Minnesota to Arkansas: journeyman HVAC technician license reciprocity
Minnesota does not issue a statewide journeyman HVAC technician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Arkansas's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
HVACR registration (required of everyone; no exam, no credential transfer)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
An HVAC journeyman or technician arriving from any state who wants to work as an employee in Arkansas registers with the HVAC/R Section as an HVACR Registrant. The application is filed online and affiliated with the employer's designated license holder (Class A, B, D or E), who pays the $25 registration fee and renews the registration every year; there is no exam, no experience requirement and no continuing education for registrants. An out-of-state journeyman license gives no advantage because nothing is waived and nothing is required beyond the registration itself. A journeyman who instead wants to contract independently, or who holds an out-of-state contractor-level license, applies for a Class A, B, D or E HVACR license under the master-level rules, where a substantially similar out-of-state license waives the exam.
Registrants may perform work only for the HVACR licensee who registered them (17 CAR §261-102). Low-income applicants may request a waiver of the initial fee (Act 725). Arkansas pages do not mention EPA Section 608; it is listed because it is a federal requirement.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Do not count
What you must already have
- Employed by, and working under, an Arkansas Class A, B, D or E HVACR license holder who affiliates and pays for the registration (§17-33-303(c))
What you'll do to get licensed in Arkansas
- 1License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($25). HVACR Registrant fee, paid by the employing license holder and renewed annually (17 CAR §261-106(f); Ark. Code §17-33-204).
- 2Other. Online HVACR registrant application, affiliated with the employer's designated license holder by license number.
- 3Other. Hold EPA Section 608 technician certification to handle refrigerant; federal law requires it, but it is not a condition of this state license (if applicable).
Published fees on this path total $25, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Other · if applicable
How Arkansas licenses journeyman HVAC technicians
Arkansas journeyman HVAC technician · “HVACR Registrant”
Statewide license
Issued by Arkansas HVACR Licensing Board (Department of Labor and Licensing, HVAC/R Section)
Arkansas has no journeyman HVAC license; the person-held credential for an employee who performs heating, air conditioning or refrigeration work is the HVACR Registrant registration issued by the Department of Labor and Licensing. Ark. Code §17-33-303(c) lets an individual perform HVACR work under a Class A, B, D or E license holder by registering with the department; the $25 annual registration fee is the license holder's responsibility, and every licensee must make sure each HVACR employee holds a current registration or license. Registration is not credential-based: the application asks for no experience, education, exam or prior license and is tied to the employer's designated license holder, so it must be obtained by everyone regardless of any journeyman or technician license held in another state, and no out-of-state license shortens or replaces it. A registrant may work only for an HVACR licensee; under §17-33-104 a registered individual cannot be required to obtain any city or county license, though local permits and inspections apply. The Board has no reciprocal agreements with any state at any level. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is separately required of anyone who handles refrigerants.
Why Minnesota has nothing to transfer
Minnesota journeyman HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
Minnesota has no state HVAC or refrigeration technician license at any level. The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) states that there is 'no state license requirement for individual employees of mechanical contractors' and no state license for mechanical contractors either; the only statewide requirement is the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond that a business must file with DLI under Minn. Stat. 326B.197 before contracting for gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work. Journeyman-level licensing exists only where a city requires it: Minneapolis and Saint Paul both require a journeyman Certificate of Competency (Warm Air/Ventilation or Refrigeration) to work in the trade, issued after four years of experience and an exam, and Saint Paul additionally registers trade workers; Bloomington, Rochester and Duluth license contractors or master installers but not journeymen. An out-of-state journeyman HVAC license has no state-level recognition in Minnesota and none of these cities publish a path that accepts it; the only local reciprocity is between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Anyone who handles refrigerants must also hold federal EPA Section 608 certification, which is not a state license.
How local licensing works in Minnesota
How local licensing works. Minnesota licenses neither HVAC contractors nor HVAC workers at the state level. DLI's only role is the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond (Minn. Stat. 326B.197; $100 filing fee for two years), which the statute makes 'in lieu of all other bonds to any political subdivision'. Everything about who may personally do HVAC work comes from city ordinances, and most Minnesota cities require nothing of employees.
Minneapolis. Under Minneapolis Code Chapter 278, 'masters and journeymen' in the refrigeration and warm air/ventilation trades (as well as fuel gas fitting and steam and hot water) 'need the card in order to perform work in Minneapolis'. A Journeyman Warm Air Ventilation or Journeyman Refrigeration Certificate of Competency requires four years (1,600 hours per year) of on-the-job experience plus four years (576 hours) of trade-related education, or a state-approved apprenticeship; the Building Official approves eligibility (no application fee), the ICC exam is taken at Pearson VUE (100-question Journeyman Warm Air Ventilation exam or 70-question Journeyman Refrigeration exam, 70% to pass, $115), and the card costs $30 per trade. A failed exam requires a 60-day wait; scores are valid one year. Minneapolis has reciprocity only with Saint Paul: a Saint Paul card holder sends copies of the card and $30 per trade.
Saint Paul. The Department of Safety and Inspections requires Certificates of Competency (master and/or journeyman) in Warm Air/Ventilation, Refrigeration, Gas Burner, Oil Burner and Steam Fitting/Hot Water. Warm Air/Ventilation exams are held twice a year (January and July); refrigeration and burner candidates arrange testing through the Senior Mechanical Inspector. Journeymen must also carry an annual trade worker registration ($37 per trade for 0-4 years registered, $70 for 5-6 years, $59 for 7 or more). Reciprocal cards are issued on a current Minneapolis card for $24 per trade (Refrigeration at both levels; Warm Air and Ventilation at master level only).
Bloomington. Licenses mechanical contractors (HVAC, gas installer, hot water/steam, oil burner, refrigeration) on the strength of a Minneapolis or Saint Paul competency card or Bloomington's own $35 open-book mechanical test; no journeyman credential.
Rochester. Licenses HVAC Contractors ($125 per year) and individual HVAC Master Installers ($60 per year plus a $25 certificate of competency per area); no journeyman credential.
Duluth. Issues no mechanical license; a DLI-bonded mechanical contractor pulls the permit.
Out-of-state holders. None of these cities publish a reciprocity, endorsement or exam-waiver route for an HVAC license from another state. A journeyman arriving in Minnesota needs no credential to work for a bonded contractor outside Minneapolis and Saint Paul; inside those cities they should expect to document four years of experience and education and pass the city exam (or obtain one city's card and reciprocate to the other).
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Arkansas journeyman HVAC technician exam if I'm licensed in Minnesota?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas journeyman HVAC technician license from Minnesota?
- Published fees on this path total $25, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Minnesota work hours count in Arkansas?
- No. Arkansas does not credit out-of-state hours on this path.
- Does it work the other way, from Arkansas to Minnesota?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Arkansas to Minnesota, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - HVAC-R (HVACR Licensing Board; contractor applications; reciprocity statement) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- 17 CAR Part 261 - Rules Pertaining to the Licensing of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors (Code of Arkansas Rules; amended by Ark. R. 2026-31, eff. April 2, 2026) · 17 CAR §§ 261-102, 261-103, 261-104, 261-105, 261-106, 261-112, 261-117, 261-119, 261-120, 261-121, 261-122 · HVACR Licensing Board / Department of Labor and Licensing (Code of Arkansas Rules) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- Arkansas HVAC/R Statutes 2025 - Ark. Code Ann. Title 17, Chapter 33, as amended by Act 746 of 2025 (department compilation dated 10/29/2025) · Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-33-101(16), 17-33-104, 17-33-202, 17-33-204, 17-33-301, 17-33-302, 17-33-303, 17-33-306 · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, HVAC/R Section · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- New Registrants Applications - step-by-step guide to the online HVACR registrant application · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Form · verified September 23, 2026
- Arkansas HVAC/R Section - HVACR Registrant Application ($25) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Form · verified September 23, 2026
- EPA Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements · 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F (Clean Air Act §608) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Other · verified September 15, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.