Oregon · HVAC technician licensing · verified July 2026
Oregon HVAC technician license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, Oregon has no general HVAC-technician license; it regulates the trade at the business level plus the electrical trade level. Every HVAC contracting business must hold an Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) license (16 hours of pre-license training + PSI exam + bond and insurance), and HVAC/R maintenance businesses doing electrical servicing need the Building Codes Division's Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor-HVAC/R (LHR) license, whose technicians performing electrical maintenance typically hold the individual Limited Maintenance Electrician (LME) license earned through an apprenticeship or 4,000 hours OJT + 288 classroom hours plus an exam.
Do you need a license to work as an HVAC technician in Oregon?
Oregon regulates this trade at the contractor level rather than licensing individual HVAC technicians.
Federal EPA Section 608 certification is additionally required nationwide for refrigerant handling. Classified 'hybrid' because the state licenses contracting businesses (CCB) and the electrical work embedded in HVAC/R service (BCD electrical licenses), but there is no general state license for HVAC installers/technicians as such, BCD's individual-license programs cover electrical, plumbing, boiler, and elevator trades, not a standalone HVAC trade. New-construction HVAC electrical connections require appropriately licensed electricians beyond LME scope (LME is maintenance-only). The LHR/LME pairing is the standard route for commercial HVAC/R service firms. The 4,000/288-hour figures shown on the LME hours fields are the out-of-state equivalency; the in-state route is a completed registered apprenticeship.
What licenses does Oregon issue?
The Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB); DCBS Building Codes Division (BCD) for trade/specialty licenses issues the credentials below for this trade. Boards often list further classes for specialties and business licenses; these are the ones this page covers.
Hours are what each class asks for on its own terms. Where a senior class shows fewer than a journeyman, the board is counting time served after the earlier license rather than from the start; the prerequisite column says which.
| License | On-the-job hours | Classroom hours | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCB Construction Contractor License (required for all HVAC contracting businesses) | not published | 16 | Yes |
| Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor - HVAC/R (LHR), Building Codes Division | not published | not published | No |
| Limited Maintenance Electrician (LME), Building Codes Division - individual license | 4,000 | 288 | Yes |
Source: Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB); DCBS Building Codes Division (BCD) for trade/specialty licenses (oregon.gov). Verified July 2026.
Limited Maintenance Electrician (LME), Building Codes Division - individual license: Completion of an approved apprenticeship in Oregon, or the out-of-state hour equivalents (288 classroom + 4,000 OJT, or 8,000 OJT)
What exam does Oregon require?
Oregon CCB contractor exam (based on NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management) - 80 questions, open book, 70% to pass. Administered by PSI. Exam fee $60.
Limited Maintenance Electrician (LME) exam - 2 hours, 28 questions, open book. Administered by Oregon Building Codes Division (BCD - Electrical).
How much does an Oregon HVAC technician license cost?
Oregon does not publish every fee a first-time applicant pays, so there is no complete total to give. What the board does publish is below.
- Application fee$400
- Exam feenot published
- Initial license feeincluded
- Renewal fee (recurring)set per license class
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: CCB license: 2 years; BCD LHR: 3 years (July 1); BCD LME: 3 years (October 1)
How does the apprenticeship route work?
Completion of an approved (BOLI-registered) Oregon apprenticeship is the primary in-state qualification for the Limited Maintenance Electrician license used by HVAC/R service technicians; out-of-state experience can substitute at 288 classroom hours + 4,000 OJT hours, or 8,000 OJT hours without classroom training. There is no state HVAC-installer apprenticeship-to-license track outside the electrical licenses.
Which states does Oregon have license reciprocity with?
Oregon does not license this trade at state level, so there is no state agreement to publish. Whether an out-of-state license helps is decided by the city, county or contractor board that issues the credential where you intend to work.
How does Oregon compare to neighboring states?
Requirements stop at the state line, which matters if you live near one or expect to move. Here is what the neighboring states ask of the same trade.
| State | Journeyman hours | Licensing model |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | not published | Contractor level only |
| California | not published | Statewide |
| Nevada | not published | Statewide |
| Washington | not published | Contractor level only |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- Oregon CCB - CCB License (training, exam, fees, bonds, insurance)
- Oregon License Directory - Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R (LHR)
- Oregon License Directory - Limited Maintenance Electrician (LME)
- Oregon BCD - Contractor and business licenses
- Oregon BCD - Licensing (division scope: electrical, plumbing, boiler, elevator licenses)
Last verified July 2026. Found an error? Report it and it will be corrected and logged on the corrections page.
Other states with published requirements for this trade: Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont.
Price the whole path with the license cost estimator, or weigh earning against paying for school with the apprenticeship comparison. Back to HVAC technicians overview.
Licensing requirements change between our verification sweeps. This page is informational only, so confirm current requirements with Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB); DCBS Building Codes Division (BCD) for trade/specialty licenses before making decisions. Not legal advice.