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

New Jersey does not license HVAC journeymen or technicians. The State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors issues only the person-held Master HVACR Contractor license (and a separate Master Hearth Specialist license); the statute and rules define an 'HVACR journeyperson' as someone who installs, alters, repairs, services or renovates HVACR systems under the supervision of a master HVACR contractor, and an 'apprentice' as someone enrolled in a U.S. Department of Labor-approved program, but neither is licensed or registered by the state. Under N.J.A.C. 13:32A-5.4 all HVACR work a master contractor does not subcontract must be performed by the master or by W-2 employees of the master's business, so a technician arriving from another state simply goes to work for a licensed master HVACR contractor. An out-of-state journeyman or technician license therefore has nothing to transfer to in New Jersey; its main value is as documentation of the journeyperson year that counts toward the master HVACR exam. Every technician who handles refrigerants must hold federal EPA Section 608 certification regardless of state licensing.