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.