Most trade certifications expire, but not all of them. EPA Section 608 certification for refrigerant work never expires. NATE certification has to be renewed every two years. NICET certification is renewed every three years. Pesticide applicator certification lasts five years at most under federal rules, and your state can make it shorter. State electrician licenses can run out every year.
If you run a shop with a mix of these, the hard part isn't knowing that they expire. It's knowing which of your people hold which one, and when each one runs out. This post covers the common credentials in HVAC, fire protection, electrical and pest control, what renewal takes for each, and how much warning you actually need.
One note before the list: rules change, and state rules vary. Everything below links to the issuing body. Check it before you build a renewal plan around it.
EPA Section 608: doesn't expire
This is the one people get wrong most often. The EPA says it plainly: "Section 608 Technician Certification credentials do not expire."
So there's no renewal date to track for 608. What you do want is a record of which of your technicians hold it, and which type. That's a skill on their profile, not a date in a calendar.
If a renewal spreadsheet in your office has a 608 row with an expiry date on it, someone guessed. Delete the date and keep the record.
NATE: every two years
NATE certification is voluntary, but plenty of HVAC shops require it or advertise it. According to NATE, "NATE certifications must be renewed every two years."
Technicians renew by completing 16 hours of continuing education during the two-year period, or by retaking the specialty exam. NATE also allows a 120-day grace period. After that, the technician has to retake both the core and specialty exams to be certified again. NATE also notes that a technician whose certifications are all in their grace period isn't considered NATE certified.
That grace period is easy to lean on and easy to miss. Sixteen hours of continuing education doesn't happen in the last week. If a tech starts thinking about it when the card is a month out, they're already behind.
NICET: every three years
For fire alarm, sprinkler and inspection work, NICET certification is often written into contracts at a specific level. NICET recertification runs on a three-year cycle, and 90 points are required to recertify, documented in the candidate portal over that period.
Ninety points is a lot to collect in a hurry. This is the credential where a reminder 30 days out is a reminder that you've already run out of time to do it comfortably. Put a check on the calendar a year out, and look at how many points each tech has at the halfway mark.
Pesticide applicators: five years at most
For pest control, federal rules set the ceiling. Under 40 CFR 171.107, "Each commercial and private applicator certification shall expire five years after issuance, unless the applicator is recertified". The same section adds that "A certifying authority may establish a shorter certification period".
In practice the certifying authority is usually your state, so the federal five years is the longest it could be, not the number to plan around. Look up your state's lead agency for pesticides and use their date.
State electrician licenses: as short as one year
Electrician licensing is set by the state, so the cycle depends on where your crew works. Texas is a useful example of how short it can be. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says "Journeyman Electrician licenses are valid for one year from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually", with 4 hours of continuing education each license cycle.
TDLR also lets people renew late for a while, at a higher fee. A license that has been expired for more than three years can't be renewed, and the person has to apply again as a new applicant.
If your shop works in more than one state, each license has its own date. A master electrician licensed in two states has two renewals to track, on two schedules.
Plumbing, gas and other state licenses
Plumbing and gas licenses are also set by the state, and sometimes by the city. We haven't listed cycles here because they vary too much to summarise honestly. Treat every state or local license as expiring until your licensing board tells you otherwise, and take the date from the license itself.
How much warning do you actually need?
The renewal cycle is only half of it. The other half is how long renewal takes.
- Paperwork and a fee only: a few weeks of warning is plenty.
- A handful of continuing education hours (like a 4-hour state requirement): a month or two, so it fits around work.
- A points or hours target (NATE's 16 hours, NICET's 90 points): plan across the whole cycle. A reminder is the last step, not the plan.
That's why it helps to track two things for each credential: the expiry date, and what renewal requires. The date tells you when. The requirement tells you when to start.
Most shops start with a spreadsheet. It works until the person who keeps it is on vacation during the busiest month of the year. We cover the options, and the columns worth having, in how to track technician license expirations. And if a date slips anyway, the dispatch board will keep sending that technician to the work that needs it; we walk through that in when an expired certification takes the job.
Questions owners ask
Does EPA Section 608 certification expire?
No. The EPA says Section 608 technician certification credentials do not expire. Record which technicians hold it and which type, but there is no renewal date to track.
Should the company pay for certification renewals?
Shops go both ways. Paying for the fee and continuing education makes renewal your process instead of the technician's side project, and it is easier to insist on the deadline when you cover the cost. The tradeoff is paying for a credential the technician takes with them if they leave. Some shops pay and ask for it back if the technician leaves within a year.
Do we need to track credentials we don't require?
Track anything that affects which work you would send someone to. If a customer contract names NATE, NATE matters even if you don't require it company-wide. If nothing you do depends on it, a note on the technician's profile is enough.
Who should own the renewal list?
One named person, with a backup. Not the office in general.
How FSM Navigator handles it
FSM Navigator is one app for the whole customer lifecycle, from first booking and signed quote to invoice and renewal. Certifications sit in the middle of that, because they decide who can do the work.
The expiry date lives on the technician's skill. An Owner or Manager records it from the technician's profile in the web dashboard. A daily check emails reminders 30 days before the date, 7 days before, on the day, and once more just after it expires: Owners and Managers get one summary for the team, and each technician gets a note about their own certifications.
The certification still counts on its expiry day. From the next day, auto-assignment stops treating that skill as qualifying the technician, so work that needs it goes to someone whose certification is current. The Certification Expiry Tracker on the KPI dashboard lists everything that has expired or runs out in the next 90 days, which is the look-ahead a NICET points plan needs.
It doesn't store the certificate or check with any licensing board. You enter the dates; it helps you keep track of them and keeps auto-assignment in line with them. For 608, leave the date blank. See how certification tracking works.