Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from New Hampshire's official board.
New Hampshire licenses fuel gas fitting, not HVAC as such, so a technician installing or servicing gas-fired heating equipment needs a fuel gas fitter endorsement while cooling-only work carries no state license. Oil heat is separate and only voluntarily certified under Mec 700, which requires 2,000 hours of field experience shown by a NORA silver or gold certification or an equivalent out-of-state license. Homeowners doing fuel gas fitting in their own owner-occupied single-family primary residence are exempt. Refrigerant work requires federal EPA Section 608 certification.
| Requirements | There is no HVAC examination or hours requirement, because no HVAC license exists. No individual fuel gas fitting license is issued to anyone under 18, and no trainee license to anyone under 16 (Mec 302.02). Fuel gas piping installer (Mec 305.02): at least 60 hours of educational training plus 1,000 working hours of relevant on-the-job experience within 60 consecutive months, of which 500 may be credited from heating-oil-fired equipment work; a New Hampshire licensed plumber in good standing qualifies on the 60 hours alone. Fuel gas installation technician: 100 educational hours plus 1,000 working hours. Fuel gas service technician: 140 educational hours plus 2,000 working hours. Hearth system technician: 2,000 hours of relevant field experience within 60 consecutive months. Domestic appliance technician: 1,000 hours. Field experience is submitted on a sworn affidavit verified by the employer, and no applicant may sit an exam without first completing the minimum formal education hours. All business entities performing fuel gas fitting or plumbing must hold a mechanical business entity license. |
| Reciprocity | Mec 302.12 makes an out-of-state licensee eligible for the New Hampshire examination in plumbing and fuel gas fitting on proof of licensure in the state where the work was performed, but the applicant must still meet the on-the-job experience or approved-education prerequisites for the level sought. This is examination eligibility, not license-for-license reciprocity. |
| Renewal | Every 2 years. Individual licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month; business entity licenses expire on the last day of January. Continuing education is two separate board-approved 3-hour sessions per 2-year cycle for each endorsement held, with no credit for a repeated seminar. A license not renewed within 365 days after expiration must satisfy the initial licensure requirements again, including reexamination. |
| Notes | New Hampshire licenses fuel gas fitting, not HVAC as such, so a technician installing or servicing gas-fired heating equipment needs a fuel gas fitter endorsement while cooling-only work carries no state license. Oil heat is separate and only voluntarily certified under Mec 700, which requires 2,000 hours of field experience shown by a NORA silver or gold certification or an equivalent out-of-state license. Homeowners doing fuel gas fitting in their own owner-occupied single-family primary residence are exempt. Refrigerant work requires federal EPA Section 608 certification. |
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Sources: gc.nh.gov, gc.nh.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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