Moving to Nebraska as a journeyman HVAC technician: every state's rule
Nebraska does not issue a statewide journeyman HVAC technician license, so there is no reciprocity to speak of. Here is what that means in practice.
Nebraska journeyman HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
Nebraska does not issue a statewide HVAC, refrigeration or mechanical journeyman license and has no state mechanical board; the only statewide requirement is that contracting businesses register with the Department of Labor under the Contractor Registration Act ($40 per year, no exam). Electricians are the only construction trade Nebraska licenses at the state level. HVAC technicians are licensed, where they are licensed at all, by cities under their own ordinances: Omaha issues a Journeyman Air Conditioning/Air Distribution (ACAD) license, Lincoln a Journeyman HVAC Technician (mechanical journeyman) license, and Bellevue and Grand Island issue journeyman mechanical licenses. An out-of-state HVAC journeyman license has no state-level recognition; Omaha waives its exam only for Bellevue and State of Iowa licensees, Lincoln lets any out-of-state licensee who tested elsewhere sit its exam without further experience documentation, and the other cities decide case by case. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is required everywhere in the state to handle refrigerants.
How local licensing works in Nebraska
How local licensing works. Nebraska has no state HVAC license and no state mechanical board. The Contractor Registration Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-2104) requires every contractor to register with the Department of Labor before performing construction work ($40 per year from August 1, 2026, plus a workers' compensation certificate if there are employees), but registration involves no exam or experience and is not a license. Everything else comes from city ordinances, and requirements differ by city.
Omaha. The Planning Department's Air Conditioning/Air Distribution (ACAD) Board licenses Journeyman ACAD technicians and Master ACAD contractors (Omaha Municipal Code ch. 40, art. II) and registers apprentices and sheet metal installers. Journeyman applicants need five or more years of verifiable experience installing ACAD systems, or four or more years employed by a licensed master ACAD contractor (one year = 1,750 hours), with up to two years of credit for post-secondary education or for NATE Core and installation certifications; they appear before the board, then pass a Pearson Vue exam with 75% or greater. Fees: $64.80 application, $35 license plus $2.80 technology fee; licenses expire December 31 of odd years and renew for $120 plus $9.60 with 8 hours of continuing education. Reciprocation: the board may waive the exam for a holder of a valid Bellevue, Nebraska or State of Iowa journeyman ACAD license with an exam score of 75% or greater (ACAD Reciprocation Application, $64.80, with notarized proof of employment hours). No other state's license is named.
Lincoln. Building and Safety issues a Journeyman HVAC Technician (mechanical journeyman) license after at least three years of practical experience as a registered apprentice (credit for engineering degrees, approved two-year programs and military training) and passing the city exam, which consists of the Lincoln Gas Piping Code test and the Lincoln Adopted Amendments test plus the ICC National Standard Journeyman Mechanical exam G31 taken at the applicant's cost; the city exam fee is $50, exams are given quarterly, and annual registration is $25 with 4 hours of continuing education. Transfers: an applicant holding a valid journeyman or master mechanical license obtained by examination from another state or municipality may take the Lincoln journeyman exam without submitting any additional qualifications, but the exam itself is not waived.
Bellevue. The Building Department issues journeyman and master mechanical licenses (Bellevue Municipal Code ch. 27, Division 2). The journeyman application asks whether the applicant has previously passed the Thompson Prometric, ICC or Experior exam for the license applied for (documentation of the score required) and must be signed by a currently licensed Bellevue master certifying the applicant's experience. Bellevue's fee schedule and testing-information sheets are scanned images and their amounts could not be read.
Grand Island. The Building Services Division requires mechanical tradespersons to be individually licensed as a master or journeyman or registered as an apprentice; applications to take the licensing exam or to apply for license reciprocity are filed through the CitizenServe portal. The city does not publish which jurisdictions it reciprocates with or its fees.
Out-of-state holders. No Nebraska city publishes reciprocity with any state other than Omaha's recognition of Iowa journeyman ACAD licenses. Elsewhere the practical route is to document experience with the city and pass its exam (Lincoln) or the ICC National Standard Journeyman Mechanical exam that Lincoln and Bellevue reference, then register the employing contractor with the Department of Labor. EPA Section 608 certification is federal and required regardless of city.