Delaware HVAC license requirements at a glance
- Issued by
- Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners
- License required
- Yes, Master HVACR licensure or supervised training under a licensee
- Experience
- 8,000 supervised hours (≈4 yrs)
- Exam
- Master HVACR exam (ProV), 70 percent to pass
- State fees
- $173 Master HVACR application per current published figures, plus exam fees, all processed through DELPROS
- Renewal
- Every 2 years, with 5 hours of continuing education
- Avg. DE HVAC salary
- $57,500/yr (2024)
- Federal
- EPA Section 608 required
How do you get an HVAC license in Delaware?
- Enter a registered HVACR apprenticeship (four years, at least 144 classroom hours per year) working under licensed supervision
- Get EPA Section 608 certification early, and note the Board requires the certification card with Restricted-Refrigeration and Restricted-Air Conditioning applications
- Earn the Journeyman Certificate at apprenticeship completion, then work two more years under a Master HVACR licensee
- Apply through DELPROS ($173 per current published figures), get Board approval, and pass the ProV-administered Master HVACR exam at 70 percent
- To run your own shop, add the contractor side: a business license through the Division of Revenue, general liability insurance, and unemployment insurance with employees
What license tiers does Delaware offer?
Delaware licenses every level of the trade through one board: registered apprentices, Journeyman Certificate holders, and Master HVACR licensees, with the Master available unrestricted or Restricted to a single specialty (Heating with ventilation and gas piping, Refrigeration, or Air Conditioning). Running a contracting business adds a separate Division of Revenue registration with insurance requirements, so the trade credential and the business credential come from two different agencies.
What is the Delaware HVAC exam like?
The Master HVACR exam is administered by ProV at a 70 percent pass mark, with Board approval required before scheduling and a hard rule after three failures: reapply as new and wait a year. Experience-only candidates first pass the apprenticeship equivalency bypass exams at the county vo-tech schools (New Castle County VoTech, PolyTech, Sussex Tech).
How much does an HVAC license cost in Delaware?
State-side costs are modest: the Master HVACR application at $173 per current published figures plus ProV exam fees, processed through DELPROS, with renewals every two years and just 5 hours of continuing education. The years, four in apprenticeship plus two under a Master, or seven on the bypass route, are paid work throughout.
How does Delaware compare with another state?
Useful if you are deciding where to build your experience years. Shown exactly as published on each state's page, no scoring, no verdict.
Bordering states: Maryland requirements · New Jersey requirements
How long does it take to become an HVAC tech in Delaware?
The clock is the 8,000 supervised hours, roughly 4 years of full-time paid work. The standard road: a four-year registered apprenticeship with at least 144 classroom hours each year earns the Journeyman Certificate, then two more years working under a Master licensee qualifies you for the Master HVACR exam. The bypass road for experience-only candidates: seven years under a Master, then the apprenticeship equivalency exams at a Delaware vo-tech before the Master exam. Either way the exam is ProV-administered at a 70 percent pass mark, and three failures means reapplying as new after a one-year wait.
Is HVAC a good career in Delaware?
Delaware figure is an estimate compiled from industry salary data, pending confirmation against the BLS state release. National median from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2024). Verify current figures with BLS.
What does it take to start your own HVAC business in Delaware?
The contractor side runs through the Division of Revenue: a Delaware business license, general liability insurance, and unemployment insurance with employees, layered on top of the Master HVACR credential. Delaware sits between live Maryland and New Jersey guides on this site, and neither neighbor honors the Delaware license automatically, so check each state's own rules before crossing the line.
What most guides get wrong about Delaware
Delaware's bypass route is the fact worth knowing: the code itself provides a path for experience-only candidates, seven supervised years plus equivalency exams at the county vo-techs, which most guides never mention. The other planning fact: the licensing board covers the trade, but running a business additionally requires a Division of Revenue contractor registration with insurance, two separate agencies, two separate credentials.
Delaware HVAC license: frequently asked questions
Do you need a license to do HVAC work in Delaware?
Yes, comprehensively: Delaware licenses the trade at apprentice, journeyman, and master levels through the Division of Professional Regulation, and you must hold a Master HVACR license or train under the direct supervision of someone who does. It is one of the strictest per-person structures in the country.
What is the difference between Master HVACR and Master HVACR Restricted?
Scope. The full Master HVACR covers heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, ventilation, gas piping, and process systems. The Restricted license limits you to one specialty, Heating with ventilation and gas piping, Refrigeration, or Air Conditioning, and upgrading to unrestricted is the path to working across specialties. Restricted-Refrigeration and Restricted-AC applicants must submit their EPA certification card with the application.
How do you qualify for the Master exam without a journeyman certificate?
The bypass route, written directly into Delaware code: seven years of HVACR experience under the direct supervision of a Master licensee, documented by supervisor affidavit, then the Board-approved apprenticeship equivalency exams administered at Delaware vo-tech schools in each county. Passing the bypass exams automatically approves you for the Master HVACR exam.
How hard is the Delaware Master exam?
The ProV-administered exam requires 70 percent, and Delaware enforces a real consequence for repeated failure: after three failed attempts you must reapply as a new applicant and wait a year from your last attempt. Prepare accordingly, and note renewals then require just 5 hours of continuing education every two years.
HVAC licensing in every state
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