Where a California master HVAC technician license transfers

California does not issue a master HVAC or master refrigeration license, and the credential that sits above the (non-existent) journeyman level is a CSLB contractor license in classification C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning or C-38 Refrigeration. That license is issued to a business (sole owner, partnership, corporation or LLC) and qualified by a named individual rather than held by the mechanic personally, so an out-of-state master HVAC license transfers to nothing unless the holder intends to contract; a master who only wants to work for an employer needs no California license at all. To contract, the qualifying individual must document at least four years of journeyman-level or higher experience within the past 10 years, pay the $450 application fee, pass both the CSLB Law and Business exam and the C-20 (or C-38) trade exam through PSI within 18 months, be fingerprinted, post a $25,000 contractor's bond (plus a $25,000 bond of qualifying individual where applicable), carry workers' compensation or file an exemption, and pay the initial license fee of $200 (sole owner) or $350 (non-sole owner) for a two-year license. CSLB's reciprocity program can waive the trade exam for a contractor who has held an active license in good standing for the previous five years in a classification on the Reciprocal Classifications List: for C-20 the mapped classifications are Arizona C-39, C-39R (as printed), K-39, K-79, L-39 and L-79 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and Nevada C-1f Heating, Cooling and Circulating Air and C-21 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning; for C-38 they are Arizona L-49 Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration and Nevada C-21a Refrigeration. The Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina reciprocity entries cover only general building. Even where reciprocity is granted CSLB retains the right to require the trade exam, decides comparability case by case, and always requires the Law and Business exam, bond, fingerprinting and every other licensure requirement. EPA Section 608 certification is a federal prerequisite for handling refrigerants and is not part of the CSLB application.