Oregon issues no individual HVAC license. This guide walks through the CCB contractor license, the RMI qualifier rule, and the LHR scope that actually govern HVAC work in the state, plus the 2026 law changes to know.
Oregon does not issue an HVAC license to an individual. What actually governs HVAC work here is a Construction Contractors Board (CCB) business license, plus a Building Codes Division (BCD) endorsement, such as the LHR, for the electrical and plumbing scopes that sit inside most HVAC jobs.
At a glance
- No individual HVAC license exists. BCD's individual licenses cover electrical, plumbing, boiler, elevator and manufactured dwelling, not HVAC.
- The business layer: every HVAC company needs a CCB license with the right endorsement; most residential HVAC companies are Residential Specialty Contractors.
- The qualifier: CCB licenses need a Responsible Managing Individual (RMI), an owner or full time employee, under ORS 701.005(16).
- The HVAC/R license: the LHR (OAR 918-282-0040) is a BCD electrical license for commercial and industrial equipment, not a general HVAC credential.
- The trap: water heater, dishwasher and disposal replacement need a plumbing license the LHR does not cover.
For the complete Oregon contractor licensing picture, see the Oregon contractor license guide. For how every state handles this, see how to get a contractor license in each state.
What page-one guides get wrong about Oregon HVAC
Three errors repeat across most competing results.
"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 under OAR chapter 918, division 282, alongside the electrical contractor, limited energy contractor and limited sign contractor licenses, billed under the electrical program code. Calling it an HVAC license leads companies to buy the wrong thing.
"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.
"Get the CCB license and you're done." For many real HVAC scopes you are not. Water heater replacement, dishwasher and disposal replacement, and commercial thermostat wiring each pull in a different license, and two of them require a plumbing license your HVAC company probably does not hold.
The CCB contractor license: the layer every HVAC business needs
Every business contracting for HVAC work in Oregon needs a Construction Contractors Board license with an appropriate endorsement. This is the mandatory 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, 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.
Bond and insurance by endorsement. House Bill 2922 (2023) raised every CCB minimum bond by $5,000, effective January 1, 2024.
| Endorsement | Bond | Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Specialty | $20,000 | $300,000 per occurrence |
| Residential General | $25,000 | $500,000 per occurrence |
| Residential Limited | $15,000 | $100,000 per occurrence |
| Commercial Specialty, Level 2 | $25,000 | $500,000 per occurrence |
| Commercial General, Level 2 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 aggregate |
| Commercial Specialty, Level 1 | $55,000 | $1,000,000 aggregate |
| Commercial General, Level 1 | $80,000 | $2,000,000 aggregate |
Notes:
- 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 amount.
- Level 1 endorsements need 8 years of construction experience among key employees; Level 2 needs 4 years. An apprenticeship counts for up to 3 years, a construction related bachelor's up to 3 years, a business, finance or economics degree up to 2 years, a construction or building management associate's up to 1 year.
- Level 1 and Level 2 commercial contractors may perform the same work; the difference is bond, insurance and experience, not scope.
- More than $100,000 in total project cost on a qualifying public works job needs a separate $30,000 public works bond filed with the CCB before work starts.
- 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 needs a Lead-Based Paint Renovation license after Oregon Health Authority-approved training.
Getting CCB licensed, in order:
- Choose your structure type and your role (specialty, general or limited).
- Complete the 16 hour CCB-approved pre-license training course.
- Pass the test built on the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management (Oregon version); 70 percent passes, the fee is $60, and you have 24 months from passing to apply. An alternate path swaps the pre-license course for the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors plus the Oregon test, or for the Small Business Development Center course under OAR 812-006-0164.
- Line up your bond, power of attorney and general liability insurance certificate for your endorsement.
- File online with the $400 two-year license fee (the fee for applications received on or after July 1, 2025). The CCB's own application FAQ, updated March 2026, puts processing at up to six weeks online or 6 to 8 weeks on paper.
- Add whatever BCD endorsement your actual scope requires, such as the LHR, a Plumbing Business license, or both.
The RMI: Oregon's qualifier rule
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.
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 reaches non-owners only; 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 needs 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. OAR 812-006-0110(5) leaves no room: "Failure to maintain an RMI will result in suspension of the license of the contractor or business."
Fourteen days is the entire runway between losing your qualifier and losing your license. That is not enough time to recruit, vet, run 16 hours of training, test and file from a cold start.
Oregon's own definition describes a person inside the company, not a placeholder on a filing: owner or employee in ORS 701.005(16), and employ an appropriate full time signing supervisor on every BCD contractor license prerequisite list. 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. See how a qualifying agent placement is structured, read what a qualifying agent is, or look into contractor qualifier services built for exactly this gap.
The LHR: what it actually authorizes
The Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R (LHR) is governed by OAR 918-282-0040. 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 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 boundaries in one rule: commercial and industrial only, load side of the disconnect only, manufacturer-approved changes only, and control wiring in commercial buildings only with the right licensed people on payroll.
The paperwork obligations are ongoing, not one-time. 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 trained employees perform electrical transactions under the license, make the records available to the division on request, and submit a list of all trained persons at application and renewal, including every Class "B" technician, updated within 30 days of any change.
Cost and cycle. Per the Oregon license directory, 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. 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. The signing supervisor may be a "qualified person" whose experience is verified on BCD form 440-2888-C rather than proven by a license: two years (4,000 hours) of installation experience, including set-up and testing, plus approved specialized training, with no more than 2,000 hours credited per year under OAR 918-030-0030(4). You cannot compress four thousand hours into one heavy year. This route exists for the LHR and three other BCD license types; it does not exist for plumbing, which requires an actual licensed supervisor.
The scope traps that catch Oregon HVAC companies
Under a BCD minor label, an LHR contractor may do the following, but note what each one still requires.
| Equipment (minor label) | Limit | License beyond the LHR |
|---|---|---|
| Furnace (oil or gas), single phase | 20A or less, 150V or less | None, employee list on file |
| Fan, single phase | 20A or less, 150V or less | None, employee list on file |
| Electric furnace, AC or refrigeration unit | 150V or less | None, employee list on file |
| Ballasts in up to 10 light fixtures | 300V or less | None, employee list on file |
| Dishwasher or garbage disposal | 20A or less, 150V or less | Journeyman Plumber, plus a PB license |
| Water heater (electrical circuit) | 30A or less, 150V or less | WHI (residential) or JP (commercial), plus a PB license |
Notes:
- The four single-phase rows still need the LHR's employee list on record with BCD even though no additional installer license is required.
- Water heater and dishwasher and disposal work uses the plumbing minor label, not the electrical one, and needs a Plumbing Business (PB) license on the company in addition to the named individual credential.
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 alone.
2026 changes Oregon HVAC contractors should know
HB 4089 raises license-number misuse to a felony, starting January 1, 2027. As of today, the intentional use of a contractor's license number without authorization, and the use of a license number with or without authorization to deceive the public, are each a Class A misdemeanor under ORS 701.990(2) and (3). Enrolled House Bill 4089 (chapter 53, Oregon Laws 2026; House February 27, 2026; Senate March 5, 2026) amends ORS 701.990 to reclassify both as Class C felonies, up to five years' imprisonment, a $125,000 fine, or both. Per the Bureau of Labor and Industries' own legislative summary, that change takes effect January 1, 2027, not before. The same act also makes knowingly contracting with an unlicensed construction labor contractor a Class A misdemeanor for a direct contractor or subcontractor, a Class C felony on a second conviction.
The deception provision 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 will carry felony exposure in Oregon once the new year turns.
HB 2688 already reaches off-site HVAC fabrication for public works. Passed in 2025, 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. The prevailing-wage amendments apply to procurements solicited, or contracts entered into, on or after July 1, 2026, a date that has now passed. Sheet metal shops fabricating duct for public jobs are squarely inside it today.
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 continuing education.
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, using the plumbing minor label. This is one of the most commonly missed requirements 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's $400 two-year application fee, the $60 RMI test fee, the LHR's $75 fee if you need it, and your endorsement's bond amount, which runs from $15,000 to $80,000 depending on endorsement and level. What drives your total beyond that is your credit, which is what a surety actually prices, your insurance limits, and whether you carry employees. Talk through your actual scope before assuming a flat figure.
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 constraints side by side and Oregon's design becomes clear:
- Your CCB license cannot exist without an RMI; failure to maintain one suspends the license under OAR 812-006-0110(5).
- A non-owner RMI can qualify exactly one licensee.
- When an RMI leaves, you have 3 days to notify and 14 days total to seat a fully qualified replacement.
That is a state that expects the qualifier to be a real, permanent, full time part of the business, not a name on a filing. 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, 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.
Sources
S1. CCB license requirements, bond and insurance table. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S2. CCB licensing, HB 2922 bond increase. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S3. CCB license application FAQ, updated March 2026. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S4. Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R (LHR) license record. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S5. OAR 918-282-0040, Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R. Retrieved October 13, 2026. Also OAR 918-030-0030, same retrieval date.
S6. OAR 812-006-0100, Responsible Managing Individual. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S7. OAR 812-006-0110, Temporary Responsible Managing Individual. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S8. ORS Chapter 701, sections 701.005, 701.082, 701.094, 701.990. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S9. Enrolled House Bill 4089 (2026). Retrieved October 13, 2026.
S10. Bureau of Labor and Industries, legislative updates for employers. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
Plan your Oregon HVAC company
Bring your scope, your structure type and your qualifier situation to the conversation before you file anything. Call 615-219-2110 or see how a qualifying agent placement works to plan the licensed role your Oregon HVAC company actually needs.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, licensing guidance, or an offer of services. Licensing requirements vary by jurisdiction. For specific compliance questions, contact The Licensing Company for a confidential consultation.