How to become an HVAC technician in Texas

The path in Texas, step by step

Texas licenses HVAC work at the state level through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Build 48 months of supervised experience, or 12 months as a certified tech plus 36 months.
2. Get the experience verification form filled out by the licensed contractor you worked for.
3. Apply to TDLR with your endorsement and class choice and pay the $115 fee.
4. After TDLR approves you, pass the PSI exam for your endorsement and class.
5. Send proof of liability insurance at the Class A or Class B minimum.
6. Renew every year with 8 hours of continuing education.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: HVAC license in Texas.

Finding an apprenticeship in Texas

Texas has no recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, so the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship registers and oversees programs there through a state field office. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Texas Office of Apprenticeship as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Some technicians train through an apprenticeship, which usually lasts several years. Each year mixes paid on-the-job training with some classroom work on safety, blueprint reading, and heating and cooling systems.

License levels and exams in Texas

The license to aim for: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ACR) Contractor license, Class A or Class B.

Trade exam. Yes. A PSI exam for each endorsement and class, such as TX Environmental Air A or B and TX Commercial Refrigeration A or B.

Keeping it. Every year for $65. You need 8 hours of approved continuing education each year. Renewing within 90 days after expiration costs 1.5 times the fee, and after that 2 times.

Coming from another state. Texas reciprocates with South Carolina and Georgia. TDLR also accepts ACR experience earned in states or cities with substantially equivalent licensing.

What the Texas license costs

The fees the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What HVAC technicians earn in Texas

The median HVAC technician in Texas earned $27.77 an hour in May 2025, 38th of 51 states, with 34,730 on payrolls. The national median was $29.33.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of HVAC technicians in Texas earned under $22.50 an hour and a tenth under $18.32. At the top, a quarter earned over $33.59 and a tenth over $39.36.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: HVAC technician salary in Texas.

Jobs ahead in Texas

Texas's labor market office projects jobs for HVAC technicians growing from 32,740 in 2022 to 38,430 in 2032, a change of 17.4%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 3,520 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 17.4% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 5.5% projected nationally, ranking 9th of the 50 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers.

Starting your own HVAC technician business in Texas

To contract on your own in Texas, the license is the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ACR) Contractor license, Class A or Class B.

Insurance. Class A: $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate for property damage and bodily injury, plus $300,000 aggregate products and completed operations. Class B: $100,000 per occurrence, $200,000 aggregate and $100,000 products and completed operations.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Texas median of $27.77 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $119.36 per billable hour. Try your own in the HVAC technician labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start an HVAC business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.