How Do You Get an HVAC License in Colorado?
Colorado has no statewide HVAC license in our research: the state sources we read cover plumbing and electrical trades, not HVAC, and the credentials we verified are city-issued — Denver's mechanical certificates, led by the Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate (four years of experience and an ICC exam) and the supervisor certificates.
Refrigerant-circuit work adds the federal EPA 608 certification everywhere in Colorado.
Confirm the rules with the city or county where you will work.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Not in our research: we found no statewide Colorado HVAC license for technicians or contractors, and the credentials we verified are city-issued — Denver's.
Ask the city or county where you will work what it requires.
Locally: Denver's Community Planning and Development (Contractor Licensing) issues the mechanical certificates we verified.
The state's Division of Professions and Occupations regulates plumbing and electrical trades; our research did not find it regulating HVAC.
No statewide ladder in our research.
Denver's mechanical certificates: Heating and Ventilating Journeyman; Gas Service Journeyman; Refrigeration Journeyman, Class A and Class B Supervisor, and Operator; plus supervisor certificates, including a residential-only Heating, Ventilating, A/C certificate.
Denver Heating and Ventilating Journeyman: 4 years (minimum 7,000 hours) of heating and ventilating field installation experience in an apprenticeship or on-the-job training.
Class A Supervisor: 8 years of commercial heating and ventilating work — 4 as a journeyman mechanic, 4 as a designer, draftsman or supervisor.
ICC exams: F31 National Standard Journeyman Mechanical for the Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate; F29 National Standard Master Mechanical for the Class A Supervisor certificate.
Denver supervisor certificates renew every three years.
Our research did not capture a renewal term for the journeyman-level certificates or any CE requirement — ask Denver's Contractor Licensing office.
Not established in our research, and our research found no statewide license for an agreement to attach to.
Recognition of an out-of-state HVAC license is a question for the city or county where you will work.
No statewide HVAC search confirmed in our research.
License records sit with the office that issued them; for the certificates documented here, contact Denver's Community Planning and Development (Contractor Licensing).
The Colorado HVAC license ladder
- Heating and Ventilating Journeyman CertificateJourneyman
Denver's certificate for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning/refrigeration work, reached with four years (minimum 7,000 hours) of heating and ventilating field installation experience and ICC exam F31 — and usable only in the employ of a Heating and Ventilating Contractor Class A or a Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning Contractor.
- Gas Service Journeyman CertificateSpecialty
One of the other Denver journeyman-level mechanical certificates our research verified, alongside the Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate.
- Refrigeration Journeyman CertificateSpecialty
One of the refrigeration credentials Denver issues on its mechanical certificates page, listed beside its refrigeration supervisor and operator certificates.
- Refrigeration Operator CertificateSpecialty
Another of the refrigeration credentials on Denver's mechanical certificates page; our research captured the name, not a scope statement for it.
- Refrigeration Class A Supervisor CertificateSpecialty
A Denver refrigeration supervisor certificate; our research records the name, not a Class A scope statement beyond its placement beside the Class B below.
- Refrigeration Class B Supervisor CertificateSpecialty
The residential refrigeration supervisor scope: installing, adding to, altering or repairing refrigeration systems of 5 tons or less in one- and two-family dwellings, townhouses and Group U occupancies.
- Heating, Ventilating, A/C Supervisor Certificate (residential-only)Specialty
Denver's supervisor certificate scoped to residential work: air-conditioning refrigeration systems of 5 tons or less.
- Heating and Ventilating Class A Supervisor CertificateOther
The supervisor-level certificate for commercial and residential heating and ventilating work — eight years of experience plus ICC exam F29 — and the credential that satisfies step one of Denver contractor licensing, since a contractor applicant must hold a supervisor certificate or employ someone who does.
Does Colorado require a state HVAC license?
Our research found no statewide Colorado HVAC license for technicians or contractors — instead it found credentials issued locally by cities and counties such as Denver.
The state's Division of Professions and Occupations regulates plumbing and electrical trades, not HVAC: it licenses plumbers statewide through the State Plumbing Board.
We did not find a statewide HVAC registration or license on the sources we read, so treat your city or county as the rule-maker.
What does apply statewide is the federal layer: under 40 CFR 82.161, anyone who could reasonably be expected to violate the integrity of a refrigerant circuit while maintaining, servicing, repairing or disposing of appliances containing CFC/HCFC or non-exempt substitute refrigerants must pass an exam from an EPA-approved technician certification program.
What are the Colorado HVAC license levels, and what can each legally do?
There is no statewide ladder in our research, and the levels we verified are Denver's mechanical certificates.
The Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate covers heating, ventilation and air-conditioning/refrigeration work, but it is not a pass to work solo: it can only be used while the holder works for a Heating and Ventilating Contractor Class A or an HVAC contractor.
Alongside it sit the Gas Service Journeyman certificate and the refrigeration certificates: Refrigeration Journeyman, Refrigeration Class A and Class B Supervisor (Class B covers residential refrigeration systems of 5 tons or less) and Refrigeration Operator.
Denver also issues supervisor certificates, the credentials its contractor licensing is built on: a residential-only Heating, Ventilating, A/C supervisor certificate covering air-conditioning refrigeration systems of 5 tons or less, and the Heating and Ventilating Class A Supervisor certificate for commercial and residential heating and ventilating work.
Other cities were not surveyed, so their level structures may differ.
“The holder of this Certificate may perform this work only in the employ of a Heating and Ventilating Contractor Class A or Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning Contractor.”
What are the requirements for each level: hours, training, exam and fees?
The requirements we verified are Denver's.
The Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate takes four years — a minimum of 7,000 hours — of heating and ventilating field installation experience in an apprenticeship or on-the-job training program, and passing ICC exam F31 National Standard Journeyman Mechanical.
The Heating and Ventilating Class A Supervisor certificate takes eight years of commercial heating and ventilating work: four as a journeyman mechanic and four as a designer, draftsman or supervisor, plus ICC exam F29 National Standard Master Mechanical.
The residential-only Heating, Ventilating, A/C supervisor certificate is scoped to air-conditioning refrigeration systems of 5 tons or less; our research did not capture its experience requirement, so ask Denver.
Our research captured no application or renewal fees for these certificates, and no bond or insurance amounts for Denver contractor licenses — ask the office for the current schedule before you apply.
“Four (4) years heating & ventilating field installation experience in an apprenticeship or on-the-job training program completing a minimum of 7,000 hours.”
Who gives the Colorado HVAC exam, and what is on it?
The exams we verified belong to Denver's certificates, and they are ICC exams: F31 National Standard Journeyman Mechanical for the Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate, and F29 National Standard Master Mechanical for the Heating and Ventilating Class A Supervisor certificate.
Our research does not describe the content outline of either exam, so check the exam listing on Denver's mechanical certificates page and ICC's own candidate materials before you study.
Consistent with finding no statewide HVAC license in our research, we found no statewide HVAC exam in Colorado.
How do you renew, and how many CE hours does Colorado require?
The renewal rule we verified is Denver's, and it is scoped to supervisor certificates: they must be renewed every three years.
Our research did not capture a renewal term for the journeyman-level certificates, any continuing-education requirement for any Denver mechanical certificate, or a statewide HVAC CE rule — with no statewide HVAC license in our research, there is no state CE requirement to point to.
Ask Denver's Contractor Licensing office what renewal cycle and CE obligations apply to your certificate before you schedule work around them.
“Supervisor certificates must be renewed every three years.”
Does Colorado accept HVAC licenses from other states?
Our research found no HVAC reciprocity agreement in Colorado, and our research found no statewide HVAC license for an agreement to attach to — recognition of an out-of-state license is a question for the city or county where you will work.
The one endorsement route we verified belongs to plumbing, not HVAC: Colorado endorses out-of-state plumbers who hold a state license — city or county licenses do not qualify — with substantially equivalent credentials, a comparable state exam, and a license held at least six months.
For HVAC, ask the building or licensing department where you will work what experience and exams it accepts before you assume an out-of-state credential carries over.
How do you look up a Colorado HVAC license?
Our research did not confirm a statewide HVAC license lookup for Colorado, consistent with finding no statewide HVAC license: records sit with the office that issued them.
The state's DPO online-services portal we found (apps2.colorado.gov) is an application and renewal portal; our research did not confirm a public HVAC license search on it.
For the certificates this page documents, contact Denver's Community Planning and Development (Contractor Licensing) office directly.
Before you hire, or go to work for, anyone who says they hold a local certificate, ask the issuing office to confirm it.
Who licenses HVAC work locally in Colorado?
Denver is the city our research verified: its Community Planning and Development department runs contractor licensing, and its mechanical certificates page lists the Heating and Ventilating, Refrigeration and Gas Service certificates described above.
Denver contractor licensing is a two-step process: step one is holding a supervisor certificate or a state plumbing or electrical license — or employing someone who holds a supervisor certificate — and step two is the contractor license application.
Beyond Denver, our research verified nothing about other cities' HVAC licensing: Colorado Springs' Pikes Peak Regional Building Department and Aurora were named as open questions in the research, not researched.
Ask the building or licensing department where the work will be done what it requires before you bid or book jobs there.
“A license applicant must hold a supervisor certificate or a state electrical or plumbing license, or employ someone who holds a supervisor certificate, before applying for a contractor's license.”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Colorado 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 City and County of Denver Community Planning and Development (Contractor Licensing) publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Colorado, see plumbing licensing in Colorado, HVAC apprenticeships in Colorado, HVAC contractor licensing in Colorado, and hvac technician pay in Colorado.
What HVAC Technician Job Listings in Colorado Show Right Now
From the 18 active HVAC technician listings on HVACHires as of October 8, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
Pay employers post
- 39% of HVAC technician listings in Colorado state any pay at all.
Benefits listings name
- PTO / Paid Time Offnamed in 61%
- Health Insurancenamed in 50%
- 401k Matchnamed in 44%
- Dental & Visionnamed in 44%
- Company Vehiclenamed in 28%
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 18 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need an HVAC license in Colorado?
Not a state one in our research: we found no statewide Colorado HVAC license, and the credentials we verified are city-issued — Denver's.
There, the Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate covers heating, ventilation and air-conditioning/refrigeration work — four years (minimum 7,000 hours) of heating and ventilating field installation experience plus ICC exam F31 — and is usable only while you work for a Heating and Ventilating Contractor Class A or an HVAC contractor.
Refrigerant-circuit work adds the federal EPA 608 certification anywhere in Colorado.
Is there a Colorado state HVAC license?
Our research found none: the state sources we read cover plumbing and electrical trades, not HVAC, and the credentials we verified are local — Denver's.
Colorado does license plumbers statewide through the State Plumbing Board — that state program, not HVAC, is what those sources describe.
Because our research read state and Denver sources, confirm the rules where you will work with that city's or county's building or licensing department.
How long does it take to get the Denver Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate?
The experience requirement is four years — a minimum of 7,000 hours — of heating and ventilating field installation experience in an apprenticeship or on-the-job training program, plus passing ICC exam F31 National Standard Journeyman Mechanical.
The certificate is only valid while you are employed by a Heating and Ventilating Contractor Class A or an HVAC contractor; it is not a credential to contract on your own — Denver contractor licensing is its own two-step process.
Confirm current requirements with Denver's Community Planning and Development before you apply.
Does EPA 608 certification count as an HVAC license in Colorado?
No — and it is not a Colorado credential at all.
EPA 608 is a federal certification under 40 CFR 82.161: anyone who could reasonably be expected to violate the integrity of a refrigerant circuit while maintaining, servicing, repairing or disposing of appliances containing CFC/HCFC or non-exempt substitute refrigerants must pass an exam from an EPA-approved program.
It does not expire.
It applies to that refrigerant work nationwide and is separate from city and county credentials such as Denver's mechanical certificates.
Do Denver HVAC certificates expire?
Denver's supervisor certificates must be renewed every three years.
Our research did not capture a renewal term for the journeyman-level certificates or any continuing-education requirement for Denver's mechanical certificates, so ask Denver's Contractor Licensing office what applies to yours before you schedule work around it.
More Colorado Resources
Sources
- Denver Community Planning and Development: Mechanical Supervisor Certificates (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Denver Community Planning and Development: Contractor Licenses (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations: Plumbing (State Plumbing Board) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Colorado DPO: Plumbing Applications (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- 40 CFR 82.161 (EPA Section 608 technician certification) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- EPA: Section 608 technician certification requirements (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 City and County of Denver Community Planning and Development (Contractor Licensing).