HVAC licensing in Texas
Licensed by the state
Texas licenses this trade. You need your own Texas license before you work here — or one from a state Texas accepts.
✓ Verified 18 August 2026 · board verified
Texas accepts licenses fromNothing to transfer — register and work
Apply for your Texas license →
The worker credential is a $20 no-exam technician registration, whatever card you hold elsewhere. The contractor-level reciprocity (South Carolina live both ways, Georgia one-way) is the employer’s question, not yours. Open “Bringing your license from another state” below for the conditions, and confirm with the board before you travel.
Starting as an apprentice
Texas issues an apprentice credential
- What it is called
- ACR Technician Registration
- Who issues it
- TDLR
- Cost
- $20
- Renewal
- annually
File your Texas apprentice application →
Texas runs no apprentice tier - this $20 no-exam registration IS the entry credential, working under a licensed contractor.
Bringing your license from another state
For the traveling tech there is nothing to reciprocate, and that is good news: Texas reaches the worker through a $20 TECHNICIAN REGISTRATION — no exam, valid one year, working under a licensed ACR contractor's supervision. Whatever card you hold elsewhere, you register and work; the practical gate is having that supervising contractor, not the credential.
The CONTRACTOR level is where reciprocity lives, and it is narrow and directional: TDLR's live page names South Carolina and Georgia — license held at least a year, a good-standing letter proving it was EXAM-EARNED (grandfathered licenses do not qualify), $115. Texas↔SC runs live in both directions; Georgia's inbound side has been suspended since 2022, so the Georgia leg currently works one way.
Can you work while it is pending?
Not established — the technician application, contractor application and ACR FAQ were all read live, and none says whether work may begin while an application processes. Do not assume; the registration is cheap and fast enough that the honest plan is simply to have it before the start date.
The exam and the hours
No exam at the technician level — that is the point of the registration model. The exam sits on the ACR CONTRACTOR license: Class A (any size) or Class B (cooling to 25 tons, heating to 1.5 million BTU/hr), one endorsement per license (environmental air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, or process cooling/heating), $115 application, one year to complete all requirements. Your personal floor is EPA 608.
How apprenticing works here
Texas runs no apprentice license — the $20 technician registration IS the entry credential, and it is the same credential the 20-year veteran files. Register, work supervised, done.
The local picture
The state program is the story in Texas — TDLR's ACR program governs statewide. Municipal permitting applies job to job as everywhere.
If you want to contract for yourself
The line is clean and favors travelers: technicians register ($20, no exam, may not advertise), contractors license (exam-gated, Class A/B plus endorsement), and ACR companies must employ an ACR contractor in each permanent location. Contract directly — advertise, bid, invoice — and you have crossed to the license side of the line.
Checked against the state board or statute. Rules change — confirm with the board before you travel or accept work. This is information, not legal advice.
English 
Spanish