Wyoming trade license reciprocity
How Wyoming licenses each trade and level, who it reciprocates with, and where a Wyoming license goes.
Electricians
Wyoming journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Wyoming issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety (the State Fire Marshal's Office); the governor-appointed Electrical Board adopts the licensing rules. To sit for the exam an applicant documents four years (8,000 hours) of work in the electrical wiring industry under a qualifying electrician for a licensed contractor, spread across residential, commercial and industrial work with no more than 75% in one category, plus 576 hours of approved apprenticeship classroom instruction (or 20,000 hours as a licensed electrician in lieu of schooling). The open-book exam is on the current NEC (2023, with the 2026 NEC effective July 1, 2026) and requires 70%. The initial license fee is $100; the license runs three years, expiring January 1, and renews for $50 with 16 hours of board-approved continuing education. Wyoming has journeyman reciprocity agreements with seventeen states and waives its exam for their licensees.
Wyoming master electrician · “Master Electrician”
Statewide license
Wyoming issues a statewide Master Electrician license through the Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety. To sit for the master exam an applicant documents eight years (16,000 hours) of work in the electrical wiring industry, of which four years (8,000 hours) were as a licensed journeyman, plus 576 hours of approved classroom instruction (or the 20,000-hour exemption), and must score 75% on the open-book NEC exam. The initial license fee is $200; the license runs three years, expiring July 1, and renews for $100 with 16 hours of approved continuing education, 8 of them on the NEC. A master electrician may serve as master of record for only one electrical contractor (W.S. 35-9-126). Wyoming has master-level reciprocity agreements with Idaho, South Dakota and Iowa only.
HVAC Technicians
Wyoming journeyman HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
Wyoming has no statewide HVAC, refrigeration or mechanical license at any level; the only state trade-licensing program is the Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety's electrician program, whose closest credential is the LM-H Limited Technician license for the electrical wiring of HVAC systems. Licensing of HVAC journeymen exists only where a city ordinance creates it. Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie and Gillette each license HVAC/mechanical journeymen (and apprentices) individually, all built on the ICC National Standard mechanical exams (Casper names G31-N/G29-N) and four years of documented apprentice-level experience, while Rock Springs only registers contractors with proof of insurance and licenses no individuals. None of these cities publishes reciprocity with other states' HVAC licenses: Casper's and Gillette's reciprocity provisions apply only to other Wyoming jurisdictions, Cheyenne's Board may grant reciprocity 'as the Board determines appropriate' and treats even in-state licenses case by case, and Laramie's building official may issue a certificate without examination to the holder of a certificate from any other governmental agency whose exam is judged at least equal. In practice an out-of-state journeyman brings their ICC mechanical exam certificate (or takes it through Pearson VUE) and applies in each city where they will work. EPA Section 608 certification is federal and required everywhere refrigerants are handled; Cheyenne and Gillette require it expressly for refrigeration licenses.
How local licensing works in Wyoming
How local licensing works. Wyoming licenses electricians at the state level but not HVAC, refrigeration, sheet metal or plumbing workers, so HVAC licensing is entirely a matter of city ordinance and varies by city. The state's reciprocity statute cited by the cities covers only licenses from other Wyoming jurisdictions.
Cheyenne. The Contractor Licensing Board licenses HVAC and refrigeration contractors (Class C1, tested) and requires every employee on an HVAC or refrigeration job site to hold a master, journeyman or apprentice license. A journeyman must document 4 years/8,000 hours as a licensed apprentice (or certified equivalent training) with third-party verification and pass a current ICC, NICET or NASCLA exam from the Board's list (paid to the testing agency); a residential plumbing/mechanical journeyman needs 2 years/4,000 hours. Fees: $50 application plus $30 initial, $15 renewal; apprentices $25 + $25. Refrigeration applicants must submit EPA Type II, III or Universal certification. A 30-day temporary work authorization is available to trade employees registered for the exam. Reciprocity (3.3.2): the Board may grant reciprocity with other jurisdictions as it determines appropriate and may accept a test exceeding the published exams from someone holding a current equivalent license elsewhere, but no partner list is published.
Casper. The Community Development Department issues Mechanical Journeyman licenses ($25 new, $15 renewal) to applicants who show completion of a federally recognized mechanical apprenticeship or the equivalent of four years in a Casper-licensed mechanical shop and proof of passing ICC G31-N, G29-N or equivalent; applications with notarized experience affidavits and exam proof go to the Chief Building Official, and the fee and insurance follow approval. Reciprocal licenses ($50/$25) exist only for holders of a current license from another Wyoming jurisdiction with comparable testing.
Laramie. Code Administration issues journeyman, master and apprentice certificates of qualification in mechanical, refrigeration and gas service; a mechanical journeyman needs 4 years as an apprentice (refrigeration and gas service 3) and passes the building official's exam (ICC-based, 2024 cycle; $5 application fee per exam). In lieu of the exam the building official may issue a certificate to anyone presenting a valid certificate from any other governmental agency whose exam the board of examiners considers at least equal, which is the only city provision that can reach an out-of-state license. Applications are filed through the Civic Access portal.
Gillette. Class D HVAC contractors must employ a Master of Record, and all master, journeyman and apprentice HVAC technicians are licensed individually by the Building Inspection Division. A Journeyman HVAC Mechanical license requires four years of approved experience and passing ICC exam results ($25 annual); apprentices need thirty days with a Gillette-licensed HVAC contractor ($5). Journeyman refrigeration technicians additionally need ESCO/EPA 608 certification. Since July 1, 2024 the Board of Examiners grants fee-free reciprocity only to active licenses from other Wyoming local governments; proof of the ICC mechanical exam satisfies all testing.
Rock Springs. Contractors register with the Building Inspection Office ($125, certificate of insurance); no individual HVAC licenses or exams exist.
Out-of-state holders. No Wyoming city publishes a reciprocity or endorsement path for another state's HVAC journeyman license. The portable credential is the ICC National Standard mechanical exam (Journeyman G31-N or Master G29-N), which Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie and Gillette all accept; an out-of-state journeyman who already holds an ICC certificate can generally apply directly, and one who tested on a state-specific exam should expect to take the ICC exam or, in Laramie, ask the board of examiners to treat the origin exam as equal.
Wyoming master HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
Wyoming issues no master HVAC, mechanical or refrigeration license and no HVAC contractor license; the State Fire Marshal's electrical program is the only state trade licensing, and its LM-H Limited Technician license covers only HVAC electrical wiring. The master-level credential exists only in city ordinances: Cheyenne's Master or Qualified Supervisor license for HVAC and refrigeration (8,000 apprentice hours plus 6,000 journeyman hours and an ICC/NICET/NASCLA exam), Casper's Mechanical Master (apprenticeship or four years plus five years as a journeyman or master, ICC G29-N), Laramie's master mechanical, refrigeration or gas service certificate of qualification (three, two and two further years respectively, city exam), and Gillette's Master HVAC Mechanical license (five years of approved experience plus the ICC exam). In each of these cities a contractor doing HVAC work must employ or be a master (Cheyenne 'qualified supervisor or master', Gillette and Casper 'Master of Record'), and the contractor license itself is a separate business license with fees ($200-$300 initial in Cheyenne and Casper, $150 in Gillette) and insurance. Rock Springs registers contractors for $125 with proof of insurance and tests no one. No city publishes reciprocity with other states' master HVAC or HVAC contractor licenses; Casper and Gillette reciprocate only with other Wyoming jurisdictions, Cheyenne's Board has discretion but no partner list, and Laramie may waive its exam for a certificate from any governmental agency whose exam is judged at least equal. A master arriving from another state should expect to present or take the ICC National Standard Master Mechanical exam (G29-N) and apply separately in each city.
How local licensing works in Wyoming
How local licensing works. There is no state HVAC board; each city's ordinance defines its own master-level license and the contractor license it qualifies. The reciprocity statute the cities cite reaches only other Wyoming jurisdictions.
Cheyenne. A Master or Qualified Supervisor license (12.1.8) requires 4 years/8,000 hours documented as an apprentice (or certified equivalent training) plus 3 years/6,000 hours as a journeyman, all third-party verified, and passing results on a current ICC, NICET or NASCLA exam from the Board's list. Fees are $50 application plus $50 initial and $25 renewal. Every HVAC (C1) or Refrigeration (C1) contractor must employ a master or qualified supervisor full time, who may represent only one contractor and is responsible for all its work; the C1 tested contractor license costs $50 + $200 ($75 renewal) and requires workers' compensation and liability insurance. Refrigeration licenses require EPA Type II, III or Universal certification. Reciprocity is at the Board's discretion (3.3.2/3.5.2) with no published state list.
Casper. Mechanical Master ($75 new, $37.50 renewal) requires a federally recognized apprenticeship or four years in a Casper-licensed mechanical shop plus five years as a journeyman or master, and proof of passing ICC G29-N or equivalent; a Mechanical Contractor license ($300/$150) covers heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and sheet metal and requires $250,000/$500,000 liability insurance. Reciprocal licenses are limited to other Wyoming jurisdictions.
Laramie. Master certificates of qualification in mechanical (3 years after journeyman), refrigeration (2) and gas service (2) are issued after the building official's exam ($5 per attempt), or without exam on presentation of a certificate from another governmental agency whose exam the board of examiners finds at least equal. All work under a Mechanical, Refrigeration or Gas Service Contractor license must be performed by or under the supervision of the corresponding master certificate holder.
Gillette. Master HVAC Mechanical license: five years of approved experience and ICC exam results, $50 annually; Master Refrigeration Technician additionally needs ESCO/EPA 608 certification. A Class D HVAC Mechanical Contractor ($150 new, $50 renewal, $5,000 bond) must name a full-time Master of Record able to reach any job site within 48 hours. Reciprocity (5-III-1(d), since July 1, 2024) is for other Wyoming local-government licenses only.
Rock Springs. Contractor registration only ($125 plus insurance certificate); no master license or exam.
Out-of-state holders. None of these cities names any other state as a reciprocity partner. The ICC National Standard Master Mechanical exam (G29-N) is accepted by Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie and Gillette, so an out-of-state master who holds an ICC certificate can apply directly with verified experience; one licensed on a state-specific exam should plan on taking the ICC exam, except in Laramie where the board of examiners may accept an equal exam from another agency.