LicensebyState

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

Kentucky has reciprocity agreements with 1 state. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.

Kentucky master HVAC technician · “Master HVAC Contractor

Statewide license

Verified September 15, 2026· 10 sources

Issued by Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC), Division of HVAC / Licensing Branch

Kentucky's highest person-held HVAC credential is the statewide Master HVAC Contractor license issued by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC) to an individual who qualified by examination; the master supervises and is primarily responsible for all HVAC work of the company he or she represents (a company may carry the required insurance in its name), and only a master or journeyman may purchase the statewide HVAC permits required since 2011. A new applicant must be 18, a citizen or authorized resident alien, and have two years as a licensed journeyman under a master HVAC contractor, two years as a master HVAC contractor 'or equivalent' in Kentucky or any other jurisdiction, or two years as a licensed mechanical engineer; pass the open-book Master HVAC exam, which covers codes and practices plus the law and regulation of the HVAC business, with at least 70% (Prov $80, or the department's exam for $150 on Form HVAC-4); carry general liability insurance of $500,000 and property damage insurance of $300,000 (KRS 198B.668) naming DHBC as certificate holder; and file Form HVAC 1 with a $250 twelve-month fee prorated by birth month ($145.83 to $375). Licenses renew annually at $250 with continuing education and current insurance. KRS 198B.666 authorizes licensure by reciprocity for states with substantially equal requirements that reciprocate, and Form HVAC 1 has a reciprocity checkbox requiring a letter of good standing; DHBC publishes no HVAC partner list, but Ohio's OCILB documents an active Kentucky-Ohio HVAC and refrigeration agreement. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is required for refrigerant work but is not verified by DHBC.

States Kentucky reciprocates with

Every origin state

Reciprocity 1Experience credit 22No credit 27
Every state's path into Kentucky
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaExperience credit2026-09-15
AlaskaExperience credit2026-09-15
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
ArkansasExperience credit2026-09-15
CaliforniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
ColoradoNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
ConnecticutExperience credit2026-09-15
DelawareExperience credit2026-09-15
District of ColumbiaExperience credit2026-09-15
FloridaExperience credit2026-09-15
GeorgiaExperience credit2026-09-15
HawaiiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IdahoExperience credit2026-09-15
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IndianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IowaExperience credit2026-09-15
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
LouisianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MaineNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MarylandExperience credit2026-09-15
MassachusettsExperience credit2026-09-15
MichiganExperience credit2026-09-15
MinnesotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MontanaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
NebraskaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
New HampshireNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
New JerseyExperience credit2026-09-15
New MexicoExperience credit2026-09-15
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North CarolinaExperience credit2026-09-15
North DakotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
OhioReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-15
OklahomaExperience credit2026-09-15
OregonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
Rhode IslandExperience credit2026-09-15
South CarolinaExperience credit2026-09-15
South DakotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
TexasExperience credit2026-09-15
UtahNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
VermontNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-15
WashingtonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
West VirginiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
WisconsinExperience credit2026-09-15
WyomingNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15

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