Authority Network America

Authority Network America: National Geographic Coverage by Member

Authority Network America operates as a structured hub connecting eight specialized reference sites that span the primary residential and commercial service trades across the United States. This page maps geographic coverage by member site, explaining how each member's national scope is defined, where coverage overlaps, and how the network's federated architecture distributes professional reference authority across trade verticals. Understanding this structure matters for service seekers, licensing researchers, and industry professionals navigating multi-trade projects that cross state lines or require coordination across specialized disciplines.

Definition and scope

Geographic coverage within the Authority Network America framework is not a single undifferentiated national footprint. Each member site carries national scope in the sense that it addresses licensing standards, regulatory bodies, and professional qualifications that apply across all 50 states — but the operative regulations, required credentials, and enforcement mechanisms differ state by state within each trade vertical.

The network currently covers 6 primary trade verticals — plumbing, HVAC, electrical, general contracting, roofing, and swimming pool and spa — plus two cross-vertical reference nodes that aggregate standards and directory functions. For a structured breakdown of how member scope is assigned and bounded, the network geographic coverage reference page provides the full mapping matrix.

Coverage scope for each member is determined by three criteria:

  1. Regulatory breadth — whether the trade is licensed at the state level, municipal level, or both across the majority of US jurisdictions
  2. Professional category depth — the number of distinct credential tiers (journeyman, master, contractor-of-record, specialty endorsement) that exist nationally within that trade
  3. Interstate service frequency — how often practitioners in that trade work across state lines, which affects reciprocity agreement complexity

How it works

Each member site functions as a standalone reference authority for its designated trade vertical. The hub site — Authority Network America — maintains the connective layer that allows cross-trade queries, multi-vertical project coordination, and licensing comparison across disciplines.

National Plumbing Authority covers plumber licensing tiers, state-by-state reciprocity agreements, and the standards published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO). Its geographic coverage is particularly detailed for the 34 states that maintain separate journeyman and master plumber licensing tracks (IAPMO).

National HVAC Authority addresses the dual federal-state regulatory structure governing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning work. Because the EPA Section 608 certification requirement applies federally under the Clean Air Act (EPA Section 608), this member's coverage spans all US jurisdictions by definition, with state contractor license overlays tracked separately.

National Electrical Authority maps the adoption status of the National Electrical Code (NEC) across states, which as of the 2023 edition remains on varying adoption cycles — with some jurisdictions enforcing the 2017 or 2020 edition rather than the most current release (NFPA NEC). This variation makes state-level tracking essential rather than optional.

National Contractor Authority covers general and specialty contractor licensing, bonding minimums, and insurance thresholds, which vary substantially — California's Contractors State License Board, for example, administers licenses across 44 license classifications (CSLB). This member's coverage addresses general contractor registration requirements in all states that impose them.

The National Roof Authority and National Pool Authority cover exterior trades where licensing requirements are highly fragmented: roofing contractor licensing exists in roughly 37 states with formal statutory requirements, while pool and spa contractor licensing is concentrated in Sun Belt states and governed in part by the Model Aquatic Health Code published by the CDC (CDC MAHC).

The two cross-vertical nodes — Authority Network and National Authority — function as meta-reference resources that aggregate professional standards, credential verification frameworks, and multi-trade regulatory comparisons rather than serving a single trade discipline.

For the underlying criteria that determine how member sites qualify for network inclusion, the network membership criteria and provider listing standards pages define the standards applied consistently across all eight members.

Common scenarios

Multi-trade residential project: A homeowner coordinating a whole-home renovation that involves licensed plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians in a state where all three trades carry separate contractor-of-record requirements will find that the relevant licensing data spans at least three member sites. The plumbing, HVAC, and electrical overview cross-reference page maps these overlapping credential requirements.

Interstate contractor relicensing: A roofing contractor licensed in Florida seeking to expand operations into Georgia and Tennessee must navigate two separate state licensing boards with differing experience documentation requirements. The contractor verification framework page addresses reciprocity protocols applicable to this scenario.

Commercial pool construction: Pool and spa contractor licensing for commercial aquatic facilities involves both state contractor boards and local health department permitting, creating a two-agency compliance structure that the National Pool Authority addresses distinctly from residential pool work.

Decision boundaries

Not every trade or service category falls within the network's current coverage. The network's 6 trade verticals do not include:

For multi-trade questions that intersect covered and uncovered verticals, the member site scope comparison page maps the precise boundaries of each member's coverage against adjacent trade categories.

The distinction between a trade that requires a state-issued contractor license versus one that requires only municipal registration — with no statewide credential — is addressed in the authority designation explained reference, which applies consistently across all eight member sites.

References

On this site

Core Topics
Contact
Other Pages

In the network

State & Local Authorities