The North Carolina Assembly is considering a bill that would create a licensing board and licensing requirements for collision repair technicians and estimators.
H.B. 1285, the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Repair Shops and Collision Repairs Licensure Act, would establish a seven-member licensing board that would issue licenses, create education requirements, and receive and investigate complaints about repairers and estimators from members of the public.
The bill defines an estimator as “a person who inspects a damaged vehicle and determines the cost required to restore the vehicle to the condition it was in before the damage.” A collision repair technician is defined by the bill as “a person who fixes damaged motor vehicles.”
Licensing requirements would include:
• Completion of a board-approved collision repair technician or estimator course
• At least one year of work experience as a repairer or estimator
• Passing an exam administered by the board
• A high school diploma
Shop owners, technicians or estimators who can prove to the board within a year of the bill’s effective date that they have worked in the field full-time for at least five years can be issued licenses without needing to take the board exam, the bill says.
Fees for a new or renewed license would be $200.
If passed, the bill will be effective Oct. 1.
