§ 87-21. Definitions; contractors licensed by Board; examination; posting license, etc.
§ 87‑21. Definitions;contractors licensed by Board; examination; posting license, etc.
(a) Definitions. Forthe purpose of this Article:
(1) The word"plumbing" is hereby defined to be the system of pipes, fixtures,apparatus and appurtenances, installed upon the premises, or in a building, tosupply water thereto and to convey sewage or other waste therefrom.
(2) The phrase"heating, group number one" shall be deemed and held to be theheating system of a building, which requires the use of high or low pressuresteam, vapor or hot water, including all piping, ducts, and mechanicalequipment appurtenant thereto, within, adjacent to or connected with abuilding, for comfort heating.
(3) The phrase"heating, group number two" means an integral system for heating orcooling a building consisting of an assemblage of interacting componentsproducing conditioned air to raise or lower the temperature, and having amechanical refrigeration capacity in excess of fifteen tons, and whichcirculates air. Systems installed in single‑family residences areincluded under heating group number three, regardless of size. Holders of aheating group number three license who have heretofore installed systemsclassified as heating group number two systems may nevertheless service,replace, or make alterations to those installed systems until June 30, 2004.
(4) The phrase"heating, group number three" shall be deemed and held to be a directheating or cooling system of a building that raises or lowers the temperatureof the space within the building for the purpose of comfort in which electricheating elements or products of combustion exchange heat either directly withthe building supply air or indirectly through a heat exchanger using an airdistribution system of ducts and having a mechanical refrigeration capacity of15 tons or less. A heating system requiring air distribution ducts and suppliedby ground water or utilizing a coil supplied by water from a domestic hot waterheater not exceeding 150 degrees Fahrenheit requires either plumbing or heatinggroup number one license to extend piping from valved connections in thedomestic hot water system to the heating coil and requires either heating groupnumber one or heating group number three license for installation of coil, ductwork, controls, drains and related appurtenances.
(5) Any person, firm orcorporation, who for a valuable consideration, (i) installs, alters orrestores, or offers to install, alter or restore, either plumbing, heatinggroup number one, or heating group number two, or heating group number three,or (ii) lays out, fabricates, installs, alters or restores, or offers to layout, fabricate, install, alter or restore fire sprinklers, or any combinationthereof, as defined in this Article, shall be deemed and held to be engaged inthe business of plumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler contracting; provided,however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to restrict the practice ofqualified registered professional engineers. Any person who installs aplumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler system on property which at the time ofinstallation was intended for sale or to be used primarily for rental is deemedto be engaged in the business of plumbing, heating, or fire sprinklercontracting without regard to receipt of consideration, unless exemptedelsewhere in this Article.
(6) The word"contractor" is hereby defined to be a person, firm or corporationengaged in the business of plumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler contracting.
(7) The word"heating" shall be deemed and held to mean heating group number one,heating group number two, heating group number three, or any combinationthereof.
(8) Repealed by SessionLaws 1997‑298, s. 1.
(9) The word"Board" means the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating, andFire Sprinkler Contractors.
(10) The word"experience" means actual and practical work directly related to thecategory of plumbing, heating group number one, heating group number two,heating group number three, or fire sprinkler contracting, and includes relatedwork for which a license is not required.
(11) The phrase "firesprinkler" means an automatic or manual sprinkler system designed toprotect the interior or exterior of a building or structure from fire, andwhere the primary extinguishing agent is water. These systems include wet pipeand dry pipe systems, preaction systems, water spray systems, foam watersprinkler systems, foam water spray systems, nonfreeze systems, and circulatingclosed‑loop systems. These systems also include the overhead piping, combinationstandpipes, inside hose connections, thermal systems used in connection withthe sprinklers, tanks, and pumps connected to the sprinklers, and controllingvalves and devices for actuating an alarm when the system is in operation. Thissubsection shall not apply to owners of property who are building or improvingfarm outbuildings. This subsection shall not include water and standpipesystems having no connection with a fire sprinkler system. Nothing herein shallprevent licensed plumbing contractors, utility contractors, or fire sprinklercontractors from installing underground water supplies for fire sprinklersystems.
(b) Classes ofLicenses; Eligibility and Examination of Applicant; Necessity for License.
(1) In order to protectthe public health, comfort and safety, the Board shall establish two classes oflicenses: Class I covering all plumbing, heating, and fire sprinkler systemsfor all structures, and Class II covering plumbing and heating systems insingle‑family detached residential dwellings.
(2) The Board shallestablish and issue a fuel piping license for use by persons who do not possessthe required Class I or Class II plumbing or heating license, but desire toengage in the contracting or installing of fuel piping extending from anapproved fuel source at or near the premises, which piping is used or may beused to supply fuel to any systems, equipment, or appliances located inside thepremises.
TheBoard may also establish additional restricted classifications to provide for:(i) the licensing of any person, partnership, firm, or corporation desiring toengage in a specific phase of heating, plumbing, or fire sprinklingcontracting; (ii) the licensing of any person, partnership, firm, orcorporation desiring to engage in a specific phase of heating, plumbing, orfire sprinkling contracting that is an incidental part of their primarybusiness, which is a lawful business other than heating, plumbing, or firesprinkling contracting; or (iii) the licensing of persons desiring to engage incontracting and installing fuel piping from an approved fuel source on thepremises to a point inside the residence.
(3) The Board shallprescribe the standard of competence, experience and efficiency to be requiredof an applicant for license of each class, and shall give an examinationdesigned to ascertain the technical and practical knowledge of the applicantconcerning the analysis of plans and specifications, estimating costs,fundamentals of installation and design, codes, fire hazards, and relatedsubjects as these subjects pertain to plumbing, heating, or fire sprinklersystems. The examination for a fire sprinkler contractor's license shallinclude such materials as would test the competency of the applicant and whichmay include the minimum requirements of certification for Level III, subfieldof Automatic Sprinkler System Layout, National Institute for Certification ofEngineering Technologies (NICET). As a result of the examination, the Boardshall issue a certificate of license of the appropriate class in plumbing,heating, or fire sprinkler contracting, and a license shall be obtained, inaccordance with the provisions of this Article, before any person, firm orcorporation shall engage in, or offer to engage in, the business of plumbing, heating,or fire sprinkler contracting, or any combination thereof. The obtaining of alicense, as required by this Article, shall not of itself authorize thepractice of another profession or trade for which a State qualification licenseis required. Prior to taking the examination, the applicant may be required bythe Board to establish that the applicant is at least 18 years of age and is ofgood moral character. The Board may require experience as a condition ofexamination, provided that (i) the experience required may not exceed twoyears, (ii) that up to one‑half the experience may be in the form ofacademic or technical courses of study, and (iii) that registration is notrequired at the commencement of the period of experience.
(4) Conditions of examinationset by the Board shall be uniformly applied to each applicant within eachlicense classification. It is the purpose and intent of this section that theBoard shall provide an examination for plumbing, heating group number one, orheating group number two, or heating group number three, or each restrictedclassification, and may provide an examination for fire sprinkler contractingor may accept a current certification of the National Institute forCertification in Engineering Technologies for Fire Protection EngineeringTechnician, Level III, subfield of Automatic Sprinkler System Layout.
(5) The Board isauthorized to issue a certificate of license limited to either plumbing orheating group number one, or heating group number two, or heating group numberthree, or fire sprinkler contracting, or any combination thereof. The Board isalso authorized to issue a certificate of license limited to one or morerestricted classifications that are established pursuant to this section.
(6) Examinations shallbe given at least twice each year, and additional examinations may be given asthe Board deems wise and necessary. The examination shall be conducted in twoparts to include a business and law portion and a technical portion. Requestsfor examination applications and information shall be made available onlinewithout charge and supplied at no cost to the potential examinee. The Board mayoffer written examinations or administer examinations by computer within 30days after approving an application. Applicants shall be permitted to obtainthe test score from each part of computerized examinations immediately uponcompletion of the examination. Upon passing the examination and paying theannual license fee, the applicant shall be issued a license. A person who failsto pass any examination shall not be reexamined until after 90 days from thedate the person was last examined. An applicant who fails to pass anyexamination may take the failed portion within six months of the date approvedto take the examination without retaking the portion passed. The Board mayrequire applicants who fail any part of the examination three times to receiveadditional education before the applicant is allowed to retake the examinationor wait one year before retaking any portion of the examination.
(c) To Whom ArticleApplies. The provisions of this Article shall apply to all persons, firms, orcorporations who engage in, or attempt to engage in, the business of plumbing,heating, or fire sprinkler contracting, or any combination thereof as definedin this Article. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to those whomake minor repairs or minor replacements to an already installed system ofplumbing, heating or air conditioning, but shall apply to those who makerepairs, replacements, or modifications to an already installed fire sprinklersystem. Minor repairs or minor replacements within the meaning of thissubsection shall include the replacement of parts in an installed system whichdo not require any change in energy source, fuel type, or routing or sizing ofventing or piping. Parts shall include a compressor, coil, contactor, motor, orcapacitor.
(c1) Exemption. Theprovisions of this Article shall not apply to a person who performs the on‑siteassembly of a factory designed drain line system for a manufactured home, asdefined in G.S. 143‑143.9(6), if the person (i) is a licensedmanufactured home retailer, a licensed manufactured home set‑upcontractor, or a full‑time employee of either, (ii) obtains an inspectionby the local inspections department and (iii) performs the assembly accordingto the State Plumbing Code.
(c2) Exemption. Theprovisions of this Article shall not apply to electric generating facilitiesthat are subject to G.S. 62‑110.1 or that provide power sold at wholesalethat is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(d) Repealed by SessionLaws 1979, c. 834, s. 7.
(d1) Expired December 31,1991.
(e) Posting License;License Number on Contracts, etc. The current license issued in accordancewith the provisions of this Article shall be posted in the business location ofthe licensee, and its number shall appear on all proposals or contracts andrequests for permits issued by municipalities. The initial qualified licenseeon a license is the permanent possessor of the license number under which thatlicense is issued, except that a licensee, or the licensee's legal agent,personal representative, heirs or assigns, may designate in writing to theBoard a qualified licensee to whom the Board shall assign the license numberupon the payment of a ten dollar ($10.00) assignment fee. Upon such assignment,the qualified licensee becomes the permanent possessor of the assigned licensenumber. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the license number may be assigned onlyto a qualified licensee who has been employed by the initial licensee'splumbing and heating company for at least 10 years or is a lineal relative,sibling, first cousin, nephew, niece, daughter‑in‑law, son‑in‑law,brother‑in‑law, or sister‑in‑law of the initiallicensee. Each successive licensee to whom a license number is assigned underthis subsection may assign the license number in the same manner as provided inthis subsection.
(f) Repealed bySession Laws 1971, c. 768, s. 4.
(g) The Board may, inits discretion, grant to plumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler contractorslicensed by other states license of the same or equivalent classificationwithout written examination upon receipt of satisfactory proof that thequalifications of such applicants are substantially equivalent to thequalifications of holders of similar licenses in North Carolina and uponpayment of the usual license fee.
(h) Expired December31, 1993.
(i) The provisions ofthis Article shall not apply to a retailer, as defined in G.S. 105‑164.3(35),who, in the ordinary course of business, enters into a transaction with a buyerin which the retailer of a water heater sold for installation in a one‑or two‑family residential dwelling contracts with a licensee under thisArticle to provide the installation services for the water heater if the retailsales and installation contract with the buyer is signed by the buyer, theretailer, and the licensee and bears the licensee's license number andtelephone number. All installation services rendered by the licensee inconnection with any such contract must be performed in compliance with allbuilding code, permit, and inspection requirements.
(j) The provisions ofthis Article shall not apply to a person primarily engaged in the retail saleof goods and services who contracts for or arranges financing for the sale andinstallation of a single‑family residential heating or cooling system forwhich a license to install such system is required under this Article, providedall of the following requirements are met:
(1) No contract orproposal for sale or installation may be presented to or signed by the buyerunless either (i) the specifications for and design of the system have beenfirst reviewed and approved by an employee of the retail seller who is licensedunder this Article or (ii) the specifications for and design of the system havebeen first reviewed and approved by the person licensed under this Article whowill install the system, if the installer is not an employee of the retailseller. This subdivision does not prohibit the retailer from providing awritten estimate to a potential buyer so long as no contract or proposal forcontract is presented or signed prior to the review and approval required bythis subsection.
(2) The personinstalling the system is licensed under this Article.
(3) The contract forsale and for installation is signed by the buyer, by an authorizedrepresentative of the retail seller, and by the licensed contractor andcontains the contractor's name, license number, and telephone number and thelicense number of the person approving the system design specifications.
(4) Installationservices are performed in compliance with all applicable building codes,manufacturer's installation instructions, and permit and inspectionrequirements.
(5) The retailerprovides, in addition to any other warranties it may offer with respect to thesystem itself, a warranty for a period of at least one year for any defects ininstallation.
(k) The provisions ofsubsections (i) and (j) of this section shall not apply to a system meeting thedefinition of subdivision (a)(11) of this section. (1931, c. 52, s. 6; 1939, c.224, s. 3; 1951, c. 953, ss. 1, 2; 1953, c. 254, s. 2; 1967, c. 770, ss. 1‑6;1971, c. 768, ss. 2‑4; 1973, c. 1204; 1979, c. 834, ss. 4‑7; 1981,c. 332, s. 1; 1983, c. 569, ss. 1, 2; 1989, c. 623, s. 1; 1989 (Reg. Sess.,1990), c. 842, s. 3; c. 978, s. 2; 1991, c. 355, s. 1; c. 507, s. 1; c. 761, s.13; 1993, c. 78, s. 1; 1997‑298, s. 1; 1997‑382, ss. 1, 4; 2001‑270,s. 2; 2002‑159, s. 36(a); 2003‑2, s. 1; 2003‑31, ss. 1‑3.1;2004‑203, s. 69; 2005‑131, s. 1; 2005‑289, s. 3.)