Tennessee · HVAC technician licensing · verified July 2026
Tennessee HVAC technician license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, Tennessee licenses HVAC at the contractor level through the Board for Licensing Contractors: a mechanical contractor license (CMC full mechanical, or CMC-C for HVAC/refrigeration) is required for any HVAC project of $25,000 or more, including subcontracts. Projects under $25,000 are regulated at the local level, exempt-jurisdiction cities and counties issue their own mechanical HVAC or journeyman licenses, and in municipalities where the State Fire Marshal's electrical inspectors do inspections, a state Limited Licensed Electrician (LLE) license or a CMC-C is required to pull HVAC permits. There is no statewide HVAC technician/journeyman license.
Do you need a license to work as an HVAC technician in Tennessee?
Tennessee regulates this trade at the contractor level rather than licensing individual HVAC technicians.
Reciprocity listed is the Board's trade-exam waiver for HVAC/mechanical scopes only (Alabama HVAC->CMC-C; Louisiana/Mississippi/West Virginia Mechanical->CMC; Ohio and South Carolina HVAC->CMC-C); the Tennessee Business and Law exam is never waived, and NASCLA commercial exam scores are also accepted for BC-B/CE. Under $25,000, work is regulated locally, exempt jurisdictions (cities/counties such as Memphis and Knoxville operate their own codes offices) issue their own mechanical/journeyman licenses, and the state LLE license (or CMC-C) is needed for HVAC permits where the Fire Marshal's electrical inspectors have jurisdiction; a licensed electrician must handle the electrical portion of HVAC installs. Passed trade exams are valid for 2 years. A $10/month late fee applies within the renewal grace period ($20/month once expired, up to 12 months).
What licenses does Tennessee issue?
The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMC - Mechanical Contractor (Full Mechanical: Plumbing and HVAC) | not published | not published | Yes |
| CMC-C - Mechanical Contractor: HVAC/Refrigeration (and gas piping) | not published | not published | Yes |
Source: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) (tn.gov). Verified July 2026.
What exam does Tennessee require?
Tennessee Business and Law Exam. Administered by PSI (Prov becomes the Board's exam administrator beginning July 1, 2026).
Full Mechanical (CMC) trade exam - open book, Board pre-approval required. Administered by PSI / Prov (from July 1, 2026).
HVAC/Refrigeration (CMC-C) trade exam - open book. Administered by PSI / Prov (from July 1, 2026).
Source: examination page (tn.gov). Verified July 2026.
How much does a Tennessee HVAC technician license cost?
Getting a journeyman HVAC technician license in Tennessee costs $250 in board fees, before any training. That is the application fee charged once, with renewal charged separately below. No board publishes this total, so it is added up here from the schedule it does publish. An exam is required and its fee is not in that figure, because no amount for it appears in the board material this page is built from. Check the board's current fee schedule before budgeting.
- Application fee$250
- Renewal fee (recurring)$200
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: 2 years (biennial)
Continuing education: None required for mechanical (CMC/CMC-C) licensees on the pages read; the Board's 8-hours-per-biennial-renewal continuing education requirement applies to BC-A and BC-A/r residential building contractors.
Source: renewal requirements (tn.gov). Verified July 2026.
How does the apprenticeship route work?
No statutory apprenticeship-hours ladder for HVAC licensure; the license is a business credential. Trade work experience (typically documented over about 3 years) supports exam pre-approval (for CMC) and the Board's assignment of the monetary limit. Tennessee registered apprenticeships are not a formal licensure prerequisite.
Which states does Tennessee have license reciprocity with?
Tennessee appears in 7 published reciprocal licensing agreements for this trade, covering Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia. Boards write these as agreements between two states rather than as a one-way list, and some publish the list while their counterpart does not, so this counts every agreement naming Tennessee from either side. Recognition is never automatic: the board you apply to decides, and most require the original license to have been earned by examination and to be in good standing.
Source: reciprocity agreement (tn.gov). Verified July 2026.
How does Tennessee 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | not published | Contractor level only |
| Alabama | not published | Statewide |
| Arkansas | not published | Statewide |
| Georgia | not published | Statewide |
| Kentucky | 3,000 | Statewide |
| Mississippi | not published | Contractor level only |
| North Carolina | not published | Statewide |
| Virginia | not published | Statewide |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors - Contractor license (who must be licensed, classifications, fees)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors - Exam information
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors - Renewal
- TN Dept. of Commerce & Insurance - HVAC Projects Less Than $25,000
- Trade Exam Waiver (Reciprocity) with Tennessee (official Board form)
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: 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 Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) before making decisions. Not legal advice.