Virginia Tradesman Continuing Education
#1 Above (At Your Pace Online) is your trusted DPOR approved continuing education provider to obtain your electrician, plumber, HVAC technician and gas fitter training. Our DPOR Provider ID is 2730000291.
Complete your continuing education to renew your Virigina tradesman license today. All of our courses can be completed At Your Pace Online to help you meet the state's requirements to maintain your license. Once you finish your class, we'll give you an official certificate of completion to save for your records, and we will report your course completion to the state for you.
VA Electrician CE - 3 Hour 2017 NEC Chapters 1 and 3
3h course
This 3 hour course provides an update to Chapters 1 and 3 of the 2017 NEC, and meets the Virginia State requirements for the full 3 hours of continuing education needed every three years.
2018 IMC Update Part 1
3h course
This course will review and highlight essential code requirements of the first five chapters in the 2018 International Mechanical Code. Included in the review will be specific examples of the life safety systems relating to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and exhaust systems. Changes from the previous version of the IMC will be highlighted in the question commentary where appropriate.
This course is intended for HVAC technicians.
VA 2018 IPC Plumbing CE
3h course
This class fulfills 3 hours of continuing education required by the State of Virginia for journeyman or master plumbing licensees. It covers updates to the International Plumbing Code (IMC) for the 2015-2018 code cycle. It will cover a variety of important changes to the chapter introductions, the code itself, and updates to referenced standards.
VA 2018 IFGC Gas Fitter CE
1h course
This one-hour overview of the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code and survey of the significant changes to the 2018 IFGC fulfills Virginia's requirement that gas fitters complete 1 hour of CE on current code.
CE Requirements to Renew a Virginia Tradesman License
It’s not enough to just get your Virginia tradesman license. Even after you accrue the required experience, submit your license application, and pass the exam, you still need to keep working with the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) to maintain your license.
Specifically, that means renewing your license on a regular basis. Electricians, gas fitters, HVAC tradesmen, and plumbers need to renew every three years. All other tradesmen need to renew every two years.
Luckily, renewing your tradesman license is pretty easy (check out our guide here). It basically just means submitting a form and paying the renewal fee. But there’s one key thing all Virginia tradesmen need to do before they can renew: take continuing education.
So, yes, Virginia tradesmen need continuing education if they have an active license. But the number of hours you need depends entirely on the license type you have. And the DPOR website isn’t overly forthcoming about the number of hours you need.
That means you can either read the state code — or read this guide. Find out how many continuing education hours you need based on your license type here.
Continuing education requirements for plumbers, HVAC workers, and electricians
State code mandates that during each renewal cycle, you need three hours of continuing education. Count yourself lucky. Some states require 30 hours or more for renewal, so a few hours isn’t so bad.
To make your life easy, you can take your continuing education online. Here are links to DPOR-approved courses that meet the three-hour requirement and focus on your specific trade:
Continuing education requirements for gas fitters
Whether you’re a liquefied petroleum gas fitter or a natural gas fitter, you’ve got it the easiest of anyone. You need just one hour of continuing education during each renewal cycle, and you can take it online.
Continuing education requirements for other tradesmen
If you have a tradesman license but you’re not in any of the above categories, it’s fairly safe to assume that you need eight hours of continuing education (although you can certainly read the relevant code to confirm). That means the following license types need a full workday’s worth of continuing education:
- Elevator mechanics
- Accessibility mechanics
- Water well systems providers
- Automatic fire sprinkler inspectors
General continuing education requirements
The required hours we outlined above are true whether you have a master or journeyman license.
Tradesmen can’t just pop into any classroom for the hours they need. The DPOR requires you to take your continuing education with a provider they approve.
What’s more, your hours need to relate to the applicable building code. Here’s a quick list of the code your hours should hit based on your license type:
- Electricians: National Electrical Code
- Plumbers: International Plumbing Code
- HVAC workers: International Mechanical Code
- Gas fitters: International Fuel Gas Code
- Elevator mechanics and accessibility mechanics: Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code
- Water well systems providers: Unspecified
- Automatic fire sprinkler inspectors: Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code
Assuming you choose a provider who has the DPOR’s green light and you take hours that are relevant to your trade, you shouldn’t have any trouble meeting the Virginia tradesman continuing education requirements.