Virginia licenses HVAC tradesmen through the Board for Contractors in the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Journeyman and Master candidates sit the same 85-item, 210-minute, open-book portion through PSI, and the Journeyman passing score on that portion is 60 — a raw count of correct answers, stated in this package in that form only. The PassProfessor Virginia Journeyman HVAC Tradesman program prepares candidates for that sitting, and its companion guide at /virginia-journeyman-hvac-tradesman-exam-guide/ works through the route in full.
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What this credential certifies
The Journeyman HVAC Tradesman is an individual tradesman license in the HVAC specialty, issued under Title 54.1, Chapter 11, Article 3 of the Code of Virginia and the regulations at 18VAC50-30. The regulation defines a journeyman as a person with the ability, proficiency, and qualifications to install, repair, and maintain materials and equipment, with working knowledge sufficient to comply with the pertinent USBC provisions and to work according to plans and specifications. A tradesman, in the statute’s terms, is an individual who engages in work for the general public for compensation in the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC trades.
Since July 1, 1995, no individual may engage or offer to engage as a tradesman in Virginia unless licensed under Article 3, and practising except as provided in that article is prohibited and constitutes a Class 1 misdemeanor. A person working under the supervision of a tradesman licensed in the specialty being performed is not themselves subject to licensure, and a licensee in one specialty need not hold another specialty’s license for work incidental to their own. What the journeyman credential does not do is equally plain: it does not license a firm. Contractor licenses are issued to business entities, not individuals, and the journeyman license alone neither is a contractor license nor qualifies a firm’s HVAC classification.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Virginia Journeyman HVAC Tradesman: the individual journeyman tradesman license in the HVAC specialty |
| Regulator | Board for Contractors, Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), under 18VAC50-30 |
| Examination vendor | PSI Services LLC — PSI Individual License and Certification Candidate Information Bulletin, copyright 2026, dated July 23, 2026 |
| Portion | The shared Journeyman/Master HVAC portion: 85 items, 210 minutes, open book |
| Passing score | 60 of 85 — a raw count of correct answers, as the bulletin publishes it |
| Tested code | International Mechanical Code, 2021 edition, in its national edition |
| Board step first | The Board approves all applications for testing before a candidate schedules with PSI |
| Credential term | Three years; renewal carries 3 hours of continuing education for the HVAC designation |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with DPOR, the Board for Contractors, or PSI |
One portion, two levels: how the shared form works
The single most useful fact about this examination is that there is one Journeyman/Master HVAC portion, not two examinations. Journeyman candidates and Master candidates sit the same 85 items in the same 210 minutes, under the same open-book rules, from the same reference list and the same content outline. What separates the levels on examination day is the passing score the bulletin sets for each level — and the eligibility the Board has approved before the candidate ever reaches PSI. Candidates preparing at journeyman level should therefore study the whole portion as published, not a shortened version of it: the paper in front of a journeyman candidate is the full shared paper.
The portion carries a regulatory block alongside its trade content. Ten of the 85 items address the tradesman regulations themselves — standards of practice, standards of conduct, renewal and reinstatement, definitions, qualification for licensure, and revocation of licensure — keyed to 18VAC50-30. The remaining items distribute across warm air heating, ventilation, air conditioning, duct systems, chimneys and vents, boilers, hot water piping, combustion air, controls, fuel oil piping and storage, insulation, commercial kitchen venting, refrigerants and their piping, chilled and condenser water piping, and firestopping. A candidate who prepares only trade technique and skips the regulation block leaves a tenth of the paper unstudied.
Board approval comes first
Virginia does not run a direct-to-PSI route. Candidates must have satisfactorily completed all Board education and experience requirements before applying for the examination; the Board approves all applications for testing and sends the approval notification, and only then does scheduling with PSI begin. The eligibility file is the first examination hurdle, and it is cleared at the Board, not at the test centre.
Every tradesman applicant must be at least 18 years old, document identification, vocational training, and experience, comply with the Board’s examination-conduct rules, provide an address of record, and disclose any felony or non-marijuana misdemeanor conviction in any jurisdiction and any action by any licensing body in any jurisdiction. An incomplete application process lapses after 12 months. Experience is verified by reference letters from building officials, inspectors, employers, contractors, engineers, architects, or clients, and education by a transcript or diploma copy.
The journeyman ladder: training against experience
Eligibility for the journeyman examination is set by the table at 18VAC50-30-39, which trades formal vocational training against practical experience in fixed combinations. A candidate qualifies through any one of these routes: a bachelor’s degree in a trade-related engineering curriculum plus 1 year of practical experience; an associate degree or a certificate of completion from at least a two-year tradesman-related program plus 2 years; 240 hours of formal vocational training plus 4 years; 160 hours plus 5 years; 80 hours plus 6 years; 40 hours plus 7 years; or no formal training plus 8 years. Up to 40 hours of Board-approved continuing education may count toward formal vocational training. This table, and only this table, states the current journeyman ladder — older application material quoting a repealed regulation states different combinations and should not be relied on.
One live exemption stands beside the ladder: completers of an approved apprenticeship program — approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement — are exempt from the journeyman examination. Substantially equivalent out-of-state licensure obtained through a substantially equivalent examination is recognised, and an out-of-state journeyman or master holder may instead sit for the Virginia examination at the same level.
Tested code and adopted code: two layers, kept separate
Candidates are tested on the International Mechanical Code, 2021 edition, in its national edition. The current bulletin lists the IMC 2021 outright for this portion, together with Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 22nd edition, and — for all tradesman examinations — the tradesman regulations at 18VAC50-30, which supply the regulatory block. No Virginia code volume and no Uniform Statewide Building Code volume appears on the reference list for this portion, and there is no separate Virginia-amendments reference: Virginia amendments to the mechanical code do not change tradesman examination answers.
The adopted layer is a different body of law and must not be merged with the tested layer. In the field, Virginia work is governed by the Uniform Statewide Building Code, whose 2021 edition took effect January 18, 2024, and whose construction code incorporates the 2021 model codes, including the 2021 International Mechanical Code as referenced. Both layers therefore carry the 2021 mechanical code, but they remain distinct: the examination keys to the listed national IMC 2021, and field compliance runs through the USBC — with USBC compliance and permit and inspection duties enforced as prohibited acts long after the sitting ends.
One reference question this page deliberately does not settle concerns NFPA 31, the Standard for the Installation of Oil-Burning Equipment, 2011 edition. The bulletin prints an NFPA 31 entry inside the block headed for HVAC references, yet the parenthetical tags attached to entries in that block name a different trade, and the placement and the tags point in opposite directions. Whether NFPA 31 is an allowed or required reference for the Journeyman/Master HVAC portion is therefore unresolved in the sources this package is built from, and this page records the conflict rather than resolving it in either direction. Candidates should confirm the point with PSI or DPOR before relying on it at the test centre.
The sitting itself: open book, with discipline
All Virginia tradesman examinations are open book. Candidates bring their own references — none are provided at the test site — and no study guides are permitted. References may be highlighted, underlined, and indexed before the examination, but reference materials containing writing are not allowed, a candidate may not write in references during the session, and a candidate caught doing so will have the references confiscated and be reported to the Department. Only permanent tabs are allowed; removable tabs are not. Downloaded references must be spiral-bound, hole-punched in a binder, or stapled in the left-hand corner; loose or unbound papers are not permitted. Any edition of a reference may be used as it becomes available, except that for code questions the examination is based only on the edition of the code book that is listed. Where references conflict, a legal requirement — code, law, or regulation — overrides any other reference, and a state-specific legal requirement overrides a national one.
In addition to the scored items, one to ten experimental items may be administered. They will not be scored, however they will count against examination time — so a pacing plan must assume that every item on screen consumes part of the 210 minutes, scored or not. Scheduling is online around the clock or by phone, in two delivery formats, test centre or remote proctored. Cancellation or rescheduling without forfeiting the fee requires notice two days before the scheduled date, and a voicemail or email message is not an acceptable cancellation. Candidates arrive at least 30 minutes early, present one valid, signature-bearing, government-issued photo ID whose legal names match the registration exactly, and work without handheld calculators, which are prohibited along with all electronic devices. Scores are displayed on screen at the end and a score report is emailed; a failing report includes a diagnostic report by examination type. An unsuccessful candidate cannot rebook the same day and may retest within two business days depending on space. Examination fees are not refundable or transferable and are valid for one year from payment.
Fees, stated by instrument and never merged
Two separate instruments carry the cost of this credential, paid to different parties for different things. The examination fee for the Journeyman HVAC examination is $100, paid to PSI. The Board’s license fee for an original tradesman license by examination is $150, under 18VAC50-30-90; the same schedule sets $150 for a license without examination, $110 for a card exchange, and $105 for an additional designation. Board license fees are nonrefundable, not prorated, and remain active one year from receipt. This page prints the two layers side by side and never combines them into a single total, because neither party publishes one.
Holding the license: term, renewal, and reinstatement
A tradesman license is valid for three years from the date of issuance, and HVAC tradesman licenses expire three years from the last day of the month in which they were issued. The renewal fee is $160. Renewal also requires continuing education: holders with an HVAC designation must complete 3 hours for that designation, relating to applicable building code changes, from a Board-approved provider, as a condition of renewal or reinstatement — for HVAC tradesmen, covering articles of the current edition of the building code including changes in the International Mechanical Code. Holding both the journeyman and master levels in the same trade does not double the hours owed for that trade. Failure to receive a mailed renewal notice does not relieve the duty to renew, and the Board’s date of receipt — not the postmark — determines renewal against reinstatement.
If renewal requirements are not completed within 30 days of expiration, reinstatement is required, at $210 including the $160 renewal fee. Reinstatement is available up to 24 months after expiration; after that point the individual must apply again, meet all current entry requirements, and will be deemed eligible to sit for the examination for the same category and specialty. A reinstated tradesman keeps the same license number, and practising on an expired license may be treated as unlicensed activity. There is no inactive or retired status; the former inactive provisions were repealed effective October 1, 2024.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
The shared portion, prepared as a shared portion. Because Journeyman and Master candidates face the same 85 items, this program prepares the whole published outline — the ten-item regulatory block keyed to 18VAC50-30 and the trade areas from warm air heating through firestopping, weighted as the bulletin weights them — written from scratch against primary sources, and teaches the open-book method the sitting rewards: a permanently tabbed IMC 2021, found quickly and read exactly, under a pacing plan that treats every item on screen as consuming time.
The Virginia delta, stated plainly. The program teaches the two-layer code position — national IMC 2021 tested, USBC 2021 governing the field — the raw passing score of 60 in the bulletin’s own form, the Board-approval-first sequence, and the current eligibility ladder at 18VAC50-30-39.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with DPOR, the Board for Contractors, or PSI, and this program is not a Virginia course. Completing it confers no license and no exemption; the Board alone licenses tradesmen, and candidates apply and test through the Board and PSI channels described above. The full route, outline, and study method are set out in the companion guide at /virginia-journeyman-hvac-tradesman-exam-guide/.
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Frequently asked questions
How many items are on the Journeyman HVAC examination, and how long is it?
Journeyman candidates sit the shared Journeyman/Master HVAC portion: 85 items in 210 minutes, open book, administered by PSI. One to ten additional experimental items may be administered; they are not scored but count against examination time.
What score passes the Journeyman HVAC examination?
A passing score of 60 on the 85-item portion — a raw count of correct answers, exactly as the PSI bulletin publishes it.
Which code is tested?
The International Mechanical Code, 2021 edition, in its national edition. Field work is governed separately by the Uniform Statewide Building Code, 2021 edition; the two layers are distinct even though both carry the 2021 mechanical code.
What experience and training qualify me for the journeyman examination?
Any one route in the table at 18VAC50-30-39: from a trade-related engineering bachelor’s degree plus 1 year of experience, through paired training-and-experience combinations, to no formal training plus 8 years of experience.
What does the examination cost, and what does the license cost?
They are separate instruments. The PSI examination fee for this examination is $100, paid to PSI. The Board’s original license fee by examination is $150. This package does not merge the two into a single figure.
How long does the license last, and what does renewal require?
Three years. Renewal costs $160 and requires 3 hours of Board-approved continuing education for the HVAC designation, covering applicable building code changes in the International Mechanical Code.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with DPOR or PSI?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider; the Board alone licenses tradesmen.
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.