New Hampshire License Classes and Trade Credentials
New Hampshire licenses the individual tradesperson: 9 classification rows across four credential families — the electrician license (RSA 319-C), the plumber license (RSA 153:27), the fuel-gas fitter family (RSA 153:27 + 153:28) and the NHDES licensed asbestos abatement contractor (Env-A 1800). There is no statewide contractor class: the OPLC boards list contains no contractor board.
01 Four credential families, no contractor class
- No general contractor license — verified absence — the OPLC boards list has no contractor board; building permits are municipal. (Rule NH-NO-GC-LICENSE.) S-NH-BOARDS-LIST
- Electrical is an individual license at the 30-volt line — an active NH electrician license is required to work with 30 volts or higher; apprentices must register; the journeyman is employed by a master or a licensed entity. (Rule NH-ELECTRICIAN-LICENSE.) S-NH-ELEC-BOARD
- Plumbing is an individual license — the journeyman works "under the direction of a master plumber"; the master is the business class; the statutory scope ends at the first fitting beyond the foundation wall or 5 feet of pipe. (Rule NH-PLUMBER-LICENSE.) S-NH-RSA-153-27
- Fuel gas is a family of licenses — piping installer, installation and service technicians, hearth technician, domestic appliance technician and trainee, with rule-level experience hours and the NFPA 54 plumber alternative. (Rule NH-FUELGAS-EXPERIENCE.) S-NH-RSA-153-28
- Asbestos is an NHDES certification — a state licensed asbestos contractor is required when a project disturbs asbestos; a certified inspector inspects first. (Rule NH-ASBESTOS-CONTRACTOR.) S-NH-DES-ASBESTOS
02 Electrician license — RSA 319-C (Electricians' Board)
'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.
03 Plumber license — RSA 153:27 (Mechanical Licensing Board)
'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.
04 Fuel gas fitter family — RSA 153:27 + 153:28
'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.
05 Asbestos abatement certification — NHDES Env-A 1800
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.