How to get an HVAC license in Alaska

Licensing office Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (Mechanical Administrators) · (907) 465-2050 [9]

The license pathway in Alaska

1. 1

   HVAC apprentice, helper or technician (no state license)

   • No state exam; EPA Section 608 certification (federal) for refrigerant work

   Alaska issues certificates of fitness only for electrical and plumbing work, so there's no state card for HVAC workers. You work for a registered mechanical contractor whose mechanical administrator supervises the work. Gas piping and electrical wiring that are part of a job can fall under the plumbing or electrical certificate rules. [1][2][3][6][7]

2. 2

   Mechanical Administrator, Residential HVAC (RHVC)

   • 2 years of experience
   • Yes, through PSI
   • $150 application + $200 license
   • Every 2 years, $200; 8 hours CE

   Supervises residential HVAC work: fuel gas or fuel oil piping that is part of an HVAC system in a single-family home or a duplex up to three stories, and warm air heating systems up to 240,000 BTU per hour input. You need two of the last four years as a journeyman in residential HVAC work. [5][11][12]

3. 3

   Mechanical Administrator, Unlimited HVAC/Sheet Metal (UHVCS)

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes, through PSI
   • $150 application + $200 license
   • Every 2 years, $200; 8 hours CE

   Supervises all HVAC and sheet metal work. You need four of the last six years as a journeyman or as a field superintendent in HVAC and sheet metal work, or a mechanical engineering degree or registration plus a year of recent experience. [5][11][12]

4. 4

   Mechanical Contractor (business registration)

   • $100 application + $250 registration
   • Every 2 years, $250

   The business registration with the Department of Commerce. The contractor must be, or employ, a mechanical administrator licensed in the category of work it bids, and must file a $10,000 bond and proof of insurance. [3][4][12]

Does Alaska license HVAC technicians?

No. Alaska's certificate of fitness law covers two trades: electrical wiring and plumbing. Mechanical Inspection issues electrician and plumber certificates, not HVAC ones.

HVAC licensing in Alaska is at the business level. State law defines a mechanical contractor as one whose work involves plumbing, pipe fitting, sheet metal, heating, air conditioning, ventilating or fire sprinklers under the uniform plumbing and mechanical codes. A mechanical contractor can't register unless it is, or employs, a licensed mechanical administrator.

Some HVAC jobs touch licensed trades. Alaska's definition of plumber journeyman work includes liquid and fuel gas piping, and the Plumber Gas (PG) certificate covers installing fuel and gas piping. The Department of Commerce says installing mechanical controls requires both an electrical administrator and a mechanical administrator license. [1][2][3][4][7][8]

Mechanical administrator categories for HVAC

• Residential HVAC: two of the last four years as a journeyman in residential HVAC work. Covers single-family homes and duplexes up to three stories.
• Unlimited Refrigeration: two of the last four years as a journeyman in refrigeration, or graduation from an accredited refrigeration program.
• Unlimited HVAC/Sheet Metal: four of the last six years as a journeyman or field superintendent, or an engineering route.
• Heating, Cooling and Process Piping: four of the last six years as a journeyman or field superintendent, or an engineering route.

A year of experience means at least 1,500 hours in the field within 12 consecutive months. The administrator license is supervisory: the administrator must personally inspect installations except simple, standardized work under 24 worker-hours. To compare, see the HVAC hub. [5][9][10]

Exam, fees and renewal

You must get state approval before taking the administrator exam. Candidates schedule with PSI; the state says test sites are in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau and that scheduling details are being finalized (as of October 2026). Exam results are valid for one year.

Fees are $150 per category to apply and $200 for the two-year license, and renewal is $200. To renew, you complete an eight-hour continuing education workshop on the Uniform Mechanical Code (or an approved equivalent). [5][11][12]

Mechanical contractor registration, bond and insurance

A mechanical contractor registers with the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. It needs a $10,000 surety bond, general liability insurance and, if required by law, workers' compensation insurance. Registration costs $100 to apply plus $250 for two years.

Some mechanical work is excluded from the administrator law, including mechanical work costing $50,000 or less on homes or small businesses in communities under 5,000 people (or more than 50 miles by air or water from a licensed administrator's business), and mechanical installation on a single-family or two-family home that isn't intended for sale at the time. [3][4][10][12]

Apprenticeships in Alaska

You don't need a license to start, but a registered apprenticeship gives you structured training. UA Local 367 in Anchorage trains plumbers, pipefitters, welders and service technicians in a five-year program; call (907) 562-2810. UA Local 375 in Fairbanks takes applications year-round; call the JATC at (907) 456-5989.

The state lists heating, ventilation and air conditioning and sheet metal worker among Alaska's apprenticeship occupations. Search the U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Finder from the state's apprenticeship page or ask a Job Center. See also union vs. non-union. [13][14][15][16][17]

Steps to get licensed in Alaska

1. Get hired or accepted into an apprenticeship

   Apply to a registered program such as UA Local 367, or get hired by a registered mechanical contractor. Find others through the state's apprenticeship page. [3][13][17]

2. Earn your EPA 608 certification

   Pass an EPA-approved Section 608 test before you service equipment that could release ozone-depleting refrigerants. [6]

3. Build journeyman-level experience

   Administrator licenses count recent experience. The state defines a year of experience as at least 1,500 hours in the field within 12 consecutive months. [5]

4. Apply for a mechanical administrator license

   When you have the experience (for example, two of the last four years in residential HVAC), apply to the Department of Commerce with the $150 fee, then schedule the exam with PSI once approved. [5][9][11][12]

5. Register a mechanical contractor business (optional)

   To run your own HVAC business, register as a mechanical contractor with a $10,000 bond and proof of insurance, and assign your administrator license to it. [3][4]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train HVAC technicians in or for Alaska, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  UA Local 367 Plumbers and Steamfitters JATC (Anchorage)

  A five-year, 10,000-hour apprenticeship that trains plumbers, pipefitters, welders and service technicians, with heating among its training areas. [13][14]

• Union

  UA Local 375 Plumbers and Pipefitters JATC (Fairbanks)

  A paid, registered apprenticeship based in Fairbanks; the local markets it to people interested in plumbing, pipefitting, HVAC or welding. [15][19]

• State program

  Registered apprenticeship programs in Alaska (Apprenticeship Finder)

  The state lists heating, ventilation and air conditioning and sheet metal worker among its apprenticeship occupations, and points job seekers to the U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Finder and to Job Centers. [16][17]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask