How to get an HVAC license in Oklahoma

Journeyman level 6,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB), Mechanical · (405) 521-6550 [1][19]

The license pathway in Oklahoma

1. 1

   Mechanical Apprentice

   • $25 first registration ($20 plus $5 application fee)
   • Yearly, $20 (application fee waived if you reregister within 30 days)

   Your entry registration. You work under the direct supervision of a licensed mechanical journeyman or contractor, in the same category as your supervisor, no more than three apprentices per licensed person. [2][3][9]

2. 2

   Endorsed Apprentice (HVAC limited)

   • A Committee-approved program of 1,000 hours or more, with no trade-course grade below 70%
   • Yes: HVACR journeyman limited exam

   A shortcut for trade-school graduates. At 17 or older, a registered apprentice who finished a 1,000-hour approved program can take the HVAC limited journeyman exam, then gets the journeyman license after one year of registered experience, once 18, within three years of passing. [3]

3. 3

   Mechanical Journeyman (HVAC limited or unlimited)

   • 6,000 hours on the job
   • 3 years of experience
   • Approved programs shorten the work time: 1,000 hours plus 1 year, 500 hours plus 2 years, down to 250 hours plus 2.5 years
   • Yes: HVACR limited 60 questions or unlimited 70 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass, open book (PSI)
   • $75 ($25 application plus $50 license)
   • Yearly, $75; 6 hours CE every 36 months

   Lets you do mechanical work in your licensed category for a licensed mechanical contractor and supervise apprentices. HVAC limited covers cooling up to 25 tons and heating up to 500,000 Btu/h per appliance; unlimited has no size cap. You need three years of verifiable experience in the category and must be at least 18. [2][3][4][5]

4. 4

   Mechanical Contractor

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 4 years of experience
   • Same substitutions as journeyman
   • Yes: business/law and trade portions (PSI)
   • $330 ($30 application plus $300 license)
   • Yearly, $200; 6 hours CE every 36 months

   Lets you run a mechanical business in your category. You meet the journeyman requirements plus one more year of experience, must be a permanent employee, owner, partner or officer of the firm, and must keep bond and insurance. [1][3][8]

How to get your first job or apprenticeship in Oklahoma

The CIB's advice for beginners: apply to work for a licensed contractor in the trade, register as an apprentice once hired, and start earning. Formal education is optional, but approved mechanical programs count toward the journeyman experience requirement.

Register right away. The CIB won't count Oklahoma experience from periods when you weren't a registered apprentice. If you're only attending classes and not working in the field, you don't need to register; you bring proof of the approved education when you apply for the exam. See our helper jobs guide and how to get an apprenticeship. [3][4][7]

Who needs a license in Oklahoma

Under the Mechanical Licensing Act, no one may do mechanical work as a journeyman or contractor without a CIB license, and a business can't act as a mechanical firm unless a licensed contractor is responsible for its mechanical work. The law defines mechanical work to cover heating, cooling, refrigeration, ventilation and exhaust systems, plus natural gas and process piping, other than minor repairs.

Some work is exempt. Portable or self-contained ductless units under 2.5 tons of cooling or 36,000 Btu/h of heating aren't covered, and the CIB says air duct cleaning doesn't need a state license. Licensed plumbers may also install gas piping, floor furnaces and wall heaters. [1][2][3]

The license ladder and categories

Oklahoma has no master license; the contractor license is the highest. Each license is issued in a category:

• HVAC limited: cooling up to 25 tons, heating up to 500,000 Btu/h per appliance, plus sheet metal, natural gas piping and refrigeration.
• HVAC unlimited: no size limits.
• Limited residential journeyman: new systems in new one- and two-family homes and townhouses up to three stories, with limits such as 5 tons of cooling.
• Others: refrigeration, natural gas piping, process piping, sheet metal, ground source piping, medical gas, petroleum refinery process piping and fueled hearth products.

For a journeyman license you need three years of verifiable experience in the category (the rules count a year as 2,000 hours), or a mix of approved school and work: 1,000 hours plus one year, 500 hours plus two years, 375 hours plus 2.25 years, 334 hours plus 2.33 years, or 250 hours plus 2.5 years. A contractor needs one more year. Compare states on the HVAC hub. [3][4][8]

The journeyman exams

PSI runs the exams. After the CIB approves your application, schedule at PSI's Oklahoma page or call (855) 834-8750. The fee is $92 per exam portion.

The bulletin effective September 11, 2026 lists the HVACR journeyman limited exam at 60 questions and the unlimited exam at 70 questions, each 180 minutes with a 70% passing score. The exams are open book, with references such as the International Mechanical Code and International Fuel Gas Code (2018 or 2024 editions).

If you fail, you wait 30 days before the next try and 90 days after any later failure. [1][2][5]

Fees, renewal and continuing education

CIB fees: apprentice $20 registration plus a $5 application fee; journeyman $25 application plus $50 initial license; contractor $30 application plus $300 initial license. Renewals are $75 a year for a journeyman and $200 for a contractor, with late fees of $25 and $100. PSI exam fees are separate.

Licenses expire on the last day of your birth month and renew yearly. Journeymen and contractors need six hours of approved CE within the 36 months before their license expires.

A 2026 law (SB 1732) raises fees starting July 1, 2028. The CIB's rule filing lists the apprentice fee going from $20 to $32 and the initial journeyman license from $50 to $80. [1][3][9][10][11]

Union and school routes

You can earn your hours with any licensed mechanical contractor. In Oklahoma City, UA Local 344 apprentices learn HVAC, plumbing and industrial piping with the Plumbers and Pipefitters Training Center of Oklahoma City.

Many CareerTech technology centers have CIB-approved mechanical programs; finishing one shortens the work time you need. More: union vs. non-union and vocational school. [3][12][13][14]

If you're licensed in another state

Oklahoma grants mechanical licenses by reciprocity only where a written agreement exists with your state, and the CIB's mechanical page doesn't list any. A current, verifiable out-of-state license in the same classification can still speed up processing if you meet Oklahoma's experience rules, and Board-approved "exam equivalency" can replace the Oklahoma exam.

Oklahoma's Universal Licensing Recognition Act (2021) is for people who move to and live in Oklahoma, but it applies only where Oklahoma law gives no reciprocity authority for the trade. The CIB has that authority under its own law (59 O.S. 1000.5a), so the act doesn't add a separate route for mechanical licenses. See our reciprocity guide. [1][3][15][16][17]

City rules in Oklahoma

Cities issue mechanical permits and can add registration. In Oklahoma City, a mechanical contractor registers the state license with the city for $95 initially and each year, per category. [18]

Steps to get licensed in Oklahoma

1. Get hired and register as a mechanical apprentice

   Find a job with a licensed mechanical contractor or enroll in a recognized school or training course, then mail the CIB's apprentice application with $25. [2][7][9]

2. Get EPA 608 certified

   Earn EPA Section 608 certification before you work on equipment that could release refrigerants. [6]

3. Build experience in your category

   Work under a licensed journeyman or contractor in the same category (for example HVAC). The CIB doesn't track hours; your contractor must, and you should keep your own records. [1][3]

4. Apply for the journeyman exam

   After three years (or approved schooling plus one to two and a half years), send the mechanical license application with proof of experience, transcripts and fees. [3][4]

5. Schedule and pass the PSI exam

   Once approved, schedule with PSI ($92 per exam portion). The exams are open book; you need 70%. [4][5]

6. Add a year for the contractor license

   With one more year of experience, take the contractor exam, which adds a business and law portion, and set up bond and insurance. [3][8]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  UA Local 344 (Plumbers and Pipefitters, Oklahoma City)

  The Oklahoma City local of the plumbers' and pipefitters' union, whose apprentices learn HVAC, plumbing and industrial systems. It trains with the Plumbers and Pipefitters Training Center of Oklahoma City; use its call-back form to ask about applying. [12][13]

• School

  CIB-approved mechanical schools

  Technology centers across Oklahoma (for example Francis Tuttle, Metro Technology Center, Moore Norman, Meridian and Mid-Del) and some out-of-state schools run mechanical programs the CIB's Mechanical Committee approved to substitute for experience. Confirm the approval with the CIB before you enroll. [14]

• State program

  Apprenticeship Oklahoma (Oklahoma CareerTech)

  CareerTech calls itself the state's hub for registered apprenticeships. Its apprentice page explains how to find openings through technology centers, employers and the federal finder. [20][21]

• Other

  Apprenticeship.gov Apprenticeship Finder

  The U.S. Department of Labor's search tool for open apprenticeship jobs, where you apply directly with the employer. [22]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask