Pennsylvania to Maryland: journeyman HVAC technician license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide journeyman HVAC technician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Maryland'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.
Out-of-state journeyman without a reciprocal agreement
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A journeyman licensed in a state other than Delaware or Virginia must qualify for an original Maryland journeyman license by examination; the Board's FAQ says reciprocal licensing is available only where an agreement exists. The statutory route is 4 years as a licensed apprentice with 6,000 hours of training under a licensed contractor, but Bus. Reg. §9A-302(g) lets the Board credit up to 6 years of HVACR work experience that does not fit that pattern when it provided comparable experience and the shortfall was not the applicant's fault, and up to 3 years of formal HVACR study, so documented out-of-state journeyman experience can be submitted to PSI (the Board's testing vendor, which reviews eligibility) in place of a Maryland apprenticeship. The applicant then passes the open-book PSI journeyman exam with 70% ($150), registers the license with the Department and pays the $25 license fee. Bus. Reg. §9A-305 also allows the Board, by majority vote, to waive the exam for a licensee of any state that waives its exam for Maryland licensees to a similar extent, but the Board has published that waiver only for Delaware and Virginia. There is no separate law or business exam.
The Board's requirements page and Bus. Reg. §9A-302(e) require 4 years as a licensed apprentice with 6,000 hours; the PSI bulletin (updated 9/1/2024) still describes a 3-year/1,875-hour apprentice standard and a Board-approved route for 'at least three years of qualifying experience'. The Board's published materials do not say how PSI and the Board apply §9A-302(g) credit to experience gained under an out-of-state license; ask the Board (410-230-6196) before applying. The HVACR Journeyman exam has 100 questions in 240 minutes; the restricted journeyman exams are 40-50 questions in 90-120 minutes.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must document at least 6,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Statutory route: held a Maryland apprentice license for at least 4 years and completed at least 6,000 hours of HVACR training under the direction and control of a licensed contractor (Bus. Reg. §9A-302(e)); the Board may credit up to 6 years of comparable work experience and up to 3 years of formal study under §9A-302(g).
What you'll do to get licensed in Maryland
- 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Maryland HVACR Journeyman examination administered by PSI, 70% to pass, open book (2012 International Mechanical Code, Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, ACCA Manual J, 29 CFR 1926); apply to PSI with experience documentation.
- 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($150). PSI examination fee for the Journeyman exam, valid for one attempt (restricted journeyman specialties $50 each); a failed exam may be retaken after 30 days with a new fee.
- 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($25). Journeyman license fee, nonrefundable, effective July 1, 2025 (journeyman restricted $25 per area).
- 4Other. 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 $175, 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.
- Trade exam
- Exam fee · $150
- Other · if applicable
How Maryland licenses journeyman HVAC technicians
Maryland journeyman HVAC technician · “HVACR Journeyman”
Statewide license
Maryland issues a statewide HVACR Journeyman license through the Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors in the Department of Labor, a different board from the State Board of Electricians. Everyone who provides or assists in providing heating, ventilation, air-conditioning or refrigeration services in Maryland must hold a Board license (apprentice, journeyman, journeyman restricted, limited, master restricted or master); the journeyman license authorizes HVACR work under the direction and control of a licensed contractor, and a journeyman restricted license covers a single area (forced air, hydronic, ventilation, air conditioning or refrigeration). A new journeyman must have held a Maryland apprentice license for at least 4 years with at least 6,000 hours of training under a licensed contractor and pass the PSI-administered journeyman exam with 70% ($150 exam fee, $25 license fee); graduates of a Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council program are licensed without the exam. The Board has reciprocal agreements only with Delaware and Virginia, under which a qualifying journeyman is licensed without the Maryland exam. Licenses run to October 1 of odd-numbered years and renew for 2-year terms; Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties also require a county HVACR license.
Why Pennsylvania has nothing to transfer
Pennsylvania journeyman HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
Pennsylvania has no statewide HVAC license at any level: none of the Department of State's 29 licensing boards covers heating, air-conditioning, refrigeration or mechanical work, and the only state-level credential touching the trade is the Attorney General's Home Improvement Contractor registration, which registers businesses doing residential work and involves no exam. Journeyman-level HVAC licensing exists only where a city ordinance creates it, and most cities do not: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh license no HVAC journeyman (Philadelphia's only person-held HVAC-related license is the Sheet Metal Technician license for ductwork, and Pittsburgh's Mechanical/HVAC Trade License is a master-level credential under which employees work unlicensed). Reading issues a Journeyman Mechanical Installer license based on a four-year apprenticeship and the ICC Journeyman Mechanical exam, and Erie's ordinance defines a mechanical journeyman by completion of the ICC Journeyman Certificate Exam. An out-of-state HVAC journeyman license has no state-level recognition in Pennsylvania; Reading will issue a reciprocal journeyman license ($150) to holders of an equivalent license from a first-, second- or third-class city with standards equal to its own, and otherwise the technician works as an employee of whatever contractor holds the local license. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is required everywhere in the state for anyone who handles refrigerants.
How local licensing works in Pennsylvania
How local licensing works. Pennsylvania licenses no HVAC workers at the state level, so each city decides for itself whether to license the trade, and licensing is done under local ordinances by city trade boards or code offices. Most municipalities require only a permit pulled by a contractor plus the statewide Home Improvement Contractor registration for residential work.
Philadelphia. No HVAC or mechanical license of any kind. Mechanical permits must be performed by a business holding L&I's general Contractor License ($126 a year, insurance and OSHA 30, no exam), and 'sheet metal work must be performed by a registered sheet metal technician or apprentice employed by the contractor'. The Sheet Metal Technician License ($189 for three years) is the only person-held HVAC-related credential; it requires a completed U.S. DOL or state-registered sheet metal apprenticeship (8,000 hours of work plus 800 hours of instruction) and has no exam and no out-of-state provisions.
Pittsburgh. No journeyman license. The Mechanical/HVAC Trade License is issued to an individual who passes an ICC master mechanical exam and shows four years of experience; other workers perform mechanical work as employees under a licensee.
Reading. Issues a Journeyman Mechanical Installer license ($50 a year). Applicants must be employed by a registered mechanical contractor and registered with the Pennsylvania apprenticeship bureau, complete a four-year approved apprenticeship with at least 216 hours of instruction per year (or eight years under a registered mechanical contractor), and pass the ICC F31-N Journeyman Mechanical exam or its successor. A reciprocal journeyman license ($150, including a one-time reciprocation fee) may be issued to the holder of an equivalent license from a first-, second- or third-class U.S. city issued by an equivalent board with standards equal to Reading's; the applicant attaches the other jurisdiction's current requirements. Reading's list names Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Scranton, Lancaster and Pittsburgh and 'most, if not all, surrounding states with a state license'.
Erie. The Bureau of Building Standards and Safety issues master licenses for Mechanical and HVAC Installers and a separate Refrigeration license, and the contractor licensing ordinance defines a journeyman as one qualified 'through formal apprenticeship, on-the-job experience and after successful completion of the International Code Council (ICC) Journeyman Certificate Exam', with apprentices completing 8,000 working hours and 800 classroom hours before testing. Scranton and Altoona license HVAC/mechanical contractors at the master or business level (see the master level) and have no journeyman license.
Out-of-state holders. No city publishes a reciprocity path for out-of-state journeyman licenses except Reading, whose reciprocal license depends on the origin credential coming from a city (or a state) with equivalent standards. Elsewhere a journeyman from another state simply works for a locally licensed contractor.
- Philadelphia (Department of Licenses and Inspections)
- Pittsburgh (Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections)
- Reading (Building and Trades)
- Erie (Bureau of Building Standards and Safety)
- Allentown (Building Standards and Safety)
- Harrisburg (Bureau of Codes)
- Scranton (Code Enforcement)
- Altoona (Codes and Inspections)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Maryland journeyman HVAC technician exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. Maryland requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Maryland journeyman HVAC technician license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $175, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in Maryland?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Maryland's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Maryland to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Maryland to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- 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
- Md. Code, Business Regulation §9A-101 - Definitions (HVACR licenses) · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §9A-101 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 15, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Regulation §9A-301 - License required · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §9A-301 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 15, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Regulation §9A-302 - Qualifications of applicants · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §9A-302 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Regulation §9A-305 - Waiver of examination for out-of-state licensees (reciprocity) · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §9A-305 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 15, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Regulation §9A-306 - Licenses without examination (apprenticeship graduates) · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §9A-306(e) · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Regulation §9A-309 - Term and renewal of licenses · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §9A-309 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland HVACR Board - Apply for an Original License (license categories) · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors (HVACR) - Home · Md. Code, Bus. Reg. Title 9A; COMAR 09.15 · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland HVACR Board - County Licenses and Permits · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
- Maryland HVACR Board - Taking the Exams · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland HVACR Board - Licensing Frequently Asked Questions · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Faq · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland HVACR Board - Fees (COMAR fee schedule effective July 1, 2025) · COMAR 09.15.01.03 · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland HVACR Board - Licensing Requirements (master, master restricted, limited, journeyman) · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Maryland HVACR Board - Apply for a Reciprocal License · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
- Maryland State Board of HVACR Contractors - Qualification Information Bulletin (PSI, updated 9/1/2024) · Maryland Department of Labor / PSI Services LLC · Other · verified September 23, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.