West Virginia Master Beekeeper Program — West Virginia Beekeepers Association

Category: Learning Also called: WV Master Beekeeper Program; WVBA Master Beekeeping; West Virginia Master Beekeepers Last checked: 2026-10-07

What it is

The West Virginia Master Beekeeper Program is a first-party, three-level beekeeper certification program run by the West Virginia Beekeepers Association (WVBA), the statewide beekeepers’ association of West Virginia. The official About page says the WVBA has served beekeepers “in the mountain state” since 1917. The program page says the program is “proudly sponsored by the WVBA,” with a program director appointed by the WVBA executive board. Its aim is to “deliver science-backed education to our existing beekeepers.” Candidates move in order through Apprentice → Certified → Master by passing written and practical tests (80% to pass) given at the WVBA’s statewide conferences, plus experience, public-service and other requirements at the higher levels. The program says certification is not required to keep bees in West Virginia. It is not a county club meeting and not a hive-equipment shop.

Who it’s for

WVBA members who keep bees and want a structured, tested credential. The Apprentice test needs at least four months of hands-on experience (your own apiary or a mentor’s). Certified needs three years of experience, and Master needs five. The program page says all examinations are held within West Virginia, and the Apprentice curriculum focuses only on Langstroth hives. It does not replace a local club or buying woodenware.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party Learning program. Its official page prints the level-by-level requirements, the exam format and passing score, the testing fee, the reading list, and the public-service rules. Its 2026 statewide conference (Bee Fair, September 18–19, 2026, Morgantown) hosted a dedicated Master Beekeeping testing registration. It is curriculum-first, not a blog and not an affiliate landing page.

• Levels & requirements (Master Beekeeping page — checked 2026-10-07): Apprentice requires 4 months of beekeeping experience, current WVBA membership, and passing a written test and a practical test at a statewide conference with 80%. The practical covers hive parts, using a smoker, brood stages, castes, finding the queen, and brood-nest layout. Certified requires 3 years of experience with at least 1 year as an Apprentice, WVBA membership plus a registered apiary, written and practical tests at 80%, six public-service credits, a 12-month colony-management log, and 15 honey-show points under the American Honey Show Training Council (AHSTC) scale (1st = 6, 2nd = 5, 3rd = 4) at AHSTC-judged shows only. Master requires 5 years of experience with at least 1 year as Certified, continued membership and a registered apiary, written and practical tests at 80% (with short-essay questions), six more service credits within three years (twelve total), and an approved talk, preferably to the WVBA general assembly at a spring or fall conference or the Honey Bee Expo, with a Master Beekeeper mentor assigned.
• Fees & rules (Master Beekeeping page FAQ — checked 2026-10-07): $5.00 testing fee per level and $3.00 to retest. There is no deadline to finish a level. Levels are taken in order, and someone who fails a level three times cannot continue testing. Public-service credits must be done within three years of testing and can be no more than three years old. Apprentice and Certified tests use true/false, fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice questions, and lab questions at every level ask candidates to identify beekeeping items.
• Reading list (Master Beekeeping page FAQ — checked 2026-10-07): Apprentice uses Penn State Extension’s Beekeeping Basics. Certified adds The Beekeeper’s Handbook (5th ed., Sammataro) and The Backyard Beekeeper (Flottum). Master adds Honey Bee Parasites, Pests, Predators and Diseases, the WV Department of Agriculture’s honey-labeling guide, the WV apiary law (Chapter 19, Article 13), and Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping (3rd ed., Caron & Connor).
• Membership needed (Join page — checked 2026-10-07): direct WVBA membership is $12 a year (January–December) or $180 lifetime. Members who join through an affiliated local club pay $10 a year or $150 lifetime on top of club dues. First-year and prospective beekeepers who finish an organized novice course with a WVBA-affiliated club can get one year free. The WVBA says it does not send renewal reminders.
• 2026 testing (Bee Fair page + registration page — checked 2026-10-07): the WVBA Bee Fair & Honey Show ran September 18–19, 2026 at Mylan Park, 500 Mylan Park Lane, Morgantown, WV. The program’s “Apply for Testing” link goes to the WVBA’s “2026 Bee Fair Master Beekeeping Testing Registration” page, which now says registration is closed. Check the WVBA site for the next statewide conference testing date.

Fees, requirements and dates above are what the official pages showed on the check date. Program rules change. Use the live WVBA pages before treating any figure as fixed.

Official URL

Program page: https://www.wvbeekeepers.org/masterbeekeeping

WVBA home: https://www.wvbeekeepers.org/

About the WVBA: https://www.wvbeekeepers.org/about

Join (membership dues): https://www.wvbeekeepers.org/join

Bee Fair 2026 (statewide conference): https://www.wvbeekeepers.org/beefair

2026 Bee Fair testing registration (closed): https://wvba.regfox.com/master-beekeeper-0926

Program reciprocity request form (PDF): https://www.wvbeekeepers.org/s/Receprocity-Request-Form.pdf

Location

Statewide program. Written and practical tests are given in person at WVBA statewide conferences in West Virginia. The 2026 testing event was the Bee Fair at Mylan Park, 500 Mylan Park Lane, Morgantown, WV (the home page prints ZIP 26501, the Bee Fair page prints 26508). The official pages print no WVBA street or mailing address. Contact goes to officer role addresses on the official site (for example [email protected], who receives proof for novice free-membership claims).

This is a Learning / statewide certification pathway identity, not a Local club hall and not an Equipment retail counter.

Notes

• Category is Learning. The West Virginia Master Beekeeper Program is a curriculum-first, association-run certification with printed level requirements, exams and fees. It is not Equipment and not Local clubs: the WVBA is a statewide association, and this listing covers its certification program, not a local club meeting. It is the first West Virginia listing in the directory. It is separate from the already-listed Master pathways (Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, California, UF-IFAS, Montana, Cornell, WASBA, Great Plains) and from Penn State 101/102, UMN, Rutgers, UW–Madison, Purdue and CSU Extension. Its Apprentice reading list uses Penn State Extension’s Beekeeping Basics, but the program itself is run by the WVBA.
• The three-level structure, 80% pass mark, $5 / $3 testing fees, three-attempt rule, service-credit and honey-show rules, reading list, the $12 / $180 and $10 / $150 dues, the 1917 founding, and the Sept 18–19, 2026 Bee Fair are copied from official wvbeekeepers.org pages (and the WVBA’s RegFox registration page) checked on 2026-10-07 and may change. The page layout puts each level’s label under its block of requirements. The levels above follow the page text (the first block mentions “the apprentice examination,” the second “certified testing”).
• Several program forms (Apply for Testing, Required Readings, Public Service Form) link to Google Docs or Google Drive files or to RegFox rather than to pages on wvbeekeepers.org. Only the RegFox testing-registration page and the reciprocity PDF were opened. The program page names a webmaster with a personal email, which is deliberately not copied.
• First-party image saved beside this listing as west-virginia-master-beekeeper.png (the official WVBA logo used as the site’s og:image, WVBA Logo.png, unedited 1000×1000 PNG original).
• Not affiliated with Beekeeping Plaza.
• No Beekeeping Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: How much does the West Virginia Master Beekeeper Program cost?
A: The official program page (checked 2026-10-07) says each level has a $5.00 testing fee and a $3.00 retest fee. You also need current WVBA membership: $12 a year direct ($180 lifetime), or $10 a year ($150 lifetime) through an affiliated local club. Confirm at https://www.wvbeekeepers.org/masterbeekeeping.

Q: Who can take the tests, and where?
A: The program is open to WVBA members. Apprentice candidates need at least four months of hands-on beekeeping. All exams are given in West Virginia, at the WVBA’s statewide conferences. The 2026 testing registration was tied to the Bee Fair (September 18–19, 2026, Mylan Park, Morgantown) and is now closed.

Q: Do experienced beekeepers have to start at Apprentice?
A: Yes. The program FAQ says levels are sequential, so you must earn Apprentice before you can test for Certified. Certified needs three years of experience, and Master needs five. There is no deadline to finish a level, but failing a level three times ends further testing.

Q: What should I study?
A: Per the official FAQ: Penn State Extension’s Beekeeping Basics for Apprentice; plus The Beekeeper’s Handbook (5th ed.) and The Backyard Beekeeper for Certified; plus Honey Bee Parasites, Pests, Predators and Diseases, WV honey-labeling rules, the WV apiary law, and Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping (3rd ed.) for Master.

Q: Is this a local club or an equipment shop?
A: No. It is listed here as Learning, a statewide certification pathway run by the West Virginia Beekeepers Association. For hive gear, see the Equipment listings (e.g. Triple Oak Acres Bee Supply). For monthly club meetings, see Local clubs (e.g. Worcester County Beekeepers Association).