How Do You Get an HVAC License in Arizona?

Arizona does not issue a state license to individual HVAC technicians — that is what our research found reading the state's contractor licensing statutes.

State licensing goes to the contracting business instead: a contractor's license may be issued only by act of the Registrar of Contractors, who classifies and qualifies applicants.

The same law exempts employees of an exempt property owner and employees whose wages are their sole compensation, so a technician whose wages are their sole compensation holds no Arizona contractor license of their own.

The small-job (handyman) exemption covers only casual or minor work under $1,000 in aggregate contract price that requires no local building permit.

Whether any Arizona city licenses HVAC technicians individually was not verifiable in our research, so check where the work is done.

The federal layer applies regardless of the state: work on appliances with CFC/HCFC or non-exempt substitute refrigerants that could violate the circuit's integrity requires EPA 608 certification.

Arizona's HVAC license levels are contractor classifications, not technician grades.

The ROC classifies C-39 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (commercial), R-39 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Including Solar (residential) and CR-39 Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Heating (dual), with C-49 covering commercial refrigeration and C-79/CR-79 including solar.

C-39 allows the licensee to install, alter and repair refrigeration and evaporative cooling systems, and wet, dry or radiant heating systems — wet systems limited to 30 PSIG hot water / 15 PSIG steam.

Each classification is a business license: the ROC issues it to the business, and a qualifying party carries the experience and exams behind it.

Our research found no journeyman or master HVAC license in Arizona; the federal credential individual technicians do need is EPA 608 certification for work on appliances with CFC/HCFC or non-exempt substitute refrigerants that could violate the circuit's integrity — a certification, not a state license.

What our research confirmed is the statutory minimum: whether each classification adds requirements was not confirmed, and fees differ by family.

The qualifying party needs four years' practical or management trade experience, at least two within the last ten years, and accredited technical training can substitute for up to two.

They must be regularly employed by the licensee and actively engaged in the classification — the sole proprietor, a partner, an LLC member, a corporate officer or an employee — and may qualify only one additional licensee, only with at least 25% common ownership between the two or where one is a 25%-owned subsidiary of the other.

The written exam must be taken within two years before application; it is waived if the party qualified the same classification in the preceding five years.

Applications attest to workers' compensation compliance, including the policy number where coverage is required.

A new two-year license costs $580 for specialty commercial (C), $720 for specialty residential (R, including a $370 Recovery Fund assessment) and $850 for specialty dual (CR); renewals are $480 (C), $540 (R) and $650 (CR, including the Recovery Fund).

Two exams stand between the qualifying party and the license, both passed at a minimum of 70%: the online, open-book Arizona Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), taken through Gmetrix, and a trade exam administered by PSI, online or at a test center, unless the trade exam is waived.

By statute the written exam covers the trade and Arizona building, safety, health and lien laws and contracting business administration, and it must be taken within two years before application.

The fees are $61 for the Statutes and Rules exam, paid to Gmetrix, and $66 for a trade exam, paid to PSI.

Our research does not describe the HVAC trade exam's content outline, so ask for the PSI candidate information when the ROC approves your application.

ROC licenses run on two-year terms.

Renewals cost $480 for specialty commercial (C), $540 for specialty residential (R) and $650 for specialty dual (CR); the residential and dual renewal prices include the Recovery Fund assessment, which the statute caps at $600 per two-year license period.

Our research did not confirm any continuing-education requirement for the ROC's licenses; the classification-requirements document on roc.az.gov was not retrievable when we read the site, and we found no CE rule in what we could read.

Ask the ROC what it currently requires before you renew.

Arizona has a universal licensing law: it requires the state to license people who establish residence in Arizona and have held a license in good standing in another state for at least one year at the same practice level, having passed any exam that state required.

Our research did not confirm how that law applies to the ROC's contractor classifications — the statute's exceptions decide — so ask the ROC before you count on an out-of-state license.

Our research also found no reciprocity agreement specific to HVAC between the ROC and another state's board.

One related rule is settled: NASCLA exam scores are accepted by the ROC only for the B-1/KB-1 and B-2/KB-2 general building classes and the CR-11/C-11/R-11 electrical classes, not for HVAC.

The ROC's contractor search lists Arizona contractor licenses at azroc.my.site.com/AZRoc/s/contractor-search — an address taken from links on the ROC's own site rather than by working the search itself.

If it has moved, follow the lookup link from roc.az.gov.

Because the licenses our research found belong to businesses rather than individuals, this is where you confirm a prospective employer or contractor that claims licensed status — and the classification (C-39, R-39 or CR-39) should cover the work being done.