How to Get an HVAC License in Texas

To get an HVAC license in Texas, you apply to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, or TDLR, for an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ACR) contractor license after completing 48 months of supervised practical experience and passing a PSI exam. Technicians who are not yet eligible for the contractor license register or certify with TDLR first and work under a licensed ACR contractor while they build toward it.

At a glance

• Issued by: The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)
• Ordinary route: 48 months of supervised experience in the preceding 72 months
• Exam: PSI administers the exam after TDLR approves eligibility
• Application fee: $115 for the ACR contractor license
• Renewal: Annual, $65, with 8 hours of continuing education

How to Get an HVAC License in Texas

This guide walks through who needs which Texas HVAC credential, the classes and endorsements, the experience and exam requirements, the application steps, what it costs, and what changes once you are running a business rather than working under someone else's license. For the broader licensing framework, see the Texas contractor license guide and our contractor license overview.

Which Texas HVAC license do you need?

TDLR issues four distinct credentials for air conditioning and refrigeration work, and they are not interchangeable. A technician credential lets you work under someone else's license. The ACR contractor license is the one that lets you operate independently, pull permits in your own name, and be the licensed professional a business relies on.

Notes on the table:

• A registered technician cannot advertise ACR services and must work under a licensed ACR contractor's supervision.
• Certified technician status is voluntary. It stays a supervised credential, but it can shorten the contractor route (see below).
• EPA Section 608 is a separate federal credential for anyone who services equipment containing covered refrigerant. It does not expire and does not replace the Texas ACR license.
• Closely and continually supervised apprentices have an exemption from the EPA 608 certification requirement.

The registered technician application, certified technician application and contractor application are separate forms. Apply for the credential your current eligibility actually supports rather than the one that sounds faster.

HVAC license classes and endorsements in Texas

Once you are applying for the ACR contractor license, TDLR also asks you to choose a class (equipment size) and an endorsement (type of work).

Match the class and endorsement to the systems your work actually involves. A residential comfort-cooling operation and a commercial refrigeration operation are not the same endorsement just because both use refrigerant, and a business planning work above the Class B equipment limit needs Class A rather than assuming its current class covers larger units.

Experience, education and the PSI exam

Experience routes. The ordinary ACR contractor route requires 48 months of supervised practical experience in the 72 months before you apply. The alternative route requires holding technician certification for the preceding 12 months plus 36 months of supervised experience in the preceding 48 months. TDLR also recognizes exception categories for a relevant degree, diploma or certification, a licensed engineer or mechanical engineering degree, military air conditioning and refrigeration training, and industrial cooling or heating employment; consult the contractor application page for how those apply to a specific case. Your supervising contractor, not you, completes the official experience verification.

The exam. PSI administers every ACR exam after TDLR approves your eligibility. All of them are open-book against a fixed reference list and require a 70% passing score.

These fees and formats come from the PSI candidate bulletin, republished September 1, 2026 to reflect the updated codes below. Each exam includes a few additional non-scored items, and each includes a Texas Laws and Rules content section. Effective September 1, 2026, the exams reference the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code, the 2024 International Mechanical Code and the 2024 Uniform Mechanical Code.

EPA Section 608. Separately from TDLR, anyone servicing equipment with covered refrigerant needs the matching EPA certification: Type I for small appliances, Type II for high-pressure appliances, Type III for low-pressure appliances, or Universal for all equipment types. Universal certification requires a proctored core exam rather than the open-book version. Tests are administered by an EPA-approved certifying organization, not TDLR or PSI.

How to apply for your Texas HVAC license

1. Choose the credential, class and endorsement that match the work you intend to do.
2. Confirm your eligibility route, including the exact experience, certification or exception category that applies, and keep the relevant dates documented.
3. Get your experience verified. Your supervising ACR contractor completes TDLR's official verification; you cannot self-certify it.
4. Submit the TDLR application and fee. The ACR contractor application fee is $115; registered and certified technician applications have their own lower fees.
5. Wait for TDLR eligibility approval, then schedule your PSI exam through PSI's website or by phone.
6. Pass the exam and arrange insurance. Contractors must carry the commercial general liability coverage required for their class before the license is active.
7. Finish within one year of filing. Every requirement, including the exam, must be complete within one year of the date you filed, or the application lapses.

Want the application done for you?

Gathering the experience verification, assembling the TDLR forms correctly, and tracking the paperwork while you are also running jobs is where most delays happen. The Licensing Company's License Application Processing service handles the application itself: an eligibility audit before anything is filed, so you know every state fee up front; a document checklist, with our team chasing the pieces alongside you; every TDLR form prepared and reviewed line by line by a senior team member; and submission the way TDLR requires, with the board's paperwork questions answered and the application resubmitted until TDLR rules.

It is a flat $999 per state application, paid up front. State fees, exam fees, background checks and fingerprinting are paid to TDLR and PSI directly, not to us. We do not promise approval, only TDLR decides, and we do not promise a timeline or sit the PSI exam for you.

Call 615-219-2110 or visit License Application Processing to get started.

What changes when you are opening an HVAC business

Texas does not issue a separate company-level HVAC license the way some states do. Instead, TDLR requires every ACR company to have a licensed ACR contractor responsible for the work at each permanent business location, with the class, endorsement and insurance that location's work requires.

If you own the company but are not yet personally eligible for the ACR contractor license, a qualifying agent can fill that role while you build your own experience toward the license. A qualifying agent qualifies the company as an owner or full time W-2 employee who supervises the work; see what a qualifying agent is for how that relationship works and what TDLR expects from it.

Use this checklist when opening a location:

• List each permanent location and name the licensed ACR contractor responsible for it.
• Match the proposed equipment sizes to Class A or Class B authority.
• Match environmental, refrigeration and process work to the E, R or C endorsement.
• Confirm who performs covered refrigerant work and which EPA Section 608 certification, or apprentice exemption, covers them.
• Keep registered and certified technician duties distinct from the contractor role, including the advertising restriction on registered technicians.

Related trades deserve their own licensing review. See the Texas electrical license guide and Texas plumbing license guide before a business expands into those trades on the strength of its ACR license.

Texas HVAC license fees and costs

Each of these is a separate charge for a separate step; this guide does not add them into one startup total, since not every applicant pays every line. Exam fees are paid to PSI separately and are listed in the exam table above. Insurance premiums are set by your insurer, not TDLR.

Insurance requirements

TDLR sets minimum commercial general liability coverage by class, and separates occurrence, aggregate and products and completed operations aggregate limits.

Compare your policy evidence against all three limits when you talk to your insurer; these are coverage minimums, not a quote for what the policy costs. Coverage must stay in force while the license is active.

Renewal and continuing education

Renew late and the fee increases: TDLR charges 1.5 times the normal fee if you renew within 90 days of expiration, and 2 times the normal fee between 90 days and 18 months expired, with executive director approval required beyond that. The renewal page and continuing education page cover the current process; only TDLR-approved CE providers count.

Reciprocity for out-of-state HVAC licenses

TDLR publishes inbound reciprocity for Georgia and South Carolina only. You must have held the out-of-state license for at least one year, and the specific license type matters.

South Carolina heating-only licenses do not qualify. Applicants need a letter of good standing confirming exam passage, the current license, proof of insurance, and the $115 application fee. Every other state's applicants go through TDLR's individual out-of-state review rather than an automatic match; see TDLR's out-of-state applicant guidance for what that review covers.

Texas HVAC license questions

What do I need to start an HVAC business in Texas?

A licensed ACR contractor responsible for each permanent location, with the class, endorsement and insurance that location's work requires. If you are not yet personally licensed, a qualifying agent can fill that role.

Is there a journeyman HVAC license in Texas?

No. TDLR's tiers are registered technician, certified technician and ACR contractor; Texas does not use "journeyman" as a license title. A certified technician is still supervised and is not authorized to contract independently.

What is an ACR contractor, and is it the same as a licensed AC contractor?

ACR contractor is TDLR's name for the independent HVAC and refrigeration contractor license. "Licensed AC contractor" and "licensed HVAC contractor" both describe the same credential, usually with the Environmental Air (E) endorsement.

How do I become a licensed HVAC technician in Texas?

Register as a technician at 16 with no experience requirement, or apply as a certified technician at 18 with 24 months of supervised experience or a TDLR-approved 2,000 hour program. Both remain supervised credentials, not an independent contractor license.

Does Texas certify HVAC work, or only license it?

TDLR licenses and registers individuals (technicians and contractors). The certified technician credential is the closest thing to a certification tier, and it is still a supervised status, not an HVAC business license.

Can a technician advertise HVAC services?

No. TDLR says a registered technician cannot advertise ACR services, and certified technician status is also a supervised credential rather than an ACR contractor license.

Can certified technicians qualify for the contractor license sooner?

An alternative route allows technician certification held for the preceding 12 months plus 36 months of supervised experience in the preceding 48 months, instead of the ordinary 48-month route.

What does the PSI exam cost and how is it scored?

$74 for Class A exams, $60 for Class B and Certified Technician exams, each requiring a 70% passing score on an open-book test against TDLR's reference list.

Does my Georgia or South Carolina license qualify for Texas reciprocity?

TDLR publishes specific equivalencies for a Georgia Class II Conditioned Air license and four South Carolina license types, each held for at least one year. Check the exact license type rather than assuming any HVAC credential from those states qualifies.

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

TDLR does not publish a guaranteed processing time. The firm deadline it does set is that every requirement, including passing the PSI exam, must be complete within one year of the date you filed the application.

Sources

All sources retrieved October 5, 2026.

• TDLR contractor application.
• TDLR registered technician application.
• TDLR certified technician application.
• TDLR contractor renewal.
• TDLR continuing education.
• TDLR examination information.
• PSI examination bulletin, republished September 1, 2026.
• TDLR reciprocity.
• TDLR out-of-state applicant guidance.
• TDLR ACR program.
• EPA Section 608 requirements.

Plan the licensed role behind your business

Call The Licensing Company at 615-219-2110 or explore qualifying agent support. We can also handle the paperwork itself through License Application Processing. Bring your planned locations, equipment sizes and work scope so the conversation starts with the license your company actually needs.