Kansas trade license reciprocity

How local licensing works. Kansas issues no personal electrician license. K.S.A. 12-1526 lets any county or city that requires electrician licensure administer the K.S.A. 12-1525 standard exams (ICC, IAPMO, Prometric), with a 75% minimum, uniform fees, two years of field experience under a certified electrician for a journeyman certificate (one year may be trade school of at least 930 program hours), and 12 hours of CE every two years. The resulting certificate of competency is valid in every licensing jurisdiction in Kansas without further examination, subject to each jurisdiction's experience check and fees. K.S.A. 12-1527 allows local alternative exams, but licenses earned on them stop at the jurisdiction line.

Sedgwick County and Wichita (MABCD). The Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department issues journeyman electrician certificates to applicants with one year of field experience plus one year of electrical trade school, or two years of field experience (documented on company letterhead), who score 75% on ICC exam 558 or KGH Journeyman Electrician (565/KGX for residential only). New certificate $35; two-year term; renewal $35 with six trade-specific and six general CEUs. 'MABCD does not reciprocate with state testing, only those exams listed are approved for Sedgwick County', so an out-of-state journeyman must show one of the listed ICC scores (Block, Experior, Prometric, ICC and IAPMO testing facilities are recognized).

Johnson County (Olathe, Overland Park, Lenexa, Shawnee and other participating cities). Johnson County Contractor Licensing issues company licenses only, including the Class DE Electrical license ($100 application plus $225 per license type), qualified by a Qualifying Individual who passed the ICC Standard Master Electrician exam (554/KGD). There is no county journeyman license.

Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government of Wyandotte County). Building Inspections licenses trade masters, who must hold a master's license (Prometric testing arranged through the department), and requires a city occupational tax license for contractors and subcontractors; the published pages do not describe a journeyman license, its fees or any reciprocity.

Lawrence. Planning and Development Services certifies journeyman electricians with two years of practical field experience (engineering degree counts 2.5 years, vocational training one year) who pass the K.S.A. standard exam with 75%; exam application $50, license $20, renewal $10, six hours of CE per year. A certificate of competency from another Kansas jurisdiction is the accepted standard for licensure.

Out-of-state holders. No Kansas jurisdiction found publishes a reciprocity agreement with another state. An out-of-state journeyman who has already passed an ICC journeyman exam (Kansas Standard or, where the jurisdiction allows, national) can submit that score with experience documentation; anyone else takes the ICC/Prometric exam through the local sponsoring jurisdiction and then benefits from statewide portability of the certificate.

How local licensing works. Kansas has no state master electrician license. K.S.A. 12-1526(f) requires applicants for a master certificate to have held a valid journeyman certificate for at least two years, and 12-1525 designates the ICC, IAPMO and Prometric master exams (75% minimum). A master certificate of competency earned on a standard exam is accepted for licensure in any other Kansas county or city without re-examination; a license based on a local alternative exam is valid only in that jurisdiction unless a reciprocal agreement exists (12-1527).

Sedgwick County and Wichita (MABCD). Master electrician certificate: current electrical journeyman certificate plus two years of field experience as a certified journeyman, and a 75% score on ICC 554, KGD, F16, G16 or T16 Master Electrician. New certificate $35, two-year term, renewal $35 with six trade and six general CEUs. An electrical contractor license additionally needs a qualified person holding the master certificate, $300,000 general liability insurance naming MABCD, and 12 hours of CE per renewal; trade contractor licenses expire December 31 of odd years. MABCD states it does not reciprocate with other jurisdictions or with state testing.

Johnson County. The county licenses electrical contractors (Class DE, electrical services only) rather than individual masters. The company's Qualifying Individual must show a passing score on the ICC Standard Master Electrician exam (554 or KGD, Pearson VUE); the county accepts equivalent ICC, Prometric, ETS-subsidiary and IAPMO exams and may recognize ICC National exams with a verified score of 75% or higher. Fees: $100 application plus $225 per license type ($325 for one new license), $225 renewal, $75 late fee; eight hours of CE per classification per year for the Qualifying Individual.

Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government). Code sec. 8-158: no one may work as a master electrician without a Unified Government master electrician's license. Applicants must be 21 and document one year of experience planning, laying out and supervising electrical installations plus three additional years under a licensed electrical contractor or master electrician, at least two of them in commercial or industrial work; an approved post-high-school electrical course earns up to two years' credit. Testing is through Prometric via the Building Inspection division; fees and reciprocity are not published.

Lawrence. Master electrician certification requires four years of practical field experience or two years as a journeyman, verified by notarized employer statements, and a 75% score on the K.S.A. standard exam ($50 exam application); license $20, renewal $10, six hours of CE per year. Certificates of competency from other Kansas jurisdictions are accepted.

Out-of-state masters. No interstate reciprocity is published anywhere in Kansas. A master who already passed an ICC master exam elsewhere should present the score (Sedgwick County lists the national ICC 554/F16/G16/T16 exams; Johnson County will consider ICC National scores of 75%+) with experience documentation; otherwise the ICC or Prometric master exam must be taken through a sponsoring Kansas jurisdiction, after which the certificate is portable statewide.

How local licensing works. The Kansas HVAC licensing act (K.S.A. 12-1540 to 12-1544) does not create a state license or board; it standardizes what counties and cities do if they license. Journeyman and master HVAC mechanics qualify by passing the ICC, IAPMO or Prometric standard mechanical exam with 75% (K.S.A. 12-1541, 12-1542), a journeyman needs two years of field experience (one year creditable from a 930-hour trade-school program) and a master needs a journeyman certificate held two years or four years of field experience. A certificate of competency based on a standard exam must be accepted by every other licensing county or city without additional examination, while a license based on an alternative local exam is valid only where issued (K.S.A. 12-1543). Each jurisdiction still requires its own application, fee and continuing education (12 hours biennially or 6 annually, half code education).

Sedgwick County and Wichita (MABCD). Issues mechanical journeyman certificates ($35) to applicants with one year of field experience plus one year of mechanical trade school, or two years of field experience, who score 75% on ICC K9G/559 Journeyman Mechanical or the IAPMO journeyman exam. MABCD states it 'does not reciprocate with state testing'; only the listed exams are accepted. Renewal requires three trade-specific and three general CEUs.

Johnson County (Olathe, Overland Park, Lenexa, Shawnee and other cities). Licenses only contractors. A Class DM license 'shall entitle the holder thereof to perform only HVAC, mechanical, and refrigeration services' and is qualified by a qualifying individual who has passed the ICC Standard Master Mechanical exam (556/KGL); there is no journeyman license, so an HVAC technician works as an employee of a Class DM contractor. Fees are $100 application plus $225 per license type; general liability insurance and workers' compensation (or a notarized waiver) are required.

Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government of Wyandotte County). Building Inspections requires trade masters, including mechanical, to carry a master's license and offers Prometric master testing; the page does not publish a journeyman mechanical requirement, experience rules or fees.

Topeka. Development Services licenses mechanical journeymen (comprehensive or sheet metal) and masters under TMC 5.63.080. Applicants show a 75% score on the Standard Air Conditioning Journeyman, Standard Sheet Metal Journeyman or Standard Unlimited Air Conditioning Master exam from Block, NIA-Block, Experior, Thomson-Prometric or Prometric, submit a notarized time-in-trade form and pay a $50 trade board review fee; the initial license is free, renewal is annual (December 14) with six hours of continuing education, three in the trade. The code allows registration of individuals holding a trade license from another jurisdiction whose requirements comply with the section.

Lawrence. Planning and Development Services certifies Journeyman Mechanical (two years of field experience), Residential Mechanical and Sheet Metal licensees; applicants pay $50 to apply for the exam, must score 75%, and then pay $20 for the license; six hours of continuing education a year. A certificate of competency issued under the Kansas statutes is the accepted standard for licensure.

Out-of-state holders. None of these jurisdictions publish reciprocity with another state's journeyman HVAC license. A technician arriving from another state should expect to document experience and either present a qualifying ICC, IAPMO or Prometric mechanical exam score or sit that exam, then apply in each jurisdiction where they will work; Topeka's registration for equivalent out-of-jurisdiction licenses is the only published exception and is applied at the city's discretion.

How local licensing works. K.S.A. 12-1540 defines a master heating, ventilation and air conditioning mechanic as a person qualified to plan, lay out and supervise the installation and repair of mechanical HVAC systems, and K.S.A. 12-1542 lets a county or city issue a master certificate of competency only to someone who has held a journeyman certificate for two years or has four years of field experience and scores 75% on the ICC, IAPMO or Prometric standard master exam (K.S.A. 12-1541). That certificate is valid proof of competency for licensure in any other licensing county or city without retesting; a license based on an alternative local exam is good only in the issuing jurisdiction (K.S.A. 12-1543). Each jurisdiction charges its own fee and requires 12 hours of continuing education biennially or 6 annually. Contracting is licensed separately by each jurisdiction and generally requires a master-level qualifying individual.

Sedgwick County and Wichita (MABCD). Mechanical master certificate ($35): must hold a mechanical journeyman certificate plus two years of field experience as a journeyman, or have four years of field experience, and score 75% on ICC K9L/556 Master Mechanical or the IAPMO master exam. MABCD 'does not reciprocate with state testing'. Contractors are licensed separately by MABCD.

Johnson County. Does not license individuals. The master-level credential is the qualifying individual of a Class DM (HVAC, mechanical and refrigeration) contractor license, who must present a verifiable ICC Standard Master Mechanical (556/KGL) score of 75% or higher; the contractor pays $100 application plus $225 per license type ($225 annual renewal, $75 late) and carries general liability and workers' compensation insurance.

Kansas City, Kansas (Unified Government). Trade masters, including mechanical, must carry a master's license from Building Inspections, obtained through Prometric master testing; experience rules and fees for mechanical are not published on the page.

Topeka. Mechanical masters must meet the K.S.A. 12-1542 requirements and show a 75% score on the Standard Unlimited Air Conditioning Master exam from Block, NIA-Block, Experior, Thomson-Prometric or Prometric, with a notarized time-in-trade form and a $50 trade board review fee; six hours of continuing education a year (three in the trade), licenses expire December 14. TMC 5.63.080 lets the city register holders of trade licenses from other jurisdictions with equivalent requirements. A master must be the designated master for a licensed contractor to pull permits.

Lawrence. Master Mechanical license ($20) after certification: four years of practical field experience or two years as a journeyman (an engineering degree substitutes for 2.5 years and a vocational-technical program for one year), $50 exam application fee, 75% passing score, six hours of continuing education a year; a master may become a mechanical contractor under Chapter V, Article 15.

Out-of-state holders. No Kansas jurisdiction publishes reciprocity for another state's master HVAC license. The practical route is to present or earn a passing ICC, IAPMO or Prometric master mechanical score (Standard Master Mechanical 556/KGL is accepted by Johnson County and MABCD), document the required experience, and apply in each jurisdiction, then obtain the local contractor license if the master will pull permits.