Does Nebraska Require an HVAC License? Who Licenses HVAC Work Instead

No. Nebraska does not issue a state HVAC license, and our research found no state agency that licenses the trade: HVAC and mechanical licenses are city credentials.

The City of Omaha licenses air conditioning and air distribution work through its ACAD program, and the City of Lincoln licenses mechanical trade workers, so whether you need a license — and which one — depends on the city where the work is done.

At the state level, the only requirement touching HVAC businesses is registration under the Contractor Registration Act with the Nebraska Department of Labor: all contractors and subcontractors doing business in Nebraska must register, at an annual fee that rose to $40 effective August 1, 2026.

Registration is not a skills license — the department itself says it does not ensure quality of work or protect against fraud.

Federal law adds one rule that applies across Nebraska: 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 (such as HFCs) must pass an exam from an EPA-approved technician certification program — the federal EPA 608 certification.

Nebraska's HVAC license levels are city levels, and Omaha and Lincoln name them differently.

Omaha's ACAD licenses are the ACAD Master and the ACAD Journeyman, each issued by exam, plus the Apprentice ACAD/Sheet Metal Installer registration, which requires no exam.

Omaha also licenses the adjacent mechanical trades by exam: steamfitters (master and journeyman), oil burner installers, oil and LPG tank installers and stationary engineers (1st to 3rd grade).

Lincoln's mechanical licenses are the Mechanical Master Contractor, the Journeyman HVAC Technician, the Apprentice license and an Inactive Master category, plus a separate Refrigeration-Mechanical Master Contractor registration.

The cities' published license lists give fees, exams and renewal terms rather than detailed scope-of-work definitions, so confirm exactly what a given level authorizes with the city that issues it.

Neither city's license is a statewide credential.

There is no state HVAC contractor license above the worker levels either: every contracting business registers with the Nebraska Department of Labor, and in Omaha and Lincoln the city master-level license is what a contracting business holds — in Omaha, a Master ACAD licensee must carry a minimum $10,000 bond and $300,000 insurance.

Omaha's initial ACAD fees: Master, $50 plus a $4 technology fee, exam required; Journeyman, $35 plus a $2.80 technology fee, exam required; Apprentice ACAD/Sheet Metal Installer, $25 plus a $2 technology fee, no exam.

What experience Omaha requires for its ACAD licenses was not verified in our research — the city's mechanical licensing code was not read — so ask Omaha's licensing office.

Lincoln's Journeyman HVAC Technician exam requires evidence of at least 3 years' practical experience as a registered apprentice, and Lincoln grants credit toward that experience: 2 years for a 4-year engineering degree, 1 year for a board-approved 2-year course, and 3 years for a Nebraska professional engineer license.

Lincoln's yearly registration fees are $350 for a Mechanical Master Contractor, $50 for an Inactive Master, $25 for a Journeyman, $15 for an Apprentice and $250 for a Refrigeration-Mechanical Master Contractor, and apprentices can apply for an apprentice license at any time.

There is no state exam, because there is no state HVAC license.

Omaha requires an exam for both the ACAD Master and ACAD Journeyman licenses, but our research could not confirm who administers those exams, what they cover, or the experience each level requires — ask Omaha's licensing office for the current exam arrangements.

Lincoln publishes fees for its mechanical trade exams: $400 for the Mechanical Master exam and $50 for the Mechanical Journeyman exam; the Journeyman HVAC Technician credential requires the city's exam after the experience requirement above.

Our research did not establish what the exams cover, so get the current exam bulletin from the city before you schedule.

Omaha: ACAD master and journeyman licenses are valid for up to two years and expire on December 31 of odd years, and renewal requires 8 continuing-education hours; apprentice registrations expire every December 31.

The city's fee table puts Omaha renewal at $160 plus a $12.80 technology fee for an ACAD Master and $120 plus a $9.60 technology fee for an ACAD Journeyman.

Lincoln: the mechanical renewal period runs from October 1 to December 31 each year, and licensees must submit continuing education to renew — 8 hours for a Master Contractor and 4 hours for a Journeyman — on top of the yearly registration fees ($350 Master Contractor, $25 Journeyman, $15 Apprentice).

Nebraska has no state HVAC license, so there is no statewide reciprocity to apply for.

What Lincoln offers is an exam-sitting rule rather than license-for-license reciprocity: if you hold a journeyman or contractor/master mechanical license that you obtained by exam elsewhere, Lincoln lets you sit the equivalent Lincoln journeyman or contractors exam without submitting any additional qualifications — you still have to pass Lincoln's exam.

Omaha's treatment of out-of-state mechanical licenses is not established in our research, so ask Omaha's licensing office before you assume an out-of-state license counts for anything there.

Nebraska has no state HVAC license to look up, because there is no state HVAC license.

City records sit with the issuing city: Omaha's licensing office publishes the ACAD license requirements and fees, and Lincoln's mechanical licensing program handles the mechanical registrations.

The only statewide registry our research found is the Nebraska Department of Labor's registered-contractor search at dol.nebraska.gov/conreg/Search — it covers contractor registration under the Contractor Registration Act, not individual HVAC worker licenses.

Before you hire someone who says they are licensed, or go to work for one, confirm the license with the city that issued it.

Omaha and Lincoln are the two cities whose HVAC licensing our research confirmed.

Omaha issues ACAD (air conditioning/air distribution) licenses — Master, Journeyman and Apprentice ACAD/Sheet Metal Installer — and alongside them licenses steamfitters, oil burner installers, oil and LPG tank installers and stationary engineers.

Lincoln issues mechanical licenses: Mechanical Master Contractor, Journeyman HVAC Technician, Apprentice and an Inactive Master category, plus the Refrigeration-Mechanical Master Contractor registration.

Our research did not verify whether other Nebraska cities — Grand Island, Kearney and Bellevue among them — issue their own mechanical or HVAC licenses, so the building or licensing department where the work will be done is the authority on whether you need a license there.