How to get an HVAC license in Connecticut

Journeyman level 8,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), Occupational and Professional Licensing Division; Heating, Piping, Cooling and Sheet Metal Work Examining Board [1][2]

The license pathway in Connecticut

1. 1

   Registered apprentice

   • Set by the trade's work schedule (432 hours for D-2)
   • $50 registration with the Department of Labor
   • Yearly, $50

   Your entry status. An employer that sponsors apprentices hires you and registers you with the Department of Labor; you then work under a licensed contractor or journeyperson and attend related classes. You must be at least 16. [2][5][6][13][15]

2. 2

   D-2 Limited Warm Air, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Journeyperson

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • 2 years of experience
   • 432 hours
   • Yes: PSI, 60 questions, 2 hours, 70% to pass, $59
   • $90 application, $120 license
   • Yearly by August 31, $120

   Covers warm-air heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, including their piping and gas appliances, but not oil burners. You work under a licensed contractor. You qualify through a registered apprenticeship (4,000 hours over at least two years plus 432 classroom hours) or equivalent experience and training. [1][2][3][5][10][11]

3. 3

   S-2 Unlimited Heating, Piping and Cooling Journeyperson

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 4 years of experience
   • 576 hours per DCP (720 in the Department of Labor work schedule)
   • Yes: PSI, 70 questions, 3 hours, 70% to pass, $59; offered in English or Spanish
   • $90 application, $120 license
   • Yearly by August 31, $120

   Covers all heating, piping and cooling work, including sheet metal work, under a licensed contractor. You qualify through a registered apprenticeship (8,000 hours over at least four years plus classroom hours) or equivalent experience and training. [1][2][3][4][10][11]

4. 4

   S-1 or D-1 Contractor

   • 2 years of experience
   • Yes: trade exam plus a business and law exam, $59 per part
   • $150 application, $150 license
   • Yearly by August 31, $150

   The license to run a heating and cooling business. You need two years as a licensed journeyperson in the matching license (or equivalent experience and training) and must pass both exams. [1][2][10][11]

Who needs a license in Connecticut

State law says no one may do, or offer to do, heating, piping and cooling work in Connecticut without a license from DCP or a registration card from the Department of Labor (the apprentice route). That work includes heating systems, boilers and steam piping, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, process piping and sheet metal ductwork. It also includes operating larger boilers and cooling plants on site.

The law has exemptions, such as homeowners working on a single-family home they own and live in (with inspection), employees maintaining their own industrial employer's equipment, and installers of household appliances who connect at an outlet a licensed person already installed. Check the full list in section 20-340 before relying on one. [2][8]

The license ladder: apprentice to contractor

Connecticut splits heating and cooling work into several journeyperson licenses, each with its own apprenticeship:

• D-2 (warm air, air conditioning and refrigeration): 4,000 hours, at least two years, 432 classroom hours.
• D-4 (refrigeration): 4,000 hours, 396 classroom hours.
• B-2 (gas and oil burners, domestic and light commercial): 2,000 hours, 288 classroom hours.
• S-2 (unlimited heating, piping and cooling): 8,000 hours, at least four years.
• SM-2 and SM-4 (sheet metal ductwork): 8,000 and 4,000 hours.

After two years as a licensed journeyperson you can test for the matching contractor license, such as D-1 or S-1.

DCP and the Department of Labor list different classroom hours for the S-2: DCP's equivalency page and license table say 576, while the Department of Labor's S-2 work schedule lists 720. Confirm with your program or DCP. See journeyman vs. master for how this compares with other states. [3][4][5][9][10]

The exams

DCP's exam vendor is PSI. Every applicant must take an exam, and the fee is paid to PSI separately ($59 per part). The S-2 exam has 70 questions in 3 hours, and since July 24, 2024 it's offered in English or Spanish (book Spanish by phone). The D-2 exam has 60 questions in 2 hours. You need 70% to pass each.

Contractors also take a business and law exam. Your eligibility to test lasts one year from DCP's approval. Schedule at PSI's Connecticut site or (855) 746-8171. [1][11]

Fees and renewal

DCP's application fee is $90 for a journeyperson and $150 for a contractor; neither is refundable. After you pass the exam, the license fee set by law is $120 for a journeyperson and $150 for a contractor.

All heating, cooling and sheet metal licenses expire every year on August 31. Renewal costs $120 for a journeyperson and $150 for a contractor. DCP's continuing education page lists no CE requirement for heating and cooling licenses.

Apprentices pay the Department of Labor a $50 registration fee and $50 a year to renew. [1][2][12][13]

Apprenticeships in Connecticut

To become an apprentice you must be hired by an apprentice employer; the Department of Labor publishes a list of sponsors and regional contacts on its apprenticeship page. Classes are usually provided by the technical high school system's evening program, an open-shop association school, a union JATC school or an approved private school.

Union: UA Local 777's JATC in Meriden trains plumbing, pipefitting and HVACR (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration) apprentices; SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local 40 in Rocky Hill runs a four-year sheet metal apprenticeship at no cost for training; apply in person at the union hall or by email.

More on choosing: union vs. non-union, helper jobs and EPA 608 certification. [6][14][15][16][17][18]

If you're licensed in another state

DCP says Connecticut has no reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction, and every applicant must take an exam. You can apply with an "equivalent out of state license": your license must have required the same classroom hours and curriculum and on-the-job hours as the Connecticut license (for the S-2, 576 classroom hours and 8,000 hours). Connecticut's general law for people licensed in other states (section 21a-11b of the General Statutes), which helps new residents and military spouses, doesn't cover these trade licenses: it lists other DCP license chapters, not chapter 393. See our reciprocity guide. [1][19][20]

Steps to get licensed in Connecticut

1. Pick the license that fits the work

   D-2 covers warm air, air conditioning and refrigeration; S-2 covers all heating, piping and cooling work. Check DCP's scope of work page. [10]

2. Get hired as a registered apprentice

   Find an employer on the Department of Labor's apprenticeship sponsor list or apply to a union program. Your employer registers you after hire; registration costs $50 a year. [6][13][14]

3. Work, attend classes and get EPA 608 certified

   Complete the hours in your trade's work schedule (4,000 hours and 432 classroom hours for D-2; 8,000 hours for S-2) and get Section 608 certification before you handle refrigerants. [4][5][7]

4. Apply for the exam within 30 days of finishing

   State law says you must apply for the licensure exam within 30 days of completing your apprenticeship. Apply online through eLicense ($90). [1][8]

5. Pass the PSI exam and pay the license fee

   Schedule with PSI ($59); you have one year from DCP's approval to test. After you pass, send DCP the $120 license fee, and renew by August 31 each year. [1][2][11]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  UA Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 777 JATC

  The statewide union program for plumbing, pipefitting and HVACR, based in Meriden. Apprentices attend class a week at a time about every eight weeks and work in the field in between. [16][18][21]

• Union

  SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local 40 JATC

  A four-year union sheet metal apprenticeship in Rocky Hill; Local 40 says training is provided at no cost to you. Sheet metal work is part of Connecticut's heating, piping and cooling licenses. [10][17]

• School

  CTECS apprenticeship classes

  The state's technical high school system teaches related-instruction classes for heating and cooling and sheet metal licenses at several locations, online and in person, for registered apprentices and extension students. [15][22]

• State program

  Connecticut Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship Training

  Registers apprentices and sponsors and publishes the list of apprenticeship employers, the trade work schedules (S-2, D-2, D-4 and others) and regional contacts. [6][14]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask