Massachusetts trade license reciprocity

Massachusetts issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license (Certificate B) through the Board of State Examiners of Electricians under M.G.L. c. 141. A new journeyman must document 4 years and 8,000 hours of supervised work experience plus a 600-hour Board-approved journeyman curriculum, submit a CORI authorization and a 15-hour code-update certificate, and pass a two-part open-book exam administered by PSI (Part 1: 80 questions, 180 minutes, 70%) based on the NEC with Massachusetts amendments (527 CMR 12.00). Application and exam fees total $226 and the license fee is $104. M.G.L. c. 141, § 2B and 237 CMR 15.00 let the Board license without examination an electrician from a state with substantially the same standards, but only where that state has a written agreement giving Massachusetts licensees the same privilege; the Board states that its only such agreement is with New Hampshire, and it accepts New Hampshire journeyman and master licenses only if they were obtained by passing the New Hampshire exam ($208 journeyman reciprocity fee). Every other out-of-state electrician qualifies by having out-of-state education and experience credited toward the Massachusetts exam.

Massachusetts issues a statewide Master Electrician license (Certificate A) through the Board of State Examiners of Electricians. Under M.G.L. c. 141, § 3 a master must have held a Certificate B (journeyman) license for at least twelve months and pass the master examination; the Board's candidate bulletin states the work requirement as one year as a Massachusetts journeyman plus a 150-hour master curriculum. The PSI exam is open book and two-part: Part 1 has 90 questions in 240 minutes and Part 2 is a 50-question, 120-minute Business and Law exam, each passed at 70%. The application and exam fee is $276 and the license fee is $155. Under M.G.L. c. 141, § 2B and 237 CMR 15.00 the Board licenses without examination only licensees of states with a written reciprocal agreement, and its only agreement is with New Hampshire: a master who earned the New Hampshire master license by examination is licensed for a $310 fee, holding or concurrently applying for the Massachusetts journeyman license and documenting the 150-hour master program. A master from any other state first earns the Massachusetts journeyman license by exam, after which the one-year journeyman requirement for the master exam is waived on proof of the out-of-state master license.

Massachusetts has no general HVAC license. The state credential that functions as the journeyman-level HVAC license is the Refrigeration Technician license (called 'journeyman refrigeration technician' in M.G.L. c. 146, § 81), issued by the Bureau of Pipefitters, Refrigeration Technicians and Sprinkler Fitters within the Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI); it is required of anyone who performs refrigeration work on systems of ten tons or more in the aggregate, which covers commercial air conditioning and refrigeration. Heating-side work is licensed separately as pipefitting (OPSI) and oil burner service (Department of Fire Services), and residential systems under ten tons require no state refrigeration license beyond federal EPA Section 608 certification. A new technician needs a high-school diploma, an EPA Section 608 Universal certification, and either 6,000 hours as a licensed Massachusetts refrigeration apprentice plus 250 hours of approved schooling (rising to a 450-hour course plus 6,000 hours for applications filed on or after November 9, 2026), then must pass the OPSI-administered exam at 70%. The application fee is $75 and the license renews for $50. Under 528 CMR 11.07 a technician licensed in another state may petition the Bureau to treat that license, with its experience and education, as substantially equivalent, but every applicant must pass the Massachusetts exam unless a reciprocity agreement exists, and the Bureau publishes none.

Massachusetts' highest personal HVAC-type credential is the Refrigeration Contractor license, which M.G.L. c. 146, § 81 calls the 'master refrigeration technician' and 528 CMR 11.03 the 'Master Refrigeration Technician/Contractor'. It is issued by the Bureau of Pipefitters, Refrigeration Technicians and Sprinkler Fitters (OPSI) to an individual who has held and used a Massachusetts Refrigeration Technician license for at least 2,000 hours and completed 100 hours of additional Bureau-approved refrigeration training; it allows the holder to establish a refrigeration business and employ licensed technicians and apprentices, and the license number must appear on vehicles and invoices. The applicant pays a $150 non-refundable application fee and must pass the OPSI contractor exam at 70%; the license renews for $75. There is no general HVAC or mechanical contractor license in Massachusetts; hydronic heating contractors hold a Master Pipefitter license and oil-burner firms are certified by the Department of Fire Services. The contractor application lets an out-of-state applicant substitute 2,000 hours under a refrigeration license held in another jurisdiction and 100 hours of training taken elsewhere, subject to the Bureau agreeing to let the candidate sit the exam; the exam itself is never waived because the Bureau has no reciprocity agreements.

Massachusetts issues a statewide Journeyman Plumber license through the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters under M.G.L. c. 142. No one may work as a journeyman plumber unless licensed by the examiners; a licensed journeyman plumber may also do gas-fitting work throughout the commonwealth, subject to local permits and bonding. Applicants file online through eLIPSE with an Education Verification Form, a Statement of Experience Form signed by the supervising master plumber, a 2x2 photo and a notarized CORI form. The Board must approve eligibility before PSI administers the exam; the published non-refundable application fee is $31 and the license fee, paid after passing, is $52. M.G.L. c. 142, § 4 requires the examiners to examine each master and journeyman applicant and contains no reciprocity or exam-waiver clause. The Board's journeyman how-to does not list partner states.

Massachusetts issues a statewide Master Plumber license through the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters. M.G.L. c. 142, § 3 requires a master plumber's license to engage in the business as a master plumber; the master license must be displayed in the place of business, and advertising must show the designation and license number. A licensed master plumber may carry on gas-fitting work throughout the commonwealth, subject to local permits and bonding. Under § 4 the examiners must examine each applicant for a master plumber's license; the statute has no reciprocity or exam-waiver provision.

Massachusetts splits residential contracting between two credentials that do different jobs, and a remodeler usually needs both. The Construction Supervisor License (CSL) is the competency credential: the Board of Building Regulations and Standards issues it, it is won by passing an open-book examination on the Massachusetts State Building Code, and it is held by a person, not by a company - M.G.L. c. 143, § 94(i) directs the Board 'to issue licenses to individuals engaged as construction supervisors', so there is no entity license and no qualifying party arrangement of the kind most states use. Every building permit application must name the construction supervisor who will supervise the work, and give their signature, license number and license category. The homes-only CSL is the Restricted (one- and two-family dwellings) class, which covers construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, removal and demolition of one- and two-family dwellings and their accessory buildings, of any size. The Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration is the separate consumer-protection filing, run by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation: anyone who solicits, bids on or performs work on an existing owner-occupied home of one to four units must register, pay into the Residential Contractor's Guaranty Fund, and put the registration number in every contract. The registration involves no examination, no experience review and no competency test at all, and the agency states plainly that an HIC registration 'is different from a Construction Supervisor License (CSL) and they are not interchangeable'. For someone arriving with an out-of-state license the answer is the same at both levels: the Board states that 'Massachusetts does not recognize out of state contractor licenses', so there is no reciprocity, no endorsement and no examination waiver, and the Massachusetts examination has to be taken.

The broadest contractor credential Massachusetts issues is the Unrestricted Construction Supervisor License (CSL), and it is not split residential against commercial the way most states split their general and residential tiers. The Unrestricted CSL covers construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, removal and demolition of buildings of any use containing less than 35,000 cubic feet of enclosed space, together with one- and two-family dwellings of any size, agricultural buildings and retaining walls under ten feet, so it is the commercial and mixed-use tier as well as the homes tier. Above 35,000 cubic feet there is no contractor license to hold: the Board states that a registered design professional, an engineer or architect, controls the construction of larger buildings and 'a construction supervisor license is not required for larger projects since the RDP is considered the licensed person for the project'. There are also six Specialty CSL classes - masonry, roof covering, windows and siding, solid fuel-burning appliances, demolition and insulation - each carrying the same building-size scope within its own trade. Like the homes-only class, the Unrestricted CSL is held by a person rather than by a business: M.G.L. c. 143, § 94(i) has the Board issue licenses 'to individuals engaged as construction supervisors', so a contractor moving to Massachusetts applies in their own name rather than qualifying a company, and every building permit application names that individual and their license number. Massachusetts publishes no dollar limits and no classification tiers beyond these, and the Board states that 'Massachusetts does not recognize out of state contractor licenses'.

Massachusetts licenses home inspectors statewide through the Board of Registration of Home Inspectors, part of the Division of Occupational Licensure, under Sections 221 to 226 of Chapter 112 of the General Laws and the board's regulations at 266 CMR. It runs two genuine tiers. An Associate Home Inspector is employed by a licensed home inspector and may inspect only under that inspector's supervision; reaching it takes 75 hours of in-person board-approved pre-licensure training, 25 home inspections performed in the presence of a licensed home inspector, and a pass in the National Home Inspector Examination, and an associate may not advertise as a home inspector or run an inspection business. A full Home Inspector is the tier that may practice unsupervised, and getting there takes at least one year holding the associate license plus a further 100 home inspections under direct or indirect supervision. The full license is therefore what an experienced inspector moving to Massachusetts applies for, and Section 224 lets the board issue it straight to someone already licensed in another jurisdiction whose standards it finds equivalent to or exceeding the Commonwealth's. Every home inspector and associate must carry errors and omissions insurance of at least $250,000 in the aggregate, no inspection may be performed or supervised without that cover, and Massachusetts asks for no surety bond and no general liability figure.