How to get an HVAC license in Alabama

Licensing office Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors · (334) 242-5550 [4][6]

The license pathway in Alabama

1. 1

   HVAC worker or trainee (no state license)

   Alabama certifies contractors, not individual technicians. Act 2024-310 removed the apprentice provisions from the law. Experience you earn working in the trade, or in an apprenticeship registered with the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship, counts toward the contractor exam. [1][2][3]

2. 2

   Certified Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor (or Refrigeration Contractor)

   • 3,000 hours on the job
   • Not required; graduating from an approved HVAC or refrigeration curriculum is an alternative to the 3,000 hours
   • Yes: written exam ($175); a practical exam ($375) may be requested after a failed first attempt
   • $175 exam; $220 active or $110 inactive certification
   • Yearly by December 31, $220 active; 4 hours CE

   Lets you install, service and repair heating and cooling systems (or commercial refrigeration) and run an HVAC business. Active status needs a business name and a $20,000 performance bond. Cities and counties can't require any more testing of certified contractors. [1][4][7][8]

What Alabama licenses, and what it doesn't

The Board issues two contractor certifications: heating and air conditioning, and commercial refrigeration. Window units, automotive and farm equipment, household appliances, residential refrigerators and ice machines are outside the law.

There is no technician or journeyman level. The state used to register apprentices, but Senate Bill 101 (Act 2024-310), effective October 1, 2024, removed the apprentice provisions. The Board said only 4 new apprentices had registered since 2020, and that people could already qualify for the exam with less on-the-job training (3,000 hours) than an apprentice needed (4,160 hours). The same law lets contractors do electrical work incidental to installing, servicing or repairing residential heating and air conditioning systems.

Note: the Board's 2025 exam application still quotes the older law text about apprentice registration and asks employers to swear to at least two years of work in the past five years. The current law says 3,000 hours. Confirm with the Board which proof it wants. [1][2][3][4][6]

Fees and renewal

• Written exam: $175. Practical exam: $375.
• Active heating and air conditioning or refrigeration certification: $220 to start and $220 a year.
• Inactive certification: $110 to start and $110 a year.
• Active contractors post a $20,000 performance bond naming the Board.

Certifications lapse if not renewed by December 31. You then have until December 31 of the next year to renew with a $250 late fee; after that, you must take the exam again. Continuing education is 4 hours a year, you may carry over up to 4 extra hours, and you don't need CE in your first year. [4][7][8][9]

If you're licensed in another state

The Board grants certification by reciprocity if you passed an equivalent exam with at least 70% and hold a current license with the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, South Carolina Residential Building Commission, South Carolina Contractor's Board, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board or Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

Reciprocity applications are paper only: a notarized application, a $220 fee, the $20,000 bond, and foreign corporation registration with the Alabama Secretary of State if your business is out of state. [4]

Apprenticeships and training

• Union: UA Local 91 in Birmingham trains plumbers, pipefitters and HVAC technicians in a 5-year registered program.
• State: the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship registers programs; the HVAC Board still recognizes apprenticeships it approves.
• School: the Board's exam application lists approved HVAC curriculums, and long certificates from Alabama public two-year colleges are approved.

More: how to get an apprenticeship and helper jobs. [3][6][10][11]

Steps to get licensed in Alabama

1. Get experience or finish an approved program

   Work 3,000 hours in heating and air conditioning or commercial refrigeration, or graduate from an approved curriculum. Get EPA 608 certification if you will handle refrigerants. [1][5]

2. Apply for the exam

   Apply through the Board's online exam application or by mail with notarized employer affidavits and W-2s, school certificates, or proof of graduation. The exam fee is $175 (4% extra by card). You have one year from approval to take the exam. [4][6][8]

3. Choose active or inactive status

   After you pass, apply for active certification ($220 a year, with a business name and a $20,000 performance bond) if you will do HVAC work, or inactive ($110) if you won't. Apply online through your online profile or with forms AL-1, AL-2 and BF-1. [4]

4. Renew every year

   Renew by December 31 and complete 4 hours of continuing education a year (not required your first year). A lapsed certification can be renewed within one year with a $250 late fee; after that you must retest. [7][8][9]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train HVAC technicians in or for Alabama, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  UA Local 91 Apprenticeship (Birmingham)

  Five-year Department of Labor registered program; graduates may be certified in HVAC, plumbing, pipefitting, welding and more. [10]

• State program

  Alabama Office of Apprenticeship

  Registers apprenticeship programs in Alabama; the HVAC Board says it still recognizes apprenticeships the office approves and registers. [3][11]

• School

  Board-approved HVAC training programs

  The Board's exam application lists approved curriculums (for example Alabama Power HVAC Training Center and Alabama PHCC Academy) and approves long certificates from Alabama public two-year colleges. [6]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask