Michigan to Texas: journeyman HVAC technician license reciprocity

Texas has no journeyman HVAC license in the usual sense; the person-held credential for an employee who does air conditioning and refrigeration work is the Registered ACR Technician registration issued by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Anyone who assists a licensed ACR contractor with non-exempt maintenance or repair work must register: the applicant must be at least 16, file a one-page application with a $20 fee and answer a criminal history questionnaire, and there is no exam, no experience requirement and no continuing education. The registration is valid one year and is renewed for $20. TDLR also offers a voluntary Certified ACR Technician credential for technicians with 24 months of supervised experience or a TDLR-approved 2,000-hour training program who pass a PSI exam ($50 application, $60 exam, renewed for $35); it is not required to work. Because the registration is not an examined license, an out-of-state journeyman or technician license has nothing to transfer to: every technician must register with TDLR regardless of licenses held elsewhere, and all work must be performed under a Texas-licensed ACR contractor. Technicians who handle refrigerants also need federal EPA Section 608 certification.

Michigan does not issue a journeyman HVAC, mechanical or refrigeration license and has no HVAC technician registration. Article 8 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407) licenses only mechanical contractors, by work classification, and MCL 339.5809 lets anyone perform regulated HVAC, ductwork, refrigeration or service work as long as they or their employer holds a classified mechanical contractor's license and the permit is pulled by that licensee. MCL 339.5811 forbids municipalities from establishing local licensing requirements for these classifications, so no Michigan city issues an HVAC journeyman card either; Detroit only registers contractors who already hold the state license. An out-of-state journeyman HVAC license therefore has nothing to transfer to and is neither required nor recognized for employment in Michigan. A technician who wants to contract independently, or to be a company's contractor of record, applies for the person-held mechanical contractor license described at the master level (3 years or 6,000 hours of experience per classification, a PSI exam per classification, $300 license fee). Federal EPA Section 608 certification is required of anyone handling refrigerants and is not a state credential.