Minnesota to Wisconsin: master HVAC technician license reciprocity

Wisconsin's highest person-held HVAC credential is the HVAC Qualifier certification issued by DSPS under Wis. Stat. 101.178(3) and SPS 305.71, which this file treats as the master level. It is issued to an individual who documents at least 1,000 hours per year for four years of experience supervising or performing the design, installation, servicing or maintenance of HVAC systems (or four years of HVAC-related schooling, or a combination) and passes the open-book DSPS exam (70% to pass, 4 hours, $95 at Pearson VUE); the credential is renewed every four years for $60 with no continuing education. Certification is voluntary: the mandatory credential is the business-level HVAC Contractor registration, but a business that employs a qualifier is a 'certified HVAC business' that no city or village may require to obtain a local certification, license or other approval. DSPS publishes no reciprocity agreements and no licensure-by-endorsement route for HVAC qualifiers; the experience requirement is not restricted to Wisconsin, so out-of-state work counts toward eligibility, but every applicant takes the Wisconsin exam. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is separately required to handle refrigerants.

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.