Alaska: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Sep 2026·Laws as cited·All 2 records checked Sep 2026
Public recordAK LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Alaska chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified Sep 2026.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Alaska?
#stove-installREGISTRATION- Credential
- Firm-level CBPL contractor registration only (bond + insurance paperwork, NO exam) — CORRECTED Sep 2026: there IS a solid-fuel category name: the SOLID FUEL APPLIANCE specialty (12 AAC 21.500) — 'a specialty contractor who installs chimney-connected solid fuel heating appliances' incl. fireplace stoves, inserts, fireplaces, chimney components (solid fuel = wood incl. pellets, and coal) — a CHIMNEY-NAMED registration trade, but registration-grade ($10,000 specialty bond, AS 08.18.071; no exam); the three-layer gas structure COLLAPSES for wood: layer 3 (certificate of fitness) does not exist for solid fuel (AS 18.62 COFs cover plumbing/gas-fitting/electrical only) and layer 2 (mechanical administrator) is textually gray — AS 08.40.490(3) keys 'mechanical administrator' to work under the IAPMO Uniform codes while Alaska's current mechanical code is the 2021 IMC via 13 AAC 50 (statute/code citation drift), and the residential heating/HVAC category scope (12 AAC 39.332) is written around 'warm air heating systems not exceeding 240,000 B.T.U./hour' + integral fuel piping, so whether a radiant freestanding stove is inside is undefined (DE-family gray, no board guidance found); NO dollar exemption from registration (CORRECTED: the '<$10,000 exemption, AS 08.18.161(8)' does not exist — .161(8) is the owner-hiring-a-registered-contractor exemption); WESTERN AXIS — THE NATION'S STRONGEST AIR-QUALITY INSTALL REGIME CREATES DIRECT INSTALLER OBLIGATIONS in the FNSB PM2.5 nonattainment area: 18 AAC 50.077(a): 'a person may not install, reinstall, sell, lease, distribute, or convey' the listed devices 'in an area identified in 18 AAC 50.015(b)(3)' (quote corrected Sep 2026) — an installer may lawfully install ONLY ADEC-approved devices (EPA-certified + ADEC-accepted test data), RE-INSTALLATION of removed devices is BANNED, non-compliant devices must be removed and RENDERED INOPERABLE at sale/lease/conveyance (25-yr age + >2.0 g/hr rule; coal heaters + outdoor cordwood hydronic heaters banned outright since 1/8/2020), compliant devices must be REGISTERED with ADEC, and the FNSB change-out program pays only for work by FNSB-LISTED installers (a de facto installer roster); NEW Sep 2026 — NFI-IN-LAW (local layer): 18 AAC 50.077(i) requires the owner/operator to ensure the device is 'properly sized and professionally installed' — for a woodstove, pellet stove or pellet-fired hydronic heater, by 'the certification criteria in The National Fireplace Institute Policy Handbook' (adopted by reference) 'or demonstrate equivalent training and qualification approved by the department' (masonry heaters: MHA criteria) — applies in the FNSB nonattainment area per DEC; CODE: 2021 IMC ch. 9 (Alaska Mechanical Code, 13 AAC 50) in fire-marshal jurisdiction; residential enforcement lives in deferred cities (Anchorage/Fairbanks/Juneau); rural bush = no permits
- Issuing body
- AK DCCED CBPL (registration); AK DEC Division of Air Quality (FNSB NAA device approval + registration); FNSB (change-out installer list); deferred-city building departments
- Statute
- AS 08.18.011, 08.18.071, 08.18.161; 12 AAC 21.500 (Solid Fuel Appliance specialty); AS 08.40.490(3); 12 AAC 39.332; 18 AAC 50.077 (incl. (i) professional installation / NFI criteria), 50.079; 13 AAC 50 (2021 IMC)
- Dollar threshold
- none — no dollar exemption from registration (CORRECTED); $10,000 is only the $5,000-bond tier line (AS 08.18.071)
- Exam
- n (registration is paperwork-only; administrator exam applies only if the gray capture applies; FNSB NAA installs need NFI-criteria certification or DEC-approved equivalent)
- Local overlay
- y — FNSB PM2.5 nonattainment area is the strongest local layer in the project (device approval + removal-at-sale + registration + NFI-criteria professional installation + listed-installer program); Anchorage/Juneau/Fairbanks city mechanical permits; Anchorage Municipal Contractors License
- Confidence
- high (registration + Solid Fuel specialty + ADEC regime); medium (administrator capture gray) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
- GOVdec.alaska.gov/air/anpms/communities/fbks-…GOVdec.alaska.gov/air/burnwise/standardsREFregulations.justia.com/states/alaska/title-18/chap…REFregulations.justia.com/states/alaska/title-12/part…GOVcommerce.alaska.gov/web/portals/5/pub/contracto…GOVdec.alaska.gov/air/anpms/communities/devic…REFlaw.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-8/chapte…
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Alaska?
#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE- Credential
- THREE-LAYER regime — the deepest structure in the batch: (1) FIRM: CBPL MECHANICAL contractor registration under AS 08.18 (bond + insurance, no exam; the mechanical category carries the $10,000 bond tier, AS 08.18.071); (2) SUPERVISOR: a mechanical contractor must employ a licensed MECHANICAL ADMINISTRATOR (AS 08.18.028 → AS 08.40) in a category covering the work — the 'residential heating/HVAC' category scope expressly includes 'fuel gas piping downstream of the gas meter... integral to work on an HVAC system' for single-family/duplex dwellings <=3 stories and warm-air systems <=240,000 BTU/hr (12 AAC 39.332), and the 'heating, cooling, and process piping' category includes fuel gas piping (12 AAC 39 art. 2); (3) HANDS-ON INDIVIDUAL: certificate of fitness under AS 18.62 (DOL Labor Standards & Safety, Mechanical Inspection) — the gas-fitter COF is the 'Plumber Restricted PG' certificate (8 AAC 90.135 — rule number now PINNED): 4,000 hrs plumbing experience incl. min 2,000 hrs installing fuel and gas piping, plus exam (plumber journeyman COF = 8,000 hrs, 8 AAC 90.130), and a plumber journeyman PROVISIONAL certificate holder 'may not perform gas work' (8 AAC 90.112(g)); CORRECTED Sep 2026: there is NO small-project dollar exemption — AS 08.18.161(8) is 'an owner who contracts for a project with a registered contractor' and none of the 12 exemptions in .161 (2025 text) is a dollar threshold; the $10,000 figure is only a BOND TIER ($5,000 bond for a contractor whose work on one project is $10,000 or less, AS 08.18.071); NO separate LP board — the gas-fitter COF is fuel-agnostic and LP otherwise rides fire code (13 AAC 50-55/NFPA 58; absence medium); chimney/masonry work by contrast = general or Masonry specialty registration ('chimneys of stone, brick, or block', 12 AAC 21.410) — bond + insurance paperwork, no administrator, no COF, no exam
- Issuing body
- AK DCCED CBPL (registration); DCCED (mechanical administrator licenses, AS 08.40); AK DOL Mechanical Inspection Section (certificates of fitness, AS 18.62)
- Statute
- AS 08.18.011, 08.18.028, 08.18.071, 08.18.101, 08.18.151, 08.18.161; AS 08.40 (administrators); 12 AAC 39.332; 12 AAC 21.410; AS 18.62.010; 8 AAC 90.112(g), 90.130, 90.135
- Dollar threshold
- none — no dollar exemption from registration (CORRECTED: the '$10,000 whole-project exemption, AS 08.18.161(8)' was wrong); $10,000 is the $5,000-bond tier line (AS 08.18.071); liability insurance not required for projects of $2,500 or less (AS 08.18.101)
- Exam
- y at layers 2-3 (mechanical administrator category exams; COF gas fitter/plumber exams); n at layer 1 (registration attests bond + insurance only)
- Local overlay
- y — deferred jurisdictions (Anchorage, Fairbanks city, Juneau) run their own building departments, mechanical permits and journeyman exams (Anchorage journeyman plumbing exam); most of rural/bush Alaska has NO permit office at all
- Confidence
- high (structure, administrator scope, COF rule 8 AAC 90.135); medium (LP absence) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
What insurance does Alaska require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- registration (AS 08.18: general/specialty/mechanical/handyman — bond + insurance, no exam) + mechanical administrator licenses + individual certificates of fitness
- Liability minimum
- $20,000 property damage / $50,000 injury per person / $100,000 injury to more than one person public liability + property damage insurance REQUIRED of every registrant (AS 08.18.101) — the OLDEST/LOWEST dollar minimums in the project so far; evidence of current insurance is submitted to CBPL (12 AAC 21.085) = document-verified at registration/renewal (not continuously monitored — request carrier-direct COI for currency); insurance still required for $2,500+ work performed under the <$10k exemption (AS 08.18.161)
- Bond
- AS 08.18.071 tiered surety bonds (merged from rights file, statute re-verified): $25,000 general / $20,000 general-with-residential-endorsement doing exclusively residential / $10,000 mechanical, specialty or home inspector / $5,000 handyman (CBPL con4816) — a gas-hearth shop registering as MECHANICAL carries only the $10,000 bond, and a chimney shop as specialty likewise $10,000: ask the CATEGORY and amount, not just 'bonded'
- Guaranty fund
- NONE — no recovery/guaranty fund (absence verified, rights file + AS 08.18 review); the AS 08.18.071 bond is the only pot of money behind a registration; complementary lever: unregistered contractors cannot sue for compensation (AS 08.18.151)
- Workers' comp threshold
- 1 employee — no numeric threshold (AS 23.30); sole proprietors/partners exempt for themselves; executive officers with >=10% ownership exemption-eligible (secondary sources — pin statute before publish); CBPL REGISTRATION requires a WC certificate OR the CBPL Workers' Compensation Exemption form 08-4712 on file — an Alaska registration implies WC-or-exemption on file (UT/NM pattern), with the WC worksheet (08-4815c) steering applicants
- How to verify
- CBPL license search (commerce.alaska.gov/cbp/main; ProfessionalLicense.Alaska.Gov) = AUTOMATED for registration status, endorsement, and bond category; mechanical administrator license = same portal; COF card = DESK check via DOL Mechanical Inspection (public COF lookup UNVERIFIED); insurance = CBPL-held evidence + carrier-direct COI = DESK; WC = AK Division of Workers' Compensation (NCCI state; public proof-of-coverage portal UNVERIFIED) + form 08-4712 as the solo-operator artifact
- Confidence
- high; medium (officer-exemption cite, public lookup URLs) · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Alaska?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.