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If you are interested in working as a packaged equipment contractor in South Carolina, you must obtain a mechanical contractor license with a packaged equipment subclassification. Before you bid on or perform any packaged equipment work, this license must be in hand.

What Does the Packaged Equipment Subclassification Mean?

This subclassification on your license will allow you to replace, alter, install, or repair air conditioning equipment and systems. These systems contain numerous parts that are necessary to produce conditioned air; that is, air that is either heated or cooled (or both) within an environment or building. 

It’s important to know that this subclassification does not include the lawful ability to install, replace, alter, or repair hot water heaters, steam heating systems, or parts. It’s also important to know that licenses are split into groups according to various financial limits per job and per bid:

• Group 1 limit: $17,500
• Group 2 limit: $50,000
• Group 3 limit: $100,000
• Group 4 limit: $200,000
• Group 5 limit: Unlimited

You must apply for a license that fits into one of the groups above and follow the applicable job cost/bid limits. For example, if you hold a Group 3 license, you can work on only projects that cost up to $100,000. 

These groups also affect the financial qualifications you’ll need to meet in order to obtain a South Carolina Packaged Equipment Contractor License. Contractors in Group 1 and Group 2 can submit self-prepared balance sheets that show that they have surety bonds of $3,500–$20,000. 

If you have a Group 3 or Group 4 license, you’ll need to have a PA or CPA prepare your GAAP financial statement. The statement must verify that you have a surety bond of $20,000–$80,000. If you have a Group 5 license, you will need a CPA-audited financial statement that shows you have a surety bond of $200,000–$400,000.

In addition to the financial requirements, you must pass two state-administered examinations and provide proof of experience to obtain this license in South Carolina. 

Your experience must be at least two years of verifiable work that was done on a full-time basis as hands-on experience. It also must have occurred within the preceding five years, but note that only commercial work will be accepted as valid.

Tests for the South Carolina Packaged Equipment Contractor License

The two exams that a professional must pass to become a licensed packaged equipment contractor are the Packaged Equipment Contractor Exam and the NASCLA Business Management & Law Exam.

The trade exam has 80 questions on it, and you must answer at least 56 of them correctly to pass. You are allotted four hours to finish it, and it is an open-book exam. 

The business exam has 50 questions, and 35 must be answered correctly for you to pass. It’s an open-book exam that you will have 125 minutes to complete. 

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