New Jersey HVAC license requirements and insurance

Who it applies to

1Who needs a heating and air conditioning license in New Jersey? What is this?

Licensed Master HVACR Contractor: anyone who runs an HVACR business or contracts for heating, cooling or refrigeration work in New Jersey. A company needs a licensed master HVACR contractor as its named representative

License	Who needs it
Licensed Master HVACR Contractor	Anyone who runs an HVACR business or contracts for heating, cooling or refrigeration work in New Jersey. A company needs a licensed master HVACR contractor as its named representative

License

Who needs it

Licensed Master HVACR Contractor

Anyone who runs an HVACR business or contracts for heating, cooling or refrigeration work in New Jersey. A company needs a licensed master HVACR contractor as its named representative

Who runs it

2Who issues HVAC contractor licenses in New Jersey? What is this?

New Jersey State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, part of the Division of Consumer Affairs issues HVAC licenses in New Jersey.

See how this compares in every state: How to check a contractor's license, state by state

Name	New Jersey State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, part of the Division of Consumer Affairs
Website	njconsumeraffairs.gov
Look up a license	newjersey.mylicense.com
The law	New Jersey Statutes, title 45, chapter 16A (N.J.S.A. 45:16A)
The rulebook	New Jersey Administrative Code, title 13, chapter 32A (N.J.A.C. 13:32A)

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Getting licensed

3How to become an HVAC contractor in New Jersey What is this?

One license: the Licensed Master HVACR Contractor. Here is what you need before you apply.

License	Experience required	Training required	Exam
Licensed Master HVACR Contractor	One of three routes. Four or more years in an HVACR apprenticeship or training program, then one or more years as an HVACR journeyperson. Or a bachelor's degree in HVACR plus one year of hands-on installing, servicing or maintaining HVACR systems. Or a bachelor's degree in a related field plus three years of that hands-on work	Every route must include refrigerant management, including high global warming potential gases, and a propane gas course based on one of the named manuals	Yes, two written parts. One on HVACR contracting practice and one on New Jersey law and rules. You need 70 in each. A third-party vendor runs it at least four times a year. If you fail you wait six months to try again

License

Experience required

Training required

Exam

Licensed Master HVACR Contractor

One of three routes. Four or more years in an HVACR apprenticeship or training program, then one or more years as an HVACR journeyperson. Or a bachelor's degree in HVACR plus one year of hands-on installing, servicing or maintaining HVACR systems. Or a bachelor's degree in a related field plus three years of that hands-on work

Every route must include refrigerant management, including high global warming potential gases, and a propane gas course based on one of the named manuals

Yes, two written parts. One on HVACR contracting practice and one on New Jersey law and rules. You need 70 in each. A third-party vendor runs it at least four times a year. If you fail you wait six months to try again

What it costs

4How much does an HVAC license cost in New Jersey? What is this?

The government fees on this page add up to about $285 in New Jersey. Add insurance, tools, and a vehicle to get the real number.

License	Application	First license	Renewal	Late renewal	Getting a lapsed license back	Replacement license	Seal, first issue	Proving your license to someone
Licensed Master HVACR Contractor	$100	$160	$160	$50	$150	$25	$25	$25

License

Application

First license

Renewal

Late renewal

Getting a lapsed license back

Replacement license

Seal, first issue

Proving your license to someone

Licensed Master HVACR Contractor

$100

$160

$50

$150

$25

Added up

Government fees, added up	$285

Does not include the exam fee paid to the vendor, the $3,000 bond premium, the $500,000 insurance policy, the EPA 608 test, tools, a vehicle, or permit fees

Our estimate

Insurance

5How much HVAC insurance do you need in New Jersey? What is this?

The least liability insurance New Jersey lets an HVAC contractor work with is $500,000. Most customers ask for more. Workers' comp is required as soon as anyone other than the owner works for the business for pay.

Minimum liability insurance	$500,000
Type of policy	General liability insurance from a company licensed in New Jersey, $500,000 for combined property damage and bodily injury or death in any one accident or occurrence
Who this applies to	The applicant, or the HVACR company the applicant will work through, before the license is issued
Who must be named on the certificate	Not named in the rule. You file the certificate with the board
Workers' comp required?	Yes, as soon as anyone other than the owner works for the business for pay
Who can opt out	A sole owner with no employees does not need it. In a partnership or LLC the partners and members do not count as employees, so a firm with no other workers does not need it. A corporation must have it as soon as anyone, including an officer, works for it for pay
Workers' comp: if you skip it	Up to $5,000 for the first ten days without cover and up to $5,000 for every further ten days. Failing to insure is a disorderly persons offense. If it is willful it is a crime of the fourth degree

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Money checks

6Does New Jersey check your credit for an HVAC contractor license? What is this?

New Jersey does not check your credit for this license.

Credit score you need	None. New Jersey does not look at your credit, your net worth or a financial statement for an HVACR license
If your score is lower	Not needed
How we know	The exam eligibility rule asks for age and education. The licensing rule asks for a bond, insurance, a tax number and a fee. Neither mentions credit or finances

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Bonds

7Does an HVAC contractor need a bond in New Jersey? What is this?

New Jersey requires a bond of $3,000. A bond is a promise, backed by an insurance company, that customers can be paid if you do not finish the job.

Does the state require a bond?	Yes
Amount	$3,000
How long it lasts	Twelve months, then it is renewed for another twelve months each time it runs out

A bond is a promise, backed by an insurance company, that people can be paid if you do not do what the HVACR law requires. New Jersey makes every master HVACR contractor post one for $3,000 in favor of the State before doing any HVACR work. Anyone harmed by a contractor's failure to follow the law or the board rules can claim on it, and so can anyone the board orders you to repay. If a claim is paid out you must top the bond back up to $3,000. No town may ask you for a similar bond.

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Federal rules

8Federal rules that also apply What is this?

Rules from the US government that apply to an HVAC contractor in New Jersey on top of the state's own.

EPA refrigerant certification	Anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant into the air must hold an EPA Section 608 technician certification. It comes from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, not from New Jersey, and it is separate from the state license. The types are Type I for small appliances, Type II for high-pressure systems, Type III for low-pressure systems, and Universal for all three

EPA refrigerant certification

Anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant into the air must hold an EPA Section 608 technician certification.
It comes from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, not from New Jersey, and it is separate from the state license.
The types are Type I for small appliances, Type II for high-pressure systems, Type III for low-pressure systems, and Universal for all three

Checked by a person against the official page·epa.gov

Showing your number

9Where must a New Jersey HVAC contractor show the license number? What is this?

In New Jersey: all business stationery and correspondence carries the master HVACR contractor's name, the license wording with the number, and the New Jersey business address with street name and number.

On your vehicles	Both sides of every commercial vehicle show the business name. Next to it, the master HVACR contractor's name or the named representative's name in letters at least one inch high. Then "Master HVACR contractor license number" or its short form with the number, also at least one inch. The municipality goes on in letters at least three inches high
On quotes, contracts, and invoices	All business stationery and correspondence carries the master HVACR contractor's name, the license wording with the number, and the New Jersey business address with street name and number
On ads	Every advertisement carries the master HVACR contractor's name and the license wording with the number. If you subcontract more than a third of your work in a year, every ad must also say that a substantial part of the work may be subcontracted to independent licensed HVACR contractors. The contractor named in an ad is personally responsible for what it says
If you forget	The rule does not set a fine. Breaking a board rule can lead to action against your license

Checked by software against the official page·law.cornell.edu

Tax

10Does an HVAC contractor charge sales tax on labor in New Jersey? What is this?

In New Jersey, installing a central heating, air conditioning or refrigeration system that becomes part of the building is an exempt capital improvement. No tax on your labor. Get a signed Certificate of Exempt Capital Improvement, form ST-8, from the owner and keep it. The rest of the rules are below.

See how this compares in every state: Can you charge sales tax on labor? The rule in 25 states

What this tax is	New Jersey taxes contractor work by asking one question. Did the job add value or life to the building, or did it just keep the building working
Central AC and furnaces	Installing a central heating, air conditioning or refrigeration system that becomes part of the building is an exempt capital improvement. No tax on your labor. Get a signed Certificate of Exempt Capital Improvement, form ST-8, from the owner and keep it
Window and portable units	A window air conditioner, a refrigerated display case, or any unit the owner can lift out of its casing stays personal property. You charge tax on both the unit and the installation
Repair and maintenance work	Labor to repair, maintain or service an air conditioning or refrigeration unit is taxed, even though installing it was not. Labor on a central heating system in a business is taxed too
About home jobs	Labor to maintain or repair a heating system in a home that serves three families or fewer is not taxed. Cleaning and servicing a home's gas, oil, coal or wood stove, furnace, fireplace or chimney is not taxed either. No paperwork is needed for this exemption
Service contracts	A service contract on a home heating system that qualifies for the exemption is not taxed. Every other maintenance contract is taxed
Who pays tax on materials	You. You pay sales tax at the supply house on every unit, part and material, and you cannot use a resale certificate. The one exception is ductwork you make yourself, which follows the fabricator rules
Materials you bill to the customer	On a taxable job, list the parts as a separate line at your actual cost and no tax is charged on that line. Everything else on the bill is labor and is taxed. Never charge a customer tax on parts for a central heating system that you install
Tax-exempt customers	No tax on labor or materials for some customers. They are a New Jersey or federal government body, a registered charity or church, a qualified business in an Urban Enterprise Zone, and a qualified housing sponsor. You buy the materials tax-free with form ST-13
Registering and filing	Register with the state at least 15 business days before you start. File a quarterly return, form ST-50, even in quarters with no sales. If you collected more than $30,000 in tax the year before, you also file monthly
Tax rate	6.625 percent statewide. There are no county or city add-ons

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Getting paid

11Getting paid: lien and notice deadlines for a New Jersey HVAC contractor What is this?

The notices and deadlines that keep your right to be paid in New Jersey.

Who has to send a notice	On a business job, nobody. New Jersey has no preliminary notice on a commercial or industrial job. On a home job, every lien claimant must first file a Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien, then go through a short arbitration before any lien can be filed
Do you have to send a notice?	Only on a home job
Home jobs: send your notice by	File the Notice of Unpaid Balance with the county clerk within 60 days of your last day of work (last day of work June 1 means the notice is filed by July 31). Within 10 days of filing it, serve a demand for arbitration on the owner through the American Arbitration Association
About home jobs	The arbitrator decides whether you have a valid claim and how much. The arbitration must finish within 30 days of the association receiving your demand. Only then can you file the lien itself
Home jobs: file your lien by	Within 10 days of receiving the arbitrator's decision, and never later than 120 days after your last day of work (last day of work June 1 means the lien is filed by September 29)
Business jobs: file your lien by	Within 90 days of your last day of work (last day of work June 1 means the lien is filed by August 30). File it with the county clerk where the property is
Copy to the owner	Serve a copy of the lien claim on the owner within 10 days of filing it, by personal service or by certified and ordinary mail together
File a lawsuit by	You must sue to enforce the lien within one year of your last day of work. There is a second, shorter deadline: if the owner, the community association, the contractor or a subcontractor serves you written notice requiring you to sue, you have 30 days from receiving it. Miss either one and you lose the lien and must remove it from the record at once, or you pay the owner's costs and legal fees

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Keeping it

12How do you renew an HVAC license in New Jersey? What is this?

The Licensed Master HVACR Contractor renews every two years. You have 30 days after the expiry date to renew late. After that the license is suspended without a hearing. You need 5 hours of training each renewal.

License	Renewal	Training hours each renewal
Licensed Master HVACR Contractor	Every two years. You have 30 days after the expiry date to renew late. After that the license is suspended without a hearing	—

License

Renewal

Training hours each renewal

Licensed Master HVACR Contractor

Every two years. You have 30 days after the expiry date to renew late. After that the license is suspended without a hearing

—

Renewal fees are in what the license costs. The official page for each license is linked under how you get it.

Watch out

13What catches people out in New Jersey What is this?

The things people get wrong or do not expect about New Jersey, in a few sentences.

You cannot get the HVACR license without showing $500,000 of liability insurance and a $3,000 bond. Both go to the board before the license is printed, not after.
Fixing a furnace in a house is tax-free labor, but fixing the air conditioner in the same house is taxed. The heating exemption covers homes with three families or fewer and stops there.
If you subcontract more than a third of your work in a year, every advertisement you run must say so in a set sentence.
Fail the exam and you wait six months before you can sit it again.
The training routes ask for refrigerant management on high global warming potential gases, so a course that stops at the old ozone rules will not do.

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14Where these numbers come from

The labels under each table are explained on how to read a page.