Moving to North Dakota as a journeyman HVAC technician: every state's rule
North Dakota does not issue a statewide journeyman HVAC technician license, so there is no reciprocity to speak of. Here is what that means in practice.
North Dakota journeyman HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
North Dakota has no statewide HVAC or mechanical license for individuals. The state licenses electricians and plumbers through their own boards, but for HVAC work the only state credential is the Secretary of State contractor license, a business license required of anyone whose job exceeds $4,000 in value and issued on insurance, workers' compensation and an experience statement without any trade exam. Journeyman HVAC licensing is done by the larger cities under their own ordinances: Fargo (Journeyman Heating, 6,000 hours, exam), Bismarck (Class B Journeyman HVAC Installer, 7,600 hours, exam), Grand Forks (Journeyman Mechanical Installer, exam) and Minot (Journeyman Heating/HVAC Installer, exam). The cities participate in a North Dakota mechanical reciprocity program: an exam passed in a testing member city (Bismarck, Burleigh County, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Mandan or Dickinson) earns a certificate that the other licensing member cities accept in place of their own exam, but a license and fee are still required in each city where the person works. None of the city pages or the reciprocity rules recognize an out-of-state HVAC journeyman license; an arriving journeyman documents experience, passes one participating city's exam, and then licenses in each city. EPA Section 608 certification is a federal requirement for refrigerant work everywhere in the state.
How local licensing works in North Dakota
How local licensing works. North Dakota has no state mechanical board. Cities license HVAC installers under their building ordinances and share a mechanical reciprocity program (administrative rules published by Grand Forks): testing members are Burleigh County, Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Mandan and Dickinson, and licensing members add Jamestown, Valley City, Wahpeton, West Fargo and Williston. A journeyman certificate requires at least three years of practical experience (up to half from schooling) and a passing exam; a Reciprocity Eligibility Certificate is not a license, so each city still issues its own license and charges its own fee. Separately, any contractor whose job exceeds $4,000 needs the Secretary of State contractor license.
Fargo. Journeyman Heating license: at least 6,000 hours of practical experience shown by employer letter (education may cover up to half), then the open-book journeyman mechanical and fuel gas exams on the 2024 IMC and IFGC ($40 per appointment, scheduled individually at 701-241-1561); apply at permits.fargond.gov. The license costs $100 for three years and expires December 31; no insurance is required of journeymen. Fargo's page states that reciprocity exams are valid in all participating North Dakota jurisdictions but a license must be obtained in each jurisdiction employed.
Bismarck. Class B Journeyman HVAC Installer: four years (7,600 hours) as an apprentice under a licensed master or journeyman (or education equivalent to up to 3,800 hours plus 3,800 hours of work), or a journeyman license from a reciprocal jurisdiction; exam on the 2021 IMC and IFGC, $125, 75% to pass, offered monthly with applications due the first business day of the month, 90-day wait after a failure; $35 application fee and $75 annual license fee, expiring December 31, with four hours of continuing education per year. A Reciprocal Mechanical License Application accepts a valid reciprocal license or Certificate of Reciprocity from a reciprocal municipality (Grand Forks, Fargo, Minot).
Grand Forks. Journeyman Mechanical Installer: pass the written mechanical exam (75%) scheduled with the mechanical inspector, $55 per year. The city requires the ND state contractor license, a $5,000 license and permit bond and a certificate of insurance of its licensed mechanical installers; the page does not say whether these apply to journeymen as well as masters.
Minot. Journeyman HVAC Installer (Journeyman Heating): the Heating & Air Conditioning Board examines applicants; a reciprocal license from an approved city substitutes for the Minot test but proof of the passed test is still required; tests are $75 each until passed; the license is $50 initially and $50 per year, and lapses require re-examination.
Out-of-state holders. No city page found offers reciprocity or endorsement for licenses from other states; the reciprocity program is confined to North Dakota jurisdictions. Out-of-state experience counts toward the hour requirements where verified by employer letter (Bismarck's ordinance accepts journeyman experience 'licensed by the City or some other governmental jurisdiction' for master eligibility), but the exam must be passed in a participating city.