Georgia HVAC / Mechanical Contractor License Cost & Requirements (2026)
Georgia does not use the word HVAC on its licenses. The trade is licensed as Conditioned Air Contracting, by the Division of Conditioned Air Contractors of the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, and it has been licensed since 1949.
Two classes divide the work by system size: Class I (Restricted), for systems up to 175,000 BTU of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling, and Class II (Unrestricted), for everything above. Technicians employed by a licensed contractor need no individual state license; the contractor's license, and federal EPA certification for refrigerant work, carry the trade.
This page was rebuilt in October 2026 from the board's rules and fee schedule effective June 1, 2025, and the PSI examination structure. Georgia's conditioned air requirements are unusually prescriptive: the board does not merely count your years, it specifies what the years must consist of. That structure, set out below, is where most applications succeed or fail.
Georgia HVAC / Mechanical Contractor Fee Estimator
Regulatory fee breakdown for Conditioned Air Contractor, Class I (Restricted) or Class II (Unrestricted)
Georgia requires a $10,000 surety bond. Its annual premium is set by the surety provider; the board publishes no rate, so it is not included in the total.
Itemized Fee Schedule
Need your $10,000 Surety Bond?
Boards do not sell bonds. Before you buy one, read how a surety bond works, what the premium is based on, and how a bond differs from liability insurance.
Read: Bonds vs Liability InsuranceState Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors (Georgia Secretary of State)
All applications and exams must be registered directly with this board.
Fee figures on this page were checked against Georgia State Construction Industry Licensing Board — Division of Conditioned Air Contractors; fee schedule effective June 1, 2025 on October 30, 2026. View the official source
Regulatory & Licensing Requirements Summary
| Official License Classification | Conditioned Air Contractor, Class I (Restricted) or Class II (Unrestricted) |
| Minimum Experience | 4 Years (Journeyman / Field Supervisor) |
| Mandatory State Surety Bond | $10,000 Bond Required |
| General Liability Insurance | $500,000 for General Contractor Division licenses; $300,000 per occurrence for Residential-Basic (GA Rules Ch. 553). |
| Estimated Application Processing Time | Not published by the board |
| Renewal Cycle & CE Requirement | Every 2 year(s) with 4 hours of Continuing Education |
Warning: Unlicensed Contracting Penalties in Georgia
Misdemeanor: a fine of not less than $1,000 and/or up to 3 months' imprisonment per offense (§43-41-12(a)). A contract with an unlicensed contractor is unenforceable by the contractor, including mechanic's lien and bond claims (§43-41-17(a)).
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 Georgia
Licensed by the Division of Conditioned Air Contractors of the Georgia State Construction Industry Licensing Board (Secretary of State). Georgia calls its HVAC license a Conditioned Air Contractor license.
Class I (Restricted) covers systems not exceeding 175,000 BTU of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling, and requires four years of experience in the board's prescribed structure: two years of residential installation as a lead mechanic, one year as a service technician (including EPA certification) and one year of residential supervisory experience, plus a board-approved heat loss and gain and duct design course.
Class II (Unrestricted) has no size limit and requires five years in the prescribed structure, including commercial installation and two years of commercial supervisory experience and the corresponding design courses. A technical-school diploma in engineering technology can be credited for up to two years of experience, a certificate for up to one year. The examination, through PSI, is open-book: 120 questions (including 20 pre-test) over 7 hours in two parts, 70% to pass, fee $267.
A $10,000 surety or cash bond is filed in the county where the contractor works. Fees follow the Construction Industry Licensing Board's fee schedule effective June 1, 2025: the application is a $100 fee plus a $10 processing fee ($110 in total), on-time renewal is likewise $110 in total, a late renewal is $210 in total and reinstatement of a lapsed license is $310 in total.
(Guides still quoting a $30 application or a $75 renewal are using the pre-June-2025 schedule.) Continuing education is 4 hours per year under board Rule 121-4. Conditioned Air licenses expire November 30 of odd-numbered years. Technicians employed by a licensed contractor need no individual state license. The federal EPA Section 608 certification governs their refrigerant handling.
Georgia licenses contractors through the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, in four categories: Residential-Basic, Residential-Light Commercial, General Contractor, and General Contractor Limited Tier. Specialty trades such as electrical, plumbing and conditioned air are licensed by separate boards.
Experience in the board's own structure
For Class I, the four required years are composed, not just accumulated: two years of residential installation experience as a lead mechanic, one year as a service technician (a year that must include EPA certification), and one year of residential supervisory experience, together with a board-approved course in heat loss and gain calculation and duct design.
For Class II, five years are composed the same way at commercial weight: two years of installation as a lead mechanic, at least one of them commercial, one year as a service technician or service supervisor with EPA certification, and two years of commercial supervisory experience, with approved heat loss/gain and duct design courses for both residential and commercial work, and documented installations on systems above the Class I limits.
Applicants must be at least 18 and hold a high school diploma or GED; an engineering-technology diploma from a technical school can be credited for up to two years of the experience, a certificate for up to one.
The practical consequence is that five general years in the trade may not qualify a Class II applicant whose years do not map onto the structure, while a deliberately assembled record does. Georgia is asking what kind of work the years contained, and the application is where that gets proved, with references and documentation the board reviews before it authorizes the examination.
The examination and the county bond
The PSI examination is the same shape for both classes: open-book, 120 questions including 20 pre-test questions, administered in two parts across seven hours, 70% to pass, covering system design heavily (design questions are the largest single block) alongside installation, maintenance and repair, and the regulatory material. The fee is $267. The application to the board is $110 in total under the June 2025 fee schedule, a $100 fee plus $10 processing, so a first license costs $377 in board and examination charges.
Conditioned air is the Georgia trade that does carry a bond: a $10,000 surety or cash bond, filed in the county where the contractor works. It is a county filing, not a board fee, which is why it escapes the fee schedules, and it sits alongside the license rather than inside it.
Employers should also note what the license does not do: it licenses the contracting business through its licensed individual, and the technicians under that license need no state credential of their own, though any of them who handles refrigerant needs federal EPA Section 608 certification in the appropriate category.
Renewal on the odd-year calendar
Conditioned air licenses expire on November 30 of odd-numbered years, the only one of Georgia's construction divisions on an odd-year cycle, which makes them easy to strand if a firm's compliance calendar is built around the electricians' and plumbers' even years.
Renewal is $110 in total under the current schedule; late renewal is $210 in total and reinstatement $310, replacing the pre-June-2025 figures. Continuing education is four hours per year under Rule 121-4, eight across the cycle, from colleges, vocational-technical schools, trade associations, utilities or equipment manufacturers, documented with the renewal.
Reciprocity is modest and specific: the board's published arrangements concern the acceptance of examination results between Georgia and a small set of states for conditioned air (South Carolina, Texas and Louisiana appear in the board's exam-acceptance lists), and an incoming contractor should confirm with the board whether their license and examination transfer before assuming the Georgia examination can be skipped.
Mistakes that delay a Georgia HVAC application
- Counting years instead of composing them: Georgia prescribes what the experience years must consist of (lead mechanic, service, supervisory, in the right settings). Five unstructured years can fail the Class II application.
- Forgetting the design course: a board-approved heat loss/gain and duct design course is part of the experience requirement for both classes, not an optional extra.
- Treating Class I as a starter license for any small business: it is a system-size limit, 175,000 BTU heating and 60,000 BTU cooling, and commercial systems cross it quickly.
- Renewing on the wrong calendar: conditioned air expires November 30 of odd years, unlike Georgia's electrical and plumbing licenses.
- Skipping the county bond: the $10,000 surety or cash bond is filed in the county of work and is separate from the board's fees.
- Assuming technicians need state licenses: they do not in Georgia. The contractor is licensed; technicians need EPA 608 certification only for refrigerant handling.
Georgia HVAC Licensing FAQ
What does a Georgia conditioned air contractor license cost in total?
In board and examination charges, $377: an application of $110 in total ($100 plus $10 processing, under the fee schedule effective June 1, 2025) and the PSI examination at $267. Separately, a $10,000 surety or cash bond is filed in the county where you work; you pay a premium on the bond, not its face value. Renewal is $110 in total every two years.
What is the difference between Class I and Class II conditioned air licenses?
System size. Class I (Restricted) covers systems up to 175,000 BTU of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling. Class II (Unrestricted) has no limit. The experience differs with the class: four composed years for Class I, five for Class II with commercial installation and two years of commercial supervision, each including EPA-certified service time and approved heat loss/gain and duct design coursework.
What experience does Georgia require for a conditioned air license?
Structured experience, not just years. Class I: two years of residential installation as a lead mechanic, one year as a service technician including EPA certification, and one year of residential supervision, plus an approved design course. Class II: two years installing as a lead mechanic (at least one commercial), one year of service work with EPA certification, and two years of commercial supervision, plus residential and commercial design courses. A technical-school diploma can substitute for up to two years, a certificate for one.
Do HVAC technicians need a license in Georgia?
Not an individual state license. Georgia licenses conditioned air contractors, and technicians work under a licensed contractor's license. The individual credential that does apply is federal: EPA Section 608 certification, in the appropriate category, for anyone who handles refrigerants. The state license application itself builds EPA certification into its service-experience year.
When does the Georgia conditioned air license expire?
November 30 of odd-numbered years, the odd-year cycle among Georgia's construction divisions. Renewal is $110 in total, with four hours of continuing education per year (eight per cycle) documented. Late renewal costs $210 in total and reinstatement $310 under the schedule effective June 1, 2025.
Is the Georgia conditioned air exam open book?
Yes. Both class examinations are open-book sittings through PSI: 120 questions including 20 pre-test questions, in two parts across seven hours, with system design the largest topic block, and 70% required to pass. The fee is $267, payable after the board has approved your application and authorized the examination.
How much does a HVAC / Mechanical Contractor license cost in Georgia?
The filing and licensing fees on the Georgia HVAC / Mechanical Contractor schedule total approximately $377. This consists of a $110 application fee, a $267 examination fee, and a $0 initial license fee. A $10,000 surety bond is also required; its annual premium is set by the surety provider and no official rate is published.
How long does it take to get a HVAC / Mechanical Contractor license in Georgia?
State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors (Georgia Secretary of State) does not publish a fixed end-to-end processing time for this license.
What are the penalties for working as an unlicensed HVAC in Georgia?
Misdemeanor: a fine of not less than $1,000 and/or up to 3 months' imprisonment per offense (§43-41-12(a)). A contract with an unlicensed contractor is unenforceable by the contractor, including mechanic's lien and bond claims (§43-41-17(a)).
How often do you need to renew a HVAC license in Georgia?
Licenses must be renewed every 2 year(s) with a renewal fee of $110. You must also complete 4 hours of approved Continuing Education (CE).