Hawaii to Massachusetts: master HVAC technician license reciprocity

Massachusetts' highest personal HVAC-type credential is the Refrigeration Contractor license, which M.G.L. c. 146, § 81 calls the 'master refrigeration technician' and 528 CMR 11.03 the 'Master Refrigeration Technician/Contractor'. It is issued by the Bureau of Pipefitters, Refrigeration Technicians and Sprinkler Fitters (OPSI) to an individual who has held and used a Massachusetts Refrigeration Technician license for at least 2,000 hours and completed 100 hours of additional Bureau-approved refrigeration training; it allows the holder to establish a refrigeration business and employ licensed technicians and apprentices, and the license number must appear on vehicles and invoices. The applicant pays a $150 non-refundable application fee and must pass the OPSI contractor exam at 70%; the license renews for $75. There is no general HVAC or mechanical contractor license in Massachusetts; hydronic heating contractors hold a Master Pipefitter license and oil-burner firms are certified by the Department of Fire Services. The contractor application lets an out-of-state applicant substitute 2,000 hours under a refrigeration license held in another jurisdiction and 100 hours of training taken elsewhere, subject to the Bureau agreeing to let the candidate sit the exam; the exam itself is never waived because the Bureau has no reciprocity agreements.

Hawaii issues no master HVAC or master refrigeration license. The highest HVAC credential is a Contractors License Board specialty license in classification C-52 Ventilating and Air Conditioning (warm-air heating, cooling, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, including heat pumps) or C-40 Refrigeration (below 50°F), issued to a sole proprietor or to a contracting entity that qualifies through a responsible managing employee (RME); an RME holds a personal license number but may contract only for the employing entity and the principal RME must live in Hawaii while the license is active, so the credential functions as a business license rather than a master's card. A master HVAC licensee who only wants to work for an employer needs no Hawaii license. To contract, the sole proprietor or RME must document at least four years of supervisory experience as a foreman, supervising employee or contractor within the past ten years with three notarized experience certificates and a project list, file the $50 application with a CPA financial statement, credit report and tax clearance for Board review at a monthly meeting, then pass the PSI-administered Part I Business and Law and Part II trade exams within six months of approval; on passing, the licensee provides liability insurance (at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence bodily injury and $50,000 property damage), workers' compensation coverage, a Hawaii place of business and the license fee, and renews by September 30 of even-numbered years ($338 entity or sole proprietor, $208 RME for 2026-2028). The Board's FAQ states that Hawaii has no reciprocity agreements with any state and that all applicants must meet the same licensing and examination requirements; an out-of-state contractor or master license is accepted only as supporting proof of experience, and HAR §16-77-41 waives the exam solely for someone who already passed the Hawaii exam in the same classification within four years. The 2018 FAQ listed the exam fee at $75 per part and initial license fees of $663 (entity or sole proprietor) and $438 (RME) in the first year of the biennium, which the current form no longer prints. EPA Section 608 certification remains a separate federal requirement for handling refrigerants.