Mississippi to New Jersey: master HVAC technician license reciprocity

New Jersey's only HVAC license is the statewide, person-held Master HVACR Contractor license created by the State Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contracting License Act (P.L. 2007, c.211, N.J.S.A. 45:16A) and administered by the Board of Examiners of HVACR Contractors; this file treats it as the master level because it is issued to an individual who qualifies by experience and examination, and every HVACR business must have a licensed master as its bona fide representative. Applicants must be at least 21 and show five years in the HVACR contracting business (a four-year U.S. DOL-approved apprenticeship plus one year as a journeyperson), a bachelor's degree in HVACR plus one year, or a related bachelor's degree plus three years, then pass a two-part written exam (HVACR practice and New Jersey law) with 70 in each part. Before the license is issued the applicant files a $3,000 surety bond and $500,000 of general liability insurance and buys the Board's pressure seal; licenses renew every two years with five continuing education credits. N.J.S.A. 45:16A-21 and N.J.A.C. 13:32A-2.5 let the Board license without examination applicants from states whose standards are equal or comparable and that reciprocate, but the Board has published a list of 26 states whose licensees 'will be denied' reciprocity and its June 2019 determination table shows every reviewed state in the 'denied' column and none granted. In practice an out-of-state HVAC contractor qualifies for the New Jersey exam on the strength of documented experience.

Mississippi does not issue a personal master HVAC license. The state-level HVAC credential is the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) contractor license: commercial 'Heat, Ventilation, A/C - HVAC' under the Mechanical classification (required on commercial jobs over $50,000; application and renewal $400, $300,000/$600,000 liability insurance, CPA-reviewed financial statement) or Residential HVAC (required for residential work over $10,000 in remodeling or $50,000 new construction; application $50, renewal $100). The license is issued to the business through a Certificate of Responsibility with a named qualifying party who passes the open-book PSI HVAC (or Residential HVAC) trade exam and the mandatory Mississippi Law and Business Management exam, so a master HVAC mechanic who only wants to work for an employer has nothing to transfer to at the state level; the personal master credential exists only in cities such as Southaven (Master Mechanical, $100, which itself requires an active MSBOC license, a $10,000 bond and liability insurance) and Gulfport (Mechanical/HVAC contractor license issued to the qualifying party, $100). MSBOC waives its HVAC trade exam, for $50 per exam, for qualifying parties who have held a license for at least one year with the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, the Alabama General Contractors Board, the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (HVAC or Refrigeration), the South Carolina Residential Builders Commission (Residential HVAC) or the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, provided the license was obtained by that board's exam and there has been no disciplinary action in the period stated in each agreement; the Business and Law exam is never waived. EPA Section 608 certification is a separate federal requirement.