HVAC licensing in Delaware

Delaware's ladder is MASTER-ONLY — no journeyman card exists to bring, and supervised workers are exempt by statute ('an apprentice, journeyman, mechanic or other person providing such services under the supervision of a master HVACR licensee', 24 Del. C. ch. 18). If you are an experienced tech who wants your OWN Delaware master license, Delaware runs one of the packet's true any-state doors: current good-standing licensure from any state, DC or territory transfers when that jurisdiction's standards are SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR — and where they are not, seven years of post-licensure practice bridges the gap.

Maryland's board also names Delaware as a reciprocal partner at master level.

Nothing pending for a supervised worker — the exemption is the permission. For a master application under the substantial-similarity or seven-year route, no interim-practice provision was established.

The exam sits at the MASTER level, with two routes in: a federal-standards apprenticeship plus two years under a master, or seven years under a master followed by the exam. Everyone below the master works exempt. Your personal floor is EPA 608.

No apprentice license — apprentices are named in the exemption itself and work under the master's supervision with no card. The apprenticeship route (federal standards) is one of the two paths to master later.

Not applicable — the Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners regime is statewide.

The cleanest master-only model in the packet: the MASTER HVACR licensee anchors the operation — and the license text includes GAS PIPING, so one credential covers the fuel side too. Everyone below works statutorily exempt under supervision. The trap is working UNSUPERVISED or contracting directly: outside the master's supervision, the exemption is gone and the master requirement is yours.