Moving to Arizona as a master HVAC technician: every state's rule

Arizona does not issue a master HVAC license. The state-level credential for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration work is a contractor license from the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) in the C-39 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (commercial), R-39 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Including Solar (residential) or CR-39 (dual) classification; the license is issued to a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC or corporation and qualified by a named qualifying party rather than to the technician personally, so this level is recorded as None. A master HVAC licensee arriving from another state who only wants to work for an employer needs no Arizona license (except a Phoenix journeyman card for permitted work there). To run an HVAC business the qualifying party must pass the open-book Arizona Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE, $61 through Gmetrix) and the classification trade exam ($66 through PSI), document four years of trade experience, complete a background check, register the entity if an LLC or corporation, post a license bond sized by classification and volume (residential specialty $4,250 to $7,500; commercial specialty from $2,500), and pay the application and license fees plus the residential recovery fund assessment ($580 for C-39, $720 for R-39, $850 for CR-39). Arizona has no direct reciprocity with any state, but the Registrar may waive the trade exam and experience documentation when the qualifying party held a comparable license in another state within the past five years that was obtained by trade examination (Out of State Waiver Request Form filed with the application); the SRE cannot be waived. EPA Section 608 certification applies to anyone handling refrigerants.