Mason in Ohio: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

Ohio does not license masons: no state licence for masons or concrete finishers as employees. This page says what a mason licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Ohio, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

No state licenses masons, bricklayers or concrete finishers as employees, so there is nothing to transfer to Ohio. A masonry contractor licence applies in some states if you work for yourself. Certifications that travel: ACI concrete flatwork finisher, and OSHA cards.

What to have ready before you move

• ACI or NCMA certificates if you hold them
• OSHA 10 card

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no Ohio licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Underestimating the season in northern states; masonry slows in winter

Who hires masons in Ohio

Masons in Ohio are hired by masonry contractors, concrete contractors, general contractors and union locals. The metros with the most of that work are Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Akron. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Ohio openings page.

For the money side: the median mason in Ohio earned $62,050 a year ($30 an hour) in May 2024 across 5,870 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Ohio has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 3.5%. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Ohio also has a program that pay people to move in: Hamilton Talent Attraction Program (student loan reimbursement paid over several years, for recent graduates moving to Hamilton, Ohio; check the current round). Each has a residence condition and a funding round.

Everything about Ohio, on one page

The Ohio page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Ohio employers hiring from out of state.