What to verify, by trade and state.
My Trade Talent's credential check lists what to verify before you hire in any of 20 commercial trades: 69 national credentials with their issuing bodies, the offer risks for the trade, and the state licensing entry where our research covers that state, each linked to its primary source.
Licensing rules change. Every line links its source; re-read it before relying on an entry.
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About the credential check.
How do I check a tradesperson's credentials before making an offer?
My Trade Talent's credential check lists what to verify before you hire in any of 20 commercial trades: 69 national credentials with their issuing bodies, the offer risks for the trade, and the state licensing entry where our research covers that state, each linked to its primary source. Pick the trade and the state, print the list, and initial each line as you verify it with the issuer.
How do I verify a fire alarm technician's NICET certification before making an offer?
Confirm the program as well as the level, and confirm the certification is held rather than the exam passed. NICET runs five fire protection programs and they do not share a scale, so the phrase identifies nothing on its own. Fire Alarm Systems has four levels; Inspection and Testing of Fire Alarm Systems has two, which makes its Level II the top of that program rather than the middle; Inspection and Testing of Water-Based Systems has three. The requisition returns inspection technicians when it wanted a designer, and designers when it wanted someone to run an inspection route. They are different things, and some state licensing accepts the first. NICET reviews work experience only after the exam is passed, and certification is issued on the full package rather than the score. A candidate can hold a licence that required the NICET test and not hold the NICET certification the requisition asked for. Ask which one the offer is conditioned on before it goes out.
How do I verify an HVAC technician's EPA 608 certification?
Ask which type, then ask for the card or the certifying proctor. EPA does not require a technician to carry the card while servicing appliances, so plenty of long-serving technicians do not have one to hand. What they must do is keep a copy at their place of business, and for three years after they stop working as a technician. An offer conditioned on producing it can sit for weeks while a duplicate is chased through whichever proctor certified them, sometimes twenty years ago.
What licence does a commercial pest control technician need in my state?
Pest control licensing is set state by state. My Trade Talent's credential check carries an entry for 39 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin), each naming the agency and linking its source. For any other state, check with that state's pesticide regulator.
Which states does the credential check cover?
National credentials cover all 20 trades. State licensing entries cover 7 trades (Masonry & Concrete, Physical Security, Insulation, Commercial Pest Control, Elevator Maintenance, LED & Solar and Commercial Irrigation), plus fire sprinkler and alarm licensing in 12 states. Where a state is not covered the page says so rather than guessing.
Longer reads: the NICET certification guide, fire protection licensing by state and the EPA 608 guide.
