Florida HVAC / Mechanical Contractor License Cost & Requirements (2026)
Florida certifies air conditioning contractors through the same board as its general contractors, the CILB, and the fees follow the same pattern: a cycle-window application payment with the initial license fee bundled inside, a two-part exam, and a credit test instead of a bond. What is specific to this trade is the class decision. A Certified Air Conditioning Contractor license comes in Class A and Class B, and the line between them, written into the statute, is 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system.
Choose the class for the work you actually intend to bid. Everything else on this page, the $540 first-time total included, is shared with the other CILB construction trades.
Florida HVAC / Mechanical Contractor Fee Estimator
Regulatory fee breakdown for Certified Air Conditioning Contractor (Class A or B)
Itemized Fee Schedule
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)
All applications and exams must be registered directly with this board.
Fee figures on this page were checked against Florida DBPR - Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) on October 29, 2026. View the official source
Regulatory & Licensing Requirements Summary
| Official License Classification | Certified Air Conditioning Contractor (Class A or B) |
| Minimum Experience | 4 Years (Journeyman / Field Supervisor) |
| Mandatory State Surety Bond | Not required at state level (Local permits may apply) |
| General Liability Insurance | Varies by category: $300,000 liability / $50,000 property damage for General and Building Contractors; $100,000 / $25,000 for Residential and most specialty categories (Rule 61G4-15.003, FAC). |
| Estimated Application Processing Time | Not published by the board |
| Renewal Cycle & CE Requirement | Every 2 year(s) with 14 hours of Continuing Education |
Warning: Unlicensed Contracting Penalties in Florida
First offense: a first-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine (§489.127(2)). A repeat offense, or any offense during a Governor-declared state of emergency, is a third-degree felony.
Note: In many states, unlicensed contractors also lose the ability to file mechanic's liens or sue for non-payment in civil courts.
Special Statutory Notes for Florida
Every Florida air conditioning application starts with a sizing decision. The Certified Air Conditioning Contractor license comes in two classes from the Construction Industry Licensing Board inside DBPR, certified statewide by examination: Class A covers air-conditioning work of any size, while Class B stops at 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system. Past that choice, the trade runs on the board's shared machinery.
The board charges the application in cycle windows: $245 or $145 depending on where you apply in the two-year cycle, with the $200 initial license fee inside either figure. Business & Finance and Trade Knowledge make up the two-part exam. PTI collects $135 and each test costs $80, for a $295 exam stage. No surety bond is required.
The credit test is the board's standard one: FICO 660 or higher, or a 14-hour board-approved financial responsibility course when the score falls short of 660. The insurance minimums are at least $100,000 of public liability and $25,000 of property damage, the licensee must hold workers' compensation coverage or an exemption, and electronic fingerprinting is mandatory. Qualifying experience is 4 years in the trade, at least 1 year of it supervisory.
Renewal is every 2 years at $209, or $259 if you qualify a business, with 14 hours of continuing education. A designated Financially Responsible Officer is the one place a bond appears in this trade: that officer separately posts a $100,000 bond or letter of credit.
Florida divides licensing into Certified (statewide practice) and Registered (county/local jurisdiction practice). Building standards are strictest in the Miami-Dade and Broward High-Velocity Hurricane Zone.
Class A or Class B: the 25-ton line
A Class A license covers air-conditioning work of any size. A Class B license is limited to 25 tons of cooling capacity and 500,000 BTU of heating, in any one system. That phrasing matters: the limit is per system, not per building or per contract, and it is the figure the statute itself uses. It is also one of the few specialty claims on the old version of this site that survived our verification word for word.
The practical decision is about headroom. A Class B contractor whose business grows into larger commercial systems cannot stretch the license to cover a 30-ton installation; the work has to be declined, subcontracted to a Class A licensee, or held until the contractor upgrades. Both classes sit the same exam structure and pay the same fees, so the class is a scope decision, not a price decision.
The shared CILB money: windows, prepaid fees, and the credit test
The application payment is $245 in the first part of the two-year cycle and $145 in the second, because the $200 initial certification fee bundled inside it drops to $100 when less of the cycle remains. The exam has two parts, Business & Finance and Trade Knowledge, charged as $135 to the exam vendor PTI plus $80 per test: $295 in exam-stage fees. First-time total: $540.
Financial responsibility works the Florida way: no surety bond since the rule changed in April 2022, a credit report with no unsatisfied judgments or liens, and a FICO score of at least 660, with a 14-hour financial responsibility course as the route below that score. Insurance for this trade is $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property damage, lower than the general contractor tier, plus workers' compensation coverage or an exemption, and electronic fingerprinting is mandatory.
Mistakes that delay a Florida HVAC application
- Taking Class B and then bidding work past its limits. The ceiling is 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system, and it does not stretch.
- Adding the $200 initial fee to the $245 application payment. It is prepaid inside the payment, so the first-time total is $540, not $740.
- Budgeting for a surety bond. Florida replaced it with the FICO 660 credit test in April 2022; below 660 the requirement is a 14-hour course.
- Carrying general-contractor insurance figures into this trade. CAC licensees need $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property damage, a lower tier than the CGC's $300,000 / $50,000.
- Renewing as an individual when you qualify a business. Renewal is $209 for an individual and $259 when the license qualifies a business, with 14 hours of continuing education either way.
Florida HVAC Licensing FAQ
What work can a Class B air conditioning contractor not do?
Anything beyond 25 tons of cooling or 500,000 BTU of heating in any one system. Inside those limits a Class B license is a full state certification for air conditioning work. Above them, the job belongs to a Class A licensee. The limit is set by the statute, not by project value or building size.
Is the Florida HVAC exam the same price as the general contractor exam?
Yes, $295 in exam-stage fees, but structured differently. The CAC exam has two parts, Business & Finance and Trade Knowledge, each charged as a test. The general contractor exam has three parts but charges two of them as a single test, so both routes land on $135 to PTI plus two $80 test fees.
Does a Florida air conditioning contractor need a surety bond?
No. Like the other CILB construction licenses, the CAC has no bond requirement under the current Rule 61G4-15.006. Financial responsibility is a credit report with no unsatisfied judgments or liens and a FICO score of 660 or higher, or a 14-hour board-approved financial responsibility course if the score falls short. The only bond in the scheme is the conditional $100,000 bond posted by a designated Financially Responsible Officer.
Why is the application fee sometimes $145 instead of $245?
Cycle timing. The payment bundles a $40 processing fee, a $5 unlicensed-activity fee, and the initial certification fee. That initial fee is $200 when the full part of the biennium remains and $100 in the second window (1 September of an odd year to 30 April of an even year), so the same application costs $145 instead of $245 and runs to the same 31 August renewal date.
How much does a HVAC / Mechanical Contractor license cost in Florida?
The filing and licensing fees on the Florida HVAC / Mechanical Contractor schedule total approximately $540. The $245 application payment already includes the $200 initial license fee; on top of that, the examination fees are $295.
How long does it take to get a HVAC / Mechanical Contractor license in Florida?
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) does not publish a fixed end-to-end processing time for this license. The Department publishes no end-to-end processing time; its FAQ states licenses are typically issued within about 2 weeks after the board meeting at which an application is approved.
What are the penalties for working as an unlicensed HVAC in Florida?
First offense: a first-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine (§489.127(2)). A repeat offense, or any offense during a Governor-declared state of emergency, is a third-degree felony.
How often do you need to renew a HVAC license in Florida?
Licenses must be renewed every 2 year(s) with a renewal fee of $209. You must also complete 14 hours of approved Continuing Education (CE).