North Dakota 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.

North Dakota issues no master HVAC, mechanical or refrigeration license and has no state mechanical board. The only state-level credential an HVAC contractor needs is the Secretary of State contractor license, a business license for any job over $4,000 (Class D up to $100,000 for $100, up to Class A over $500,000 for $450) that requires liability insurance and workers' compensation verification but no trade exam. The master-level credential is the city master HVAC/mechanical installer license: Fargo's Master Heating license (10,000 hours including 6,000 as a journeyman, exam, $125 per year, liability insurance naming the city), Bismarck's Class A Master HVAC Installer (3,400 hours as a licensed journeyman, exam with 80% to pass, $125 per year), Grand Forks' Master Mechanical Installer (exam with 80%, $170 per year, $5,000 city bond, state contractor license) and Minot's Master Heating/HVAC Installer (board exam, $130 per year). A master exam passed in one of the testing member cities is accepted by the other North Dakota licensing members through the state mechanical reciprocity program, but each city issues its own license. No city recognizes an out-of-state master or contractor license outright; Bismarck's ordinance counts journeyman experience licensed by any governmental jurisdiction toward master exam eligibility, so an out-of-state master generally qualifies to sit a city master exam on the strength of documented experience and then licenses city by city. EPA Section 608 certification applies federally.