STATE REFERENCE · HVAC LICENSING & CONTRACTS · 51 JURISDICTIONS
HVAC Licensing & Contract Rules, state by state.
Every US state and the District of Columbia on one page: the regulator, HVAC licence required, the cited statute or rule, how far each row was verified, and what you still need to confirm. Free, dated, and sourced — no email wall.
Download the full table (CSV) · one file per state under /states/data/ · CC BY 4.0, attribute Vertical OS and link to the state page.
| State | HVAC licence required | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Statewide. Code of Ala. §34-31-24(a)(1): "No person may advertise, solicit, bid, obtain permits, do… | Verified — cited |
| Alaska | Statewide. AS 08.40.260(a): "A person may not act as a mechanical administrator without a license unless… | Verified — cited |
| Arizona | Statewide above threshold. A.R.S. §32-1151: "It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership,… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Arkansas | Statewide. Ark. Code §17-33-301(a): "It is unlawful for any person to engage in HVACR work without the… | Verified — cited |
| California | Statewide above threshold. B&P §7028(a): "Unless exempted from this chapter, it is a misdemeanor for a… | Verified — cited |
| Colorado | None at state level. DPO's Colorado DPO Occupational Professions List (read 2026-10-14) contains no HVAC… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Connecticut | Statewide. CGS §20-334(a): "No person shall engage in, practice or offer to perform the work of any… | Verified — cited |
| Delaware | Statewide. 24 Del. C. § 1820(a): "A person shall not provide HVACR or HVACR restricted services in this… | Verified — cited |
| District of Columbia | District-wide. D.C. Code § 47-2853.04(a) lists "Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic" (item 36)… | Verified — cited |
| Florida | Statewide. Fla. Stat. § 489.127(1)(f) prohibits a person from engaging "in the business or act in the… | Verified — cited |
| Georgia | Statewide. O.C.G.A. § 43-14-8(c)(1) (SB 125 text): "No person shall engage in the business of conditioned… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Hawaii | Statewide above a dollar threshold. HAR § 16-77-4(a): "No person within the purview of this chapter shall… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Idaho | Statewide. Idaho Code § 54-5008 (Certificate a prerequisite): on and after July 1, 2004 it is unlawful for… | Verified — cited |
| Illinois | None at state level; municipal licences where adopted. IDFPR's licensed-professions list includes no HVAC,… | Verified — cited |
| Indiana | Local only — no statewide HVAC licence appears on the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency's professions… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Iowa | Statewide — DIAL's contractor-licence page: “Iowa law requires all plumbing and mechanical contractors to… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Kansas | Local only — K.S.A. 12-1542 regulates licensure by “Any county or city requiring the licensure of… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Kentucky | Statewide — KRS 198B.656(4): “A person shall not practice heating, ventilation, and air conditioning… | Verified — cited |
| Louisiana | Statewide above threshold — a “Mechanical contractor” is any person who bids on or performs the… | Verified — cited |
| Maine | None at state level — the Attorney General states Maine “does not license or regulate home contractors”,… | Verified — cited |
| Maryland | Statewide — Md. Code, Bus. Reg. §9A-301: “Except as otherwise provided in this title, an individual shall… | Verified — cited |
| Massachusetts | Statewide above threshold — M.G.L. c.146 § 81 defines refrigeration as "the installation, repair,… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Michigan | Statewide — a person shall not perform "installations, alterations, or servicing of work classifications… | Verified — cited |
| Minnesota | Statewide (bond filing only) — no state licence exists for mechanical/HVAC contractors; "A person… | Verified — cited |
| Mississippi | Statewide — on residential construction or improvement projects "Any subcontractor, of any tier,… | Verified — cited |
| Missouri | Local only — no statewide HVAC or mechanical contractor licence exists: the Division of Professional… | Verified — cited |
| Montana | Statewide (construction contractor business licence; no HVAC trade licence) — "An individual or business… | Verified — cited |
| Nebraska | Statewide (registration only) — § 48-2104(1) requires a contractor to register with the Department of… | Verified — cited |
| Nevada | Statewide, with no dollar threshold for HVAC-type work. NRS 624.031(6) exempts "Any work to repair or… | Verified — cited |
| New Hampshire | None at state level for refrigeration and air-conditioning work as such. Fuel gas fitting work requires a… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| New Jersey | Statewide — "A person, firm, partnership, corporation or other legal entity shall not engage in the… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| New Mexico | Statewide, with no dollar threshold for mechanical work. "No person shall act as a contractor without a… | Verified — cited |
| New York | Local only — no statewide HVAC or mechanical licence; licensing applies where a city or county requires… | Verified — cited |
| North Carolina | Statewide — G.S. 87-21(b)(3): "a license shall be obtained, in accordance with the provisions of this… | Verified — cited |
| North Dakota | Statewide above threshold — the state contractor licence, not a trade-specific licence. N.D.C.C.… | Verified — cited |
| Ohio | Statewide — for work on non-residential ("commercial") buildings only, no dollar threshold. ORC… | Verified — cited |
| Oklahoma | Statewide — 59 O.S. §1850.7: "No person shall engage or offer to engage in, by advertisement or otherwise,… | Verified — cited |
| Oregon | Statewide — ORS 701.021(1): "a person or joint venture that undertakes, offers to undertake or submits a… | Verified — cited |
| Pennsylvania | Statewide (registration only) — HICPA §3(a): "No person shall hold himself out as a contractor, nor shall… | Verified — cited |
| Rhode Island | Statewide, no dollar threshold — R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-27-5(a): "No person shall: (1) Engage in this state… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| South Carolina | Statewide above thresholds — residential: a "residential specialty contractor" does specialty-trade work… | Verified — cited |
| South Dakota | None at state level — no state board or licence for HVAC or mechanical contractors appears on the… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Tennessee | Statewide above threshold — "A contractor's license is required before contracting, including bidding,… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
| Texas | Statewide — "A person may not engage in air conditioning and refrigeration contracting unless the person… | Verified — cited |
| Utah | Statewide — a person engaged in the construction trades licensed under the chapter, as a contractor or… | Verified — cited |
| Vermont | No licence titled 'HVAC' exists; separate credentials cover parts of the work. Electrical: 26 V.S.A. § 911… | Verified — cited |
| Virginia | Statewide. Individuals: 'no individual shall engage in, or offer to engage in, work as a tradesman as… | Verified — cited |
| Washington | Statewide (registration). 'Every contractor shall register with the department' (RCW 18.27.020(1)), and it… | Verified — cited |
| West Virginia | Statewide. Individuals: 'On and after January 1, 2016, a person performing or offering to perform work on… | Verified — cited |
| Wisconsin | Statewide (registration). 'No person may engage in the business of installing or servicing heating,… | Verified — cited |
| Wyoming | No state HVAC or mechanical contractor licence was located: none appears in Title 33 or in W.S. 35-9… | Partially verified — some rules cited |
What the verification column means.
Each row was researched against the state's own published sources and graded honestly. Verified — cited — 37 states; Partially verified — some rules cited — 14 states. A row marked as not fully verified is a pointer to the right regulator and the right rule, not a conclusion; every state page carries a "what to confirm" section that says exactly which question is still open.
Start with the licensing authority link — it is the primary source. The licence-required and home-improvement-contract rows decide what you can sign and sell, so read both against the cited statute before changing a contract or a service area. The verification status says how much of the row was read at the source.
This page lists what your state publishes about licensing an HVAC or mechanical contractor and contracting with homeowners: who issues the licence, whether one is required statewide, the classes and qualifications, insurance or bond minimums, reciprocity with other states, renewal and continuing education, and the state's home-improvement contract statute if it has one.
It is built for owners of residential HVAC companies, especially those hiring across a state line or opening a second territory. Every entry is a snapshot of what the cited source published on the verification date; it is a research starting point, not legal advice.
Snapshot date. Rows were last verified 2026-10-20. Laws change; the date is on every page so you can judge freshness for yourself.
Not legal advice. Every row is a dated snapshot of published sources; licensing rules and contract statutes change, and cities and counties add their own permit and licence requirements. Confirm every entry with the named authority and your own counsel before relying on it.
Free, open data — not a paid feature.
This 51-row table is published here under CC BY 4.0 and is not part of HVAC OS. The product is the operating system around it: a Notion workspace, working automations and Claude skills for the owner-side work your software doesn't do. These pages stay free either way.
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