How to get an HVAC license in Rhode Island

Journeyman level 10,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT), Professional Regulation, for the Mechanical Board · (401) 462-8580 [10][12]

The license pathway in Rhode Island

1. 1

   Refrigeration/air conditioning apprentice

   • 144 hours for each 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning

   You must be at least 18 and registered in a DLT-registered apprenticeship, working under the direct supervision of a refrigeration master or journeyperson. You must carry your apprentice license on the job. [4][5][7]

2. 2

   Refrigeration Journeyperson Class II (limited)

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • 288 hours
   • Yes, given by DLT; 70 to pass
   • $75 test; $60 license
   • $60

   Limited to comfort cooling systems up to 20 tons, product cooling up to 3 tons or freezing up to 1 horsepower. You can't be self-employed. To move up to Class I, you re-enter the Class I apprenticeship for 6,000 more hours and 432 more classroom hours. [1][5][12][13]

3. 3

   Refrigeration Journeyperson Class I (unlimited)

   • 10,000 hours on the job
   • 144 hours per year
   • Yes, given by DLT; 70 to pass
   • $75 test; $72 license
   • $72

   Unlimited refrigeration and air conditioning work as an employee of a licensed master. You must finish a Rhode Island registered apprenticeship and send DLT the certificate of completion. [1][3][7][9][12][13]

4. 4

   Refrigeration Master Class II (limited)

   • 3 years of experience
   • Yes, given by DLT; 70 to pass
   • $75 test; $96 license
   • $96

   Can be self-employed for the same 20-ton limit as Class II work. You need three years as a Rhode Island Refrigeration Journeyperson II. [1][13]

5. 5

   Refrigeration Master Class I (unlimited)

   • 1 year of experience
   • Yes, given by DLT; 70 to pass
   • $75 test; $240 license
   • $240

   Can be self-employed with no limits on refrigeration work. You need one year as a Rhode Island Refrigeration Journeyperson I or Master II. [1][12][13]

Who needs a license in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's mechanical trades law covers pipefitting (heating and process piping), refrigeration/air conditioning, sheet metal and fire sprinklers. Installing or altering piping, refrigeration or air distribution systems and their parts (boilers, pumps, compressors, fans and coils) requires state-licensed workers and a city, town or state mechanical permit.

Maintenance staff who work regularly on their own employer's premises (utilities, hospitals, schools, public employers and plant maintenance departments) are exempt. A journeyperson may work only as an employee of a licensed master. [1][6][7]

The license ladder

Refrigeration/air conditioning (the main HVAC track):

• Apprentice. At least 18, registered with DLT.
• Journeyperson Class II. 4,000 hours and 288 classroom hours; limited to comfort cooling up to 20 tons.
• Journeyperson Class I. A 10,000-hour registered apprenticeship with 144 classroom hours a year; unlimited.
• Master Class II. Three years as a Journeyperson II; self-employed within the 20-ton limit.
• Master Class I. One year as a Journeyperson I or Master II; unlimited.

Related licenses. Pipefitter Class I takes 10,000 apprenticeship hours and Class II 4,000; DLT's ratio sheet describes Pipefitter II as heating installations up to 500,000 BTUs (short for British thermal unit). Sheet metal worker Class I takes 8,000 hours and Class II 4,000, limited to residential work. A master mechanical contractor must have held both the Pipefitter Master I and Refrigeration Master I licenses for 10 years each.

Since June 25, 2024, state law (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-18.1, added by P.L. 2024, ch. 330 and 331) says apprentices must complete a registered apprenticeship in Rhode Island to sit for a mechanical licensing exam. More on the levels: journeyman vs. master. [1][2][3][4][5][8][9]

The exam

DLT gives the mechanical trade exams. File your application at least 15 days before the exam date; a score of 70 or more passes, and DLT then invoices you for the license fee. You can check your application status online.

The Mechanical Board's rule says a Class II refrigeration journeyperson should know single- and three-phase power wiring and controls, evacuating, charging and testing small systems, and the state building and mechanical codes. [1][10][11][12]

Fees and renewal

• Test fee: $75 for each exam.
• Refrigeration Journeyperson I: $72. Journeyperson II: $60.
• Refrigeration Master I: $240. Master II: $96.

Licenses expire on your birthday (odd or even years, by your birth year), and the renewal fee equals the license fee. [12][13]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

DLT's Apprenticeship Office registers the programs. Routes (see union vs. non-union):

• Union. UA Local 51 in East Providence trains refrigeration (HVAC) and pipefitting apprentices as well as plumbers.
• Open shop. Non-union masters register as sponsors and send apprentices to approved schools such as RICTA (affiliated with ABC Rhode Island) or RIPHCCA (Rhode Island Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors Association).

All approved schools are on DLT's education provider list. [14][15][16][17]

If you're licensed in another state

DLT doesn't publish HVAC reciprocity agreements. Under the Mechanical Board's rule, an out-of-state refrigeration journeyperson or master license lets you apply to take the matching Rhode Island exam; attach a copy of your license. If your state has no equivalent license, a notarized resume showing five years as a refrigeration journeyperson (for journeyperson exams) can be used instead. DLT's form also asks for an official license verification from your state. Military members and their spouses who move to Rhode Island on military orders, and who have held a license in another state for at least a year, can apply for a Rhode Island license under state law (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 5-88); the board decides whether the other state's requirements are substantially equivalent. See license reciprocity. [1][12][18]

Steps to get licensed in Rhode Island

1. Get hired as an apprentice

   At 18 or older, apply to a licensed refrigeration or pipefitting master or a program such as UA Local 51. DLT's Become an Apprentice page lists programs. [4][15][20]

2. Register with DLT

   Your sponsor submits your apprenticeship agreement, photo ID, ratio sheet and proof of course registration. Carry your apprentice card on the job. [7][21]

3. Get EPA 608 certified

   EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) rules require it for technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release ozone-depleting refrigerants. [19]

4. Finish the apprenticeship hours and classes

   4,000 hours and 288 classroom hours for Refrigeration II, or 10,000 hours and 144 classroom hours a year for Refrigeration I. [1][5]

5. Apply for the journeyperson exam

   Send the Apprentice Completion & Application for Examination form with the $75 fee and a copy of your ID at least 15 days before an exam date. [11][22]

6. Pass and pay for your license

   With a score of 70 or more, DLT invoices you for the license fee ($60 for Journeyperson II, $72 for Journeyperson I). [12][13]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  UA Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 51 (refrigeration and pipefitting)

  A five-year union program in East Providence with 1,230 classroom hours and 10,000 on-the-job hours, offered in refrigeration (HVAC), pipefitting and plumbing. Applications open only in early March. [15][24]

• Open shop

  Rhode Island Construction Training Academy (RICTA)

  A state-approved related-instruction school affiliated with Associated Builders and Contractors of Rhode Island, listed by DLT for refrigeration, pipefitting and sheet metal. [16][17][25]

• School

  DLT-approved refrigeration and pipefitting schools

  DLT's education provider list includes RIPHCCA, RIMPMA (Rhode Island Master Plumbers & Mechanical Association), NEIT (New England Institute of Technology), NETTTS (New England Tractor Trailer Training School) and several Massachusetts schools for Refrigeration II and Pipefitting II classes. [17]

• State program

  DLT Apprenticeship Office

  Registers apprenticeship programs and apprentices and issues completion certificates. Apprenticeships are jobs: you apply directly to the employer or sponsor. [14][20]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask