New Hampshire trade license reciprocity

New Hampshire issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Electricians' Board within the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC). A new applicant needs 8,000 hours of service as an apprentice electrician, at least 600 hours of related education, and a passing score on the Prov-administered journeyman exam ($90); the license costs $110 for a two-year term and requires 15 hours of NEC code-change instruction each code cycle. Since May 3, 2024 New Hampshire licenses out-of-state journeymen by endorsement under RSA 310:17 and Plc 313.24 without examination when the origin jurisdiction has substantially similar requirements; OPLC currently lists Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington as qualifying jurisdictions, and requires one year of experience as a licensed journeyman. The Board's application form also still carries an older reciprocity list (Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont at both levels; Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming at journeyman only) whose partner states continue to list New Hampshire; those are recorded here as reciprocity agreements pending confirmation from OPLC. Licensees from other states apply through the traditional application and exam.

New Hampshire issues a statewide Master Electrician license through the Electricians' Board within OPLC; a master may employ other electricians and is the qualifying individual for an electrical business entity. RSA 319-C:7 sets the same statutory qualifications for master and journeyman (8,000 apprentice hours, 600 hours of education and a board-approved exam), and OPLC's endorsement rule Plc 313.24 measures other states' master pathways against 2,000 hours (one year) as a licensed journeyman plus a state master exam. The Prov master exam costs $90 and the license $198 for two years. Since May 3, 2024 masters from jurisdictions OPLC has found substantially similar (Connecticut electrical contractors, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington) are licensed by endorsement without examination after one year of experience as a licensed master; other out-of-state masters apply through the traditional application and exam, for which the Board's form counts experience as a licensed master in another state toward the 2,000-hour journeyman requirement.

New Hampshire does not license journeyman HVAC, air conditioning or refrigeration technicians at the state level, and the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) has no board for the trade; its Mechanical Licensing Board, despite the name, regulates only fuel gas fitters (installation, service, piping, domestic appliance and hearth technicians, plus trainees), plumbers and mechanical business entities, and offers a voluntary $50 Oil Heating Technician certification under RSA 153:16-b. The plumbing statute expressly exempts plumbing done in connection with the installation of heating, cooling, air conditioning and domestic water heating systems (RSA 153:36, VII), so an HVAC technician needs no plumber license either. No New Hampshire city or town was found to license HVAC technicians; local building departments issue mechanical permits but do not require a personal HVAC credential. What an out-of-state technician does need is a Fuel Gas Fitter license before connecting or servicing natural gas or propane furnaces, boilers or piping: the categories cost $198 for two years ($176 for domestic appliance), require 40 to 140 classroom hours, 1,000 to 2,000 on-the-job hours and a 70% score on the Prov exam, and an out-of-state gas or plumbing license only makes the holder eligible to sit that exam (Saf-Mec 302.14); OPLC's endorsement rule Plc 313.34 covers the gas fitter categories in principle but the qualifying-jurisdiction lists are still 'TBD'. An out-of-state journeyman HVAC license itself has no New Hampshire equivalent to transfer to. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is required to handle refrigerants.

New Hampshire has no master HVAC, HVAC contractor, mechanical contractor or refrigeration license and no statewide general contractor license, so a person or firm may install and service heating, cooling, ventilation and refrigeration equipment without any state credential. The OPLC Mechanical Licensing Board's scope under RSA 153:27-a to 153:38 is limited to fuel gas fitting, plumbing and a voluntary oil heating technician certification; a business that does fuel gas work must hold a Mechanical Business Entity license ($275 for two years) and employ licensed fuel gas fitters, and plumbing performed as part of installing heating, cooling or air conditioning systems is exempt from plumber licensing. The highest person-held fuel credential is the Fuel Gas Service Technician license ($198, at least 2,000 hours of state-approved training and experience plus the Prov exam), which under Saf-Mec 300 qualifies the holder for all other gas fitter categories. New Hampshire has no reciprocity agreement for any of these licenses: an out-of-state license only establishes eligibility for the New Hampshire exam (Saf-Mec 302.14), and the endorsement rule Plc 313.34 requires the origin state to use the same or a later building and fire code edition and lists the gas fitter qualifying jurisdictions as 'TBD'. A master HVAC license from another state therefore gives its holder nothing to transfer to in New Hampshire; the only credentials that matter are the gas fitter license for fuel gas work, federal EPA Section 608 certification for refrigerants, and local mechanical permits. No New Hampshire municipality was found to issue its own HVAC license.