Minnesota to Connecticut: master HVAC technician license reciprocity

Connecticut has no license titled 'master HVAC'; the top-tier personal credential is the S-1 Unlimited Heating, Piping and Cooling Contractor, issued by DCP to an individual (DCP licenses individuals, not companies) and permitting all heating, piping and cooling work under CGS 20-330, pulling permits and contracting with the public. Limited contractor classes cover narrower scopes, chiefly the D-1 Limited Warm Air, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor and the B-1 Limited Gas and Oil Burner Contractor. A new S-1 applicant needs 576 classroom hours matching DCP's Exhibit A curriculum and 12,000 OJT hours (8,000 as an apprentice plus two years, 4,000 hours, working as a licensed journeyperson), reachable through two years as a Connecticut journeyperson, equivalent experience and training, or an equivalent out-of-state license, and must pass both the PSI S-1 trade exam (80 questions, 3 hours, 70%) and the Business and Law exam (50 questions, 2 hours, 70%). CGS 20-334a(a)(1) expressly allows journeyman service performed outside Connecticut to count if DCP finds it comparable. DCP states that Connecticut does not have reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction. Fees are a $150 application fee, $59 per exam portion and a $150 initial license fee; licenses expire every August 31 and renew for $150.

Minnesota issues no master HVAC, master refrigeration or HVAC contractor license. The only statewide requirement is the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond that a business files with the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) under Minn. Stat. 326B.197 ($100 filing fee, valid two years) before contracting for gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work; DLI states that there is no state license for mechanical contractors or their employees and that cities may require licensure or a competency card. The master-level credential therefore exists only at the city level: Minneapolis issues Master Warm Air Ventilation and Master Refrigeration Certificates of Competency (four years of experience and education plus an ICC exam) and requires a master card holder behind each HVAC Class A or Refrigeration Systems Installer contractor license; Saint Paul issues Master Warm Air, Ventilation and Refrigeration competency cards and requires one for each Warm Air/Ventilation business trade license; Rochester licenses individual HVAC Master Installers after a city certificate of competency; Bloomington licenses mechanical contractors on a Minneapolis or Saint Paul card or its own test. An out-of-state master HVAC or mechanical contractor license has no state-level recognition and none of these cities publish a path that accepts it; Minneapolis and Saint Paul recognize each other's master cards. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is separately required of anyone handling refrigerants.