Chimney.Services

Maine: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?

Checked Jul 2026·Laws as cited·Not in the Sep 2026 verification pass

Public recordME LAW

For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Maine chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified more recently than this matrix.

Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Maine?

#stove-installLICENSE
Credential
SCOPED license — Maine Fuel Board licenses Master/Journeyman SOLID FUEL Technicians (exam) and § 18102 requires a license to install 'solid fuel burning equipment, including pellet-fired central heating appliances' — BUT § 18104(3) exempts 'solid fuel burning fireplace stoves, room heaters and stoves designed exclusively for heating and cooking and not attached to a central heating system,' so ordinary FREESTANDING wood/pellet stove installs are OUTSIDE the license net while central wood/coal/pellet boilers-furnaces are INSIDE ('A master solid fuel technician may install, clean, service, alter or repair solid fuel burning equipment' — § 18132(1)(B)); fireplace INSERTS unaddressed by text (room-heater reading would exempt — board practice UNVERIFIED); even exempt equipment must meet board installation standards (§ 18107) and compensated chimney/fireplace installers owe the § 18108 pre-install NFPA 211 compliance disclosure (fine >=$500); Wood Pellet Technician license (§ 18141) is cleaning-only; homeowner exemption § 18104(7); municipal technician licensing preempted (§ 18105); MUBEC = 2021 IRC eff. 4/7/2025 (FMO landing page still shows 2015 — stale); towns <4,000 enforcement optional
Issuing body
Maine Fuel Board — Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation
Statute
32 M.R.S. §§ 18102, 18104(3)+(7), 18107, 18108, 18132-18134, 18141 (full chapter fetched)
Dollar threshold
none
Exam
y (master/journeyman solid-fuel exams; none for exempt freestanding stoves)
Local overlay
n (municipal licensing preempted § 18105; permits local under MUBEC)
Confidence
high (statute text); medium (insert classification) · checked 2026-07-10
Sources
GOVlegislature.maine.gov/statutes/32/title32ch139.pdfREFaiamaine.org/aiamainenews/2025/2/27/upda…GOVmaine.gov/dps/fmo/sites/maine.gov.dps…

Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Maine?

#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE
Credential
Propane and Natural Gas Technician license, 'appliance connection and service' authority (install + service propane and natural gas appliances up to 500,000 BTU per appliance); one combined LP+NG license class BUT employees of companies under PUC jurisdiction (natural gas utilities) are EXEMPT (§ 18104(2)) — the ME LP-vs-NG jurisdiction quirk; homeowner personal-abode exemption (§ 18104(7)); municipalities PREEMPTED from requiring their own technician licenses (§ 18105); bonus: § 18108 requires chimney/fireplace installers to give a pre-install NFPA 211 compliance disclosure statement (fine $500+)
Issuing body
Maine Fuel Board — Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Dept. of Professional & Financial Regulation
Statute
32 M.R.S. §§ 18102 (license required), 18135 (propane and natural gas technician), 18104 (exceptions), 18108 (chimney/fireplace disclosure) — full chapter fetched
Dollar threshold
none
Exam
y (board-approved exam + CETP or board-approved course, § 18135(2))
Local overlay
n
Confidence
high · checked 2026-07-09
Sources
GOVlegislature.maine.gov/statutes/32/title32ch139.pdfGOVmaine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/p…

What insurance does Maine require of contractors?

#insurance
Regime
none for chimney/GC work (no state contractor credential of any kind; Maine Fuel Board license for gas/oil/solid-fuel-central-heating work)
Liability minimum
NONE — no contractor credential exists to attach insurance to; Maine Fuel Board chapter (32 M.R.S. ch. 139, fetched in full) contains ZERO insurance, bond, or financial-responsibility provisions — a licensed ME gas technician has proven competence, never solvency; Home Construction Contracts Act (10 M.R.S. § 1487) requires a written contract > $3,000, not insurance
Bond
none
Guaranty fund
none — no guaranty/recovery fund
Workers' comp threshold
1 employee (full/part-time/seasonal) triggers (39-A M.R.S. per Maine Bureau of Insurance employer guide); sole proprietors without employees exempt, NO waiver filing needed; independent-contractor predetermination via form WCB-261 (rebuttable presumption) — a checkable artifact like NY's CE-200
How to verify
insurance: nothing to verify; Fuel Board license lookup via maine.gov/pfr online services (AUTOMATED); WC: NCCI proof-of-coverage data + WCB-261 predetermination on file (DESK artifact)
Confidence
high (absences); medium (WC lookup mechanism detail) · checked 2026-07-09
Sources
GOVlegislature.maine.gov/statutes/32/title32ch139.pdfGOVmaine.gov/pfr/insurance/sites/maine.g…

Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states

Before anyone goes on your roof

What should you ask a chimney company in Maine?

  1. Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
  2. Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
  3. Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
  4. What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
  5. What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
  6. Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
  7. Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
  8. 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.