Maryland’s Master HVACR license is issued by the State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors, in the Maryland Department of Labor, under Title 9A of the Business Regulation Article. The examination, administered by PSI, is an open-book sitting of 100 questions in 240 minutes, passed at a 70% minimum passing score, keyed to the International Mechanical Code, 2018 edition only. The PassProfessor Maryland Master HVACR program prepares candidates for that sitting and the Maryland ladder beneath it.
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What this credential certifies
A master license entitles the licensee to provide installation and maintenance services in all areas of HVACR work; in the vendor’s form, a Master Contractor is authorised to install, maintain, alter, remodel, or repair heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and hydronic systems. To provide HVACR services, in the statutory definition, is to install, maintain, alter, remodel, or repair heating, cooling, refrigeration, ventilation, or hydronic systems — with defined edges: a refrigeration system cools a surface or area below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and a ventilation system moves air at more than 250 cubic feet per minute. An individual shall be licensed before providing or assisting in providing HVACR services in the State, and Maryland licenses individuals only: Title 9A creates no business license, so a business acts through the licensee it employs and designates to direct and control its services.
The master sits at the head of an exact six-class ladder: master; master restricted; limited; journeyman; journeyman restricted; and apprentice. A journeyman provides services under the direction and control of a licensed contractor and may not contract independently. A limited license is exclusively to maintain or repair one or more of the named system types and, in the vendor’s form, may not be used for installations or retrofits; limited is a contractor-tier license, not a worker tier. An apprentice assists while in training, under a licensed contractor; anyone entering the trade must obtain an apprentice license, and there are no prerequisites for one. Every class above apprentice is reached by examination, and there is no required course for an HVACR license examination.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Maryland Master HVACR: the Master HVACR Contractor examination for the master license |
| Regulator | State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors, Maryland Department of Labor; Business Regulation Article, Title 9A; COMAR 09.15 |
| Examination vendor | PSI Services LLC, contracted by the Board to conduct its examination programme; eligibility screening is by PSI on application |
| Examination format | Computer-administered by appointment; 100 questions; 240 minutes; open book |
| Passing standard | 70% minimum passing score |
| Tested references | International Mechanical Code, 2018 edition only (effective May 15, 2025); Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 21st or 22nd edition; and the further references listed in the body of this page |
| Field code position | The Board’s code chapter points to the most recent mechanical code as incorporated in the Model Performance Code, which currently incorporates the 2021 edition — a field layer, not the examination layer |
| Credential term | Two-year term expiring on the first October 1 in an odd-numbered year, as the statute states the rule |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the State Board of HVACR Contractors or with PSI |
The Maryland delta: tested in 2018, working in 2021
Maryland’s defining fact is a clean split between the examination room and the field. The examination’s mechanical code reference is the International Mechanical Code, 2018 edition — only that edition, effective May 15, 2025. Earlier material listing several editions side by side is stale for any sitting on or after that date. One absence on the Master list must be stated plainly: no fuel gas code from the international code family appears on the Master list, or on any Maryland HVACR examination list. The only fuel gas text anywhere in this programme is an NFPA fuel gas standard in a dated edition, on two restricted-tier reference lists only — the forced air and hydronic restricted examinations. A candidate who studies fuel gas code material for the master sitting is studying a book the sitting does not use.
The field layer runs a generation ahead. The Board’s code chapter, as amended effective April 13, 2026, adopts the most recent version of the mechanical code as incorporated in the Model Performance Code; that code currently incorporates the 2021 edition. The 2021 edition is therefore the field pointer. It is not, in any form, examination material, and this program never presents it as such. Two cautions complete the picture: the Model Performance Code may not bind a subdivision unless the subdivision adopts it, enforcement runs through county cooperative agreements, and a county code adopted before January 1, 1988 applies within that county — so no honest page can promise a uniform field edition in every county. And the Maryland Building Performance Standards do not adopt the mechanical code or any fuel gas code at all.
What the examination covers
PSI publishes the Master outline as six blocks summing to 100 questions. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning is the largest block at 25, spanning theory, refrigerants, sizing and design, components, installation, and operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance. Electrical Knowledge, Motors, and Controls carries 20. Heating Systems carries 20, including combustion air, steam and hydronics, vents and chimneys, and fuel oil systems. Piping carries 15, and Air Distribution Systems carries 15, including fire and smoke control, testing and balancing, and ventilation requirements. Safety carries 5. No pretest or unscored count is published in the sources for this package, and none is stated here.
The complete Master reference list, as the bulletin prints it, is: the International Mechanical Code, 2018 edition only as of the date above; Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 21st or 22nd edition; Manual J — Residential Load Calculation, 2006, eighth edition; the federal workplace safety volume the bulletin lists, with its latest amendments or the vendor’s selections from it; and the ACCA Ductulator. There is no Maryland-specific book on the list. The examination is open book with the listed references only — no study guides are allowed — and books may be indexed and highlighted or underlined, but must be unmarked, not written in, with no additional papers attached or loose; only the tab products the bulletin names are acceptable, and the removable flag products it names are expressly unacceptable. Candidates arrive at least 30 minutes early with one valid, unexpired, signature- and photo-bearing identification in the legal name on the registration. Only non-programmable, silent, battery-operated calculators without paper-tape printing or an alphabetic keyboard are allowed, plus a hardcover word-to-word translation dictionary. The tutorial, of up to 15 minutes, does not count against examination time. The pass or fail indication appears immediately on screen; a failing candidate is given 30 minutes at the end to review the items missed, at no charge. There is no practical component in this programme. As boundary context, the journeyman examination carries the same distribution, references, and headline figures as the Master; the restricted specialties and the limited examination are smaller sittings.
The route, in order
Eligibility screening in the current process is performed by the vendor, not by Board pre-approval. The applicant applies online through the vendor’s Maryland channel, uploads qualification documentation, and pays the examination fee with the application or it will not be processed; processing should be allowed up to one week. The master gate is statutory: not less than three years of active experience providing HVACR services under one of the license classes the statute names, under the direction and control of a master HVACR contractor, plus passing the examination. The journeyman gate beneath it is stated here in its statute form, as the licensing requirement: at least 4 years holding an apprentice license, with at least 6,000 hours of training in providing HVACR services during that period under a licensed contractor, plus passing an examination — a gate the regulation repeats as a pre-examination rule. One exemption interrupts the ladder: the Board shall issue a journeyman license without examination to a completer of an approved apprenticeship programme who applies inside the stated two-year window. Board credit provisions may shorten a path — up to three years for comparable formal study, up to six years for qualifying non-conforming experience, and up to three years for teaching formal HVACR courses, on the statute’s terms.
Passing starts a one-year clock: the applicant shall apply for licensure, with all applicable fees, within one year of completing the examination for the results to remain valid, and the Board issues the license on receipt of proof of insurance and the license fee. The two money layers must never be merged: the vendor examination fee is $150, paid directly to the vendor, and the Board license fee for a master under the current regulatory schedule, as of January 1, 2025, is $94.50, for original issuance and renewal alike, with Board fees nonrefundable. The vendor fee is valid for one examination only, is not refundable or transferable, and is valid for 90 days; cancellation without forfeiting it requires notice two days before the date, and voicemail is not an acceptable cancellation. A failed candidate may not sit more often than every 30 days, on a fresh application and fee, and misconduct in the examination bars re-examination for at least one year.
Staying licensed: the October cycle, insurance, and no education duty
The renewal date is a fixed public calendar, not an anniversary. Unless renewed for a two-year term, a license expires on the first October 1 that comes after its effective date and in an odd-numbered year. Renewal requires the renewal fee — the same $94.50 Board figure for a master — proof of insurance, and a renewal application. Continuing education is a verified negative here: no education hours are imposed on any HVACR licensee class by the renewal conditions or the Board’s regulations. The only education duty in the title belongs to inspectors. Any licensee education figure in secondary material is not a Maryland requirement for this credential.
Inactive status is available at renewal: the inactive licensee may not provide services, renews on fee and application without the insurance proof, and returns to active status by meeting the full renewal requirements. Restoration runs on a four-year rule — application within four years after expiration may restore the license on payment of the required fees, while after four years the Board may require the initial-application process as if the applicant had never been licensed. A licensee may renew downward into a lower category, forfeiting the original license, and a license is not transferable, except that on a contractor’s death the personal representative may retain it for up to six months to wind up the business, extendable for extreme hardship within the statute’s cap.
Insurance is the contracting bar, and it is continuous. A master, master restricted, or limited licensee may not contract unless the work, including completed operations, is covered by general liability insurance of at least $300,000 and property damage insurance of at least $100,000 — stated by the vendor, in combined form, as a combined total of $400,000 per occurrence that the certificate must show, with the Board named as the certificate holder. Cover may be bought by the licensee or the employing business, and a licensee who lets it expire cannot legally continue to enter into contracts. Display duties run alongside: the license and number in the principal place of business, the number on each vehicle used on the job and in the prescribed form on contracts and advertisements, and written notice of any change of name, address, or employment at least ten working days before it takes effect. A State license is required anywhere in Maryland whether or not the individual holds a local license. On reciprocity, the Board’s published position names exactly two agreement states — Delaware and Virginia — under a waiver power requiring an active, equivalent, good-standing license earned under requirements at least equivalent to Maryland’s.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Keyed to the room: the 2018 edition, and no fuel gas code. The Maryland Master HVACR program in the PassProfessor catalog is composed against the six blocks and five listed references, with the mechanical content keyed to the 2018 edition used alone since May 15, 2025. No part is keyed to the 2021 field edition as examination material, and no fuel gas code material is presented as Master content, because none is on the Master list.
The ladder as study structure. Practice material carries the six classes, the statute-form gates, the credit provisions, the vendor-screened route and its one-year fuse after passing, the two unmerged money layers, and the October renewal cycle with its insurance bar and verified absence of an education duty. Every item is written from scratch against primary sources.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the Board, the Maryland Department of Labor, or PSI. Completing this program confers no license and no eligibility; the Board alone licenses. The companion Maryland Master HVACR Exam Guide at /maryland-master-hvacr-exam-guide/ works through the outline, the gates, and the code layers in full depth.
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Frequently asked questions
Who issues the Maryland Master HVACR license?
The State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors, in the Maryland Department of Labor, under Title 9A of the Business Regulation Article and COMAR 09.15.
What code edition does the Master examination use?
The International Mechanical Code, 2018 edition only, effective May 15, 2025, together with Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 21st or 22nd edition, and the other listed references. The 2021 edition is the field layer through the Model Performance Code, not examination material.
Is a fuel gas code part of the Master examination?
No. No fuel gas code appears on the Master list or on any Maryland HVACR examination list. The only fuel gas text in the programme is an NFPA standard on two restricted-tier lists.
How many questions are on the examination, and what passes?
100 questions in 240 minutes, open book, with a 70% minimum passing score. No pretest count is published, and none is stated here.
What are the six outline blocks?
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 25; Electrical Knowledge, Motors, and Controls, 20; Heating Systems, 20; Piping, 15; Air Distribution Systems, 15; and Safety, 5 — summing to 100.
What experience does the master license require?
Not less than three years of active experience providing HVACR services under the license classes the statute names, under the direction and control of a master HVACR contractor, plus passing the examination. The journeyman rung beneath requires, in the statute’s form, at least 4 years holding an apprentice license with at least 6,000 hours of training in that period.
Does renewal require continuing education?
No. No education hours are imposed on HVACR licensees under the renewal conditions or the Board’s regulations; the title’s education duty belongs to inspectors only.
When does enrollment open?
The program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address on this page and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program.