We found no single continuing-education number for HVAC licenses: the hours we confirmed are each set by the board that issued the license.
Maryland, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Louisiana's commercial licenses require none; Florida's contractors complete 14 hours per two-year biennium.
NATE certification renews separately: every two years, by 16 CEHs or a specialty retest.
Here are the hours, topics and providers by board.
States that require HVAC CE
Continuing education is a renewal rule, and every CE rule we confirmed comes from the issuer of the license — a state board, or a city or county where licensing is local.
We found no federal CE requirement to point to — the hours differ by state, and every figure on this page comes from the board named next to it.
The boards our research checked that require no CE at all for their HVAC-side credentials:
- The Maryland HVACR Board does not require continuing education.
- North Carolina has had no mandatory CE for plumbing/heating license renewal since December 31, 2012 — it was replaced by Disciplinary Education imposed after complaints.
- Michigan's mechanical contractor licenses carry no code-update or CE course requirement.
- Wisconsin's HVAC qualifier credential and its HVAC contractor registration have no CE requirement.
- Louisiana's LSLBC has no CE for commercial licensees, which include commercial mechanical contractors; only residential building contractors complete 6 CE hours a year.
Tennessee's contractor renewal page states an 8-hour CE rule for BC-A and BC-A/r residential building contractors and states no CE requirement for CMC mechanical contractors.
And where a city licenses the trade, the city's CE rule is the one that applies — Pittsburgh trade licenses require eight hours of CE in the 12 months before renewal.
West Virginia is the gap in our research: we could not confirm its HVAC CE requirement from the sources we read, so check with the board before you plan a renewal.
The boards that do require hours are the next section's table — and the ladder underneath every CE rule, which states license HVAC work and at which level, is our HVAC license requirements guide.
CE rules are board rules — and boards amend them
HVAC CE hours and topics, board by board
Where CE is required, the hours ride the board's own renewal cycle — a yearly figure in one board's rule, a two- or three-year total in another's.
The cycle lengths, fees and lapse rules are on our HVAC license renewal page; this is the CE itself, board by board, as each rule reads:
| Board | CE required | Notes and named topics |
|---|---|---|
| Texas — TDLR ACR contractor | 8 hours each year | Includes 1 hour of Texas law and rules |
| Florida — certified and registered contractors | 14 hours per 2-year biennium | Workers' compensation, business practices, workplace safety, 1 hour of laws and rules |
| Ohio — OCILB | 8 hours (one-year renewal) or 24 hours (three-year), as OCILB states | Its rule text says 10, with a 2-hour reduction for Compliant Contractor Program licensees |
| Oklahoma — CIB mechanical | 6 hours every 36 months | Journeymen and contractors |
| Kentucky | 6 hours in the 12 months before each annual renewal | Business, job safety, codes and trade subjects; up to 12 excess hours carried forward |
| Kansas — local licensees | 12 hours every two years, or 6 annually | At least half must be code education |
| Arkansas — HVACR | 8 hours per International Mechanical Code cycle | Board-approved |
| Georgia — conditioned air contractors | 4 hours per year | Licenses renew every 2 years |
| Alabama — HACR certified contractors | 4 hours per year | Up to 8 hours can be taken in a year, with 4 carried over |
| Virginia — tradesmen | 3 hours per 2-year term | On the current International Mechanical Code; gas fitters owe 1 hour, and backflow workers are exempt |
| Utah — contractors | 6 hours per licensing period (3 core) | At most 3 hours may be online |
| Iowa | 8 classroom hours per three-year term | Board-approved |
| New Hampshire — mechanical licensees | 6 hours per endorsement, per 2-year cycle | Board-approved; OPLC describes it as 3 hours of code update each year |
| New Jersey — Master HVACR | 5 credits per biennial period | Board-approved; the first renewal is exempt |
| New Mexico — journeyman certificates | 16 hours | At least 8 on the current CID code for the classification; the rules we read do not state the renewal period — confirm the current rule with CID |
| Mississippi — residential qualifying parties | 2 hours | From a board-approved provider; no CE requirement was found for commercial licenses; the rule text we read does not state the period |
| Delaware | 5 hours per renewal after the first | More if dual-licensed; a first renewal's hours are prorated |
Read the topics column as the board's own priorities.
Florida names workers' compensation, business practices, workplace safety and an hour of laws and rules; Kentucky names business, job safety, codes and trade subjects; Kansas requires at least half of its hours in code education, and New Mexico wants at least 8 of its 16 on the current CID code for your classification.
The carrying rules differ too.
Alabama lets a contractor take up to 8 hours in a year and carry 4 over; Kentucky carries up to 12 excess hours forward.
New Jersey waives the CE at a holder's first renewal, and Delaware prorates a first renewal's hours while requiring more from licensees who hold two licenses at once.
Approved and online providers
Where our research captured the approver, it is the regulator: Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire and New Jersey require board-approved CE, Kentucky requires approved CE, Oklahoma's rule says CIB-approved, and Kansas's hours must be approved by the local governing body.
That word is the test — a course counts when the authority that issued your license says it counts, not when a course seller says so.
Online is governed the same way, board by board.
The clearest rule our research confirmed is Utah's: at most 3 of its 6 required hours may be taken online.
Beyond Utah, we did not capture a general online-acceptance picture, so treat an "approved in your state" badge on a course site as a claim to verify.
Start from the board's own CE page, and confirm a course is approved before you pay for it.
NATE CEHs vs license CE
NATE certification renews on its own track: certifications must be renewed every two years, either by submitting 16 continuing education hours (CEHs) or by retaking the specialty exam before the period ends.
The CEH recertification fee is $30 for the first specialty plus $5 for each additional specialty.
The certification expires on that two-year clock unless you renew it — these are NATE's own renewal rules, separate from the board's rules for your license.
Keep the layers straight.
State CE keeps the license active with the board; NATE's CEHs keep the certification active with NATE; and EPA 608, the federal refrigerant credential, needs neither — EPA states that Section 608 certification does not expire.
Whether a NATE-approved course can also count toward a state board's CE is each board's call, so confirm with the board before you count one course twice.
When the hours are banked and the renewal is filed, browse HVAC technician jobs on our board.
This page is career information, not legal advice. Continuing-education rules are set by the board that issued your license — or the city or county where licensing is local — and by NATE for its own certification. Confirm the current hours, topics and providers with them before you renew.