New Jersey licenses one individual HVACR credential — the Master HVACR Contractor — through the State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors. The examination has two written portions, trade and Business and Law, each passed to a minimum grade of 70, and the trade portion is keyed to the International Mechanical Code and International Fuel Gas Code in their 2021 editions. The PassProfessor New Jersey Master HVACR Contractor program prepares candidates for those portions and the New Jersey rules layered on them.
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What this credential certifies
The Master HVACR Contractor license is the only individual credential the New Jersey board issues for this trade. There is no journeyman license in New Jersey HVACR: “HVACR journeyperson” and “HVACR apprentice” are defined employment statuses under N.J.A.C. 13:32A-1.2 — people who work under a Master — not licenses the Board grants. Anyone preparing to contract for HVACR work in New Jersey in their own right is preparing for this one license, under the HVACR licensing act, N.J.S.A. 45:16A-1 et seq., and the Board’s rules at N.J.A.C. 13:32A.
The credential carries a physical instrument with it. A Master HVACR contractor is a person licensed by the Board who obtains a pressure seal and who advertises, undertakes, or offers to undertake for another the planning, laying out, supervising, installing, servicing, maintaining, renovating, testing, commissioning, starting-up, or repairing of HVACR systems, apparatus, or equipment. The licensee shall be a bona fide representative of the legal entity licensed under the chapter and shall have studied and performed the majority of HVACR practices. A person shall not work as a master HVACR contractor or use the title unless licensed, and municipalities may not license master HVACR contractors — the state license is the only master credential (N.J.S.A. 45:16A-6 and 45:16A-7).
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | New Jersey Master HVACR Contractor — the Board’s only individual HVACR credential |
| Regulator | State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors, Division of Consumer Affairs |
| Examination structure | Two written portions: HVACR Trade and Business and Law; a first-time candidate takes both on the same day |
| Items and time | Trade: 50 questions, 130 minutes. Business and Law: 50 questions, 130 minutes |
| Book status | Open book — both portions |
| Passing standard | A minimum grade of 70 in each portion (N.J.A.C. 13:32A-2.3); the bulletin states the standard as 70% (35 correct) for each portion |
| Tested codes | International Mechanical Code 2021 and International Fuel Gas Code 2021 |
| Field codes | International Mechanical Code 2024 and International Fuel Gas Code 2024, adopted August 17, 2026 — a separate layer from the examination key |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors |
No pretest or unscored count for either portion is stated in the sources for this license, and none is stated in this package. The scored counts in the table are the whole verified position on examination size.
The scope of the license
The rules define HVACR contracting broadly: undertaking or advertising to undertake, for a fixed price, fee, commission, or gain of whatever nature, the planning, laying out, installation, construction, maintenance, service, repair, alteration, or modification to any portion of any system, product, or equipment used for the environmental needs or control of any HVACR system. HVACR also means the provision of propane services.
Inside that definition, the rule’s scope paragraphs run across the whole plant of the trade. Heating plant: power boiler systems, hydronic heating systems, fire tube and water tube boilers, pressure steam and hot water boilers, furnaces and space heaters, water recovery systems, and appurtenances using electric, fossil fuel, wood pellet, or solar energy — other than appurtenances used solely for heating potable water. Airside and refrigeration: warm air heating, refrigeration and evaporative cooling systems, ventilation and exhaust, dust collectors, air handling equipment, coils, compressors, chillers, cooling towers, evaporators, condensers, plenums, fans, blowers, air cleaners, mechanical ventilation for radon mitigation, humidifiers, filters, louvers, mixing boxes, energy recovery systems, geothermal systems limited to the horizontal and lateral connections between wells and the heat pump and its appurtenances into the structure, and related air distribution. Piping and controls: hydronic and chilled water piping, valves, fittings, burners, expansion tanks, refrigeration piping, pumps, gauges, humidity and thermostatic controls, condensate piping not discharged into a sanitary sewer, natural or manufactured gas piping on the load side of a meter, defined supply-water and backflow-device connections, pneumatic and direct digital controls and control piping, heat tracing, radiators, convectors, unit cabinet heaters and fan coil units, and testing and balancing of air and hydronic systems — but not the design or preparation of specifications that belongs to professional engineering.
The limits candidates most often misread
Three limits are stated in the rule and the Board’s own answers, and each is narrower than trade habit assumes. First, replacement wiring: in replacement cases only, a Master may connect wiring from an equipment service disconnect box of adequate size to previously dedicated controls and control piping of the named combustion, refrigeration, and dispensing equipment — provided the heating or cooling capacity of each piece of equipment is 25 tons or less, the voltage is 240 volts or less, and the connection follows the Uniform Construction Code. A Master may not replace a disconnect box or disconnect switch, and may replace a surge protector only on the load side of the disconnect.
Second, water. A Master may connect piping if the unit has a backflow connector, but may not install a backflow preventer otherwise; may replace a combination tankless water heater and hydronic unit, but may not connect or disconnect domestic — potable — water for it. The potable-water line runs throughout this license, starting with the heating-plant paragraph’s exclusion of appurtenances used solely for heating potable water.
The bona fide representative
Every licensed entity works through a bona fide representative, and the rule assigns that role by entity form: for a sole proprietorship, the owner; for a partnership, a partner; for a limited liability company, a manager; for a corporation, an executive officer. The Board’s published answers add the ownership framework for entities of different kinds and record that a bona fide representative may authorise permit-signing by letter for up to 60 days. The Master who signs, seals, and stands for the entity is not a figurehead in this system — the definition of the credential itself requires that the individual be the entity’s bona fide representative and have studied and performed the majority of HVACR practices.
Qualification: the routes that are open
An applicant qualifies through one of the education routes at N.J.A.C. 13:32A-2.2, each of which includes education in refrigerant management — covering chlorofluorocarbons and other refrigerants, including high-global-warming-potential gases — and education in propane services. The Board accepts only apprenticeships approved by the United States Department of Labor.
The apprenticeship route is five years of employment in HVACR contracting, consisting of four or more years in a USDOL-approved apprenticeship — including steamfitter, pipefitter, and sheet-metal programs — plus one or more years as an HVACR journeyperson. The degree routes run beside it: a bachelor’s degree in HVACR from a regionally accredited college or university, plus one or more years of practical HVACR work; or a bachelor’s degree in a related field from a regionally accredited institution, plus three years of practical HVACR work. Accredited technical, trade, county, or community-college HVACR training satisfies two of the four apprenticeship years, giving the composite route of a two-year program, at least two further years of USDOL apprenticeship, and one year of journeyperson experience. Military experience is evaluated case by case; no automatic military pathway figure is part of this record.
One historical route is closed and must be read as history. A grandfathering period once existed under N.J.S.A. 45:16A-26; it ended September 3, 2014, and the Board has no authority to waive or grant exemptions to that provision. Grandfathering is not an available route to this license today, and nothing in this program presents it as one. Every current applicant qualifies through the routes above and the examination below — or through reciprocity, stated in the companion guide, which requires another state whose standards are equal to or comparable to New Jersey’s and which permits New Jersey licensees to obtain licensure based on a New Jersey license.
The two portions, and how the sitting works
The examination is prepared and administered by PSI; the license is granted only by the Board. A candidate must obtain Board authorisation before registering: on approval the Board sends an Examination Eligibility Notice with payment and scheduling instructions, and the candidate registers with PSI using their New Jersey Trades ID number, under a name that exactly matches their government-issued identification. A candidate taking an examination for the first time must take both examinations on the same day, and must pass both the HVACR Trade portion and the Business and Law portion to qualify for licensure. Examinations are held at least four times annually under the rule.
Both portions are open book. Candidates bring their own references, which may be highlighted, underlined, and indexed beforehand but may not be written in — writing in references leads to confiscation and a report to the Board. No additional papers, loose or attached, are permitted, and tabs must be permanent; temporary tabs are not allowed. An online calculator is provided, scratch paper and a pencil are provided and returned, and a handheld ductulator is allowed for the Trade portion. A tutorial of up to 15 minutes does not count against examination time. Scores are reported immediately on completion; a failing candidate receives a diagnostic report by examination type. A failed applicant may not retake the examination for six months from the date of failure — a Board rule, not a scheduling preference.
Tested on 2021, working in a state that has adopted 2024
This license now sits across a genuine edition split, and this program keeps the layers apart in every paragraph. The examination layer is fixed by the PSI bulletin: for the Trade portion, the International Mechanical Code and the International Fuel Gas Code are the allowed code references, and under the bulletin’s transition the operative allowed editions are the 2021 editions — from March 13, 2024 the 2021 code is allowed, and as of June 13, 2024 the 2018 code is no longer allowed. For code questions, the examinations are based only on the listed edition. Preparation references that are not allowed in the centre — Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, the SMACNA duct construction standards, and Ugly’s Electrical References, in the editions the guide lists — are study sources only.
The field layer is different, and later. New Jersey’s Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23, adopts model codes as subcodes — the mechanical subcode and the fuel gas subcode among them. The 2024 International Codes were adopted as of August 17, 2026, so the field mechanical and fuel gas codes are the 2024 editions, with a six-month grace period in which the previous codes remain usable: the last day to submit an application using the previous codes is February 17, 2027. Until that date both field postures are live depending on submission date; after it, the 2024 codes govern the field.
The discipline is absolute: the field transition does not change the examination’s keyed editions. Candidates are examined on the 2021 mechanical and fuel gas codes, and no exam material in this program is composed from 2024 provisions. A contractor will work under the 2024 field codes and sit under the 2021 exam key at the same time, and preparation that merges the two layers prepares for neither.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
The trade outline as published. The Trade portion’s published areas — electrical knowledge, motors, and controls; piping across refrigeration, hydronic, steam, and process work; heating and cooling principles, theory, and equipment; refrigerants and refrigeration; fuel and LP gas; combustion air, chimneys, flues, and vents; ducts, ventilation, and exhaust; and load calculations — taught against the 2021 exam key and the Board’s scope paragraphs, including the hard limits on replacement wiring, potable water, and geothermal work.
The scope paragraphs as a working map. N.J.A.C. 13:32A-1.2 is long, specific, and examinable. The program teaches it as the map it is — what the license reaches, where each paragraph stops, and which of the Board’s published answers narrow a tempting reading.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors or with PSI, and this program is not a Board course. Completing it confers no license; the Board alone licenses, and candidates apply through the Board and test through PSI.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The New Jersey Master HVACR Contractor program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program. No date is promised, because the program will open when it meets the standard described above, not before.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a New Jersey HVACR journeyman license?
No. The Master HVACR Contractor is the Board’s only individual credential. Journeyperson and apprentice are defined employment statuses for people working under a Master, not licenses.
What must a candidate pass?
Both written portions — HVACR Trade and Business and Law — each to a minimum grade of 70 under N.J.A.C. 13:32A-2.3; the bulletin states the standard as 70% (35 correct) for each portion. Passing one portion does not compensate for failing the other.
How is each portion built?
Trade: 50 questions in 130 minutes. Business and Law: 50 questions in 130 minutes. Both are open book, and a first-time candidate takes both on the same day.
Which code editions are tested?
The International Mechanical Code 2021 and the International Fuel Gas Code 2021. The field codes adopted August 17, 2026 are the 2024 editions; that adoption does not change the examination key.
Can prior experience grandfather an applicant in?
No. The grandfathering period ended September 3, 2014, and the Board has no authority to waive that provision. It is a closed historical route, not an available one.
What are the qualification routes?
A USDOL-approved apprenticeship route of five years; an HVACR bachelor’s degree plus one or more years of practical work; a related bachelor’s degree plus three years of practical work; and accredited trade or technical training credited toward the apprenticeship years — each including refrigerant-management and propane-services education.
How soon can a failed portion be retaken?
A failed applicant may not retake the examination for six months from the date of failure, under the Board’s rule.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Board?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider. The Board alone licenses Master HVACR Contractors, and PSI administers the examinations.
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.