New Hampshire Contractor License Requirements
New Hampshire has no statewide general-contractor license — the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) boards list contains no contractor board, and building permits are municipal. What the state does require: an electrician license (RSA 319-C) to work with 30 volts or higher, plumber and fuel-gas fitter licenses (RSA 153:27–153:38, Mechanical Licensing Board), and NHDES asbestos rules (Env-A 1800) with a licensed contractor, a certified inspector and 10-working-day notifications. Every claim below is traced to an official source with a verification date.
01 The New Hampshire model
New Hampshire is not a licensing state for contractors: there is no statewide general-contractor license at any job size. The state licenses the individual trades and regulates asbestos abatement; every permit is local.
- No statewide GC license — verified absence — the OPLC boards list has no contractor board of any kind. (Rule NH-NO-GC-LICENSE.) S-NH-BOARDS-LIST
- Electrical work at 30 volts or higher — an active NH electrician license; apprentices must register. (Rule NH-ELECTRICIAN-LICENSE.) S-NH-ELEC-BOARD
- Plumbing and fuel-gas work — journeyman plumbers work under the direction of a master; fuel-gas fitters carry rule-level experience hours. (Rules NH-PLUMBER-LICENSE, NH-FUELGAS-EXPERIENCE.) S-NH-RSA-153-27
- Asbestos abatement — a licensed contractor and a certified inspector, with 10-working-day notifications. (Rules NH-ASBESTOS-CONTRACTOR, NH-ASBESTOS-NOTIFICATION.) S-NH-DES-ASBESTOS
No bond and no state general-liability minimum exist for New Hampshire construction (verified absences). No renewal cycle_months is claimed: no official page read states one (electrician CE is keyed to the code cycle). The electrician exam fee and the NHDES asbestos certification fees are NOT_VERIFIED; municipal permit fees are LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED.
02 Who regulates
Licenses plumbers (apprentice, journeyman under a master's direction, master as the business) and the fuel-gas fitter family (piping installer, installation/service technician, hearth technician, domestic appliance technician, trainee). Administrative rules Saf-Mec 100. Two official OPLC fee pages disagree on the amounts (CONFLICT-NH-001).
Official host of the RSA. Every statute cited in this seed was read there on 2026-10-05 through the text-extraction proxy: RSA 319-C:2 (electrician definitions), 319-C:8 (examinations), 153:27 (mechanical definitions), 153:28 (rulemaking, CE standards, fuel-gas experience hours).
Parent agency of the licensing boards. Its boards list is the verified-absence evidence that New Hampshire licenses no general contractor (no contractor, construction, roofing or home-improvement board exists in the list); its license-lookup page is the official verification route. Site returns HTTP 403 to direct fetch — read via text-extraction proxy.
Licenses Apprentice, Journeyman and Master electricians plus the High/Medium Voltage trainee and licence and the Electrical Corporation. Verbatim: 'An active and valid New Hampshire Electrician license is required to work with 30 volts or higher. Apprentices MUST register with the OPLC.' 15 hours of CE per code cycle for journeyman/master (1 hour on RSA 319-C, rules and installation concerns), filed through CE Broker.
Administers Env-A 1800 (asbestos management and control): notification at least 10 working days before a major abatement project and before demolition removing a load-bearing member, a certified asbestos inspector before a project, a state-licensed asbestos contractor when a project disturbs asbestos, and the single-family owner-occupied homeowner exemption.
03 Electricians — RSA 319-C
The board draws the line at 30 volts: below it no state license attaches; at or above it an active NH electrician license is required, and apprentices must be registered. A journeyman must be employed by a master electrician or a licensed entity (RSA 319-C:10, the Electrical Corporation); a master is the business class.
- Continuing education — 15 hours per code cycle on the changes to the latest NFPA 70, of which 1 hour covers RSA 319-C, the rules and installation concerns, filed through CE Broker; identical for the first renewal. (Rule NH-ELECTRICIAN-CE.) S-NH-ELEC-CE
- Apprentice supplement — from the fifth renewal of the apprentice card without a journeyman license, 30 hours of board-approved classroom instruction each year. (Rule NH-APPRENTICE-SUPPLEMENT.) S-NH-ELEC-CE
- Examinations — proctored, NEC content, unlimited paid retakes; a new written application and fees are required if not passed within one year. (Rule NH-ELECTRICIAN-EXAM.) S-NH-RSA-319C-8
04 Plumbers and fuel-gas fitters — RSA 153:27–153:38
The Mechanical Licensing Board licenses plumbers (a journeyman "customarily performs the work … under the direction of a master plumber"; the master is the person, firm, corporation or LLC that does plumbing work as a business) and the fuel-gas fitter family. The statutory plumbing scope ends "beyond the first fitting beyond the foundation wall of the building or 5 feet of pipe from the building."
- Fuel-gas experience standards — installation technician 1,000 hours, service technician 2,000 hours, piping installer 1,000 hours, each within a 60-month window with heating-oil credit capped at 500/750/500 hours; a trainee works under the direct supervision of a licensed fuel gas fitter. (Rule NH-FUELGAS-EXPERIENCE.) S-NH-RSA-153-28
- The plumber alternative — a NH licensed plumber may be approved by the board for piping installation via affidavit, experience, education or training in NFPA 54. (Same rule.) S-NH-RSA-153-28
05 Asbestos — NHDES Env-A 1800
Renovation and demolition on older structures can disturb asbestos-containing material. NHDES requires compliance with Env-A 1800 "even if a city or town has issued a permit": a certified asbestos inspector inspects before the project, a state licensed asbestos contractor performs work that disturbs asbestos, and notifications are due at least 10 working days in advance — the demolition notice applies "even if … the facility contains no ACM."
- Notifications — the Abatement Notification Form before any major abatement project; the Demolition Notification Form before removing any load-bearing member. (Rule NH-ASBESTOS-NOTIFICATION.) S-NH-DES-ASBESTOS
- Homeowner exemption — an owner in a single-family dwelling may conduct abatement personally while still wetting the material, minimally disturbing it and properly packaging, labelling and disposing of waste. (Rule NH-ASBESTOS-HOMEOWNER-EXEMPT.) S-NH-DES-ASBESTOS
06 License classes at a glance
'High/medium voltage power distribution system installation' means the installation, repair, alteration, and maintenance of electrical conductors, fittings, devices, fixtures, and equipment, from the source of supply to the first disconnecting means of a building or structure, for over 600 volt power distribution systems, including associated metering and controls, secondary conductor terminations and the conductors between the transformer and the point of attachment. The fee schedule carries a separate trainee class and licence class.
'Master electrician' means a person either employed by another master electrician or who, as a business, hires or employs another to do electrical work, or, without hiring another, makes electrical installations as a principal or auxiliary business for his or her own account. The master class is the licence the journeyman must be employed by (or by an entity licensed under RSA 319-C:10).
'Journeyman electrician' means a person doing work of installing electrical wires, conduits, apparatus, fixtures, and other electrical equipment. A journeyman electrician shall be employed by a New Hampshire licensed master electrician or entity licensed pursuant to RSA 319-C:10.
'Apprentice electrician' means a person who is engaged in learning and assisting in making electrical installations under the direct supervision of a master or journeyman electrician. The board adds: 'Apprentices MUST register with the OPLC.' From the fifth renewal of the apprentice card without a journeyman licence, 30 hours of board-approved classroom instruction each year are required before the card is renewed.
'Master plumber' means any person, firm, corporation, or limited liability company that, as a business, hires or employs a person or persons to do plumbing work, or, without hiring any person, does that work as a principal business or as auxiliary to a principal business for its own account.
'Journeyman plumber' means any person who customarily performs the work of installing, maintaining, and repairing plumbing and drainage under the direction of a master plumber.
'Fuel gas piping installer' means any person engaged in the installation of liquefied propane gas or natural gas piping or who is a New Hampshire licensed plumber, approved by the board through affidavit, experience, education or training in the use of NFPA 54, national fuel gas code as adopted pursuant to RSA 153:5 in the state fire code. Rule-level standard: 1,000 hours of field experience within a 60-month period relevant to the installation of gas piping (up to 500 heating-oil hours creditable).
'Domestic appliance technician' means any person engaged in the installation, servicing, and repair of liquefied propane or natural gas domestic appliances designed specifically for residential use, limited to residential clothes dryers and their venting systems, domestic stove tops, cook stoves and ranges and their venting systems, or outdoor cooking equipment and pool heaters.
NHDES: 'The owner or operator of a commercial or residential property must also hire a state licensed asbestos contractor when a project will disturb asbestos.' The licence surface is Env-A 1810 (licensing and certification for asbestos abatement); the licensed-contractor list is published by NHDES. A certified asbestos inspector must inspect the property before a project begins.
07 Fees
Every amount below comes from an official OPLC fee schedule. The electrician fees are unambiguous; the mechanical fees are conflicting — the OPLC itself publishes two schedules that disagree (CONFLICT-NH-001) — so this site encodes the board's own page (page A) and publishes page B beside it, never a third figure.
| Fee | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Electrician Apprentice — application (renewal and reinstatement alike) | $33 | S-NH-ELEC-FEES |
| Electrician Journeyman — application (renewal and reinstatement alike) | $110 | S-NH-ELEC-FEES |
| Electrician Master — application (renewal and reinstatement alike) | $198 | S-NH-ELEC-FEES |
| Electrician High/Medium Voltage Trainee — application | $66 | S-NH-ELEC-FEES |
| Electrician High/Medium Voltage — application | $198 | S-NH-ELEC-FEES |
| Electrical Corporation — application (the RSA 319-C:10 entity licence) | $137 | S-NH-ELEC-FEES |
| Journeyman Plumber — application (page A; page B says $190 initial / $180 renewal) | $198 | S-NH-MECH-FEES |
| Master Plumber — application (page A; page B says $310 initial / $300 renewal) | $330 | S-NH-MECH-FEES |
| Fuel Gas Fitter (piping installer / installation / service technician) — application (page A) | $198 | S-NH-MECH-FEES |
| Fuel Gas Fitting Trainee — application (page A) | $88 | S-NH-MECH-FEES |
| Domestic Appliance Technician — application (page A) | $176 | S-NH-MECH-FEES |
| Apprentice Plumber — application (page A; page B says $90 initial / $80 renewal) | $88 | S-NH-MECH-FEES |
- Withheld by name — the electrician exam fee, the NHDES asbestos certification fees, page B's business tiers (conflicting only), and every municipal permit fee (LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED) are NOT seeded. (Rule NH-ELECTRICIAN-FEES / NH-MECHANICAL-FEES.) S-NH-ELEC-FEESS-NH-MECH-FEES
08 What this means for your project
- May require: Master Electrician
- May require: Licensed Asbestos Abatement Contractor (NHDES)
- Alternative: Journeyman Plumber
- May require: Fuel Gas Piping Installer
- May require: Master Electrician
- May require: Journeyman Plumber
- May require: Apprentice Electrician (registered)
- May require: Licensed Asbestos Abatement Contractor (NHDES)
09 Verified absences
- No statewide contractor license — at any job size (rule NH-NO-GC-LICENSE.) S-NH-BOARDS-LIST
- No state surety bond — nothing in the statutes or fee schedules read imposes one (rule NH-NO-SURETY-BOND.)
- No solar-specific credential — nothing in the OPLC boards list; the electrician license covers the electrical work.
- No renewal cycle in months — electrician CE is keyed to the code cycle; no renewal_rule row is seeded.
10 Documented conflict
License Fees for the NH OPLC Mechanical Licensing Board verbatim: Apprentice Plumber application/renewal/reinstatement $88.00; Journeyman Plumber $198.00; Master Plumber $330.00; Fuel Gas Fitting Trainee $88.00; Piping Installer / Installation Technician / Service Technician $198.00; Hearth Installer $198.00; Domestic Appliance Technician $176.00.
License Fees for the NH OPLC Mechanical Licensing BoardLicense Fees for the NH OPLC Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board verbatim: Apprentice initial $90.00 / renewal $80.00; Journeyman Plumber initial $190.00 / renewal $180.00; Master Plumber initial $310.00 / renewal $300.00; Domestic Appliance Tech initial $170.00 / renewal $160.00; Fuel Gas Fitter initial $190.00 / renewal $180.00; Trainee initial $90.00 / renewal $80.00; upgrade $85.00; Business initial $190 (1–5) / $300 (6–20) / $460 (21+) employees.
License Fees for the NH OPLC Mechanical Safety and Licensing BoardOPEN — both pages are official OPLC fee schedules for the same licences with different amounts, and neither states an effective date that yields to the other. This seed encodes ONLY page A's amounts (the current board page under the board's own /find-board/ path) in the deterministic fee rows; page B's amounts are published beside them as the conflicting claim and are NEVER encoded — including its business tiers, which appear on no other page. Re-check the OPLC site before treating any page-B figure as current.
Analysis notes
Detected 2026-10-05 while cross-checking the two fee schedules. Handling mirrors the project's conflicting-fact pattern: encode one side, register the conflict, never invent a third figure.