Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 28-27 - Mechanical Trades
Section 28-27-28. - Practices for which a license is required.

§ 28-27-28. Practices for which a license is required.
(a) A license is required for the installation, repair, replacement, servicing, maintenance, and alteration of:
(1) Any devices or accessories for what is normally considered heating/cooling equipment, air distribution equipment, duct work, process piping, power piping, pipefitting, and fire protection sprinkler with no reference to the plumbing industry; and
(2) Vacuum and pneumatic systems, oil and petroleum products, ice making machinery, refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, and piping systems used for the conveyance and storage of liquids, solids, and industrial type gases as per § 28-27-1, and vacuum piping used for domestic vacuum cleaning systems and natural or manufactured gas piping used for emergency electric generators. Heating piping system does not mean or include, and nothing in the regulation shall be held or construed to have any application to, the installation or servicing as detailed of factory manufactured domestic plug-in units or other package assemblies not requiring special wiring over and above the normal #5 AWG wire used in domestic two hundred twenty (220) volt household duplex receptacles for sixteen (16) AMP branch circuits with two (2) or three (3) outlets, field hook up or checking by qualified licensed pipefitters/refrigeration technicians. “Servicing” as defined for these units means the seasonal filter changes or general cleaning, and shall be made obvious to the consumer by clearly printing on the work order or bills that the consumer is not paying for state licensed masters or journeypersons doing mechanical service work. Commercial applications of domestic units shall be regulated pursuant to § 28-27-1.
(b) A license is required for any of the following work when, and only when, carried out within a building or structure, or within five feet (5′) of the outer wall of a building or structure: the installation, repair, replacement, alteration, or maintenance of fire protection apparatus within a structure, standpipes that are not connected to sprinkler systems, also including the layout, onsite fabrication, installation, alteration, or repair of any automatic or manual sprinkler system designed for the protection of the interior or exterior of a building or structure from fire, also any piping or tubing and appurtenances and equipment pertaining to the system including overhead and underground water mains, fire hydrants and hydrant mains, standpipes and hose connections to sprinkler systems, sprinkler tank heaters, air lines and thermal systems used in connection with sprinkler and alarm systems, or special hazard systems including water sprays, foam, carbon dioxide or dry chemical systems, halon and other liquid or gas fire suppression systems, and excluding any engineering design work connected with the layout of fire protection sprinkler systems.
(c) A license is required for sheet metal work, which is defined as the manufacturing, fabrication, assembling, handling, erection, installation, dismantling, conditioning, adjustment, alteration, repairing, and servicing of all ferrous or nonferrous metal work and all other materials in lieu thereof and air-handling systems regardless of the material used, including specifically: The handling, fabrication, setting, installation, assembling, dismantling, adjustment, alteration, reconditioning, repairing of all duct work, installation of fans, sheaves, belt guards, dampers, louvers, screens, registers, grills, diffusers, sound traps, attenuators, mixing boxes, access doors to air-handling systems, breaching, hoods and all appurtenances relating to HVAC and exhaust systems and the testing, adjusting, and balancing of all air-handling equipment and duct work. Holders of the NEBB (National Environmental Balancing Bureau), AABC (Associated Air Balancing Council) or a TABB (Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau) certificate are exempt for the purposes of testing and balancing HVAC systems.
History of Section.P.L. 1990, ch. 102, § 2; P.L. 1999, ch. 330, § 1; P.L. 1999, ch. 437, § 1; P.L. 2002, ch. 380, § 2; P.L. 2004, ch. 135, § 2; P.L. 2004, ch. 174, § 2.

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