How Do You Get an HVAC License in Mississippi?

Not for the technician: our research found no statewide Mississippi license for individual HVAC technicians.

The Mississippi State Board of Contractors licenses contractor businesses, commercial and residential, and its classification list shows contractor classifications only.

What Mississippi does require is a license for the business on the work MSBOC covers.

All contractors and subcontractors on commercial jobs over $50,000, including equipment installation, need an MSBOC commercial license, and subcontractors doing residential HVAC or mechanical work on a residential construction or improvement project must be licensed by MSBOC too.

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 CFC, HCFC or non-exempt substitute refrigerants must pass an exam from an EPA-approved technician certification program.

MSBOC's classifications are the levels, and each is held by a contractor business.

On the commercial side, the Mechanical major classification covers heating, cooling, refrigeration, ductwork and plumbing, while HVAC-only contractors can hold the Heat, Ventilation, A/C – HVAC specialty instead; separate ductwork and refrigeration specialties also exist, each test required.

On the residential side, a subcontractor doing residential HVAC work on a residential construction or improvement project must hold Residential HVAC, or Residential Mechanical, which covers both mechanical trades.

Every licensed business works through a qualifying party — an owner, officer or responsible managing employee — and one person can qualify at most 3 companies at once, though a 4th needs the Board's special approval.

There is no journeyman rung on this ladder: MSBOC's classification list shows contractor classifications only, and the guide sites that advertise a Mississippi journeyman HVAC license or state exam are not supported by MSBOC's own list.

Because the state credential belongs to the business, the requirements on the MSBOC licensing pages we read are financial and exam-based: our research found no worker-level hour total or training rule attached to any Mississippi HVAC credential.

A commercial application costs $400 and a residential application $50.

Commercial applicants need a CPA-reviewed financial statement showing net worth of at least $50,000 for a major classification or $20,000 for a specialty, and general liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence or $600,000 aggregate; residential applicants show proof of coverage, for which MSBOC sets no minimum amount.

Each business's qualifying party must be an owner, officer or responsible managing employee.

Confirm the current fees and paperwork with MSBOC before you apply.

PSI administers all MSBOC exams, and they are open book.

Every MSBOC applicant must pass the Mississippi Law and Business Management exam plus any required trade exam, so an applicant for a test-required classification such as the HVAC specialty sits both.

MSBOC's NASCLA exam acceptance covers commercial general building and master electrical only — not the mechanical, HVAC or plumbing trade exams.

What the HVAC trade exam itself covers, our research does not describe; MSBOC's exam information and PSI candidate materials are the place to check before you book.

MSBOC licenses renew on a one-year cycle: residential licenses and commercial certificates of responsibility must be renewed every 12 months.

A late renewal is possible up to 180 days after expiry; after that, a new application is required.

Continuing education reaches the qualifier, not every worker: each qualifying party for a residential license must complete 2 credit hours of continuing education from a board-approved provider, under Miss.

Code Ann. §73-59-11.

Our research found no CE requirement for commercial licenses, and MSBOC's pages do not state whether the residential CE runs per year or per renewal, so confirm with the board.

Only as exam waivers.

MSBOC reciprocity waives trade exams only, and the Mississippi Business and Law exam is always required.

For the mechanical trades, MSBOC's reciprocity page lists a short set of waivers: Tennessee's license waives Mississippi's Mechanical and Plumbing exams; Alabama, through its general contractor board, and Louisiana exam scores can waive the HVAC exam; and Ohio can waive HVAC, plumbing and refrigeration.

A worker-side license does not transfer at all, because our research found no statewide Mississippi technician license to transfer.

If you hold an HVAC license from another state, ask MSBOC which of your exams, if any, it will waive before you apply.

MSBOC links to a consolidated license search at search.msboc.us from its home page, under Check A License.

Our research confirmed the link but did not open the search itself, so if a lookup does not return the record you expect, contact the board through msboc.us.

Check a license before you hire a contractor — or before you go to work for one — because the license belongs to the business, and each MSBOC license works through a qualifying party.

Our research did not verify city-level HVAC licensing in Mississippi, including in Jackson, Gulfport, Hattiesburg and Southaven, so treat it as an open question rather than a cleared one.

A city or county that requires its own registration or license for mechanical work makes that local rule the one that binds the job.

Check with the building or licensing department where the work will be done before you bid.