How Do You Get an HVAC License in Alabama?
Yes: Alabama licenses HVAC work statewide through the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors (HACR Board), but at contractor level.
The board's credential is the certified contractor certification, in two exam categories: Heating & Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.
Its how-to-get-licensed page describes no separate journeyman or technician license.
Qualifying takes two calendar years of board apprentice registration, 3,000 hours of coursework or experience, or an approved college curriculum, followed by an open-book exam, and the certification renews yearly with 4 continuing education hours.
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At a glance
Yes, at contractor level: the HACR Board's certified contractor certification is Alabama's statewide HVAC credential, and even air duct cleaning and filter-changing services require it.
The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors (HACR Board).
One credential, the certified contractor, in two exam categories (Heating & Air Conditioning, Refrigeration) and two statuses (active, inactive).
The board's pages describe no journeyman or technician license.
Two or more calendar years of board apprentice registration, or 3,000 hours of coursework or experience, or graduation from an approved curriculum; a long certificate from any public Alabama two-year or community college is approved.
Open book, on references including the 2021 International Residential Code, ACCA Manual D and Manual J, and the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management.
Written exam fee $175; practical exam $375 where applicable.
Lapses if not renewed by December 31; not renewed within one year after lapsing means retesting.
4 continuing education hours per year; up to 8 hours in one year with 4 carried over.
Licensure by reciprocity for current license holders with an exam score of at least 70% from Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas TDLR, West Virginia and Louisiana boards.
The board's online individual lookup at hacr.igovsolution.net, linked from its consumer page.
The Alabama HVAC license ladder
- Certified Contractor (Heating & Air Conditioning, or Refrigeration)Contractor
The HACR Board's only exam-based credential: active status, with a business name and a $20,000 performance bond, contracts for HVAC and refrigeration work, while inactive status holds the certification, with no bond, for people not performing HVAC or refrigeration installation, service or repair.
Does Alabama require a state HVAC license?
Alabama does require a state license, but the state licenses HVAC at the contractor tier.
The HACR Board's credential is a contractor certification in two exam categories: Heating & Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration; a heating and air conditioning contractor, in the board's words, performs installation, service, and/or repair on a heating and/or cooling apparatus.
The certification reaches further than installs and repairs: the board requires it for any entity involved in air duct cleaning service, filter changing service, or the replacement of air filters or filter media.
What the board's how-to-get-licensed page does not describe is any worker-level license, so there is no journeyman or technician HVAC license on its list.
Refrigerant work adds the federal layer: under the EPA 608 rule, anyone who could reasonably be expected to violate the integrity of a refrigerant circuit while maintaining, servicing, repairing or disposing of appliances containing regulated refrigerants must pass an exam from an EPA-approved technician certification program.
“A heating and air conditioning certification is required for any entity involved in air duct cleaning service, filter changing service, replacement of air filters or filter media”
What are the Alabama HVAC license levels, and what can each legally do?
Alabama's ladder has one rung with two categories and two statuses.
The HACR Board certifies contractors in Heating & Air Conditioning or in Refrigeration.
Active status is the working credential: it requires a business name and a $20,000 performance bond, and the fee is $220 per year.
Inactive status, for individuals who do not perform HVAC or refrigeration installation, service or repair but wish to hold the certification, requires no bond and costs $110 per year.
The board's licensing page lists no journeyman or technician HVAC license.
Two boundaries sit outside the board: Alabama's General Contractors Board separately licenses anyone undertaking a project costing $100,000 or more, labor and materials included, and the employer-side rules attached to this credential are covered in our HVAC contractor license by state guide.
What does each level require: hours, training, exam and fees?
The board's exam eligibility rules, from Code of Ala. §34-31-28, give three routes: hold an apprentice registration issued by the board for two or more calendar years, complete 3,000 hours of coursework or experience as the board defines it, or graduate from an approved HVAC or refrigeration curriculum.
A long certificate from any public Alabama two-year or community college is an approved curriculum.
Experience-based applicants document the work with notarized employer affidavits swearing that the applicant has worked in the heating and air conditioning and/or commercial refrigeration industry for at least two years within the past five years, plus the matching W-2 forms, per the board's exam application.
The written examination fee is $175, and the practical exam fee is $375 where applicable.
One gap to flag: the statute references a board apprentice registration, but the board's website pages we read do not confirm that it currently issues one, so confirm your eligibility route with the board before you apply.
Holding the certification costs $220 per year in active status with the $20,000 bond, or $110 per year in inactive status without a bond.
“has held an apprentice registration, issued by this Board, for two or more calendar years; or has completed 3,000 hours of coursework or experience, as defined by the Board”
Who gives the Alabama HVAC exam, and what is on it?
The HACR Board sets the certification exams in the two categories, and the HVAC exam is open book: the board's materials state that you may bring the listed references with you into the testing center.
Those references include the 2021 International Residential Code, ACCA Manual D and Manual J, and the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, 12th-14th edition.
Who administers the exam, and the passing score, our research does not establish; the board's exam application and rules are the place to confirm the current testing details.
“This examination is administered in an open book format which means you are permitted to bring these references with you into the testing center.”
How do you renew, and how many CE hours does Alabama require?
Renewal runs on the calendar year: the board considers a contractor's certification lapsed if it is not renewed by December 31 of each year.
A lapse is recoverable with penalties for one year; if the certification is not renewed within one year after it has lapsed, it is expired and the holder must apply to sit for the exam again.
Continuing education is 4 hours each year, and the board allows a contractor to take as many as 8 hours in a single year and carry over 4 of those hours to the next renewal cycle.
“Every contractor must take 4 continuing education hours each year.”
Does Alabama accept HVAC licenses from other states?
Alabama grants HACR licensure by reciprocity, but only to specific boards: holders of a current license earned with an exam score of at least 70% from the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, South Carolina's Residential Builders Commission and Contractor's Board, Texas TDLR, and the West Virginia and Louisiana boards.
The list is the board's own, so check its how-to-get-licensed page before you apply to confirm the current paperwork.
How do you look up an Alabama HVAC license?
The board's consumer page links to an online individual lookup at hacr.igovsolution.net for checking HACR certifications.
Our research confirmed the link itself but did not verify the search tool, so if a lookup does not return the record you expect, contact the board.
Check a certification before you hire, or before you go to work for, anyone who says they are HACR certified.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Alabama board pages, statutes, rules and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state HVAC licensing series, current as of September 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors (HACR Board) publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Alabama, see plumbing licensing in Alabama, HVAC apprenticeships in Alabama, HVAC contractor licensing in Alabama, and hvac technician pay in Alabama.
What HVAC Technician Job Listings in Alabama Show Right Now
From the 8 active HVAC technician listings on HVACHires as of October 8, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
- Superior Contracting & Maintenance2
Pay employers post
- 13% of HVAC technician listings in Alabama state any pay at all.
Source: active HVAC technician listings on HVACHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range), hourly and yearly counted separately. Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 8 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a journeyman HVAC license in Alabama?
Not one the HACR Board describes.
The board's how-to-get-licensed page lists only the certified contractor credential, in Heating & Air Conditioning or Refrigeration, with no journeyman or technician level.
Alabama's statute does mention an apprentice registration, but our research did not find the board currently issuing one.
The routes to the exam are two calendar years of board apprentice registration, 3,000 hours of coursework or experience, or an approved curriculum.
Do you need an Alabama HVAC certification to clean air ducts or change filters?
Yes.
The HACR Board requires a heating and air conditioning certification for any entity involved in air duct cleaning service, filter changing service, or the replacement of air filters or filter media.
The requirement is statewide, so it applies no matter which city or county the job is in.
Confirm the exact scope with the board before offering those services.
How much does the Alabama HACR exam and certification cost?
The written examination fee is $175, and the practical exam fee is $375 where applicable.
Once certified, holding the credential costs $220 per year in active status, which also requires a business name and a $20,000 performance bond, or $110 per year in inactive status with no bond.
Check the board's current fee schedule when you apply.
Can I transfer my HVAC license to Alabama?
Possibly, by reciprocity: the HACR Board grants licensure by reciprocity to holders of a current license earned with an exam score of at least 70% from the boards of Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas (TDLR), West Virginia and Louisiana.
If your state is not on the list, you apply through the standard route: the eligibility rules plus the open-book exam.
Do Alabama HVAC technicians need EPA 608 certification?
If you will maintain, service, repair or dispose of appliances containing regulated refrigerants, yes: under the EPA 608 rule, anyone who could reasonably be expected to violate the integrity of a refrigerant circuit doing that work must pass an exam from an EPA-approved technician certification program.
EPA 608 is a federal certification, separate from the state's HACR credential, and it applies in every state.
More Alabama Resources
Sources
- HACR Board: How to Get Licensed (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- HACR Board: Exam Application EA-1 through EA-7 (with prep courses) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- HACR Board: Law, Rules and Regulations (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- HACR Board: Frequently Asked Questions (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- HACR Board: online individual license lookup (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Alabama General Contractors Board: law (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- 40 CFR 82.161 (EPA technician certification) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors (HACR Board).