Tennessee to Arkansas: journeyman HVAC technician license reciprocity
Tennessee 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 Tennessee has nothing to transfer
Tennessee journeyman HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
Issued by Local code enforcement offices (Chattanooga, Memphis/Shelby County, Nashville, Knoxville and other exempt jurisdictions); no state journeyman HVAC license
Tennessee has no statewide journeyman or technician HVAC license. The Board for Licensing Contractors licenses HVAC work only at the business level, through the contractor license with the CMC (full mechanical) or CMC-C (HVAC/refrigeration) classification required for projects of $25,000 or more, and it has no limited HVAC license comparable to its Limited Licensed Electrician or Plumber programs. The Department of Commerce and Insurance says that most HVAC projects under $25,000 are regulated locally and that local governments listed as exempt jurisdictions with the State Fire Marshal issue their own mechanical HVAC licenses or journeyman licenses; where the Fire Marshal's inspectors handle permits, an LLE license or a CMC-C contractor license is required for HVAC permits. Journeyman-level cards therefore exist only in cities that run their own mechanical boards: Chattanooga licenses Journeyman Mechanics ($75 per two years, three years or 6,000 hours of experience, exam through its Board of Mechanical Examiners), while Nashville and Memphis/Shelby County license mechanical contractors and let employees work under them without a personal card. An out-of-state journeyman HVAC license has no state-level recognition in Tennessee; the state's trade-exam-waiver agreements cover only contractor licenses. EPA Section 608 certification is required federally to handle refrigerants wherever the technician works.
How local licensing works in Tennessee
How local licensing works. The Board for Licensing Contractors regulates HVAC only through the CMC/CMC-C contractor license (projects of $25,000 and up). Anything below that threshold is regulated by the city or county, and roughly two dozen 'exempt jurisdictions' run their own mechanical inspection programs and licenses. Each jurisdiction's card is valid only there, and none of the pages below publishes a reciprocity or exam-waiver rule for out-of-state journeyman licenses.
Nashville (Davidson County). The Board of Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical Examiners and Appeals issues Master Mechanical, HVAC&R, and Gas and Appliance certificates to individuals; there is no Nashville journeyman mechanical card. Technicians work as employees of a firm registered with a Metro certificate holder or a state CMC/CMC-C licensee ($40,000 permit bond, $300,000 liability insurance, Davidson County business license).
Memphis and Shelby County. The joint Office of Construction Code Enforcement licenses First-Class (4 years' experience, unlimited) and Third-Class (2 years, equipment up to 15 tons or 15 hp) Mechanical Contractors after a written exam, with a $150 registration, $110 annual renewal and a $25,000 permit bond, and registers state CMC licensees for $150. The mechanical code creates no journeyman mechanic license; employees work under a licensed mechanical contractor who must supervise them and furnish their names on request.
Knoxville. Permits are pulled under a State Contractor Registration (CMC/CMC-C), a Homeowner Registration, or an Unlicensed / State Limited License registration; the city's page does not describe a journeyman HVAC card, and its own mechanical license application is not posted online, so anyone planning to work in Knoxville should call Plans Review & Inspections at 865-215-4311.
Chattanooga. The Board of Mechanical Examiners licenses Journeyman Mechanics: three or more years (2,000 hours per year) as a registered journeyman or HVAC/sheet-metal helper, or a previously held unrevoked journeyman or HVAC mechanic license from Chattanooga or any other governmental agency, or other experience acceptable to the Board; $75 per two-year cycle; application through the OpenGov portal, after which the clerks send testing information. Holding a card from another jurisdiction makes an applicant eligible to sit the Chattanooga exam but does not waive it.
Out-of-state holders. No Tennessee jurisdiction found publishes reciprocity for journeyman HVAC licenses. In Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville a journeyman simply works as an employee of a licensed or registered mechanical contractor; in Chattanooga the out-of-state card supports eligibility for the local exam.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Arkansas journeyman HVAC technician exam if I'm licensed in Tennessee?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas journeyman HVAC technician license from Tennessee?
- Published fees on this path total $25, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Arkansas to Tennessee, 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.