the city of Fairfax, it is in the county of Fairfax. We have Alexandria, VA jobs that might be in the city of Alexandria or the county of Fairfax, again two different processes. The town of Herndon, VA has it's own "two-day" permitting process, where most of the Herndon addresses are actually under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County. The same thing goes on in Montgomery County, MD where half of the Rockville, MD addresses are in the city of Rockville and the other half are in Montgomery County. My head is about to explode with all of the differing permitting standards.

It's all about each of them maintaining enough separation to justify the requirement for multiple licensing and permitting fees. It's all about the money, that's all.

Sorry for the sidetrack. I'm sure that it is like this everywhere. I'd still like to see a national format for licensing AND permits. Pipe dream for sure.

I like the state wide license, not national.
Our (Ma.) recips are based on the code cycle (mainly).If your in our current code then most likely we will recip.

National, NO, for reasons cited above.