Where a South Carolina journeyman HVAC technician license transfers

How local licensing works. State law licenses contractors, not technicians: S.C. Code § 40-11-30 requires a Contractor's Licensing Board license (Mechanical Contractor with the Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration or Packaged Equipment classification) for mechanical contracting work whose total cost exceeds $10,000, and Chapter 59 requires a Residential Builders Commission license for residential heating and air-conditioning work over $500. Employees of those licensees need no state credential. The Contractor's Licensing Board home page lists no journeyman license, and the Residential Builders Commission licenses the Residential HVAC Installer and Repairer, not a journeyman.

The trades certification card. The SC Mechanical Trades Certification Program was created in 1965 by the Municipal Association of South Carolina to give municipalities a common examination and certification for the mechanical trades. MASC handed the program to the Carolinas AGC Foundation on January 1, 2026; cards issued by MASC remain valid until the expiration printed on them, and CAGC now issues verification letters. CAGC charges a $35 application fee ($35 to re-test), uses PROV as its exam provider, and states that the card 'should not be confused with' the LLR mechanical contractor or residential specialty licenses and that a holder will not represent the card as evidence of a license. The master-level HVAC card, the HARV (Master Mechanical) certification issued by exam by MASC between September 7, 2013 and December 2025 or by CAGC after January 1, 2026, is accepted by LLR as a technical-exam waiver for the Mechanical Contractor Air Conditioning and Heating classifications and for the Residential HVAC Installer and Repairer license, which is the card's main statewide use. The journeyman-level HVAC card's requirements are not published on the CAGC or MASC pages opened.

Which cities require it. Requirements are set by each city or county building department; no official city page confirming a journeyman HVAC card requirement was opened on this date, so no city-by-city list is given here. Technicians should ask the local building department where they will work.

Out-of-state holders. Neither CAGC nor MASC publishes reciprocity for journeyman licenses from other states, and LLR's waiver agreements apply only to contractor-level exams. An out-of-state journeyman or HVAC technician can work for a licensed South Carolina contractor without any state credential and, if a card is required locally, applies to CAGC.