Moving to Alabama as a journeyman HVAC technician: every state's rule

Alabama does not issue a journeyman, technician or mechanic license for heating, air conditioning or refrigeration work. The only state credentials under Ala. Code §34-31-18 et seq. are the Certified Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor and Certified Refrigeration Contractor certifications, and §34-31-24 requires only that the person in responsible charge of a business be certified; installers and service technicians work as employees of a certified contractor with no personal state license. The Board's exam application still quotes an older version of §34-31-28 that let an applicant qualify for the exam through two years of a Board-issued apprentice registration, but the 2024 statute keeps only the 3,000-hour or approved-curriculum routes and the Board publishes no apprentice or technician registration form. An out-of-state journeyman HVAC license therefore has nothing to transfer to in Alabama and is neither required nor recognized for employment; §34-31-28(d) also bars counties and municipalities from imposing further testing on certified contractors, and no Alabama city journeyman card for HVAC work was verified from an official page. A journeyman who wants to contract independently must qualify for the contractor certification described at the master level. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is still required of anyone who handles refrigerants.