Hawaii to Rhode Island: master HVAC technician license reciprocity

Rhode Island's master-level HVAC credential is the Refrigeration Master Class I (RM1), the unlimited refrigeration/air-conditioning master license issued by DLT to an individual after passing the master examination; a Master Class I may be self-employed and, under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-4, a master refrigeration contractor performs refrigeration/air conditioning work through a regular place of business personally or through employed journeypersons. The Refrigeration Master Class II (RM2) is the limited version (comfort cooling to 20 tons, product cooling to 3 tons, 1 hp freezing). A Rhode Island applicant must have held a Rhode Island Refrigeration Journeyperson I license for one year (or a Master II for one year; Master II requires three years as a Journeyperson II). Rhode Island has no reciprocity agreements and no exam waiver, but R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-10(3) and DLT regulation § 2.12.C allow an applicant whose out-of-state law designates them a refrigeration/air-conditioning contractor or master to sit the Rhode Island master exam directly on the strength of that license, or, where the origin state has no Master Class I license, on a notarized resume showing six years' experience including one as a contractor. Fees are a $75 application fee and a $240 two-year license fee for Master I ($96 for Master II); the DLT fee table also lists a 'Contractor Master Refrigeration' at $240 and a no-test Master Mechanical Contractor ($480) reserved for those with ten years each as Pipefitter Master I and Refrigeration Master I. Licenses renew every two years on the licensee's birthday.

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.