Moving to Kentucky as a journeyman HVAC technician: every state's rule
Kentucky has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.
Kentucky journeyman HVAC technician · “Journeyman HVAC Mechanic”
Statewide license
Kentucky issues a statewide Journeyman HVAC Mechanic license through the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC) under KRS 198B.650 to 198B.689; a journeyman performs HVAC work under the supervision, direction and responsibility of a licensed Master HVAC Contractor and supervises registered apprentices on site. A new applicant must be 18, a citizen or authorized resident alien, have two years of HVAC experience (at least 1,500 hours per year) either under a master HVAC contractor or as verifiable HVAC work in Kentucky or any other jurisdiction, pass the open-book Journeyman HVAC exam with at least 70% (offered through Prov for $80, or by the department for $50 on Form HVAC-4), and file Form HVAC 2 with a $50 twelve-month fee prorated by birth month ($29.17 to $75) and a passport photo. Licenses renew annually at $50 with continuing education. KRS 198B.666 and 815 KAR 8:010 Section 3 provide for licensure by reciprocity where an agreement exists with the licensing state, and the application form has a reciprocity checkbox, but DHBC's HVAC pages publish no list of partner states; every other out-of-state journeyman documents their hours and takes the Kentucky exam. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is required for refrigerant work but is not part of the DHBC application.
Every origin state
| State | Mechanism | Note | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Alaska | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Arizona | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Arkansas | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| California | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Colorado | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Connecticut | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Delaware | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| District of Columbia | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Florida | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Georgia | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Hawaii | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Idaho | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Illinois | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Indiana | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Iowa | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Kansas | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Louisiana | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Maine | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Maryland | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Massachusetts | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Michigan | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Minnesota | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Mississippi | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Missouri | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Montana | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Nebraska | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Nevada | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| New Hampshire | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| New Jersey | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| New Mexico | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| New York | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| North Carolina | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| North Dakota | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Ohio | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Oklahoma | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Oregon | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Pennsylvania | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Rhode Island | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| South Carolina | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| South Dakota | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Tennessee | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Texas | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Utah | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Vermont | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Virginia | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Washington | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| West Virginia | Experience credit | 2026-09-15 | |
| Wisconsin | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |
| Wyoming | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-15 |