HVAC Apprenticeships in New Hampshire: Programs, Requirements and How to Apply

For the apprenticeship the state's own rules describe, registration sits at the federal level: the OPLC rules and the state apprentice packet describe plumbing apprenticeships registered through the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship (Concord office), and nationally a program registers either with that federal office or with a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency acting for DOL.

Our research found no separate state registration for HVAC apprentices — you apply to the program sponsor itself.

The sponsor the research confirmed on the HVACR side is UA Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 131, covered below; employer and association routes are covered further down this page.

New Hampshire has no state HVAC or refrigeration technician licence: the OPLC Mechanical Licensing Board regulates fuel gas fitters, plumbers, a voluntary oil heating certification and business entities, and its who-we-regulate list has no HVAC or refrigeration category.

No state HVAC licence exists: New Hampshire has no HVAC or refrigeration technician licence, so an apprentice has no licence or card to hold.

What reaches HVAC work is gas: many New Hampshire HVAC technicians working on gas-fired heating equipment need a fuel gas fitter licence, and RSA 153:27-38 creates five fuel gas fitter specialties plus a trainee — hearth system installation and service technician, domestic appliance technician, fuel gas installation technician, fuel gas service technician and fuel gas piping installer.

Trainees must hold the trainee licence and work under direct supervision of a licensed fuel gas fitter sponsor; the trainee fee is $88 as of 2026-09-29.

Federally, anyone who could reasonably be expected to violate the integrity of a refrigerant circuit while maintaining, servicing, repairing or disposing of appliances containing CFC/HCFC or non-exempt substitute refrigerants needs EPA Section 608 certification; apprentices are exempt only while closely and continually supervised by a certified technician.

Plumbing, which the state does license, works differently: every plumbing apprentice must hold an apprentice card from the Mechanical Licensing Board with a USDOL-signed agreement in the application, and a plumbing licensee may employ no more than 2 apprentices.

The union program the research verified in New Hampshire is UA Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 131, whose 5-year apprenticeship covers plumbing, pipefitting, steamfitting and HVACR; applications are accepted January 1 to May 30 and classes start in September.

Nationally, the United Association says its apprenticeships are registered with DOL, typically last five years, and cover plumbing, pipefitting, HVACR, welding and fire protection — so ask the hall which HVACR intake it is currently running and what entry standards apply.

On the sheet metal side of the trade, our research did not verify a SMART local apprenticeship covering New Hampshire, so treat that route as unconfirmed and ask the international or a nearby local directly.

Our research did not verify an ABC chapter or PHCC-New Hampshire chapter apprenticeship program in New Hampshire — the chapter sites the research tried did not resolve — so treat those routes for HVAC training as unconfirmed and ask the association or the employer directly.

What the state's rules do establish about employer-based training is the trainee rule: fuel gas trainees must hold a trainee licence and work under the direct supervision of a licensed fuel gas fitter sponsor, and on the plumbing side a licensee may employ no more than 2 apprentices.

On the oil side, the state's oil heating technician certification is voluntary, with a $50 fee — the board runs it as a certification program, not a licence requirement.

The confirmed classroom layer sits on the gas side, where the board names who may teach it: board-approved fuel gas training providers include Advanced Trade School, Granite State Trade School, Heritage Training Academy, HUOT Center, Manchester Community College, Manchester School of Technology, NPGA CETP, The NH School of Mechanical Trades and UA Local Union 131, and gas fitter exams are offered through Advanced Trade School and Granite State Trade School.

The classroom minimums those licences carry are at least 100 hours for a fuel gas installation technician, 140 hours for a fuel gas service technician and 60 hours for a fuel gas piping installer.

OPLC's apprentice packet separately names Manchester School of Technology, Granite State Trade School, Advanced Trade Schools and the PHCC national online home-study course as related-instruction resources for plumbing apprentices; the packet's contact details may not be current, so confirm offerings with each provider.

For scale, the registered plumbing apprenticeship the packet describes runs 8,000 on-the-job hours plus 144 related-instruction hours a year.

Federally, an apprenticeable occupation requires at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning; terms may be time-based, competency-based or a hybrid; and 144 related-instruction hours a year is DOL's recommendation, not a requirement.

You apply to the sponsor.

For the union route, UA Local 131 accepts applications January 1 to May 30, with classes starting in September.

For the employer route, approach shops that service gas-fired heating and water-heating equipment and ask whether they train apprentices or will sponsor you as a fuel gas trainee — the trainee licence is $88 as of 2026-09-29, and trainees work under the direct supervision of a licensed fuel gas fitter sponsor.

Federally, a registered apprentice must be at least 16 unless a higher minimum age is set by law; there is no federal maximum age, and 29 CFR part 30 bars discrimination against apprentices and applicants aged 40 or older; a probationary period may not exceed 25% of the program length or 1 year, whichever is shorter; and pay follows a progressively increasing schedule tied to skill, with the entry wage not below the FLSA minimum wage where it applies.

Completion earns a certificate from the registration agency — it is not a trade licence.

Our guide to how to get an HVAC apprenticeship covers the application itself, and our HVAC apprentice pay guide covers apprentice wages.