Texas · HVAC technician licensing · verified July 2026
Texas HVAC technician license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, Texas licenses the trade entirely at the state level through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) under Occupations Code Chapter 1302. Anyone offering ACR contracting services must hold an ACR Contractor license (Class A for any size equipment, Class B for cooling up to 25 tons / heating up to 1.5M BTU/hr, with Environmental Air Conditioning and/or Commercial Refrigeration & Process Cooling/Heating endorsements), and every technician assisting a contractor must at minimum hold a state technician registration, with an optional exam-based Certified Technician credential.
Do you need a license to work as an HVAC technician in Texas?
Texas licenses HVAC technicians statewide, so one credential is valid across the whole state.
Official TDLR fee table: contractor application $115 / renewal $65; certified technician $50 / renewal $35; registered technician $20 / renewal $20. Late contractor renewal: 1.5x fee ($97.50) within 90 days, 2x fee ($130) up to 18 months. Failed exams can be rescheduled with PSI within 24-48 hours; the application window is 1 year. Class A/B insurance must be filed to perform public contracting. Statute: Occupations Code Ch. 1302; rules 16 TAC Ch. 75. Federal EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification is additionally required for anyone servicing refrigerant-containing equipment.
What licenses does Texas issue?
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) - Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors program (with ACR Contractors Advisory Board) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACR Contractor License - Class A | not published | not published | Yes |
| ACR Contractor License - Class B | not published | not published | Yes |
| Certified Technician | not published | not published | Yes |
| Registered Technician | not published | not published | No |
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) - Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors program (with ACR Contractors Advisory Board) (tdlr.texas.gov). Verified July 2026.
What exam does Texas require?
TX ACR Contractor exams (TX Environmental Air A/B, TX Commercial Refrigeration A/B). Administered by PSI (under contract to TDLR).
TX ACR Certified Technician Examination. Administered by PSI (under contract to TDLR).
Source: examination page (tdlr.texas.gov). Verified July 2026.
How much does a Texas HVAC technician license cost?
Getting a journeyman HVAC technician license in Texas costs $115 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$115
- Renewal fee (recurring)$65
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: 1 year (all ACR licenses and registrations are valid for 1 year from issue)
Continuing education: Contractors: 8 hours of approved continuing education each year, including 1 hour on Texas state law and rules regulating licensees.
Source: renewal requirements (tdlr.texas.gov). Verified July 2026.
How does the apprenticeship route work?
Texas has no formal apprenticeship-hours requirement; the ladder is registration-based. A new worker registers as a Registered Technician ($20, no exam) and accrues supervised practical experience under a licensed contractor, 24 months (or a 2,000-hour approved training program) qualifies for the Certified Technician exam, and 48 months (or 12 months certified + 36 months supervised) qualifies for the contractor license exam.
Which states does Texas have license reciprocity with?
No published agreement for this trade names Texas. That is not the same as a closed door: states without a published list usually take out-of-state applicants through an endorsement or equivalency review instead, decided case by case on the requirements set out above.
How does Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | not published | Statewide |
| Arkansas | not published | Statewide |
| Louisiana | not published | Contractor level only |
| New Mexico | not published | Statewide |
| Oklahoma | 6,000 | Statewide |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- TDLR ACR program homepage
- TDLR - ACR Contractor license application requirements
- TDLR - ACR Technician registration
- TDLR - ACR Certified Technician application
- TDLR - ACR exam information (PSI)
- TDLR - ACR contractor renewal ($65, 8 hrs CE)
- TDLR - ACR continuing education
- TDLR - ACR at a Glance (official fee table and requirements)
- TDLR - ACR contractor license application instructions
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: Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.
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 Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) - Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors program (with ACR Contractors Advisory Board) before making decisions. Not legal advice.