I was quite surprised to find out that as an independent mobile RV repair technician in Florida I would need a propane license that costs $400 / year. I found out during the first few days of my RVSA course and even the instructor was uncertain about the process for obtaining the license. The instructions on the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (www.fdacs.gov) aren’t particularly clear about the process so I thought I would attempt to document the process I went through in case it helps others out there.
The confusion, for me at least, came down to the fact that the only license that applies to RV’s is the Category I LP Gas RV Dealer (LR) which seems obviously intended for RV dealerships that also sell Propane and fill propane cylinders. There is no separate propane license for independent mobile RV technicians, or even mention of them in the rules.
- Your business (or you) needs to have a Propane License In order to service, install, repair, fill etc. anything that has propane in Florida. The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS) manages these licenses. The Florida RV Trade Association has a good overview here: https://www.frvta.org/members/lp-gas-licenses-rv-dispensing-repair/
- There has to be a person (you) with a Master Qualifier (MQ) associated specifically with this license for it to remain in effect. The person with a MQ can only be associated with one propane license. The MQ license is good for 3 years. If your MQ leaves you have 60 days to get a new one or you can lose your propane license.
- First time MQ applicants must have 3 years of verifiable experience OR a professional certification related to LP gas systems from an LP gas industry manufacturer.
- Proof of $1M bodily injury and property damage liability insurance. More info https://www.fdacs.gov/Business-Services/LP-Gas-Licenses
Since the license requires you to associate an MQ with it you should get your MQ before applying, otherwise you could run into problems if you don’t pass your MQ exam in time.
The exams are in-person only, I had to drive about 90 minutes to the nearest testing center.
Scheduling the LP Gas Exam
1. Go to https://egc.fdacs.gov/customer/f05home.aspx and login or “Sign Up” if you don’t already have an account.
2. Once you’re logged into the e-Gov Service Center, select the LP Gas Exam link.
3. Confirm your age.
5. If you have a Qualifier ID (you probably don’t or you wouldn’t be here) then enter the info here or just click Submit.
6. Select the M1RV Category I Master Qualifier R.V. Dealer Exam
7. Review to make sure you have all of the required information and payment method available and then select Continue. (At this point you’re paying $30 just to get an invite to schedule an exam...)
8. Enter your information and click Submit.
9. After this you will confirm and then enter your payment information.
10. Once your payment information is submitted you will need to send in your proof of certification (OR 3 years experience). I was able to do this via email by submitting this contact form to follow up on my application. Once they verify your documentation you should receive an invite to schedule your exam, at which point I believe I had to pay another $69.00.
Of note, I was able to schedule my test for as early as the next day but I gave myself a week to study up on the statutes and rules.
What to Study
I didn’t buy the books, as an RV repair tech I’m not planning to design or engineer any RV’s so instead I attended a live MQ test prep webinar from Carl Weeks at Propane Training Services who instructed me to focus on studying the Florida Statutes and Administrative Codes and just review the propane content from my RVSA certification program.
I didn’t discover this until after I took the test but you can access the NFPA books for free via a 2 week trial of NFPA LiNK, their online knowledge base of codes and standards.
You don’t even need a credit card to start the trial and 2 weeks is plenty of time to study for the exam.
Below are links to buy the books from the Florida Propane Gas Association:
Testing Expectations
- You can learn more about the exams at https://www.frvta.org/wp-content/uploads/LP-GASS-TYPES.pdf
- Exam topics covered in each category can be found at https://www.frvta.org/wp-content/uploads/LP-GASS-TESTING-INFO.pdf
I was able to pass the test on my first try, I felt the material seemed fairly evenly divided between 54, 58, 1192, and the Rules & Statutes but I’m glad I spent time studying the rules and statutes. I felt I was the weakest on NFPA 54 as we didn’t talk about that much during the RVSA program.
