Oregon HVAC License (2026): There Isn't One, Here's What You Actually Need

Here is the answer nobody puts at the top of the page: Oregon does not issue an HVAC license to an individual. There is no Oregon HVAC apprentice license, no Oregon HVAC journeyman license, and no Oregon HVAC master license. If you are searching for how to get one, you are searching for something that does not exist.

That is not a technicality. It changes the entire path.

The Building Codes Division states its own scope plainly: the individual licenses BCD issues are electrical, plumbing, boiler, elevator, and manufactured dwelling. HVAC is not on that list, and no other Oregon agency issues one. What Oregon regulates instead is (1) the business, through the Construction Contractors Board, and (2) the electrical and plumbing work embedded inside HVAC jobs, through BCD.

So the real question is not "how do I get an Oregon HVAC license." It is "which combination of a CCB endorsement and BCD licenses does my specific scope of work require." This guide answers that.

What page-one guides get wrong about Oregon HVAC

Three errors repeat across nearly every competing result:

1. "Oregon offers two HVAC licenses: the LHR and the CCB license." The Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R (LHR) is not an HVAC license. It is a BCD electrical contractor license, it sits in OAR chapter 918, division 282, alongside the electrical contractor, limited energy contractor and limited sign contractor licenses, and it is billed under the electrical program code. It authorizes a narrow slice of electrical work on HVAC/R equipment. Calling it an HVAC license leads companies to buy the wrong thing.

2. "The LHR covers HVAC work." It covers commercial and industrial equipment, on the load side of the disconnect, and nothing beyond that without additional licenses. Residential new installation is not in scope.

3. "Get the CCB license and you're done." For a lot of real HVAC scopes you are not, because water heater replacement, dishwasher and disposal replacement, and thermostat wiring in commercial buildings each pull in a different license, and two of them require a plumbing license and a Plumbing Business license your HVAC company probably does not hold.

Layer 1: the CCB contractor license

Every business contracting for HVAC work in Oregon needs a Construction Contractors Board license with an appropriate endorsement. This is the foundation; everything else stacks on top.

Pick your structure type first. Under ORS 701.005, Oregon splits work three ways:

• Residential structure, a site-built home; a structure with one or more dwelling units four stories or less above grade; an individually owned unit inside a larger structure; a modular home built off-site; a manufactured dwelling; a floating home; or an appurtenance to any of those.
• Small commercial structure, a nonresidential structure with a ground area of 10,000 sq ft or less and not more than 20 feet high; or a nonresidential unit inside a larger structure with 12,000 sq ft or less and not more than 20 feet high; or a nonresidential structure of any size where the contract price for all contractor work on the project does not exceed $250,000.
• Large commercial structure, everything else.

That third bullet under small commercial is the one HVAC contractors miss. A rooftop replacement on a 200,000 sq ft distribution center can still be small commercial work if the total contract price for all construction work on the structure as part of that project stays at or under $250,000. Size alone does not decide it.

Then pick your role. A specialty contractor performs work involving only one or two unrelated building trades, which is where most HVAC companies land. A general contractor uses more than two. A residential limited contractor is capped at $5,000 per job site per year and $40,000 gross annual volume.

Endorsements, bonds and insurance. HB 2922 (2023) raised every CCB minimum bond by $5,000 effective January 1, 2024:

• Residential General Contractor, Bond (from 1/1/2024): $25,000 · Insurance (per CCB guide): $500,000 per occurrence
• Residential Specialty Contractor, Bond (from 1/1/2024): $20,000 · Insurance (per CCB guide): $300,000 per occurrence
• Residential Limited Contractor, Bond (from 1/1/2024): $15,000 · Insurance (per CCB guide): $100,000 per occurrence
• Commercial General Contractor Level 1, Bond (from 1/1/2024): $80,000 · Insurance (per CCB guide): $2 million aggregate
• Commercial Specialty Contractor Level 1, Bond (from 1/1/2024): $55,000 · Insurance (per CCB guide): $1 million aggregate
• Commercial General Contractor Level 2, Bond (from 1/1/2024): $25,000 · Insurance (per CCB guide): $1 million aggregate
• Commercial Specialty Contractor Level 2, Bond (from 1/1/2024): $25,000 · Insurance (per CCB guide): $500,000 per occurrence

Most HVAC companies doing residential service and replacement are Residential Specialty Contractors. A company doing both residential and commercial work files two bonds but only one certificate of insurance, in the higher of the two amounts.

Commercial experience. Level 1 endorsements require 8 years of construction experience among key employees; Level 2 requires 4 years. "Key employee" means an owner or employee who is a corporate officer, manager, superintendent, foreperson or lead person, or any other person exercising management or supervisory authority over the business's construction activities. Substitutions: an apprenticeship counts for up to 3 years, a bachelor's in a construction-related field up to 3 years, a bachelor's or master's in business/finance/economics up to 2 years, an associate's in construction or building management up to 1 year. Level 1 and Level 2 commercial contractors may perform the same work, the difference is the bond, insurance and experience, not the scope.

Public works. More than $100,000 in total project cost on a qualifying public works job means a separate $30,000 public works bond filed with the CCB before work starts, in addition to your license bond.

Pre-1978 work. Disturbing more than 6 sq ft of painted surface per room indoors, or 20 sq ft outdoors, on pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities requires a Lead-Based Paint Renovation license from the CCB after Oregon Health Authority-approved training. Equipment changeouts in older homes routinely cross that line.

Layer 2: the RMI, Oregon's qualifier

Most CCB endorsements require at least one Responsible Managing Individual, and Oregon writes the definition into statute. ORS 701.005(16): an RMI is an individual who

• (a) is an owner described in ORS 701.094 or an employee of the business;
• (b) exercises management or supervisory authority over the construction activities of the business; and
• (c) has completed the required training and testing, demonstrated the required experience, or complied with the ORS 446.395 licensing requirements.

Owner or employee. Oregon is one of a small number of states that names both routes in the statute itself, and it is the cleanest such text in the country.

Getting qualified. The RMI completes a 16-hour pre-license training course from a CCB-approved provider, then passes a test built on the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management (Oregon version). Passing score is 70 percent; the CCB's guide lists a $60 test fee and gives you 24 months from passing to apply. There is an alternate path through the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors plus the Oregon pre-licensure test, and a Small Business Development Center course alternative under OAR 812-006-0164.

And then the rules that actually bite.

One licensee, if you are not an owner. OAR 812-006-0100(3): an individual who is not an owner may not be designated as the RMI of more than one licensee. The cap is written to reach non-owners only; on its face it does not restrict owners the same way. If your qualifier is an employee, that person qualifies your entity and no one else's, so a second licensed entity requires a second qualified person.

Departure is measured in days, not months. OAR 812-006-0100(5): when an RMI leaves, the business must immediately appoint another RMI or a temporary one and immediately notify the agency in writing. OAR 812-006-0110 sets the temporary window: notify the board within 3 calendar days, and a temporary RMI may serve no more than 14 days from that notification. A temporary RMI cannot be used on an initial application at all. And subsection (5) leaves no room: "Failure to maintain an RMI will result in suspension of the license of the contractor or business."

Fourteen days. That is the entire runway between losing your qualifier and losing your license. It is not enough time to recruit, vet, run 16 hours of training, test and file from a cold start.

Layer 3: the LHR, and what it actually authorizes

The Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R (LHR) is governed by OAR 918-282-0040. Read the scope closely, because the limits are where the money is.

An LHR contractor:

• (a) May maintain, service, repair or replace commercial and industrial electrical products that use fuel or other forms of energy to produce heat, power, refrigeration or air conditioning;
• (b) May maintain, service, repair or replace equipment on the load side of the disconnect switch located at or on the electrical product;
• (c) May make electrical modifications or install electrical products only where the modification, size or type of product installed is approved by the manufacturer for the equipment involved; and
• (d) May install, maintain or repair 100 volt-ampere or less thermostat or associated control wiring beyond the electrical product in other than a one- or two-family dwelling, and then only when the contractor employs a general journeyman electrician, a general supervising electrician, a Class "A" limited energy technician, or a Class "B" limited energy technician.

Four hard boundaries in one rule: commercial/industrial only, load side of the disconnect only, manufacturer-approved changes only, and control wiring in commercial buildings only if you have the right licensed people on payroll.

The paperwork obligations are ongoing, not one-time. Under 918-282-0040(2)(b), an LHR contractor must:

• Create an electrical training record within 60 days of hiring each employee who will do the electrical work;
• Maintain that record for as long as the employee stays;
• Represent that only employees with electrical training perform electrical transactions under the license;
• Make the training records available to the division on request; and
• Submit a list of all trained persons employed at application and at renewal, including every Class "B" limited energy technician, updated within 30 days of any change.

That 30-day list update is a live compliance duty most companies never calendar.

Cost and cycle. The LHR is $75, renews every three years on July 1, requires no exam, and is exempt from continuing education. Bonding and insurance are whatever the CCB requires, the LHR adds none of its own.

Prerequisites, per BCD: register the business name with the Secretary of State, hold an active CCB license, and employ an appropriate full-time signing supervisor for the license chosen.

Qualifying through experience. For the LHR the signing supervisor may be a "qualified person" (QP) whose experience is verified on BCD form 440-2888-C rather than proven by a license. The threshold: two years (4,000 hours) of experience in installation including set-up and testing, plus approved specialized training from a manufacturer, distributor, school, apprenticeship program, or lawful on-the-job training in the electrical repair, service, maintenance, installation or replacement of existing, built-in or permanently connected commercial or industrial heating, ventilation, air conditioning, dehumidifying, filtering or refrigeration equipment, and experience connected to that education. Note the cap on the verification form: a maximum of 2,000 hours per year may be credited, per OAR 918-030-0030(4). You cannot compress four thousand hours into one heavy year.

The QP route exists for four BCD license types, restricted energy contractor (CRE), limited maintenance specialty contractor (LMS), limited maintenance specialty contractor HVAC/R (LHR), and limited pump installation specialty contractor (CPI). It does not exist for plumbing, which requires an actual licensed supervisor.

The scope traps that catch Oregon HVAC companies

BCD publishes a minor-label scope sheet for the LHR license, and it is the most useful single page in Oregon HVAC compliance. Under a minor label, an LHR contractor may do the following, but note what each one requires:

• Repair or replace a furnace (oil or gas), ≤20 amps, ≤150V to ground, single-phase, No installer license required, but the employee list must be on record with BCD
• Repair or replace a fan, ≤20 amps, ≤150V to ground, single-phase, No installer license required, employee list on record
• Repair or replace an electric furnace, AC unit or refrigeration unit, ≤150V to ground, single-phase, No installer license required, employee list on record
• Replace ballasts or components in up to 10 light fixtures, up to 300V to ground, No installer license required, employee list on record
• Replace a dishwasher or garbage disposal, ≤20 amps, ≤150V to ground, single-phase, Journeyman Plumber (commercial), and the company must also hold a Plumbing Business (PB) license
• Replace a water heater involving an electrical circuit, ≤30 amps, ≤150V to ground, single-phase, Water Heater Installer (WHI) for residential or Journeyman Plumber (JP) for commercial, and the company must also hold a PB license. Use the plumbing minor label, not the electrical one.

Read the bottom two rows again. An Oregon HVAC company that replaces water heaters needs a plumbing business license and a WHI or JP on staff. Water heater replacement is one of the most common add-on jobs in residential HVAC service, and it is not covered by the CCB license or the LHR. This appears on no competing page-one guide for Oregon HVAC.

2026 changes Oregon HVAC contractors should know

HB 4089, license-number misuse became a felony. Enrolled as chapter 53, Oregon Laws 2026 (House February 27, 2026; Senate March 5, 2026), HB 4089 amends ORS 701.990 so that intentional use of a contractor's license number without authorization, and use of a license number with or without authorization with the intent to deceive the public, are each Class C felonies, up to five years' imprisonment, a $125,000 fine, or both, per the legislature's summary. The act also makes knowingly contracting with an unlicensed construction labor contractor a Class A misdemeanor for a direct contractor or subcontractor, and a Class C felony on a second conviction.

The second prong matters most here. It reaches use of a license number even when the license holder consented, if the point was to mislead the public about who stands behind the work. Any arrangement built on displaying someone else's credential now carries felony exposure in Oregon.

HB 2688, off-site fabrication becomes prevailing-wage work. Passed in 2025 and summarized in BCD's own legislative report, HB 2688 expands the public-works definition for prevailing wage purposes to reach bespoke off-site fabrication, preconstruction, assembly or construction performed to specification for a public works project, naming mechanical systems such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and other ducting or piping systems or components first on the list. It applies to procurements solicited, or contracts entered into, on or after July 1, 2026. Sheet metal shops fabricating duct for public jobs are squarely inside it.

Fees, bond amounts, insurance minimums, experience thresholds and effective dates above are set by the boards and the legislature and are subject to change. Verify current figures with the CCB, BCD and BOLI before relying on them.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an HVAC license in Oregon? Not an individual one, Oregon does not issue one. You need a CCB contractor license with the right endorsement for your business, plus BCD licenses for any electrical or plumbing work inside your scope. The BCD individual license families are electrical, plumbing, boiler, elevator and manufactured dwelling. HVAC is not among them.

What is the Oregon HVAC/R license then? The LHR, Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R, is a BCD electrical contractor license under OAR 918-282-0040. It authorizes maintenance, service, repair and replacement of commercial and industrial equipment on the load side of the disconnect, with manufacturer-approved changes only. It is $75, renews every three years on July 1, requires no exam, and is exempt from CE.

Can my HVAC company replace water heaters in Oregon? Only if you hold a Plumbing Business (PB) license and have a Water Heater Installer (residential) or Journeyman Plumber (commercial) doing the work, and you use the plumbing minor label. This is the single most commonly missed requirement in Oregon HVAC.

How much does an Oregon HVAC license cost? There is no single number, because there is no single license. The knowable government-side items are the CCB test fee, the CCB application fee, the LHR fee if you need it, and your endorsement's bond amount. What actually drives your total is which endorsement you take (the residential-to-commercial Level 1 jump moves the bond from $20,000 to $55,000 on the specialty track), your credit, which is what a surety actually prices, your insurance limits, and whether you carry employees. Anyone quoting you a flat figure is guessing. Walk through your actual scope instead.

Does Oregon require HVAC continuing education? The LHR is exempt from continuing education. CCB residential contractors have their own continuing education requirements under ORS 701.082. If you also hold a BCD plumbing or electrical individual license, those carry their own CE obligations on their own cycles.

Who can be the RMI for my HVAC company? Under ORS 701.005(16), an owner or an employee who exercises management or supervisory authority over the business's construction activities and has met the training and testing requirement. If that person is not an owner, OAR 812-006-0100(3) limits them to being RMI for one licensee.

The structural problem, and how companies solve it

Put the three constraints side by side and Oregon's design becomes obvious:

1. Your CCB license cannot exist without an RMI, failure to maintain one suspends the license.
2. A non-owner RMI can qualify exactly one licensee.
3. When an RMI leaves you have 3 days to notify and 14 days total to have a fully qualified replacement seated.

That is a state that expects the qualifier to be a real, permanent, full-time part of the business, not a name rented for a filing. Oregon's own definition says so twice: owner or employee in ORS 701.005(16), and employ an appropriate full-time signing supervisor on every BCD contractor license prerequisite list. Both routes describe a person inside the company.

That is exactly how a properly structured qualifying agent placement works. The qualifier is hired as a full-time W-2 employee of the licensed entity, holds a real management or supervisory role over construction activities, and satisfies the statute on its own terms, because that is what the statute asks for. It is not a workaround; it is the compliant reading.

If you are building an Oregon HVAC operation, standing up a second entity, entering Oregon from out of state, or looking at a departure you can already see coming, see how a qualifying agent placement is structured, and read what to do when a qualifier leaves before the 14-day clock starts running.

Where to go next

• New to the concept? What is a qualifying agent.
• Building an HVAC company across multiple states? HVAC contractor qualifying agent requirements.
• Also doing plumbing work in Oregon? The Oregon plumbing license guide covers the JP, Supervising Plumber and PB licenses in full.
• On the electrical side too? See the Oregon electrician license guide.
• Wondering how EPA certification fits? EPA 608 certification vs. an HVAC license, they are not substitutes for each other.
• The rest of Oregon: the Oregon contractor licensing state guide and the state directory.
• Tracking 2026 changes? Contractor license law changes by state.
• Considering becoming a qualifier? Become a qualifying agent.

Primary sources: OAR 918-282-0040; OAR 918-030-0030(4); ORS 701.005, 701.082, 701.094, 701.122, 701.990; OAR 812-006-0100, 812-006-0110, 812-006-0164; BCD form 440-2888 and its instructions; BCD's LHR minor-label scope sheet; the Oregon Business Xpress license directory entries for Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R and Combination BCD Contractor Licenses (both updated 02/11/2026); the BCD individual and contractor license pages; the CCB licensing and HB 2922 bond pages; the CCB Guide to Becoming a Licensed Contractor; BCD's 2025 Legislative Update; and enrolled HB 4089 (chapter 53, Oregon Laws 2026). All fees, bond amounts and requirements are set by the boards and the legislature, change over time, and should be verified with the CCB and BCD before you rely on them.