What To Consider When Getting Your HVAC License

In states with warm weather, people will always need air conditioners and air conditioners will always need to be installed or repaired. To work on ACs, you need to be a HVAC-A contractor.

What is a HVAC-A contractor? According to the Florida Department of Business & Regulation, a specialty contractor is a contractor “is a contractor whose services are unlimited in the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems, including duct work in connection with a complete system if such duct work is performed by the contractor as necessary to complete an air-distribution system, boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems, and all appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection therewith.”

Class A HVAC Contractors can execute “contracts requiring experience in the installation, maintenance, repair, fabrication, alteration, extension or design of duct work in connection with a complete system but only to the extent that such duct work is performed by the contractor as is necessary to complete an air-distribution system, boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems, and all appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection with them.”

This class cannot perform work such on liquefied petroleum or natural gas lines within buildings, potable water lines/connections, sanitary sewer lines, swimming pool piping/filters, or electrical power wiring.

This type of contractor works in homes, schools, office builds, hospitals, factories, and other buildings.

To become an HVAC technician/contractor, a person needs a state license and a postsecondary education. The median pay for this career in 2015 was $36,630 per year. From 2004-2014, the job outlook for this position is at a 14 percent growth with is much faster than the average.

To become an HVAC-A Contractor, you must:

• Show 48 months on jobs with at least 12 months as a foreman.

–or-

• A combination of college or military service and experience totaling at least 48 months with at least 12 of those months as a foreman.

HVAC-A must show all areas of installation of:

• Systems in excess of 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU heating capacity (one year of experience) Refrigeration Equipment
• Air Conditioning Equipment
• Heating Equipment
• Sheet Metal Ductwork
• Fabrication of Sheet Metal Ductwork
• Show 48 months on jobs with at least 12 months as a foreman.

–or-

• A combination of college or military service and experience totaling at least 48 months with at least 12 of those months as a foreman.

Thinking about becoming a swimming pool contractor? We can help. Our contractor licensing company can make obtaining a swimming pool contractor’s license easy. We will pull together all the things needed to complete the swimming pool contractor license application. We will let you know what courses, tests, exams, and experience you need or are missing.  Our goal is to make the process smooth and simple for you.

We are a Florida contractor licensing company. To get started on the process, click our contractor’s license page or our HVAC-A contractor license page call us at 239-777-1028.