How to get an HVAC license in Hawaii

Licensing office Hawaii Contractors License Board (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) · (808) 586-3000 [4][8]

The license pathway in Hawaii

1. 1

   HVAC helper or apprentice (no state license)

   You can work for wages for a licensed contractor without a state license. If you handle refrigerant you need EPA Section 608 certification, though an apprentice is exempt while closely supervised by a certified technician. [2][5][13]

2. 2

   C-52 Ventilating and Air Conditioning Contractor

   • 4 years of experience
   • Two exams at PSI: Business and Law (80 questions, 180 minutes, 75%) and C-52 (80 questions, 180 minutes, 75%)
   • $50 application; $80 per exam
   • Every 2 years by September 30 of even years

   Lets you contract to install heating, cooling and ventilating systems, including heat pumps, ducts and piping. You need four years of supervisory experience in the classification within the past ten years, two passed exams, liability insurance and workers' compensation. [3][4][6]

3. 3

   C-40 Refrigeration Contractor

   • 4 years of experience
   • Business and Law exam plus a written exam in the classification (Part II)
   • $50 application
   • Every 2 years by September 30 of even years

   Covers refrigeration systems that keep air below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, such as walk-in refrigerator boxes. It needs the same four years of supervisory experience in the classification. [3][4]

No state license for HVAC technicians

Hawaii's Board of Electricians and Plumbers issues nine licenses, all for electricians and plumbers; none covers HVAC technicians. The contractor licensing law doesn't apply to "any person who engages in the activities regulated in this chapter as an employee with wages as the person's sole compensation."

So as an employee you need no state HVAC card. Electrical work still falls under the electrician licensing rules, and plumbing work under the plumber rules. [1][2]

The C-52 and C-40 contractor licenses

To contract for HVAC work you need a specialty license from the Contractors License Board:

• C-52 Ventilating and air conditioning contractor: warm-air heating and air cooling systems, including solar heating and cooling, ventilating and complete air conditioning systems with piping, controls (other than electrical), building automation and heat pumps.
• C-40 Refrigeration contractor: devices and units that keep air below 50 degrees Fahrenheit in refrigerators and refrigerated rooms, including walk-in boxes.

Both need four years of supervisory experience in the classification within the past ten years. The board may count technical training, but never as more than one year. Projects of $1,500 or less in labor and materials are exempt only if no building permit is needed and the job isn't part of a larger project. [2][3][4]

The exams

PSI Services gives Hawaii's contractor exams. You take Business and Law plus the trade exam for your classification. PSI's bulletin (dated January 2026) lists Business and Law at 80 questions in 180 minutes, and the C-52 exam at 80 questions in 180 minutes; both need 75% to pass. Each exam costs $80.

Once the board approves you, you must pass within six months or file a new application. The board's requirements sheet still names Prometric as the vendor, but the board's exam page says PSI took over in January 2023. [4][6][7]

Fees, insurance and renewal

The application fee is $50; license fees are billed after you pass. Before the license is issued you need workers' compensation insurance (sole proprietors with no employees can file a form instead) and liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage.

Licenses renew by September 30 of every even-numbered year. The on-time renewal for an active sole proprietor is $338, and you need a current Hawaii tax clearance. [4][8]

If you're licensed in another state

The Contractors License Board doesn't list any reciprocity agreements. Applicants licensed in another state should send proof of that license, but they still submit at least three experience certificates and the project list, and they take the exams. More in our reciprocity guide.

Military spouses: state law (HRS 436B-14.7) gives a temporary license to the spouse of an active-duty service member transferred to Hawaii who has held a license in good standing elsewhere for at least a year, if the licensing board finds the other state's requirements equal to or higher than Hawaii's. It lasts no more than five years in total or the length of the member's orders. We found no general universal license recognition law in Hawaii's professional and vocational licensing act (HRS chapter 436B). [4][9]

Steps to get licensed in Hawaii

1. Get hired or join an apprenticeship

   Apply to the UA Local 675 refrigeration and AC program or another registered program, or get hired by an air-conditioning contractor. [11][12]

2. Get EPA 608 certified

   Pass an EPA-approved Section 608 test for the equipment you'll service before working on refrigerant circuits without close supervision. [5][13]

3. Build four years of supervisory experience

   The C-52 license needs four years as a foreman, supervising employee or contractor in the classification within the past ten years, backed by at least three notarized experience certificates and a project list. [3][4]

4. Apply and pass two exams

   File the application with a $50 fee, then pass the Business and Law and C-52 exams at PSI within six months of approval. [4][6][7]

5. Insure and get licensed

   Show liability and workers' compensation insurance, pay the license fees and keep a place of business in Hawaii. Renew every two years by September 30 of even years. [4][8]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  UA Local 675 refrigeration and air-conditioning fitter apprenticeship

  The Honolulu JATC (Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee) for the plumbing and pipefitting industry trains refrigeration and AC fitters in a five-year program of 10,000 work hours plus ten semesters of classes; Local 675 also offers EPA 608 training to members. [11]

• Union

  Hawaii Sheet Metal JATC (SMART Local 293)

  Union sheet metal apprenticeship. DLIR's construction program list (revised January 2021; DLIR says the list doesn't reflect the latest updates on certain programs) shows 10,000 hours of on-the-job training and the program's contact details. We didn't find a current program page; confirm details with the program. [14]

• State program

  Hawaii DLIR registered apprenticeship

  The state Workforce Development Division registers Hawaii's apprenticeship programs, lists construction programs and posts recruitment notices. [12]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask