How to get licensed for HVAC work in Kansas

Journeyman level Licensed by cities or counties, not the state What's a journeyman?

The license pathway in Kansas

1. 1

   Apprentice or helper

   • Topeka apprentice license $33

   Kansas law sets no apprentice level. Some cities do: Topeka requires apprentices to be licensed with the city and to work directly under a journeyman or master, never alone on a job site. You need EPA 608 certification before you handle refrigerants. [2][4][17]

2. 2

   Journeyman HVAC (mechanical) mechanic

   • 2 years of experience
   • Up to 1 year of the 2 can be trade school (at least 930 program hours)
   • Yes, ICC, IAPMO or Prometric standard exam; 75% to pass
   • Wichita/Sedgwick County $35; Topeka $53
   • 12 CE hours every 2 years or 6 a year

   Before a city or county issues a journeyman HVAC mechanic certificate, it must verify at least 2 years of field experience, working under the direct supervision of a journeyman or master or attending trade school. [1][2][3][4]

3. 3

   Master HVAC (mechanical) mechanic

   • Yes, master-level standard exam; 75% to pass
   • Wichita/Sedgwick County $35; Topeka $103
   • 12 CE hours every 2 years or 6 a year

   Before issuing a master certificate, the city or county must verify that you have held a journeyman certificate for at least 2 years or have at least 4 years of field experience. [2][3][4]

4. 4

   Mechanical contractor (local)

   • Wichita/Sedgwick County $360 for 2 years; Johnson County $100 application + $225 a year
   • Wichita: every 2 years (odd years); Johnson County: yearly

   To run an HVAC business, you license the company where you work. In Wichita and Sedgwick County, a trade contractor license needs a master certificate holder as the qualified person; Johnson County's Class DM license needs a qualifying individual who passed an approved exam. [9][10][13][14]

Who licenses HVAC work in Kansas

Kansas has no state HVAC license. Under K.S.A. 12-1542, any county or city that requires licensing of HVAC contractors and master and journeyman HVAC mechanics may test applicants with the standard exams named in K.S.A. 12-1541: those given by the International Code Council (ICC), the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) or Prometric. The county or city must set a 75% passing score and require continuing education (CE): at least 12 hours every 2 years or 6 hours a year, with at least half on the code.

State law defines a journeyman HVAC mechanic as someone with the qualifications, training, experience and technical knowledge to install and repair HVAC systems, and a master as someone who can also plan, lay out and supervise that work. A city or county may also use other exams, but a license based on a non-standard exam is good only there unless the local governments have a reciprocal agreement. [1][2][6][7]

Journeyman and master rules in state law

Before a city or county issues a journeyman HVAC mechanic certificate, it must verify documented proof of at least 2 years of field experience. Field experience means working under the direct supervision of someone with a valid journeyman or master certificate, or attending trade-related school. No more than 1 year can come from school, and the schooling must be at least 930 program hours, shown by a certificate of completion.

Before it issues a master certificate, the city or county must verify that you have held a valid journeyman certificate for at least 2 years, or have at least 4 years of field experience. [2]

Wichita and Sedgwick County (MABCD)

The Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department (MABCD) requires journeymen and masters in the electrical, mechanical and plumbing trades to hold trade certificates "to work in Sedgwick County and the City of Wichita."

• Journeyman mechanical: 2 years of field experience, or 1 year of field experience and 1 year of mechanical trade school, plus 75% or better on ICC exam K9G or 559 (Journeyman Mechanical), or an IAPMO exam.
• Master mechanical: a journeyman certificate and 2 years of field experience as a journeyman, or 4 years of field experience, plus 75% or better on ICC exam K9L or 556 (Master Mechanical), or an IAPMO exam.

The certificate fee is $35. Certificates last 2 years, and each year journeymen and masters need 3 hours of trade-specific CE and 3 hours of general CE (12 hours per renewal). MABCD also issues residential mechanical, refrigeration and sheet metal certificates, and if you hold an air conditioning contractor license and a master certificate, the refrigeration license and certificate are free. Questions: (316) 660-1840. [3][8][9][10]

Topeka

Topeka's Development Services Division issues all contractor and trade licenses in the city. Its application covers master ($103), journeyman ($53) and apprentice ($33) mechanical licenses. Apprentices must be licensed with the city and work directly under the supervision of a journeyman or master; they can't be left at the work site alone. The form lists a work ratio of "Mechanical 1-2."

Journeyman and master applicants show a passing score of 75% or more; if your certificate comes from an ICC exam, you also prove your time in the trade. Masters and journeymen need 6 hours of CE a year, 3 of them code-related, and licenses renew by December 14 each year. Contact: licensing@topeka.org or (785) 368-3905. [4][11]

Kansas City, Kansas and Johnson County

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas says trade masters must carry a master's license with its Building Inspection division, and contractors working in Wyandotte County need a city business license.

Johnson County Contractor Licensing licenses companies. Its Class DM Mechanical Contractor License covers HVAC, mechanical and refrigeration work only. The company names a qualifying individual who scored 75% or higher on an approved ICC or Prometric exam, carries at least $1,000,000 in general liability insurance, and pays a $100 application fee plus $225 a year. The qualifying individual needs 8 hours of CE per license classification each year. [12][13][14][15][16]

EPA 608 certification

Federal rules under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act require technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere to be certified. There are four types: Type I (small appliances), Type II (high-pressure), Type III (low-pressure) and Universal. Tests are given by EPA-approved certifying organizations, and the certification doesn't expire. See our EPA 608 guide. [5][17]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

Plumbers & Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training of Kansas, the training program of UA Local 441, trains HVACR service technicians as part of its 5-year apprenticeship, which also covers plumbing, pipefitting and welding. You apply online when applications are open, take two online assessments, pass a drug screen and interview with the JATC board; school is in Wichita on a rotating schedule.

For non-union training, ABC Heart of America runs an HVAC apprenticeship, trained at its Kansas City, Missouri facility, with 144 classroom hours and 2,000 on-the-job hours a year. You can also search the Apprenticeship Job Finder or contact a KANSASWORKS workforce center. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Moving within Kansas or from another state

Kansas has no state license to transfer, and the Kansas licensing bodies we checked publish no agreements with other states. Within Kansas, state law says a certificate based on a designated standard exam plus the required experience is "valid proof of competency for licensure, without additional examination" in any county or city that licenses HVAC mechanics.

MABCD, however, says it "does not reciprocate with state testing" or with other jurisdictions and accepts only the exams it lists. Your EPA 608 certification is federal and valid everywhere. Ask the city or county where you'll work what it will accept. [2][3][10][17]

Steps to get licensed in Kansas

1. Check the rules where you'll work

   Kansas leaves HVAC licensing to counties and cities. Ask the building department where you'll work; Topeka licenses mechanical apprentices, and Wichita and Sedgwick County require mechanical journeyman and master certificates from MABCD. [2][3][4]

2. Get hired or join an apprenticeship

   Apply to a registered program such as Plumbers & Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training of Kansas or an open-shop program, or get hired by an HVAC contractor. [20][23]

3. Get EPA 608 certified

   Pass the Section 608 test for the equipment you'll work on (Type I, II, III or Universal) with an EPA-approved certifying organization before you handle refrigerants. [17]

4. Build 2 years of field experience

   Work under the direct supervision of a journeyman or master. Up to 1 year can be trade school of at least 930 program hours. Keep proof: MABCD wants documented hours on company letterhead with a description of the work. [2][3]

5. Pass a journeyman exam

   Take an approved standard exam and score at least 75%. MABCD accepts ICC exams K9G or 559 (Journeyman Mechanical), or an IAPMO exam; ICC exams are scheduled through Pearson VUE. [1][2][3]

6. Move up to master and contractor

   After 2 years as a journeyman (or 4 years of field experience), pass a master exam. To contract, license a business that names you (or another master) as its qualified person. [2][3][10]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  Plumbers & Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training of Kansas (UA Local 441), HVACR

  A 5-year apprenticeship for union contractors covering plumbing, pipefitting, welding and HVACR service, with classes at the Wichita training center. [18][19][20]

• Open shop

  ABC Heart of America HVAC apprenticeship

  Non-union (open-shop) HVAC apprenticeship with training at its Kansas City, Missouri facility. [23][24]

• State program

  Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship

  The state office in the Kansas Department of Commerce that supports registered apprenticeship programs; it doesn't place people, so you apply to a sponsor or employer. [26][27]

• Other

  U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Job Finder

  Search registered HVAC apprenticeships by location anywhere in Kansas. [25]

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