Alabama: HVAC contractor licensing, reciprocity and contract rules.

This page lists what Alabama 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.

Alabama, field by field.

Contractor licensing authority

Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors (HACR), 100 N. Union Street, Suite 986, Montgomery, AL 36104. Code of Ala. 1975 §34-31-20(a) renames the Board of Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors "as created by Act 82-547, 1982 Regular Session" as the Board of Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors and expands its authority "to examine, certify, and regulate heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration on a statewide basis"; the Board operates under §34-31-18 et seq. and Ala. Admin. Code chapters 440-X-3 and 440-X-4.

HVAC licence required

Statewide. Code of Ala. §34-31-24(a)(1): "No person may advertise, solicit, bid, obtain permits, do business as, or perform the function of a certified contractor unless the person in responsible charge, is a certified contractor"; a "certified heating and air conditioning contractor" is "Any person engaged in the business of heating and air conditioning contracting and installation or service and repair" (§34-31-18(4)). No dollar threshold appears in §§34-31-18 to 34-31-35. Board rule 440-X-3-.02(3) extends the certification requirement to "air duct cleaning services, filter changing services, test and balance services, and the cleaning of heating, air conditioning or refrigeration equipment or systems". Statutory exemptions are listed in §34-31-28(e)-(f) (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board licensees for LP-gas appliance work; authorized government employees acting within their employment; Manufactured Housing Commission structures, except repair, servicing or new installation of a heating and air conditioning system in a previously inspected manufactured structure; motor vehicles, residential refrigerators and ice machines; household appliances; farm equipment; poultry operations) and rule 440-X-3-.05 (retail sellers who do not install, service or repair; owners working on their own buildings; in-house maintenance employees working on the employer's premises; duct-work installation subcontracted to an uncertified person under a certified contractor's supervision).

Licence classes & qualifications

Two certifications: certified heating and air conditioning contractor and certified refrigeration contractor (§34-31-18(4)-(5)), each issued in Active status (performs installation, service or repair; $220 initial and $220 annual renewal fee) or Inactive status (does not perform work; $110 initial and $110 annual renewal) per the Board's How to Get Licensed page and rule 440-X-3-.10(1) (fees "effective October 14, 2024"). Applicants "shall be required to stand for a written examination before the board" (§34-31-28(a)); the written examination fee is $175 and the practical examination fee $375 (rule 440-X-3-.10(1)(a)-(b)); an applicant who fails the first examination may, on request, take "a practical examination which is equivalent to the written examination" within six months (§34-31-28(a); rule 440-X-3-.04(1)). An applicant is eligible to sit if he or she "has completed 3,000 hours of work experience, as defined by the board, or is a graduate of an approved heating, air conditioning, or refrigeration curriculum" (§34-31-28(c)). A business entity qualifies through a "person in responsible charge" who is a regularly employed W-2 employee, owner, partner or corporate officer working "an average of 30 or more hours per week" for the business (§34-31-18(12)-(13); rule 440-X-3-.09(1)).

Insurance / bond minimum

Bond: $20,000 performance bond payable to the Board. Rule 440-X-3-.04(5): "All new heating and air conditioning, or refrigeration contractor applicants must provide a performance bond in the amount of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) to the Board. Proof of bond may be required annually during the renewal process." The Board's How to Get Licensed page requires the bond "in the business name listing the Board as obligee" (form BF-1) for Active status and states "No bond is required" for Inactive status. The statutory ceiling is "a performance bond not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per year for all active certified contractors" (§34-31-30). General-liability insurance minimum: Not stated in this pass (no insurance requirement appears in §§34-31-18 to 34-31-35 or in chapters 440-X-3 and 440-X-4 as read).

Reciprocity

§34-31-29(d) authorizes reciprocity agreements that recognize "the status of the certified contractor as having passed the examination; however, all certification fees are required to be paid". The Board's How to Get Licensed page lists eight reciprocal licensing bodies: Mississippi State Board of Contractors; Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors; Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board; South Carolina Residential Building Commission; South Carolina Contractor's Board; Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation; West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board; Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. Conditions on that page: an equivalent exam passed with a score of at least 70%, a current valid licence with one of the listed boards, a completed, signed and notarized Reciprocity Application, a $220 processing fee, the $20,000 performance bond naming the Board as obligee (form BF-1), and foreign-corporation registration with the Alabama Secretary of State; rule 440-X-3-.04(2) requires "a current and valid license in a qualifying reciprocal state with no previous or pending disciplinary action".

Renewal & continuing education

Annual renewal: "All certificates provided for herein shall be renewed annually, not later than December 31 of each year" (§34-31-26(a)); a licence "shall automatically lapse at the end of the calendar year in which it was issued if it is not renewed prior to 11:59 pm December 31st annually" (rule 440-X-3-.02(1)); late renewal within the following calendar year carries a $250 late fee, and a licence unrenewed for one calendar year (365 days) or more "is considered expired and shall be required to sit for and pass the written prelicensure examination" (rule 440-X-3-.06). Continuing education: "All certified contractors shall be required to complete at least four hours of continuing education every year", with four excess hours carried to the following renewal year (§34-31-26(d); rule 440-X-4-.02(8)); proof is due to the Board "before November 1st annually" (rule 440-X-4-.02(11)); a $25 deficiency plan fee applies to hours submitted after November 1 and before January 1 (rule 440-X-4-.03; rule 440-X-3-.10(1)(l)); the first renewal year is exempt (§34-31-26(h); rule 440-X-4-.10); inactive contractors aged 65 or older are exempt (§34-31-26(g); rule 440-X-4-.09).

Home-improvement contract rule

No general home-improvement contract statute of the CA B&P §7159 type (written-contract mandate for all residential contractors, cancellation window beyond the federal rule, or deposit cap) was located on official Alabama sources in this pass. Two Home Builders Licensure Law provisions apply to HBLB licensees: Code of Ala. §34-14A-7(f): "Each licensee shall use a valid written contract when engaging in the business of residential home building. In addition to any other requirements provided by law, the contract shall contain the licensee's license number issued by the board"; and §34-14A-19: before residential home building begins, the builder "shall disclose in writing to the homeowner whether the residential home builder has obtained and is currently maintaining liability insurance", signed by both parties and attested by one witness. HBLB licensure is triggered by §34-14A-2(16), which defines a "residential home builder" to include a person who, for a fixed price, commission, fee or wage, undertakes the construction "or the repair, improvement, or reimprovement" of a residence or structure not over three floors in height with not more than four residential units, "to be used by another as a residence when the cost of the undertaking exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000)" (residential roofers at $2,500). The exemptions in §34-14A-6 list employees of licensees, government employees, general contractors licensed before January 1, 1992 under Chapter 8, real estate licensees, licensed engineers and architects, owner-builders, Manufactured Housing Commission structures and agricultural buildings; they do not list contractors certified under Chapter 31. The Attorney General's releases of May 11, 2018 and September 17, 2020 state that "Under state law, licensed homebuilders must use a written contract", and the 2020 release states that a 2020 act allows a homeowner to cancel a roofing contract within five business days after written notice from the insurer that all or part of the claim is not covered or will not cover the contract amount; the code section of that roofing cancellation right was not located in Chapter 14A in this pass.