South Carolina: HVAC contractor licensing, reciprocity and contract rules.

This page lists what South Carolina 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.

South Carolina, field by field.

Contractor licensing authority

South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), through two bodies: the Residential Builders Commission licenses residential specialty contractors in the "heating and air conditioning installers and repairers" classification, who "must be issued specialty contractor licenses after passing the required examination" (S.C. Code § 40-59-20(7); § 40-59-220(A),(D); S.C. Code Regs. 106-2(a)), and the Contractor's Licensing Board licenses Mechanical Contractors — Air Conditioning (AC), Heating (HT), Packaged Equipment (PK), Refrigeration (RG) — for "mechanical construction", defined as "the installation, replacement, or repair of plumbing, heating, air conditioning, process piping, refrigeration, lightning protection equipment, or electrical components, fixtures, or devices of any kind, excluding burglar alarm work" (§ 40-11-20(17); § 40-11-30; § 40-11-410(5)).

HVAC licence required

Statewide above thresholds — residential: a "residential specialty contractor" does specialty-trade work "when the undertakings exceed five hundred dollars and are not regulated by the provisions of Chapter 11" (§ 40-59-20(7); the threshold was raised from $200 by 2022 Act No. 186), and heating and air conditioning installers and repairers "must be issued specialty contractor licenses after passing the required examination" (§ 40-59-20(7); Reg. 106-2(a)); the Commission's page states "Residential HVAC work exceeding $500 requires a license." The residential scope is "limited to five tons cooling and 175,000 BTU/HR heating per unit" (Reg. 106-1(c)). Commercial: "No entity or individual may practice as a contractor by performing or offering to perform contracting work for which the total cost of construction is greater than ten thousand dollars for general contracting or greater than ten thousand dollars for mechanical contracting without a license issued in accordance with this chapter" (§ 40-11-30; "ten thousand dollars" substituted for "five thousand dollars" by 2023 Act No. 69 (H.4115), effective May 19, 2023); the Board's page: "A General or Mechanical Contractor's license is required for anyone performing commercial construction over $10,000".

Licence classes & qualifications

Residential Specialty Contractor – Heating and Air Conditioning Installer and Repairer: scope is "the installation, replacement, alteration, or repair of air conditioning equipment and systems, limited to five tons cooling and 175,000 BTU/HR heating per unit", within a residence, "including package equipment, heating and cooling systems", ventilation systems and duct work, controls, "water and gas piping from service and heating circuits and air handling systems, including gas fired furnaces and space heaters, and factory assembled single package units and split type direct expansion equipment, including heat pumps" (Reg. 106-1(c)); applicants show one year of residential HVAC work experience gained within the preceding five years under a licensed residential HVAC contractor or other appropriately licensed professional, verified by affidavit (Commission FAQ), submit a credit report (§ 40-59-250, as quoted in the Commission FAQ), and pass the PSI Residential HVAC and Business Management and Law examinations (Commission FAQ); fees on the Commission page: application $135, licence $220, renewal $220, late fee $50, reinstatement $480. Mechanical Contractor – Air Conditioning (AC; "includes PK and RG" per the Board's abbreviations sheet; § 40-11-410(5)(a)), Heating (HT; § 40-11-410(5)(b)), Packaged Equipment (PK; "limited to twenty-five tons cooling and five hundred thousand BTU/HR heating per unit", § 40-11-410(5)(c)), Refrigeration (RG; § 40-11-410(5)(h)): the Primary Qualifying Party passes the PSI technical exam for each classification and the S.C. Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam, which the Board's licensure page requires of all applicants; applicants document at least 2 years of work experience performed within the past 5 years, primarily commercial, on the Work Experience Affidavit; licensure fee $350 (Board licensure page). A HARV (Master Mechanical) certification issued by examination by the Municipal Association of South Carolina between September 7, 2013 and December 2025, or by Carolinas AGC after January 1, 2026, substitutes for the technical exam (Board and Commission pages).

Insurance / bond minimum

Residential HVAC: "When the cost of an undertaking performed by a residential specialty contractor for an individual property owner exceeds five thousand dollars, the residential specialty contractor must obtain an executed bond with a surety in an amount approved by the commission" (§ 40-59-220(D)); the amount is set by Reg. 106-2: "When the cost of an undertaking to be performed by a licensed residential specialty contractor exceeds five thousand dollars, the licensee must obtain an executed surety bond in an amount approved by the Commission not less than ten thousand dollars"; the Commission FAQ restates a $10,000 surety bond "if undertaking projects that exceed $5000 in labor and materials". No liability-insurance minimum is published on the Commission pages read. Mechanical Contractor: an acceptable financial statement meeting the group's net worth or working capital requirement, or a surety bond "in the same amount as the net worth for the applicant's license group" (§ 40-11-262(A), reduced from two times net worth by 2023 Act No. 69) — Group 1 (bids and jobs not to exceed $35,000 per job): net worth $7,000 or working capital $3,500, bond $7,000; Group 2 ($100,000): $15,000 / $10,000 / $15,000; Group 3 ($200,000): $30,000 / $20,000 / $30,000; Group 4 ($400,000): $60,000 / $40,000 / $60,000; Group 5 (unlimited): $300,000 / $200,000 / $300,000 (§ 40-11-260(B); Board licensure page and abbreviations sheet). No liability-insurance minimum is published on the Board pages read.

Reciprocity

Residential HVAC: the technical exam is waived for a holder of a licence obtained by examination and held at least one year from Alabama, Mississippi or North Carolina (grandfathered licences do not qualify), for a holder of an active SC Mechanical Contractor licence with the AC or PK classification obtained by exam and held at least one year, and for HARV (Master Mechanical) certificate holders; the experience requirement and the Business Management and Law exam still apply (Commission page). Mechanical Contractor — Technical Exam Waiver Agreements "as of May 2026" (sheet revised 5/2026) under § 40-11-290: Alabama (Heating and Air Conditioning → Air Conditioning; Heating; Refrigeration → Refrigeration), Georgia (Unrestricted Conditioned Air, if exam passed after 6/30/1980 → Air Conditioning; Heating; the sheet notes "GA no longer accepts SC waiver applicants"), Louisiana (Statewide Mechanical → Air Conditioning; Heating), North Carolina (Heating Group 1, Class 1 → Heating; Heating Group 2 → Air Conditioning; Heating Group 3, Class 1 → Packaged Equipment), Ohio (HVAC → Packaged Equipment), Tennessee (CMC/Mechanical → Air Conditioning; Refrigeration; Plumbing; CMC-C → Air Conditioning; Refrigeration), Texas (Class A Air Conditioning/Refrigeration or Class A Air Conditioning → Air Conditioning; Heating; Class B → Packaged Equipment; Class A Refrigeration → Refrigeration), Utah (only for exams passed prior to 05/2017: HVAC → Air Conditioning; Warm Air Heating → Heating; Refrigerated Air Conditioning → Packaged Equipment; Refrigeration → Refrigeration), and a Carolinas AGC / Municipal Association of SC Master Mechanical certificate (exam passed after 9/6/2013 → Air Conditioning; Heating; Refrigeration; Packaged Equipment). "An applicant for certification or licensure must take and pass the South Carolina Commercial Contractors Business, Law and Project Management examination, and must comply with all other licensing and certification requirements" (waiver sheet; § 40-11-290).

Renewal & continuing education

Residential HVAC: the Commission's FAQ states the licence "is renewable every two (2) years before June 30, of each odd year (2021, 2023, 2025, etc.)" and lapses on June 30 if not renewed; the statute says the commission "shall annually renew all licenses" unless otherwise provided (§ 40-59-230(A)) and that licences run "for a period established by the commission in regulation" (§ 40-59-220(A)); renewal fee $220, late fee $50, reinstatement $480 (Commission page); "If a license has been in inactive status for more than three years, the person shall file a new application as in the case of the issuance of an original license and is required to take and successfully complete the examination" (§ 40-59-230(A)). Mechanical Contractor: "All licenses may be renewed biennially" (§ 40-11-250(A)); "Mechanical Contractor licenses expire October 31 of odd-numbered years" (Board licensure page; the Board's renewal page shows the 2027-2029 mechanical renewal opening in August 2027), with an acceptable financial statement or surety bond submitted at each renewal (§ 40-11-260(B)); a lapsed licence may be renewed within ninety days of expiration on payment of renewal and late fees (§ 40-11-250(B)). No CE requirement is published for either licence: § 40-59-230(B) lets the Commission require CE by regulation, none appears in Reg. ch. 106, and the Board's licensure, renewal and FAQ pages do not mention CE.

Home-improvement contract rule

None located as a general home-improvement contract statute. Related provisions read: S.C. Code § 37-2-501 defines a "home solicitation sale" as a consumer credit sale of goods or services personally solicited by the seller in which the buyer's agreement or offer is given "at a residence" (including sales paid by credit card or consumer loan subject to seller claims and defenses); "the buyer may cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase" (§ 37-2-502(1)), with no cancellation where the buyer has signed a separate emergency statement and the seller has substantially begun performance (§ 37-2-502(5)); the written agreement must carry a statement of the buyer's rights under the caption "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL" or an FTC-compliant notice (§ 37-2-503). § 40-59-25 gives a five-business-day cancellation right and requires a "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION" form only for roofing-system contracts to be paid from property and casualty insurance proceeds. Pending: H. 5056, Home Repair Consumer Protection Act (a contract for home repair or improvement "of one thousand dollars or more shall be in writing and signed by both parties"; right to cancel within three business days, or five business days if the owner is sixty-two or older; "contractor" includes a mechanical contractor licensed under Chapter 11, Title 40 and a residential specialty contractor licensed under Article 1, Chapter 59, Title 40) was introduced January 29, 2026 and is "Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary"; it is not law.