Texas HVAC and Electrician License Requirements
TDLR sets separate experience, exam, and fee requirements on its ACR contractor application page and its Electricians program. Neither trade recognizes a course or certificate as a substitute for logged on-the-job training (OJT) hours, and neither trade issues a license without a passing score on TDLR's exam, administered through the testing vendor PSI. This page lays out exactly what each license tier in both trades requires, traced to TDLR's own application pages, so you can tell early whether you already qualify or how much more OJT time you need before you can apply.
What Do I Need to Qualify for a Texas HVAC Contractor License?
You need 48 months of supervised on-the-job training in the preceding 72 months, a passing score on TDLR's PSI exam, a $115 non-refundable application fee, and liability insurance at the minimum set for your chosen class.
This applies equally to ACR Contractor Class A (unrestricted scope) and Class B (limited to environmental air conditioning systems of 25 tons of cooling or 1.5 million BTU/hour of heating or less, per individual unit). An applicant who has already held ACR Certified Technician status for at least 12 months can instead qualify on a 36-month path within the preceding 48 months, which is the one experience shortcut TDLR's application page confirms. Neither class has a shorter path than this: there is no expedited HVAC contractor license in Texas that skips the OJT requirement entirely.
What Insurance Must a Texas HVAC Contractor Carry?
Class A contractors need commercial general liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate, and $300,000 in products-completed-operations coverage; Class B contractors need $100,000, $200,000, and $100,000 in the same three categories.
TDLR requires this insurance as a condition of the contractor application, not as a separate later step, so an applicant should have a certificate of insurance in hand before filing. The Class A minimum is three times the Class B minimum across all three coverage categories, which roughly mirrors the difference in the scope of work each license class is authorized to perform.
What Do I Need to Qualify for a Texas Journeyman or Master Electrician License?
Journeyman Electrician requires 7,000 hours of on-the-job training to sit the PSI exam and 8,000 hours for the full license, plus a $30 fee; Master Electrician requires 12,000 hours, 2 years as a Journeyman, and a $45 fee.
Master Electrician is not a starting license: TDLR requires the applicant to already hold an active Journeyman Electrician license for at least two years before the Master hours and exam even become relevant. The PSI Journeyman exam is offered in English and Spanish at no added cost, so language is not a barrier to sitting for it. See how Texas HVAC and electrician licensing works for the step order these hours, the exam, and the application fall in.
What Are the Requirements for Lower-Tier Electrician Licenses Like Residential Wireman and Apprentice?
Residential Wireman requires 4,000 hours of on-the-job training, a passing PSI exam, and a $20 fee; Apprentice Electrician requires no logged hours and no exam, only a $20 application, making it the usual entry point.
An Apprentice Electrician license lets a person legally work under a licensed electrician's supervision while accumulating the hours toward Journeyman. This is the typical starting point for someone with zero prior electrical experience, since neither Journeyman nor Master accepts a first-time applicant with no logged hours at all. See Texas electrician license types for the full ladder, including the specialty Journeyman variants (Industrial, Lineman, Sign) that share the Journeyman hour requirement.
Who Is Exempt From a Full License and Instead Holds a Technician Credential?
ACR Registered and Certified Technicians hold a lower-tier HVAC credential that works under a licensed contractor rather than independently, and Residential Appliance Installers hold a narrow electrical credential for appliance and pool wiring; none needs the full experience path.
ACR Registered Technician requires no exam and a $20 application; ACR Certified Technician requires 2,000 hours of training plus 2 years of experience and a $50 application. Residential Appliance Installer is a $30 application with a narrower scope than a full electrician license, and, unlike every CE-obligated license on this page, none of these three technician-tier credentials carries any continuing education requirement once issued.
Do I Need to Complete Any Coursework Before Applying, or Only Log Hours and Pass the Exam?
Neither TDLR program requires a pre-licensing course: both application paths run on logged on-the-job training hours and TDLR's PSI exam, not a completed training program, though many applicants use a trade school or union apprenticeship to log those hours.
This is a meaningful difference from many other TDLR-regulated trades, which do require a specific hour count of approved pre-licensing coursework. For both HVAC and electrician, coursework becomes mandatory only after licensure, as the annual continuing education requirement covered on HVAC continuing education and electrician continuing education.
Return to Texas HVAC License and Electrician License: Requirements, Cost, and CE for the full overview of both trades.
Sources
| Fact | Value | Authority | URL | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACR Contractor experience requirement | 48 months supervised OJT in preceding 72 months (or 36 in 48 via Certified Technician path) | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-apply.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Contractor application fee | $115, non-refundable | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-apply.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Contractor Class A insurance minimum | $300,000 / $600,000 / $300,000 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-apply.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Contractor Class B insurance minimum | $100,000 / $200,000 / $100,000 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-apply.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Journeyman Electrician experience requirement | 7,000 hours OJT (exam); 8,000 hours (license); $30 fee | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/individuals/journeyman-electrician.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Master Electrician experience requirement | 12,000 total hours OJT, 2+ years as Journeyman; $45 fee | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/individuals/master-electrician.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Residential Wireman experience requirement | 4,000 hours OJT plus exam; $20 fee | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/individuals/wireman.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Apprentice Electrician experience requirement | None; no exam; $20 fee | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/individuals/apprentice-electrician.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Registered/Certified Technician requirements | $20 app/no exam (Registered); 2,000 hrs + 2 yrs/$50 app (Certified) | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/technician-apply.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Residential Appliance Installer requirement | $30 application; CE-exempt | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/individuals/appliance-installer.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| PSI Journeyman exam languages | English and Spanish, no added cost | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/ELECTRICIANS/elecexam.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Electrician out-of-state reciprocity | Journeyman Electrician only, 10 named states, 1-2 yrs already licensed there | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/out-of-state.htm | 2026-09-14 |
| ACR out-of-state reciprocity | Contractor license only, South Carolina and Georgia, 1+ yr already licensed there | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/acrreciprocity.htm | 2026-09-14 |
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for a Texas HVAC contractor license with fewer than 48 months of experience?
Only through the one shortcut TDLR's application page confirms: 36 months in the preceding 48 months if you have already held ACR Certified Technician status for at least 12 months. Outside that path, TDLR does not accept a shorter OJT window.
Is the PSI exam the same exam for HVAC and for electricians?
No. PSI administers separate exams for each trade and each license class within a trade (for example, a distinct Journeyman exam and Master exam for electricians), so passing one does not qualify you to sit for the other.
Do I need a business entity to hold an ACR Contractor or Electrical Contractor license?
TDLR's contractor-tier licenses are typically held by the individual who qualifies the business, not a separate corporate requirement; verify your specific business-structure question directly with TDLR since this site does not provide legal or business-formation advice.
What happens if I have logged hours from another state?
TDLR does publish a reciprocity path for both trades, but it is narrow and license-to-license, not a blanket credit for raw out-of-state hours: for electricians, TDLR has reciprocal agreements covering Journeyman Electrician licenses from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming, generally requiring 2 years already licensed as a journeyman there (1 year for Alabama, Iowa, and Nebraska); for ACR Contractor, TDLR has reciprocal agreements only with South Carolina and Georgia, requiring at least 1 year holding that state's license. Outside those specific state-license relationships, hours worked out of state without holding a license there do not have a confirmed reciprocity path on the pages this site checked; confirm your specific situation directly with TDLR.
Does completing a TDLR-approved CE course count toward the experience hours needed to apply?
No. Continuing education hours are a separate, post-licensure requirement covered on HVAC continuing education and electrician continuing education; they do not substitute for the on-the-job training hours logged before your first license.