Washington’s 06A certificate — formally the HVAC/refrigeration system certificate (06A) — is a specialty electrician certificate of competency issued by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) under RCW 19.28 and WAC 296-46B. It is an electrical certificate whose specialty scope is heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration work, examined by PSI in two sections that must each be passed. The PassProfessor Washington 06A HVAC/R Specialty program prepares candidates for that examination and the Washington rules layered on it. The full companion is the Washington 06A HVAC/R Specialty Exam Guide.
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What this credential is — and what it is not
The 06A belongs to Washington’s electrical family, and that placement is the first fact a candidate must hold correctly. L&I states the governing principle plainly: to work in the electrical construction trade in Washington, you must have a valid electrician certificate issued by L&I. The 06A is one of fourteen specialty categories inside that family — a certified specialty electrician whose work is performed within heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
Washington has no HVAC contractor license and no mechanical license of this kind, and no examination for either exists in the sources that govern this credential. Competency for the electrical side of HVAC and refrigeration work runs through the electrical specialties — 06A and its restricted sibling, the 06B — and the general journey level certificate above them. Presenting the 06A as a contractor credential, or as authority for mechanical work in itself, misreads the structure. Its scope, stated in WAC 296-46B-920, is an electrical scope: wiring, components, controls and connections for HVAC and refrigeration systems.
Within that scope, 06A is the full specialty. The rule states its defining position in one sentence: the (06A) specialty is not limited by voltage, phase, or amperage. This program is therefore led by the full specialty itself — its examination weight, its 4,000-hour gate, and its breadth inside the equipment.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Washington 06A HVAC/R Specialty: the HVAC/refrigeration system certificate (06A) |
| Regulator | Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), Electrical Program, under RCW 19.28 and WAC 296-46B |
| Examination vendor | PSI Services LLC, under contract to L&I; L&I approval and an Exam Unique ID required before scheduling |
| Examination structure | Two sections on the same day: NEC & Theory — 50 questions, 3 hours; Washington Code — 20 questions, 1 hour; 70 questions, 4 hours, plus 10 unscored experimental questions |
| Passing standard | Each section must be passed independently — see the verbatim forms below |
| Book policy | Open book |
| Tested code layer | 2020 National Electrical Code, plus the current RCW 19.28 and WAC 296-46B |
| Adopted field layer | 2023 National Electrical Code under WAC 296-46B-010 — separate from the tested edition |
| Experience gate | 4,000 hours in the specialty, for both examination eligibility and certification |
| Credential term | Three-year renewal cycle |
| Renewal education | 24 hours of continuing education per cycle (8 / 4 / 12 split — see renewal section) |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Washington Department of Labor and Industries |
The passing standard, in its published forms
Washington publishes this standard in two forms, and this program states it only in those forms. The PSI bulletin states: “You must score 70% to pass.” L&I states the operative per-section form: “You must pass each section of the examination with a score of 70% or greater.”
Read together, the two forms mean one thing candidates must not soften: each section must pass on its own. A strong NEC & Theory section does not carry a short Washington Code section, or the reverse. The sitting is two pass decisions inside one appointment, and preparation that treats the 70 questions as a single blended paper misjudges how the result is decided.
Two sections, two different kinds of knowledge
The NEC & Theory section carries 50 questions in 3 hours. Its largest knowledge areas in the bulletin outline for the Electrician column are General Trade Knowledge & Theory, at 10 questions, and the area covering NEC Articles 430 through 450 — motors, HVAC, generators and transformers — at 8, followed by wiring methods under NEC Articles 300 through 398 at 6, and the NEC 240 and NEC 250 areas at 5 each. The bulletin notes that the count in any individual area is approximate. Theory questions are general, drawn from general copyrighted electrical publications, and may include general mathematics and theory computation.
The Washington Code section carries 20 questions in 1 hour and examines the current RCW 19.28 and WAC 296-46B — the statute and rule that create the certificate and define its scope. The bulletin states the basis directly: all law, rule and code questions are based on the current RCW 19.28 and WAC 296-46B, and the 2020 National Electrical Code. In addition, 10 experimental questions may be administered, unscored and unmarked.
Open book, with rules of its own
All examinations in this program are open book. PSI states the position directly: “All examinations are open book.” L&I’s bring-list names the National Electrical Code book in its 2020 edition, printed copies of Chapter 19.28 RCW and Chapter 296-46B WAC in a three-ring binder, and any original copyrighted material — examples include Ugly’s, Ferm’s Fast Finder and Soares Grounding. A silent, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator is permitted.
Open book does not mean unregulated. Permanent index tabs, highlighting and underlining are allowed; handwritten notes and removable or sticky tabs are not. Materials carrying unacceptable notations are not allowed into the examination and may be confiscated. Books must therefore be prepared before the sitting, and familiar enough that a reference can be found inside the time a section allows.
Tested edition and adopted edition: two layers that must stay separate
The examination tests the 2020 National Electrical Code. That tested layer governs preparation for the sitting.
Field installations answer to a different layer. WAC 296-46B-010 adopts the 2023 edition of the National Electrical Code, effective April 1, 2024, and already states that, effective December 31, 2026, the 2026 edition is adopted and replaces the 2023 edition. Tested NEC 2020 is therefore not adopted NEC 2023, and neither is it the NEC 2026 arriving at the end of 2026. Studying the adopted edition for the sitting merges two layers Washington keeps apart — as does carrying the tested edition into field judgement after certification.
A third layer belongs to the field alone: Chapter 51-52 WAC adopts the 2021 International Mechanical Code with Washington amendments, effective statewide March 15, 2024. It is not an 06A examination reference and appears here only as the field setting of the work.
The 4,000-hour gate
Eligibility is set by WAC 296-46B-945. An applicant must hold a current electrical training certificate, must have worked for an employer employing an appropriate certified electrician, and must show 4,000 hours of work experience under the direct supervision of an appropriate electrician in the specialty. For 06A, the same 4,000 hours serves both purposes in the rule’s table — examination eligibility and certification. There is no earlier sitting point.
Classroom instruction stands beside the hours: because 4,000 hours is required, the applicant falls in the band requiring 48 hours of basic classroom instruction, which L&I states must be completed before the trainee can renew or qualify for examination. Applicants must be at least 16, and no more than half of the minimum experience may come from a training school program. The rule also provides an alternative route through an appropriate two-year registered apprenticeship program.
While training, the trainee must be supervised by a specialty electrician certified for the kind of work being done, or by a journey level electrician, a minimum of 75 percent of the time; this specialty is not eligible for unsupervised-trainee status.
Scope: what the full specialty may do, and where its fence runs
Inside HVAC and refrigeration work, the 06A may install, repair, replace and maintain the electrical work the rule lists: Class 2 low-voltage control circuit wiring and components in all residential occupancies, and in other occupancies under the story and previously-wired conditions the rule states; line voltage components within the equipment, including product-illumination luminaires inside refrigeration cases and factory-authorised accessories; internal components of the equipment disconnecting means or controller, if not located in a motor control centre or panelboard; short sections of raceway for physical protection of low-voltage cables; line-voltage flexible supply whips not over six feet; and the gas-piping bonding item the rule names. Replacements must be like-in-kind or the manufacturer’s authorised replacement.
The fence is equally specific. The specialty may not install line voltage controllers or disconnect switches external to the equipment, apart from a narrow exception for a like-in-kind surface-mounted disconnect enclosure rated not more than 20 amperes and 120 volts, with up to ten feet of protective raceway and no termination in a panelboard. It may not install integrated building control systems other than HVAC and refrigeration systems; stand-alone line voltage equipment such as heat cable, wall or baseboard heaters, contactors and motor starters, unless exclusively controlled by and integrally connected to the system; building-lighting luminaires; raceway or conduit systems; line voltage service, feeder or branch circuit conductors, apart from a narrow supplementary-device exception where the devices are within sight of each other; panelboards, switchboards or motor control centres external to the system; or classified-location wiring under NEC Articles 500 through 516 outside the equipment. No unsupervised trainee may work on any part of a system containing any circuit rated over 600 volts.
Above the specialty sits the general journey level (01) certificate; below it, the trainee certificate is the entry instrument. The restricted sibling, the 06B, is a separate certificate with its own examination and ceiling; hours earned toward it may be credited toward this specialty, as the guide describes.
Fees, kept by instrument
The examination fee is paid to PSI, which charges per hour on a published scale from $45.00 for one hour to $105.00 for seven hours. The 06A examination totals four hours — the $75.00 row. Registration fees are not refundable or transferable, and retests are billed per hour for the sections retaken. L&I states the separation directly: fees paid to PSI are in addition to any application fees paid to L&I.
The application fee is paid to L&I. Under WAC 296-46B-909, the journey level, specialty or reciprocal electrician application — including the original certificate and processing — is $114.60, of which $44.20 is nonrefundable after submission. Renewal is $106.40 in person, by mail or by fax, and $92.60 fully online; late renewal is $212.90 or $185.30 on the same split. A department-administered examination fee exists for examinations the department itself administers; PSI administers this one, so that figure is not this program’s fee.
Sitting, results and retakes
Candidates must first be approved by L&I, which sends an eligibility notice carrying an Exam Unique ID used to register with PSI. The examination is computer-administered at PSI centres in Washington and at other locations across the United States, and the score appears on screen immediately.
A candidate has one year from the approval letter date to pass all sections; passed sections carry only within that period, and the first attempt must consist of all sections. At least 14 days must pass between attempts; after failing any section three times within a year, 90 days must pass between further attempts. Results may be challenged in writing to the Chief Electrical Inspector within 20 days, under WAC 296-46B-960.
Staying certified: the three-year cycle and its 24 hours
The certificate renews on a three-year cycle, with 24 hours of continuing education in the cycle: 8 hours on currently adopted NEC changes, 4 hours on Chapter 19.28 RCW and related Chapter 296-46B WAC, and 12 hours in any other approved course. The same class may not be taken twice for credit.
One detail deserves attention: the code-update hours key to the currently adopted NEC — the 2023 edition in the verified position — not to the tested NEC 2020. The holder works in both layers throughout: examined on one edition, kept current on the adopted one.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
The full specialty, taught at full breadth. Because the 06A carries no voltage, phase or amperage ceiling inside its specialty, this program prepares candidates across the whole range the certificate reaches: the NEC & Theory section at its published weight, with sustained attention to general trade knowledge and theory and to the motors, HVAC, generators and transformers area; and the Washington Code section taught as the working law of the certificate.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with L&I or PSI, and this program is not a Washington course. Completing it confers no certificate and no eligibility; L&I alone certifies electricians.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Washington 06A HVAC/R Specialty program is in the works as part of our catalog, 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. For the complete account, read the Washington 06A HVAC/R Specialty Exam Guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Washington 06A an HVAC contractor license?
No. The 06A is a specialty electrician certificate of competency issued by L&I. Washington has no HVAC contractor license or mechanical license of this kind in this framework, and no examination for one.
How is the examination structured?
Two sections on the same day: NEC & Theory, 50 questions in 3 hours, and Washington Code (RCW & WAC), 20 questions in 1 hour — 70 questions, 4 hours in total. Ten experimental questions may also be administered, unscored and outside the examination time. L&I approves candidates first; PSI administers the examination under contract to L&I.
What score passes?
The bulletin states: “You must score 70% to pass.” L&I states: “You must pass each section of the examination with a score of 70% or greater.” Each section must reach it independently.
How much experience does the 06A require?
4,000 hours of specialty work experience under the direct supervision of an appropriate electrician — the same figure for examination eligibility and for certification — plus 48 hours of basic classroom instruction.
What may an 06A holder work on?
Electrical work within HVAC and refrigeration systems, without limit by voltage, phase or amperage inside the specialty: in-equipment line voltage components, Class 2 low-voltage control wiring under the rule’s occupancy conditions, internal disconnect and controller components, short protective raceway sections, and supply whips not over six feet — subject to the rule’s stated bars.
What do the examination and the certificate cost?
Two separate instruments. PSI charges $75.00 for the four-hour examination. L&I’s application, including the original certificate and processing, is $114.60. Renewal is $106.40 on paper or $92.60 fully online. No combined total is a fee. Renewal runs on a three-year cycle with 24 hours of continuing education (8 / 4 / 12, as the table above states).
When does enrollment open?
The program is in the works; enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write when the program is ready — only about this program.