District of Columbia trade license reciprocity

The District of Columbia issues a Journeyman Electrician license through the Board of Industrial Trades, which now sits in the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP, the successor to DCRA's Occupational and Professional Licensing Administration for this board; DLCP's fee page and forms still carry some DCRA branding). Under D.C. Code § 47-2853.92 a new applicant must have completed a class on the DC Electrical Code (Title 12C DCMR) or an equivalent code within the 2 years before applying and have worked at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years as an apprentice (an electrical engineering degree plus 2 certified years, or equivalent experience the Board accepts, also qualifies), then pass the PSI-administered journeyman exam. The statute also requires the Board to accept a certificate from a national certifying organization, including a nationally recognized trade organization or labor union, in lieu of the exam and experience requirements. Fees are a $65 application fee and a $110 license fee for a 2-year term. Maryland and Virginia journeymen licensed by examination are licensed by reciprocity without the DC exam; the master electrician limited (low voltage) license shares the journeyman qualifications and is treated as a separate specialty category.

The District of Columbia issues a person-held Master Electrician license through the Board of Industrial Trades in the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). It is the District's highest individual electrician credential; the Board also issues a Master Electrician Limited (low voltage) specialty license with journeyman-level qualifications, and a separate Electrical Contractor business license that requires an electrical bond. Under D.C. Code § 47-2853.92(c) a master applicant must meet the journeyman requirements (a DC Electrical Code class within 2 years and 8,000 apprentice hours over 4 years or equivalent) and in addition have worked as a journeyman electrician for at least 4 years, then pass the PSI-administered master exam. Fees are a $65 application fee and a $120 license fee for a 2-year term ($155 on renewal). Maryland and Virginia master electricians licensed by examination are licensed by reciprocity without the DC exam under a program the Board opened on February 8, 2021.

The District of Columbia licenses HVAC technicians as Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanics through the Board of Industrial Trades in the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), the same board that licenses electricians and plumbers. Three person-held credentials exist: apprentice (registered without exam), Journeyman Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic, and Master Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic (regular, or limited to systems of 25 compressor horsepower and below). 17 DCMR § 303.7 requires a journeyman license for anyone doing the mechanical work of installing, maintaining, repairing or replacing refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. DLCP's application instructions require 3 years of experience verified by a master, tax records, a CFC (EPA 608) Universal certification, and a PSI-administered open-book journeyman exam; a graduate of a registered apprenticeship program (classroom work plus 8,000 hours over 4 years under a master) may waive the journeyman exam, which mirrors the national-certification substitute in D.C. Code § 47-2853.202(d). Fees are a $65 application fee and a $110 mechanic license fee; all refrigeration licenses expire September 30 of even-numbered years. The Board publishes reciprocity for electricians and plumbers from Maryland and Virginia but none for refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics.

The District's highest person-held HVAC credential is the Master Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic license issued by the Board of Industrial Trades (DLCP); a Master Mechanic Limited license covers systems of 25 compressor horsepower and below. A Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractor license is a separate business credential that must name a designated DC-licensed master mechanic, and a master designated to a contractor must post a $5,000 bond (the company posts another $5,000). Under D.C. Code § 47-2853.202(b) a master applicant must show 5 consecutive years immediately before applying installing, maintaining, repairing and replacing refrigeration and air conditioning systems larger than 25 compressor horsepower, verified in writing by a master mechanic (the limited license requires 5 years on smaller systems plus chlorofluorocarbon certification); DLCP also requires tax records and a CFC Universal certification, and the applicant passes the PSI-administered open-book master exam. Fees are a $65 application fee and a $110 mechanic license fee; licenses expire September 30 of even-numbered years and renew for $155. The Board publishes no reciprocity for refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics.

The District of Columbia issues a person-held Journeyman Plumber license (the Board also licenses journeyman gasfitters as a related specialty) through the Board of Industrial Trades in the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), the same board that licenses electricians and refrigeration mechanics. Under D.C. Code § 47-2853.122 a journeyman plumber must have worked as an apprentice plumber or gasfitter at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years (a mechanical-engineering degree plus 2 years of practical experience verified by a licensed master, or comparable experience the Board accepts, also qualifies) and then pass the PSI-administered exam, unless the applicant presents a national certifying organization's journeyman plumber certificate that waives both the exam and the subsection (b) experience path. Fees are a $65 application fee and a $110 license fee for a term of up to 2 years; plumber and gasfitter licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years. The Board publishes a Maryland plumbing reciprocity bulletin; the Reciprocity section of the board page still describes only Maryland and Virginia electricians. No District-law exam applies to journeyman plumbers (§ 47-2853.12(c)(3)).

The District's highest person-held plumbing credential is the Master Plumber/Gasfitter license issued by the Board of Industrial Trades (DLCP); a Master Gasfitter specialty also exists. A Plumbing Contractor license is a separate business credential that must name a designated DC-licensed master and post a plumbing and gasfitting bond. Under D.C. Code § 47-2853.122(c) a master applicant must hold a valid journeyman plumber or gasfitter license, or have met the journeyman subsection (b) requirements, and have worked as a journeyman plumber or journeyman gasfitter for at least 4 years, then pass the PSI-administered master exam. Fees are a $65 application fee and a $120 master license fee for a term of up to 2 years ($155 on renewal); licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years. The Board publishes a Maryland plumbing-professionals reciprocity bulletin; no Virginia plumber reciprocity is named on the board page.

The District of Columbia licenses residential remodelers District-wide through DLCP, which issues a Basic Business License in the Contractor and Construction Services category with a Home Improvement Contractor endorsement. Home improvement work means the addition to, alteration, conversion, improvement, modernization, remodeling, repair or replacement of a single-family or two-family dwelling, a condominium or cooperative unit, or an adjacent structure such as a driveway, fence, garage, porch, deck or swimming pool; a written contract for $300 or more brings the job inside the rules, and building a new house is general contracting rather than home improvement. The license belongs to the business, not to an individual tradesperson, and no named qualifier sits behind it, because DLCP sets no examination, no experience requirement and no apprenticeship for this endorsement. What it does test is consumer protection: a $25,000 surety bond, public liability and property damage insurance, a police criminal history report, pre-printed contract forms filed with the application, and a sworn showing that the applicant is trustworthy and intends to act as a bona fide home improvement contractor. Every Home Improvement Contractor must also designate and maintain a Basic Business License for at least one Home Improvement Salesperson. A business that already holds the General Contractor/Construction Manager license does not need this endorsement as well to do home improvement work, provided it follows the home improvement contract, receipt and form-approval rules.

The District of Columbia licenses general contractors and construction managers District-wide through DLCP, which issues a Basic Business License in the Contractor and Construction Services category with a General Contractor/Construction Manager endorsement. The license comes in five classes set by the value of a single contract project: Class A has no limit, Class B stops at $10,000,000, Class C at $5,000,000, Class D at $2,000,000 and Class E at $500,000. The license is entity-held and is not transferable, and no named qualifier stands behind it, because the District sets no trade examination, no business-and-law examination and no experience or apprenticeship requirement for this endorsement. What separates the classes is insurance: commercial general liability of $2,500,000 per occurrence for Class A, $1,500,000 for Class B, $500,000 per occurrence with $1,000,000 aggregate for Classes C and D, and $500,000 per occurrence for Class E, from an insurer authorized in the District and rated B+ or better by A.M. Best, with the D.C. Treasurer named as an additional insured. Applicants also file a credit report and a statement of outstanding judgments, and must disclose every jurisdiction where they hold a license and every disciplinary action taken against them anywhere. Electrical, plumbing and gasfitting, and refrigeration and air conditioning work is licensed separately by the DC Board of Industrial Trades and is not covered by this endorsement.

The District of Columbia issues no home inspector license, certificate or registration, so an inspector moving here has no District credential to apply for, no examination to sit and nothing to transfer from another state. The Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection publishes the full list of occupational and professional licenses it issues through its seven boards, two commissions and three programs - architects, interior designers and landscape architects; athlete agents; barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians and body artists; combat sports; certified public accountants; funeral directors; the industrial trades; professional engineers and land surveyors; real estate brokers, salespersons and property managers; real estate appraisers; private detectives, security officers and special police officers; and tour guides - and home inspector is not among them. It is not a business license activity either: the Contractor and Construction Services category carries exactly two activities, General Contractor/Construction Manager and Home Improvement Contractor, and the District's full list of licensed business activities contains no home inspection entry. What an inspector does need is an ordinary business license, because D.C. Code section 47-2851.02 requires any person doing business in the District to maintain a Basic Business License, and work that is not separately enumerated is licensed under the General Sales and Services category as a General Business - $99 for a two-year term or $198 for four years, with no examination, no education or experience requirement and no professional board behind it. What binds a District home inspector instead is general consumer law. The Consumer Protection Procedures Act makes it unlawful, whether or not any consumer is in fact misled or damaged, to represent that a service has characteristics, benefits, a certification or an approval it does not have, to claim a status or affiliation the person does not hold, to misrepresent a material fact that tends to mislead, to fail to state a material fact if the failure tends to mislead, to use innuendo or ambiguity about a material fact, or to falsely state that repairs are needed; and section 28-3905(k) lets a consumer sue in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for treble damages or $1,500 per violation, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees, punitive damages and an injunction. The District has enacted no home inspector practice act - no statutory standard of care, and no conflict-of-interest rule of the kind that bars inspecting a property you were paid to repair - so the written inspection agreement together with contract and negligence law sets the duty owed. Because the District holds no home inspector examination, the National Home Inspector Examination has nothing to stand in for here, and any "certified" designation an inspector advertises comes from a private trade association rather than from the District; the one place District law uses the phrase is section 42-2602.01, which lets a Home Purchase Assistance Program buyer receive a grant of up to $25,000 for repairs "identified by a certified home inspector in writing" without saying who does the certifying. The District does license the work on either side of an inspection: the Board of Industrial Trades licenses plumbers and gasfitters, electricians, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics, steam and operating engineers, asbestos workers and the elevator trades, so a repair that comes out of a report belongs to one of them; building, remodeling and home improvement work needs a Basic Business License with a General Contractor/Construction Manager or Home Improvement Contractor endorsement; and putting a value on the property is the work of the Board of Real Estate Appraisers rather than the inspector.