How to Get an HVAC License in Texas (2026 Guide)

A tech in Dallas pulls a permit for a residential changeout, signs the contract in his own name, and never thinks twice about it. In Texas, if he is not holding a TDLR contractor license, that single permit is a Class B misdemeanor. The work was fine. The paperwork was a crime. That gap between knowing the trade and being legally allowed to sell it in your own name is what a Texas HVAC license closes.

Texas runs one of the most structured HVAC licensing programs in the country, and every contractor license in the state runs through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The state does not call it an "HVAC license" on the form. It calls it an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ACR) contractor license, with two classes, a four-year experience requirement, an exam, and mandatory insurance.

This guide walks the whole path: Class A versus Class B, the technician registration that comes first, the experience and exam requirements, what it costs to get and keep, the federal EPA 608 card you need on top, how to look up any Texas license, and how reciprocity actually works. Where TDLR's own pages and third-party prep guides disagree on a number, this guide tells you to confirm on the TDLR site rather than trusting a roundup.

How do you get an HVAC license in Texas?

To get an HVAC license in Texas, apply to TDLR for an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ACR) contractor license, Class A or Class B. You need 48 months of supervised ACR experience, a passing score on the PSI exam, the $115 application fee, and proof of commercial general liability insurance. EPA 608 certification is required separately to handle refrigerant.

That is the short version. The rest of this post breaks each piece down, because the order you do things in matters, and a few of the steps stall applications for months when people skip them.

Class A vs Class B: Which Texas ACR License Do You Need?

Texas issues two contractor classes, and the only real difference is the size of equipment you are allowed to touch. You choose your class when you apply, and it sets which exam you take and how much insurance you carry.

| | Class A | Class B | |---|---|---| | Equipment size | Any size, no limit | Cooling 25 tons and under | | Heating limit | No limit | 1.5 million BTU/hr and under | | Best for | Large commercial, industrial | Residential, light commercial | | Exam | Larger (about 120 questions) | Smaller (about 100 questions) |

Per the TDLR ACR contractor application page, Class A covers any size air conditioning and refrigeration equipment with no tonnage or BTU ceiling. Class B is capped at 25 tons of cooling and 1.5 million BTU per hour of heating. For most residential and light commercial operators, Class B is plenty. If you intend to bid rooftop units on strip malls or large commercial chillers, you want Class A from the start so you are not reapplying later.

One note that trips people up: the class is about equipment size, not business size. A solo operator can hold Class A. A 15-truck shop can run fine on Class B if it only does houses.

ACR Technician Registration Comes First

Before you can be a contractor in Texas, you almost always pass through technician status. This is the part out-of-state techs miss, because many states have no technician tier at all.

A certified ACR technician registers with TDLR, works under a licensed contractor, and cannot advertise, contract, or pull permits independently. The certified technician application carries a fee of around $50, and the registration runs for one year before it needs renewing, per TDLR's ACR program pages. There is no upfront experience requirement to register, so you can start the official clock early in your career.

The technician credential matters for two reasons:

• It is how you legally work in Texas while you build hours toward the contractor license.
• Holding certified technician status for 12 months unlocks a faster contractor pathway (more on that below).

Think of the technician registration as the on-ramp. It does not let you run jobs in your own name, but it starts your experience counting and keeps you legal on a crew while you do.

Tip: Register as a certified technician the day you start, not the year you plan to go independent. The 12-month technician clock and your supervised-experience clock both run from when you are documented, and you cannot backfill time you never logged.

The Requirements: Experience, Exam, and Insurance

Three things stand between a working tech and a Texas contractor license. Miss any one and TDLR will not issue.

Experience

You need 48 months of practical, supervised ACR experience under a licensed Texas ACR contractor, completed within the past 72 months, per TDLR. There is a faster lane: if you hold certified technician status for at least 12 months, you can qualify with 36 months of supervised experience in the previous 48 months instead.

All of it goes on TDLR's Experience Verification Form, and here is the catch that stalls more applications than anything else: your supervising contractor signs that form, not you. Track down those signatures while you still work there. Chasing a former boss for a signature two years later is the single most common reason a Texas application sits in limbo.

Exam

Once TDLR approves your application, it notifies PSI, the third-party exam vendor, and you schedule from there. You need 70% or higher to pass. Class A runs roughly 120 questions, Class B roughly 100, and the exam fee paid to PSI is about $60 per attempt. The test covers the trade plus Texas regulatory and business content, so the prep is not only about refrigeration. You have one year from your application filing date to pass.

Insurance

After you pass, you submit a certificate of commercial general liability insurance before TDLR issues the license. The minimum coverage depends on your class, with Class A carrying higher limits than Class B. The policy has to come from an insurer authorized in Texas, and the insured name has to match the name and business on your license. No certificate, no license, so line up the policy before you sit the exam, not after.

What a Texas HVAC License Costs (and Renewal)

The license is cheap relative to what it lets you bill. The real cost is the four years of experience, not the fees. Here is the money, with the caveat that TDLR's own pages are the number to trust at the moment you pay.

| Item | Cost | Paid to | |---|---|---| | Contractor application | $115 | TDLR | | Exam (per attempt) | About $60 | PSI | | Certified technician application | About $50 | TDLR | | Contractor renewal | $65/year | TDLR | | Liability insurance | Varies by class | Insurer |

The contractor license is good for one year and renews annually. Renewal runs $65 plus eight hours of TDLR-approved continuing education, including at least one hour on Texas ACR laws and rules. Your CE provider reports your hours straight to TDLR, then you renew through the TDLR online licensing portal.

Some 2026 third-party guides quote higher renewal figures that vary by class. Treat those as commentary. The official TDLR contractor renewal page is the only number worth acting on, and it lists $65 as the base. When in doubt at renewal time, pull it up on tdlr.texas.gov rather than a prep site.

EPA 608 Is Federal and Separate

Your Texas license clears you to contract in Texas. It does nothing for refrigerant. EPA Section 608 certification is a federal requirement under the Clean Air Act for anyone who maintains, services, repairs, or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant, per the EPA's Section 608 program. It is not a state credential, it does not expire, and it is valid in all 50 states.

There are four certification types: Type I for small appliances, Type II for high-pressure equipment (most residential and commercial AC), Type III for low-pressure equipment like large chillers, and Universal for all three. Most full-service techs go straight for Universal so no job ever falls outside their card.

TDLR does not list EPA 608 as a line item on the contractor application, but you cannot legally run refrigerant work without it, and any tech you hire needs their own. Get it early, while you are still building experience hours. It is the floor, not the ceiling: 608 lets you handle refrigerant, but it does not let you contract in your own name in Texas.

How to Look Up a Texas HVAC License (TDLR Lookup)

Verifying a license takes about a minute, and it is worth doing before you hire a sub, take a job under another contractor, or buy a business with a license attached.

1. Go to the TDLR license search page.
2. Open the "Search for Individuals and Businesses" function.
3. Search by license number, person's name, or business name.
4. Confirm the status reads ACTIVE, not expired, suspended, or revoked.
5. Check that the class (A or B) matches the scope of work.
6. Confirm the business name matches the company you are dealing with.

This is the official "hvac license texas lookup" tool, run by the state itself. Skip the third-party verification sites that scrape TDLR data and sometimes lag behind. A license that shows suspended on TDLR but active on a scraper is exactly the kind of thing that costs you a job or a lawsuit.

Reciprocity Into and Out of Texas

Reciprocity is the most overestimated piece of HVAC licensing, and Texas is no exception. There is no card you carry across the state line and keep working.

Texas maintains limited reciprocal agreements, and 2026 trade guidance points to South Carolina and Georgia, with Georgia limited to its Class II Conditioned Air unrestricted license. Even then it is not automatic. You typically need to have held the out-of-state license for at least a year, you still file the Texas application and fee, you submit proof of your current license, and TDLR reviews case by case. The TDLR reciprocity page is where to confirm the current list, because these agreements change.

If you are licensed in a state with no Texas reciprocity, you are not stuck. Experience you earned under that out-of-state license can count toward the 48-month requirement, so you may not start from zero. You still apply, verify the experience, and pass the Texas exam. The one credential that travels free in either direction is EPA 608.

How to Get Your Texas HVAC License: The Steps

Here is the full path, in order, for someone starting today.

1. Get EPA 608 certified so you can legally handle refrigerant.
2. Land an HVAC job under a licensed Texas ACR contractor.
3. Register with TDLR as a certified ACR technician to start your experience clock.
4. Log 48 months of supervised ACR experience within 72 months (or 36 months on the 12-month-technician pathway).
5. Decide Class A (any size) or Class B (25 tons and under).
6. Submit the contractor application with the $115 fee and signed Experience Verification Form.
7. Pass the PSI exam at 70% or higher after TDLR approves you.
8. Submit your certificate of liability insurance, then receive your license.

After that, the license is yours for a year at a time. Keep insurance active, knock out eight CE hours, and renew for $65 annually.

Once You Are Licensed, You Still Have to Run the Business

The TDLR license clears you to sell HVAC in Texas. It does nothing for the part that actually buries new shops in their first year: the schedule, the invoices, and not double-booking your one good tech when the phone rings 40 times on the first 100-degree day in Houston. The licensing wall is the first blocker. A disorganized back office is the slower, quieter one.

That is where Fieldtics fits. The free tier covers job scheduling, a customer CRM, unlimited clients, and a mobile app your techs actually use in the field, with no credit card required. That alone runs your first months organized. When you need invoicing, online payments, quotes and estimates, and team scheduling, the Professional plan is $29 a month. Across 500-plus service businesses, Fieldtics users report 35% fewer missed appointments and about 2.4 hours saved per tech per day on admin. The full feature set lives on the HVAC scheduling software page.

If you are still building the company, the license is only the start. The national picture sits in our HVAC license requirements by state guide, the full launch path in how to start an HVAC business, the real numbers in how much it costs to start an HVAC business, and the day-to-day tooling in the best HVAC software for small businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Texas HVAC license cost?

The TDLR contractor application is $115, the PSI exam runs about $60 per attempt, and annual renewal is $65 plus eight CE hours. Add liability insurance, which varies by class. The certified technician registration that usually comes first is about $50. Confirm current fees on tdlr.texas.gov before you pay.

How long does it take to get a Texas HVAC license?

The license itself processes in weeks once you apply, but the experience requirement is the real timeline. You need 48 months of supervised ACR work, or 36 months if you hold certified technician status for at least 12 months first. Most techs reach a contractor license in three to four years of documented field experience.

Do you need a license to do HVAC in Texas?

Yes. To contract, advertise, bid, or pull permits for HVAC work in Texas, you need a TDLR Air Conditioning and Refrigeration contractor license. Working as a contractor without one is a Class B misdemeanor. Technicians can work on a crew under a licensed contractor, but only the contractor license lets you run jobs in your own name.

How do I check a Texas HVAC license?

Use the official TDLR license search at tdlr.texas.gov/verify.htm. Search by license number, person, or business name, then confirm the status reads ACTIVE and the class matches the work. This is the state's own lookup tool and is more current than third-party verification sites that scrape its data.

Is EPA 608 the same as a Texas HVAC license?

No. EPA 608 is a federal certification required nationwide to handle refrigerant, and it does not expire. A Texas ACR license is a state credential that lets you contract HVAC work in Texas. You need both: 608 to touch refrigerant, and the TDLR license to sell and run jobs in your own name.

If you take one thing into your first day on a crew, make it this: register as a certified technician and get your EPA 608 before you log a single hour. Those two clocks are the ones you can never run backward, and four years from now they are the difference between holding your own TDLR number and still working under someone else's.