Do I have to take the South Carolina master HVAC technician exam if I'm licensed in Georgia?

The trade exam is waived, but South Carolina requires a law or code exam.

What does it cost to get a South Carolina master HVAC technician license from Georgia?

Published fees on this path total $350, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Georgia work hours count in South Carolina?

Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward South Carolina's eligibility requirements.

Does it work the other way, from South Carolina to Georgia?

Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from South Carolina to Georgia, the mechanism is experience credit.

Georgia to South Carolina: master HVAC technician license reciprocity

Reciprocity· Exam waivedVerified September 15, 2026· 6 sources

South Carolina has a reciprocity agreement with Georgia: a Georgia master HVAC technician can get a South Carolina license without retaking the trade exam.

Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.

Technical-exam waiver for Georgia Un-Restricted (Class II) Conditioned Air licensees (AC and HT)

A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.

The Board's Reciprocity/Waiver Agreements list accepts the Georgia 'Un-Restricted Conditioned Air (if exam passed after 6/30/80)' exam for the South Carolina Air Conditioning (AC) and Heating (HT) classifications; Georgia Class I Restricted is not listed. A Georgia Class II contractor who passed that exam and holds a current license in good standing (not grandfathered or reciprocated in) has the South Carolina technical exams waived but must still pass the South Carolina Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors exam through PSI, have the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board complete the SC Examination Waiver form, document 2 years of experience within the past 5, and file the Qualifying Party application; the business then pays the $350 licensure fee and files its financial statement or bond. Georgia stopped accepting South Carolina reciprocity applications on April 15, 2022 (see GA.json), so this waiver is currently one-directional.

At a glance

Trade exam: Waived
Law / code exam: Required
Out-of-state hours: Count toward eligibility
Agreement: Active

What you must already have

Your Georgia license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
Your Georgia license must be active and in good standing.
At least 2 years of full-time HVAC work experience within the past 5 years

What you'll do to get licensed in South Carolina

1Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. South Carolina Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors examination (PSI).
2Other. SC Examination Waiver form completed by the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board.
3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($350). Mechanical Contractor licensure fee.
4Other. Financial statement or surety bond for the license group applied for.
5Other. EPA Section 608 technician certification (federal).

Published fees on this path total $350, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

What you'll need to buy or arrange

Exam preparation

Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.

Law / code exam
Other

How South Carolina licenses master HVAC technicians

South Carolina master HVAC technician · “Mechanical Contractor, Air Conditioning (AC) / Heating (HT) / Refrigeration (RG) classification - Qualifying Party certification”

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board (LLR); Residential Builders Commission for residential-only work

South Carolina has no 'master HVAC' license. The highest person-held HVAC credential is the Contractor's Licensing Board's Qualifying Party certification in the Air Conditioning (AC), Heating (HT), Refrigeration (RG) or Packaged Equipment (PK, up to 25 tons and 500,000 BTU per unit) classification of the Mechanical Contractor license: the individual passes the South Carolina technical exam for each classification through PSI and the South Carolina Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors exam, documents two years of experience within the past five (or a PHCC Academy of North Carolina heating and air-conditioning apprenticeship), and is certified as the qualifying party for a licensed entity (which may be a sole proprietorship); the certification stays with the person, who 'is not a licensed contractor' alone. The license itself is issued to the business, with a $350 licensure fee and a financial statement or surety bond sized by license group (Mechanical Group 2, jobs to $100,000: working capital $10,000 or net worth $15,000, or a $15,000 bond). A residential-only alternative is the Residential Builders Commission's Residential HVAC Installer and Repairer license ($135 application, $220 license), issued to the individual after one year of residential HVAC experience and the residential technical plus Business Management and Law exams. South Carolina has technical-exam waiver agreements, listed in the Board's Reciprocity/Waiver Agreements document, covering HVAC classifications for Georgia (Un-Restricted Conditioned Air), Louisiana (Statewide Mechanical), Ohio (HVAC, packaged equipment only), Tennessee (CMC and CMC-C), Texas (Class A and Class B ACR) and Utah (S350, S353, S351, S360), plus the MASC/CAGC HARV Master Mechanical card; Alabama, Mississippi and North Carolina licenses waive only the residential license's technical exam. Every waiver applicant must still pass the South Carolina Business Management & Law exam. Licensees from other states take the South Carolina technical exam. EPA Section 608 certification is a separate federal requirement.

Moving to South Carolina Leaving South Carolina

Common questions

Do I have to take the South Carolina master HVAC technician exam if I'm licensed in Georgia?: The trade exam is waived, but South Carolina requires a law or code exam.
What does it cost to get a South Carolina master HVAC technician license from Georgia?: Published fees on this path total $350, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Georgia work hours count in South Carolina?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward South Carolina's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from South Carolina to Georgia?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from South Carolina to Georgia, the mechanism is experience credit.

Sources

EPA Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements · 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F (Clean Air Act §608) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Other · verified September 15, 2026Federal requirement in every state: technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere must be certified (Type I small appliances, Type II high-pressure, Type III low-pressure, Universal). Apprentices under direct supervision are exempt. Certification does not expire; the core exam must be proctored for Universal certification. State HVAC boards commonly require it before licensure, but it is not itself a state license.
S.C. Code of Laws Title 40, Chapter 11 - Contractors · S.C. Code Ann. §§ 40-11-30, 40-11-290, 40-11-410(5)(a)-(c), (h) · South Carolina Legislature · Statute · verified September 15, 2026§ 40-11-30: no entity or individual may practice mechanical contracting where the cost of the work exceeds $10,000 without a license. § 40-11-290: the Board may license an applicant holding a license in good standing in another state with requirements 'equal to or greater than those required by this chapter' where it has authorized an exam waiver agreement, and may exempt the technical exam for an essentially identical exam passed elsewhere; such applicants may be required to pass the 'South Carolina Commercial Contractors Business, Law and Project Management examination'. § 40-11-410(5) defines the mechanical subclassifications: (a) Air Conditioning ('installation, replacement, alteration, and repair of air conditioning equipment and systems'), (b) Heating (steam, vapor and hot water systems), (c) Packaged Equipment (combined air conditioning, ventilation and duct work limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating per unit), (h) Refrigeration. The chapter has no journeyman license.
General and Mechanical Contractors - Primary Qualifying Party (PQP) and Qualifying Party (QP) Initial Application, Doc. 168 (12/31/2025 v2.3) · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Form · verified September 15, 2026Text extracted from the PDF. Methods: PSI technical exam or NASCLA transcript, exam waiver/reciprocity, or CAGC/MASC trades certification; all require the SC Business Management & Law for Commercial Contractors exam and 'at least 2 years of full-time work experience, performed within the past 5 years in the license classification(s)' (primarily commercial), or a PHCC Academy of North Carolina apprenticeship certificate (Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing). 'A current HARV (Master Mechanical) Certification that was issued by examination between September 7, 2013, and December 2025, from MASC, or issued after January 1, 2026, by Carolinas AGC (CAGC). Corresponding licensure classifications: Air Conditioning and Heating.' Waiver applicants have the SC Examination Waiver form completed by the origin board ('Copies of your license or exam results are not accepted'); licenses obtained by waiver or grandfathering are not eligible; 'If your state is listed but your trade/classification is not listed, you are not eligible.' The certified qualifying party 'is not a licensed contractor'; the entity holds the license. Classifications on the form include Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration and Packaged Equipment.
SC Contractor's Licensing Board - Licensure (classifications, exams, waiver/reciprocity, fees) · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Mechanical Contractor classifications with a PSI technical exam include Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration, Packaged Equipment, Lightning Protection, Electrical and Process Piping (register at test-takers.psiexams.com/sccon). 'All individuals must pass the S.C. Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam' regardless of how they qualify. Accepted trades certification: 'A current HARV (Master Mechanical) Certification ... from MASC, or issued after January 1, 2026, by Carolinas AGC (CAGC)' for the Air Conditioning and Heating classifications. Exam waiver applicants must hold 'a license in good standing in a jurisdiction' on the Technical Exam Waiver Agreement list. 'At least 2 years of work experience performed within the past 5 years' in the classification. Licensure fee $350. Mechanical group limits: Group 1 $35,000 per job (working capital $3,500 / net worth $7,000 / bond $7,000), Group 2 $100,000 ($10,000 / $15,000 / $15,000), Group 3 $200,000 ($20,000 / $30,000 / $30,000), Group 4 $400,000 ($40,000 / $60,000 / $60,000), Group 5 unlimited ($200,000 / $300,000 / $300,000).
SC Contractor's Licensing Board - Reciprocity/Waiver Agreements (Rev. 02/2019) · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Agreement Document · verified September 15, 2026Text extracted from the PDF. 'THE SOUTH CAROLINA RECIPROCITY AGREEMENTS ONLY WAIVE THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE EXAM.' Reciprocal states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Reading Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, plus MASC. HVAC-relevant exams accepted and the SC classifications issued: Georgia 'Un-Restricted Conditioned Air (if exam passed after 6/30/80)' = AC, HT; Louisiana 'Statewide Mechanical' = AC, HT; Ohio 'HVAC' = PK; Tennessee 'CMC' = AC, RG, PB and 'CMC-C' = AC, RG; Texas 'Class A Air Conditioning/Refrigeration, or, Class A Air Conditioning' = AC, HT, 'Class B Air Conditioning, or, Class B Air Conditioning/Refrigeration' = PK, 'Class A Air Refrigeration' = RG; Utah 'S350 HVAC' = AC, 'S353 Warm Air Heating' = HT, 'S351 Refrigerated Air Conditioning' = PK, 'S360 Refrigeration' = RG; MASC 'Master HVAC (if exam passed after 1/1/1990)' = AC, HT, PK, RG (page 1 says 'Master Mechanical/HVAC (if exam passed after 9/6/2013)'). Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina and Reading PA have no HVAC exam listed. Grandfathered or waived-in licensees do not qualify; 'If your state is not listed, or if your state is listed but the exam you took is not listed, you are not eligible for waiver/reciprocity. You will be required to take the SC exams.' Every waiver applicant must pass the SC Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam and obtain a license verification showing the exam was taken. Page 3 defines AC = Air Conditioning, HT = Heating, PK = Packaged Equipment, RG = Refrigeration, and gives 2019 mechanical group limits (Group 2: $50,000 per job, $10,000 net worth, $20,000 bond).
SC Residential Builders Commission - Residential HVAC Installer and Repairer License · South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Fees: application $135, license $220, renewal $220, late renewal $50, reinstatement $480. Technical exam waived for (1) a current SC Mechanical Contractor with the Air Conditioning (AC) or Packaged Equipment (PK) classification, active one year or longer and obtained by exam; (2) a current license from Alabama, Mississippi or North Carolina 'obtained by examination for one year or longer' (grandfathered licenses excluded); (3) a current HARV (Master Mechanical) certification issued by exam between September 7, 2013 and December 2025 by MASC or after January 1, 2026 by CAGC. 'Work experience requirements and the Business Management and Law portion of the exam are still applicable.' Links the application package.

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

Report an error on this page