Florida HVAC Technician License Requirements

The Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), licenses air-conditioning contractors under Chapter 489, Part I of the Florida Statutes. A certified Class A air-conditioning contractor has an unlimited scope; Class B is limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system. Certified credentials permit statewide contracting, while a registered credential is limited to the jurisdictions for which it is registered. EPA Section 608 is a separate federal requirement for technicians who perform covered refrigerant work, not a CILB credential requirement.

Regulatory Body

Authority over this credential rests with Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB / DBPR), which issues and polices it under Florida Statutes Chapter 489, Part I (Construction Contracting); Fla. Admin. Code Chapter 61G4. CILB licenses certified and registered air-conditioning contractors and conducts licensing and disciplinary proceedings.

Official portal: https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/construction-industry/
Address: 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0783
Phone: (850) 487-1395

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Applicants must provide a Social Security Number. No Florida residency requirement.

Good moral character

Applicants must answer the application’s criminal-history, liens/judgments, prior-denial, and discipline questions and provide supporting documentation for affirmative answers. DBPR evaluates the application under the governing statutes and rules.

Background investigation

Electronic fingerprinting is required for initial licensure; fingerprints are electronically submitted to FDLE and the FBI.

Experience and Education

The experience bar is four years of qualifying air-conditioning worker or foreman experience, with at least one foreman year, unless qualifying through an approved education or military combination, and it must be backed by verifiable records — typically payroll, tax, project, or supervisor documentation covering the claimed period.

Accepted proof of experience or eligibility

Completed employment-history and experience sections of the applicable initial-license application (CILB 5-G for an individual or CILB 6-G when qualifying a business)
Employer details, including dates, license number, contact, and the applicant’s air-conditioning duties and worker/foreman role
Accredited college transcripts for any claimed education substitution
DD-214 for U.S. military HVAC experience

Education substitution

A four-year accredited construction-related degree counts as three years plus one year of applicable experience. Other listed routes combine one foreman year with accredited college credit and worker experience; veterans have separate listed military-service routes.

Exam Requirements

Testing provider or authority: Professional Testing, Inc. (under contract to DBPR/CILB). The following examination requirements cover the pathways described in this guide; follow each part's classification, waiver, and local-scope conditions. Unpublished format details do not remove an examination requirement:

Business and Finance — 120 questions, 390 minutes, passing score 70%
Class A Air Conditioning Trade Knowledge — 130 questions, 450 minutes, passing score 70%

Examination fee: Examination and scheduling fees are paid to Professional Testing, Inc. and Pearson VUE as applicable. DBPR directs candidates to the current vendor registration process; it does not publish a single combined fee on the current construction-examination page.

Retake policy: Candidates have four years from first sitting for the initial examination to pass all required parts; a passing grade is valid for four years from Board approval of successful candidates. Retake procedures and fees are provided with grade reports.

Insurance and Bonds

No statewide contractor license surety bond is required for this credential in the cited sources. Project-specific, permit, or public-works bonds may still apply, so confirm bonding before bidding a given job.

General liability

For an active Certified Class A Air Conditioning Contractor, the current CILB application lists at least $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property-damage coverage. The prior citation to Rule 61G4-15.005 was obsolete; that rule is repealed.

Workers' compensation

An active applicant must have workers’ compensation coverage or file for an exemption with the Division of Workers’ Compensation; the application permits an attestation to obtain an exemption within 30 days after license issuance.

Additional financial requirements

For an active license, submit a nationally recognized credit report with a FICO-derived score and public-record search statement. Financial responsibility is demonstrated by a score of 660 or higher and no unsatisfied judgments or liens; below 660, complete the Board-approved 14-hour financial-responsibility course.

Fee Schedule

Fee	Amount
Application	No separate amount recorded; confirm in the fee guidance
Initial license	$145
Renewal (every 2 years)	$205

To turn these board fees into a realistic year-one budget — bond premium, liability insurance, and exam prep included — open the cost calculator preloaded for Florida hvac technician.

Renewal and Continuing Education

The Florida Certified Class A Air Conditioning Contractor (CAC) runs on a 2 years renewal cycle. The current renewal fee is $205. Certified licenses renew August 31 of every even-numbered year. Licensees issued less than 12 months before that deadline owe no CE; those issued more than one but less than two years before it owe seven general CE hours.

Continuing education: Fourteen CILB-approved hours each two-year cycle: at least one hour each of specialized or advanced module, workplace safety, workers’ compensation, business practices, and laws and rules; remaining hours may be Board-approved construction instruction.

Downloadable Asset

2026 Florida HVAC Technician License Roadmap (PDF) — a printable step-by-step checklist for the application process.

Download the PDF roadmap →

Reciprocity

For this classification, Florida does not recognize the NASCLA Accredited Examination.

Reciprocal State	Accepted Exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity agreements identified.

Do not rely on a generic state-pair reciprocity claim. Florida law provides certification by endorsement when the applicant meets statutory requirements, including a substantially equivalent examination or qualifying out-of-state licensure criteria; DBPR’s Certified Class A Air Conditioning Contractor page supplies an endorsement application.

Weighing more than one jurisdiction? The national hub compares published HVAC Technician license requirements by state — exam, bond, fee, and experience thresholds side by side.

HVAC Technician Licensing in Neighboring States

Contractors working near a state line, or weighing where to qualify first, should compare Florida's requirements against the bordering jurisdictions before committing to an application:

Alabama HVAC Technician License Requirements — Alabama Certified Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor
Georgia HVAC Technician License Requirements — Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor (Class I or Class II)

Step-by-Step Application Roadmap

Choose Class A or Class B. Class A has an unlimited scope. Class B is limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system. Estimate the largest system the business will contract for before applying.
Document four years of qualifying experience. Include the mandatory foreman year. Apply education or military substitution where eligible.
Pull a credit report. Obtain a FICO-derived credit report with the required public-record search statement. A score below 660 requires the Board-approved 14-hour financial-responsibility course.
Apply for the required examinations. Apply directly with Professional Testing, Inc. for Business and Finance and Class A Air Conditioning Trade Knowledge. Passing examinations alone does not establish eligibility for the license.
Schedule the computer-based examinations. After Professional Testing approval, schedule the required computer-based examinations with Pearson VUE.
File the initial issuance application. After passing required examinations, submit CILB 5-G (individual) or CILB 6-G (qualifying a business), with the applicable original-license fee, fingerprints, experience/education evidence, and financial-responsibility documentation.
Provide active-license insurance and workers’ compensation information. For active status, provide at least $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property-damage coverage plus workers’ compensation coverage or an applicable exemption.
Meet separate federal refrigerant rules when applicable. EPA Section 608 applies to technicians performing covered refrigerant work. It is not a prerequisite for the Florida CILB contractor credential itself.

Application Checklist

Before submitting to CILB / DBPR, the applicant should have each of the following ready:

CILB 5-G individual application or CILB 6-G qualifying-business application after passing required examinations
Employment history documenting the selected worker/foreman, education, or military qualification route
FICO-derived credit report with required public-record search statement (and 14-hour financial-responsibility course if below 660)
For active status, insurance of at least $100,000 public liability / $25,000 property damage
Workers’ compensation coverage or applicable exemption documentation for active status

Common Filing Mistakes

These are the recurring mistakes that most often delay or reject a Florida HVAC Technician application, based on the official instructions cited here.

Choosing the wrong class

Class B is limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system. Estimate the largest system the business will contract for and choose Class A if needed.

Self-completed experience verification forms

The current CILB application requires detailed employment history, employer contact and license information, role, and applicable duties. Use a qualification route that the application expressly lists.

Letting exam parts expire

Candidates have four years from the first examination sitting to pass all required parts, and the Board-approved passing grade is valid four years. Track both deadlines.

Treating EPA Section 608 as the CILB license

EPA Section 608 and the Florida contractor credential are separate. Ensure technicians who perform covered refrigerant work meet the federal rule, but do not present EPA certification as a CILB application prerequisite.

Skipping the workers compensation election

An active applicant must show workers’ compensation coverage or file for an exemption; the application permits an attestation to obtain an exemption within 30 days after issuance. Confirm eligibility with the Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Study and Reference Materials

The following references are cited by the regulator, used in the application process, or commonly used to prepare for the trade scope. Listed for reader convenience; CLR receives no compensation for these recommendations.

DBPR Class A Air Conditioning examination content information and reference list — Florida DBPR. Use DBPR’s current official content and reference documents; the construction examination page states that examinations are open book.
ACCA Manual J, Manual D, and Manual S — Air Conditioning Contractors of America. Industry-standard load calculation, duct design, and equipment selection references.
Builder's Guide to Accounting (Walker) — Craftsman Book Company. Standard reference for the Business and Finance portion.
Florida Statutes Chapter 489 and Fla. Admin. Code Chapter 61G4 — State of Florida. Licensing law and rules.

Other Florida Trade Licenses

Looking at a different trade? CLR also publishes these Florida licensing guides:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a Florida Class A and Class B Air Conditioning Contractor?

Class A has an unlimited scope for the listed air-conditioning work. Class B is limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system. A certified credential permits statewide contracting; a registered credential is local-jurisdiction limited.

How many years of experience does Florida require for an HVAC contractor license?

Four years of qualifying construction experience with at least one year as a foreman. A four-year accredited construction or HVAC engineering technology degree substitutes for three years; a two-year accredited HVAC degree substitutes for one year.

Do I need EPA 608 in addition to the Florida CAC license?

EPA Section 608 is a separate federal requirement for technicians who perform covered refrigerant work. It is not identified by CILB as a prerequisite to obtain the Florida Class A contractor credential.

What insurance does a Florida CAC need?

The current CILB Class A initial application lists at least $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property-damage insurance for active applicants. It also requires workers’ compensation coverage or an applicable exemption; the application permits an attestation to obtain an exemption within 30 days after issuance.

When does the Florida CAC license renew?

August 31 of every even-numbered year. Renewal requires fourteen hours of CILB-approved continuing education and the standard renewal fee.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-04 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-03

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Corrections and presentation updates

2026-09-30: Corrected examination detection when format details are unpublished and updated the summary layout and requirements score. Source-check dates are unchanged.
2026-09-08: Shared template updated to distinguish unspecified eligibility requirements, retain cost qualifications, and use consistent headings. Source-check dates are unchanged by presentation updates.
2026-09-21: Local-only guides now use a compliance-focused structure and terminology instead of implying a statewide license application. Source-check dates are unchanged by this presentation update.