Nevada to Rhode Island: journeyman HVAC technician license reciprocity

Rhode Island has no license titled 'HVAC technician'; the state credential for HVAC work is the refrigeration/air conditioning license issued by the Department of Labor and Training (DLT), which writes and administers the exam itself. The journeyman-level credential is the Refrigeration Journeyperson Class I (RJ1, unlimited refrigeration and air-conditioning work as an employee); the Refrigeration Journeyperson Class II (RJ2) is limited to comfort cooling up to 20 tons, product cooling up to 3 tons or 1 hp freezing. Heating-side work is licensed separately as pipefitting (Pipefitter Journeyperson I/II) and oil burner service (P.J.F. limited journeyperson II), and sheet metal work has its own license. A new Class I applicant completes a 10,000-hour registered apprenticeship with 144 hours of schooling per year (Class II: 4,000 hours and 288 schooling hours) and passes the DLT exam with a score of 70 or better. Rhode Island has no reciprocity agreements and no statute allowing a refrigeration license without examination; instead R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-11 and DLT regulation 260-RICR-30-15-2 § 2.14.C provide that an out-of-state journeyperson license admits the applicant to the Rhode Island journeyperson exam, and the DLT application has a dedicated 'Out-of-State License Holders' fee line. Fees are a $75 non-refundable application fee and a $72 two-year license fee (Class II $60) invoiced after passing; licenses renew every two years on the licensee's birthday. EPA Section 608 certification is a separate federal requirement for handling refrigerants.

Nevada has no statewide journeyman or technician license for heating, air-conditioning or refrigeration work. The Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) licenses refrigeration and air-conditioning contractors under classification C-21 (NRS/NAC 624), issues licenses only to businesses with a qualifying individual, and its FAQ confirms it does not license individual journeymen, so an out-of-state HVAC journeyman license has nothing to transfer to at the state level and is not needed to work for a licensed C-21 contractor in most of the state. A personal credential exists only under local building codes in the Las Vegas valley: Clark County Code §22.02.250 and the City of Las Vegas Administrative Code §306 both require a mechanical qualified individual or a journeyman HVAC mechanic to be present in a supervisory capacity whenever permitted mechanical work of residential or light-frame construction is under way, and Clark County Code §22.02.260 defines the Journeyman HVAC Mechanic category. The credential is a county photo certificate earned by passing the journeyman HVAC exam accepted by the Building Official, historically ICC exam 459 (80 open-book questions on the Uniform Mechanical Code, 4 hours, $100) followed by a $10 ID card valid three years and renewed for $30 with 15 hours of UMC continuing education. Neither jurisdiction publishes a waiver or equivalency for an out-of-state license; Clark County's only equivalency is for a certificate from its accepted testing agency or another Nevada political subdivision within the county. Reno requires journeyman cards for electrical and plumbing work only, and the rural counties were not surveyed. EPA Section 608 certification applies federally to anyone handling refrigerants.