HVAC License Rhode Island: There Is No HVAC License, There Are Four Mechanical Trades and Two Classes Each (2026)

Search "Rhode Island HVAC license" and you will get pages describing how to get one. There is no such thing.

At a glance

• No HVAC license exists; Rhode Island licenses pipefitting, refrigeration and sheet metal separately under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 28-27
• Every mechanical trade runs two classes: Class I is unlimited, Class II caps out at 20 tons of comfort cooling or 500,000 BTU of heating
• Unlimited journeyperson takes 10,000 hours (8,000 for sheet metal); limited journeyperson takes 4,000 hours
• A company needs a licensed master continuously employed as an officer, partner or principal, under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-6
• Individual licenses expire on the holder's birthday, odd year to odd year or even year to even year, under § 28-27-17(c)

Rhode Island does not issue an HVAC license, has never issued one, and the word "HVAC" does not appear as a license class anywhere in the statute or the regulation that governs this work.

What Rhode Island issues is a set of mechanical trade licenses under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 28-27, administered by the Department of Labor and Training's Division of Workforce Regulation and Safety through the Board of Pipefitters, Refrigeration Technicians and Fire Protection Sprinkler Fitters, Sheet Metal Workers, and Oil Heat Contractors. The governing regulation is 260-RICR-30-15-2, last refiled January 4, 2022, with no text changes since that refile.

The work an HVAC contractor does in Rhode Island is split across at least three of those trades, and each one has its own ladder, its own hour requirements, its own scope limits, and its own fee line. Picking the wrong one costs years.

A note on every fee in this article: all amounts are set by statute and by the Department of Labor and Training and can change. Verify with the Division of Workforce Regulation and Safety, Professional Regulations Unit before you write a check.

New to contractor licensing generally? See how to get a contractor license in each state for the national picture before working through Rhode Island's mechanical trades below.

The four mechanical trades, and where HVAC work actually lives

Regulation 260-RICR-30-15-2.2 states the purpose in the state's own words: to regulate "the licensing and work of masters, journeypersons, and apprentices in the pipefitting, air conditioning/refrigeration, sprinkler fitting and sheet metal trades, hereafter to be referred to as 'the mechanical trades.'"

For a company doing what the rest of the country calls HVAC, three of those four matter:

• Refrigeration/air conditioning, the cooling side. Installation and service of refrigeration and air conditioning systems.
• Pipefitter, the heating side, plus process work. The regulation defines a pipefitter's work as laying out piping systems for construction and installation, supporting prefabricated items, assembling equipment and appurtenances, and maintaining systems that "may include steam, condensation, air, gas, chemical, hydraulics, lubrication, heating and process piping."
• Sheet metal, ductwork and air distribution.

Fire protection sprinkler fitting is the fourth, and it is its own world.

A residential HVAC company installing a furnace, running the gas line, setting the condenser and fabricating the duct is touching pipefitting, refrigeration and sheet metal. Rhode Island does not bundle those. That is the single most important thing to understand before you plan a licensing path here.

Two classes, and the class decides your scope

Every mechanical trade in Rhode Island runs a Class I and a Class II. The difference is not seniority. It is a hard scope cap written into the regulation.

Refrigeration Journeyperson Class I (§ 2.14) is unlimited as to restriction on work. It requires a minimum of 10,000 hours of on-the-job training with a minimum of 144 hours of trade-related schooling per year, as a properly registered apprentice in a Rhode Island-approved apprenticeship program, with a certificate of completion accompanying the application. Two years of schooling at an accredited institution recognized by DLT may be deducted from the apprentice program. This license cannot be self-employed.

Refrigeration Journeyperson Class II (§ 2.15) requires a minimum of 4,000 hours of on-the-job training with a minimum of 288 hours of trade-related schooling. Also cannot be self-employed. And it is capped: limited to installations up to 20-ton comfort cooling systems, and installations up to 3-ton product cooling or 1 horsepower freezing.

Twenty tons of comfort cooling covers a great deal of residential and light commercial work. It does not cover a rooftop unit on a mid-size commercial building.

Pipefitter Journeyperson Class I (§ 2.10) mirrors the refrigeration Class I: 10,000 hours plus 144 hours of schooling per year, registered apprentice, cannot be self-employed, unlimited as to restriction on work.

Pipefitter Journeyperson Class II (§ 2.11) mirrors the refrigeration Class II at 4,000 hours plus 288 hours of schooling, cannot be self-employed, and carries its own scope wall: limited to heating installations only, commercial and residential heating capped at 500,000 BTU, and process piping is not allowed with the Class II license. That BTU cap is not a Master-level add-on, § 2.11 writes it into the Journeyperson II license itself.

Sheet Metal Journeyperson Class I (§ 2.20) is the one that breaks the pattern: 8,000 hours plus 144 hours per year, unlimited scope. Class II (§ 2.21) requires 4,000 hours plus 288 hours and is limited to sheet metal on a residential occupancy as defined by the state building code.

Note that 8,000 for sheet metal Class I. Every other Class I in the chapter is 10,000. It is the cheapest unlimited journeyperson ladder in the Rhode Island mechanical trades by two thousand hours, and almost nothing published about Rhode Island HVAC mentions it.

The Class II to Class I bridge, and what it really costs

If you took the four-thousand-hour route and later need unlimited scope, Rhode Island does not make you start over, but it does not give you much credit either.

Under § 2.11(I), a Pipefitter Journeyperson II may apply for a Pipefitter Journeyperson I license by re-entering the Class I apprenticeship program, serving an additional 6,000 hours of on-the-job training plus 432 hours of related training, working under a Pipefitter Master I or a Journeyperson I. Section 2.15(H) sets the identical bridge for refrigeration.

Four thousand plus six thousand is ten thousand. The bridge does not shortcut the total, it just lets your first 4,000 count. On the schooling side, 288 plus 432 is 720, which is more than a straight Class I candidate's roughly 144-per-year over the same span. Taking Class II first and upgrading later costs you classroom hours, not field hours.

Sheet metal's bridge (§ 2.21(H)) is 4,000 additional hours plus 288 additional hours of trade-related schooling, consistent with its lower 8,000-hour Class I bar.

The master ladder, and the one-year versus three-year split

Refrigeration Master Class I (§ 2.12) and Pipefitter Master Class I (§ 2.8) both require holding the corresponding Rhode Island Journeyperson Class I license for one year, or holding the corresponding Master Class II for one year. Both can be self-employed. Both require a regular place of business. Both are unlimited as to restriction on work.

Refrigeration Master Class II (§ 2.13) and Pipefitter Master Class II (§ 2.9) require holding the corresponding Journeyperson Class II license for three years.

One year at the top of the Class I ladder. Three years at the top of the Class II ladder. The state charges the shorter wait to the harder credential, which is the opposite of what most people assume.

The Master Class II scope caps carry over from journeyperson and get more specific:

• Refrigeration Master II, limited to installations up to 20-ton comfort cooling and up to 3-ton product cooling or 1 horsepower freezing.
• Pipefitter Master II, limited to heating installations only, no process piping, commercial and residential heating installations limited to 500,000 BTU. The regulation adds a permitting wrinkle: proper permits must be taken with the Rhode Island Department of Labor, Boiler Division, on commercial heating installations of 200,000 BTU and residential installations of 400,000 BTU and above. A Pipefitter Master II may take those permits up to 500,000 BTU; a Pipefitter Master I is needed for 500,000 BTU and above. Section IV of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code applies, steam boilers not exceeding 15 psi, hot water heating and supply boilers not exceeding 160 psi or 250°F.

So the BTU number on the equipment schedule determines which license class can pull the permit. Bid a job at 520,000 BTU with a Master II on staff and you cannot legally permit it.

Master Mechanical Contractor: twenty years, and no exam

This is the strangest credential in the chapter and it is worth knowing about even if you will never hold it.

Under § 2.6, the Master Mechanical Contractor license covers unlimited heating, cooling and process work and can be self-employed. The requirement: the applicant "shall have worked as a Contractor or has been associated in both trades for 20 years or more, 10 years as a Rhode Island Pipefitter Master I and 10 years as a Rhode Island Refrigeration Master I, and prove expertise and knowledge by a notarized resume."

Ten years at the top of one ladder and ten at the top of the other. Both Rhode Island licenses. The applicant must also provide evidence of maintained up-to-date knowledge through periodic schooling and trade seminars, furnish evidence of installed or operating installations if requested, and, the regulation says this outright, "final awarding of this license is also based upon the past performance of applicant as a heating and refrigeration contractor." Advancement is by approval of the Chief Administrator after the Board evaluates the resume.

And it carries no test. The DLT mechanical application packet lists Master Mechanical Contractor with "NO TEST" in the application fee column and a $480 two-year license fee, the highest license fee in the chapter, and the only one you cannot buy your way into with an exam.

The degree route: Contractor Master

Rhode Island offers a path for someone who runs a mechanical company without personally holding the trade ladder, and it is more open than most states'.

Under § 2.7 and R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-6.2, the Contractor Master: Limited License requires either a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (or Board-equivalent) or a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (or Board-equivalent), plus at least four years of relevant experience in the discipline applied for, pipefitting, sprinkler fitting, sheet metal or refrigeration, of a nature and quality acceptable to the Board. The application also requires two affidavits from duly authorized officers of the applicant's employment, two character references, the entity's EIN, and copies of the entity's current workers' compensation and general liability policies.

What it permits and what it does not is the important part. The regulation states that the license allows work "solely on behalf of one (1) and only one (1) entity for which he or she is continuously engaged in supervision of installation, maintenance, and repair work and for which he or she is an officer (if such entity is a corporation), a partner (if such entity is a partnership), or a similarly authorized principal." The holder can engage in business through duly licensed individuals, advertise, bid for work and take out permits. The holder cannot individually engage in installation, maintenance, or repair work.

A business-administration degree and four years in the trade gets you the authority to run and permit the company. It gets you no authority to touch a pipe.

Apprentices, ratios, and who can supervise whom

Section 2.3(A)(5) sets the apprentice baseline: at least 18 years old, working at the business of pipefitting, refrigeration, air conditioning, sprinkler fitting or sheet metal, sponsored (employed) by a licensed Master Contractor, under the direct supervision of a licensed Master or Journeyperson, in a program of 4,000 hours (2-year) to 10,000 hours (5-year) of on-the-job training with a minimum of 144 hours of trade-related schooling per year, registered in a DLT-approved apprenticeship program. Two years of school at a DLT-recognized accredited institution may be deducted.

The ratios differ by trade and they are enforced against the company, not the individual:

• Pipefitter and refrigeration, one apprentice per three licensed persons (§ 2.11(H), § 2.15(G))
• Sheet metal Class I, one apprentice per five licensed persons (§ 2.18(I), § 2.20(H))
• Sheet metal Class II, one apprentice per one licensed person (§ 2.19(I), § 2.21(G))
• Class II generally, § 2.3(A)(11) states a company may train one apprentice per two properly licensed persons, with sheet metal Class II excepted at one per one. Properly licensed individuals may be a combination of Rhode Island licensed masters or journeypersons.

If you are staffing a growth plan around apprentices, the ratio is the constraint, and in sheet metal Class I it is the tightest in the chapter, five licensed people to support one apprentice. Check it against your headcount before you make offers.

The limited licenses nobody tells you about

Section 2.22 carries a set of narrow licenses that solve real problems, and several of them are cheap.

Decorative Heating Appliances Limited II, installation of gas-fired logs; gas, pellet or wood decorative appliances and their related flue connections and terminations; and replacement flue liners for residential installations. Fuel piping to the equipment is not allowed with this license, gas piping and servicing must be done by a properly licensed pipefitter. Applicants must hold a current certification from the National Chimney Sweep Guild or the National Fireplace Institute, plus a notarized statement of at least two years' experience in the field. Municipal permits for installations issue to this licensee.

Synthetic Exhaust Ducting Limited II, installation of plastic exhaust ducting not related to heating or air conditioning. Requires a certificate of completion of a plastic welding certification program and a notarized statement of at least two years' experience.

Fire Suppression Limited, dry or wet chemical fire suppression systems. The holder must hold a certificate for fire suppression from the State Fire Marshal's office before testing systems.

Welding Limited, welding of pipe, hangers and supports for pipe systems. Requires proof of passing a recognized welding class such as an ASME test or equivalent, and the holder must work under a Pipefitter Master I or II.

Gas Station Limited, underground piping and tank installation, piping to pumps, vents, spill and fill lines. Requires a notarized letter from the employer on file with the licensing division stating date of hire, after which a registration card issues; two years of on-the-job training and a minimum of 4,000 hours over not less than two years, at one registered apprentice per one licensed journeyman.

The oil and gas service limited licenses (PJF/Oil Burner Service Journeyperson II, PJF/Propane Gas Service, PJF/Natural Gas Service, and the corresponding Master II LTD versions) each carry a 500,000 BTU cap for both residential and commercial service, and they carry a requirement that catches people out: the licensee must be employed by a licensed Pipefitter Master and a licensed Electrical Oil Burner Contractor (Class E) to perform residential service work, where residential is defined as 1 to 3 units. Formal training minimums are 160 hours of combined classroom and laboratory technical training for the oil-burner license and 220 hours for the propane and natural gas licenses.

There is also a genuinely useful exemption in the sprinkler sections (§ 2.16(I) and § 2.17(H)): any properly licensed Rhode Island pipefitter or plumber installing one sprinkler head over a domestic boiler is exempted from holding a sprinklerfitter license, and the connection off the domestic water supply may be done by properly licensed pipefitters and plumbers.

Fees, from the statute and the DLT packet

R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-17(a) sets the fee schedule and the DLT mechanical trade application packet reproduces it. Both agree. All fees below are two-year terms; renewal equals the license fee shown. All subject to change, verify before paying.

Notes on the table:

• The DLT packet adds limited-license lines not in the statute's main table: Fire Suppression, Decorative Heating Appliances, Welding, Gas Station and Synthetic Exhaust Ducting at $75 test and $60 license; the PJF Natural Gas, Propane Gas and Oil Burner Service Journeyperson II limited licenses at $75 and $144; and the PJF Natural Gas and Propane Gas Service Master II LTD licenses at $75 and $240.
• The packet states the mechanic of it plainly: candidates who pass the exam at 70% or better are invoiced for the license fee only after passing, not before.
• The state's online renewal portal adds a flat $6 processing fee on top of the fees above.
• A Master II costs $96 for two years and a Master I costs $240. The state is pricing the scope, not the paperwork.

Your birthday is your renewal date

R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-17(c) applies the same unusual rule the plumbing chapter uses: every license issued to license holders born in odd years expires on the birthday of the individual in odd years, and every license issued to holders born in even years expires on the birthday of the individual in even years.

Biennial, but tied to the licensee's birth-year parity rather than to a common statewide date. Two mechanics hired the same day can be on opposite two-year cycles. If you employ several licensed people, the renewal calendar is yours to build.

Section 2.5 adds a condition that catches companies with open enforcement matters: "All fines and penalties shall be paid in full prior to the issuing of any licenses pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-17." An unpaid fine on one license can hold up an unrelated renewal.

Lapse: two years, then you retest

Section 2.3(A)(14) defines the lapse rule directly: if a license has lapsed for a period of less than two years, it may be reinstated upon payment of all license fees due to the Division of Professional Regulation. If licenses are not renewed before the two years have lapsed, the applicant will be subjected to re-examination.

There is one carve-out, and it is generous: "in the case of military service personnel, who are licensees, their validity will continue for the duration, not to exceed four (4) years."

Three inches of lettering, and the number in your hand

Two requirements repeat in nearly every master-level section of the regulation, and both get enforced.

Vehicle and premises identification. "All vehicles and places of business shall be identified by the displaying of Rhode Island Department of Labor & Training issued, license class and number, under which business is conducted. Lettering must be a done at a minimum size of 3"." Class and number, not just a company name, at a minimum of three inches.

Carry it and print it. "This person shall carry on his or her person at all times and shall affix his or her contractor's license number to any advertisement and/or contract he or she executes and/or bid he or she files with any consumer for his or her professional services and to any applicable permit required for the performance of those services." Advertisement, contract, bid, permit, the license number goes on all four.

The company license, and why Rhode Island makes this a qualifier state

Everything above is about individuals. None of it lets a company operate. That is a separate statute, and it is the one that decides whether your business can legally bid.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-6 provides that no corporation, firm, association or partnership may engage in business, advertise, apply for and take out permits, bid for work, or represent itself as a mechanical contractor, pipefitter, refrigeration/air conditioning, fire protection sprinkler systems master or contractor, or sheet metal contractor, unless either:

1. a licensed master in the applicable trade is continuously engaged in the supervision of the entity's installation, maintenance and repair work and is an officer of the corporation, a partner in the partnership, or a similarly authorized principal of the firm; or
2. the entity holds its own contractor's license issued by DLT.

And route two carries the person requirement forward. Under § 28-27-6(b), the contractor's license must state that the holder either has a master's license in the mechanical trades and is an officer, partner or authorized principal continuously engaged in supervision, or "continuously employs at all times while holding this license a person with a masters license in the applicable mechanical trade… who shall be continuously engaged in the supervision of the entity's installation, maintenance, and repair work."

The statute then draws three lines that matter more than anything on the fee schedule:

Your scope is the qualifier's scope. Subsection (c): any work engaged in, advertised for, applied for by permit, bid for, or represented to be permissible "shall be solely of the type for which the licensed master or contract master… is duly licensed to perform." A company whose qualifier holds a Refrigeration Master II cannot bid a 40-ton job. The 20-ton cap is not a limit on the individual, it becomes a limit on the business.

One entity, and only one. Subsection (d): the licensed master or contractor master "shall represent the interests of one such entity and only one such entity at any given time." A Rhode Island mechanical master cannot stand behind two companies simultaneously.

Fourteen days, then forty-five. Subsection (e): if the master ceases to be an officer or principal, or ceases to be continuously employed, the entity must provide written notice of the cessation to DLT no more than fourteen days after the effective date, and must provide written notice specifying the replacement no more than forty-five days after the effective date.

Two more provisions worth knowing. Subsection (f) gates company formation itself: no entity engaging in the mechanical trades in Rhode Island may incorporate, form, qualify to do business, or otherwise register with the Rhode Island Secretary of State's office until that office receives written confirmation from DLT that all requisite licenses have been issued and remain in good standing. That is Rhode Island's answer to "can I start a C corp before I have a licensed master," and the answer is not until DLT confirms the license. Subsection (g) makes any willful violation grounds for revocation under § 28-27-21.

If the role is new to you, start with what a qualifying agent is and what they are responsible for: a qualifying agent qualifies the company as an owner or a genuine full-time W-2 employee who actually supervises the work, not a name used only to satisfy a rule. If you know the role and need a licensed Rhode Island mechanical master on your company license, how we place qualifying agents covers the model, and if you need broader contractor qualifier services across a license rather than a single named placement, that option sits alongside direct placement.

What the statute's employment language means in practice

Rhode Island's mechanical statute, in § 28-27-6(b), uses the phrase "continuously employs at all times." Its plumbing statute, at § 5-20-12(b)(2), uses the closely related "continuously employ at all times" for the same requirement, applied to a licensed master plumber instead of a master in the mechanical trades. The verb form differs by one letter because of how each sentence is built, but the substance does not: both statutes are telling you what relationship they will accept between a company and the person holding its license.

Rhode Island reinforces the point from a second agency, in plainer language. The Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board FAQ draws the employee line by tax form: "employees do not need to register. An employee is any person permitted to work by an employer, receives wages, and has taxes withheld. However, if a 1099 is filed, one is considered a subcontractor and must be registered with the CRLB."

An employee receives wages and has taxes withheld. Anyone on a 1099 is, in the state's own framing, something else. Put that next to "continuously employs at all times" and the arrangement that survives scrutiny is narrow.

That is why The Licensing Company places qualifying agents as W-2, full-time employees and in no other structure. Not a percentage of revenue, not a flat monthly fee, not per-project, not 1099. Those arrangements do not match the words in § 28-27-6(b), and they do not survive the first question anyone asks, investigator, insurer or opposing counsel, which is what tax form the company files for the person whose license it is operating on.

How Rhode Island compares to its neighbors

Rhode Island is not alone in New England in refusing to issue an HVAC license, but the reasons differ and so do the workarounds.

Massachusetts has no HVAC license either and splits the work across refrigeration and sheet metal credentials. Maine issues ten separate fuel licenses instead of one mechanical credential. New Hampshire runs four gas endorsements arranged in a scope pyramid. Connecticut is the outlier, running the region's clearest lettered system with S-1, D-1 and B-1 classes.

Rhode Island's distinguishing features are the two-class scope caps inside every trade, the birthday-parity renewal calendar, and the unusually explicit "one entity and only one entity" language in § 28-27-6(d). For the plumbing side of the same DLT structure, which shares the birthday renewal, the two-year forfeiture cliff and the identical qualifier concept, see our Rhode Island plumbing licensing guide. For the electrical side, which sits under a different DLT board again, see how to get an electrician license in Rhode Island.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a CRLB contractor registration on top of my DLT mechanical license? Probably. The CRLB's FAQ states that every contractor and subcontractor in the business of building or repairing structures must register, and names only plumbers and electricians as exempt, and only when working within the scope of their DLT license. Mechanical, pipefitting and refrigeration contractors are not named in that exemption. Confirm your specific situation with the CRLB at (401) 921-1590 before assuming either way.

Which license do I need to install a residential furnace and central air? Realistically more than one credential is in play, held either by you or by people you employ. The gas or oil piping and the heating equipment is pipefitter territory; the condenser and refrigerant work is refrigeration; the ductwork is sheet metal. Check the BTU rating against the Pipefitter Master II 500,000 BTU cap and the tonnage against the Refrigeration Class II 20-ton cap before you decide which class you need.

How long does it take to get an unlimited Rhode Island mechanical master license? The ordinary path is roughly six years: 10,000 hours as a registered apprentice with 144 hours of schooling a year to reach Journeyperson Class I, then one year holding that license to sit the Master Class I exam. The Class II path is shorter to first license, 4,000 hours, but three years at journeyperson before the Master II exam, and Master II is scope-capped.

Is there an EPA 608 requirement? EPA Section 608 certification is a federal requirement for anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerants, and it is separate from and additional to any Rhode Island license. Holding 608 does not license you to work in Rhode Island; holding a Rhode Island refrigeration license does not satisfy 608. You need both.

What does a Rhode Island qualifying agent cost? There is no list price, and any site quoting one is guessing. The cost depends on which mechanical trade and class the license has to cover, the scope and size of the work the company bids, the liability the qualifier carries, whether the arrangement is Rhode Island alone or several states, and how quickly you need someone seated. Because the risk varies that widely, a single published number would be wrong in most cases. Tell us about your situation and we will scope it against your actual work.

What happens if my mechanical master leaves? Section 28-27-6(e) gives you fourteen days to file written notice of the cessation and forty-five days to file written notice naming the replacement. But subsections (a) and (b) mean that during any gap when no qualifying master is continuously engaged in supervision, the entity is not in a position to lawfully advertise, bid, pull permits or represent itself as a mechanical contractor. Forty-five days is a filing deadline, not permission to keep operating.

Can one person qualify two of my companies? No. Section 28-27-6(d) says the licensed master or contractor master "shall represent the interests of one such entity and only one such entity at any given time." Two entities means two qualifiers.

Can I get a mechanical contractor license with a business degree instead of a trade background? Partly. The Contractor Master limited license under § 2.7 accepts a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or in Business Administration plus four years of relevant experience acceptable to the Board, along with two officer affidavits, two character references, the entity's EIN, and current workers' compensation and general liability policies. It lets you run, advertise, bid and permit for one entity where you are an officer, partner or authorized principal. It does not let you individually perform installation, maintenance or repair work.

Can I form my mechanical contracting company before I have a licensed master? No. Section 28-27-6(f) blocks the Secretary of State from incorporating, forming or registering any entity doing mechanical trades work in Rhode Island until DLT confirms in writing that the entity's required licenses are issued and in good standing. Line up the licensed master, individual or qualifying agent, before you file formation paperwork, not after.

Where this leaves you

Rhode Island's mechanical system is precise rather than complicated. Four trades. Two classes each, with real scope walls at 20 tons and 500,000 BTU. Ten thousand hours for unlimited, four thousand for limited, and a bridge between them that costs classroom time rather than field time. A birthday renewal on a two-year parity cycle. A two-year forfeiture cliff after lapse. And a company statute that says, in the state's own words, that the master must be continuously employed at all times and may stand behind one entity and only one entity.

If you hold the license, the risks are administrative, a renewal date nobody reminds you about, an unpaid fine blocking an unrelated license, and a two-year window that closes into a retest.

If you are a company that needs a licensed Rhode Island mechanical master and does not have one, that is what we do. We place qualifying agents as full-time W-2 employees, because that is the only structure that matches what § 28-27-6 actually requires. Start with our qualifying agent placement service, or work through licensing requirements state by state if Rhode Island is one of several on your list.

If you hold a Rhode Island mechanical master license and want to know what it is worth to a company that needs one on its books, becoming a qualifying agent explains the other side. For specific numbers, call 615-219-2110.

Last reviewed October 2026. Fees, hours, scope limits and deadlines are set by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training and the General Assembly and are subject to change, verify with the Division of Workforce Regulation and Safety before relying on any figure here.

Sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-17, Test, License and Renewal Fees, retrieved October 11, 2026
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-6, Company or Partnership Must Be Licensed, retrieved October 11, 2026
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-6.2, Issuance of Contractor Master License, retrieved October 11, 2026
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-12, Plumbing Contractor's License, retrieved October 11, 2026
• 260-RICR-30-15-2, Mechanical Trades Regulation, retrieved October 11, 2026
• Rhode Island DLT Mechanical Trades Application Packet, retrieved October 11, 2026
• Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board, Contractor Registration FAQs, retrieved October 11, 2026