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Hiring an HVAC contractor: 5 red flags and 10 questions, checked against HVAC permits in 43 cities

To hire an HVAC contractor, check four things: a state or city license that covers heating and air conditioning, an EPA Section 608 card for whoever handles the refrigerant, a mechanical permit pulled in the contractor's own name, and a permit history in your city that mostly reaches a final inspection. In Cape Coral, 455 firms pulled 5,015 HVAC permits, 93.2% of those a year or more old reached a final, and the usual one was filed at $8,570. In Saint Paul only 64.6% did, and 44 of 104 firms with 10 or more permits finish under 70%.

By Contractor Records · data through October 17, 2026

Who licenses HVAC contractors in the states we cover

We hold HVAC permits for 43 cities in 19 states. HVAC is the trade where states differ most: some license it like plumbing, some only bond it, and some leave it to cities.

State License to ask for Look it up
Arizona ROC specialty residential license whose class covers HVAC ROC Contractor Search
California CSLB C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning CSLB Check a License
Colorado No state license; licensed by the city or county (Boulder, Denver, PPRBD) Boulder search, PPRBD search
Florida DBPR air-conditioning or mechanical contractor MyFloridaLicense
Iowa PMSB contractor license (HVAC/R), plus registration PMSB search
Illinois No state HVAC license; ask your city what it requires City permit record
Massachusetts No HVAC license on our list; the gas line needs a licensed gas fitter and the wiring a licensed electrician eLIPSE
Minnesota No state license; a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI; Minneapolis adds its HVAC-A license DLI iMS
North Carolina Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler board license ("heating (includes air conditioning)") Board search
North Dakota State contractor license for jobs over $4,000 FirstStop
Nevada NSCB C-classification covering heating and air conditioning NSCB search
New York City A DOB licensee files the work; gas piping needs a Licensed Master Plumber DOB license search
Ohio OCILB HVAC license, required by Cleveland and Cincinnati registration OCILB lookup
Oregon CCB license CCB License Search
Pennsylvania Pittsburgh: City Mechanical Trade License, held by a person Ask for a copy
Tennessee CMC-C HVAC or CMC Full Mechanical, for jobs of $25,000 and up verify.tn.gov
Texas TDLR Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor, even for a mini-split TDLR License Search
Virginia DPOR contractor license with the HVAC (HVA) specialty, plus the technician's tradesman license DPOR License Lookup
Washington L&I contractor registration, specialty ($15,000 bond) or general ($30,000) L&I Verify

On top of any state license, the EPA requires Section 608 certification for "technicians who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of equipment" that could release refrigerant; Type II covers high-pressure systems and Universal covers all, and the credential does not expire (US EPA, read October 2026).

Ten questions to ask an HVAC contractor, and how to check each answer

Ask A good answer How to check it
1. What is your license number? A number in the firm's name, in a class covering HVAC The board in the table above
2. Who on the crew holds EPA 608, and which type? A named technician and the card's type: Type II covers high-pressure appliances, Universal covers all Ask to see the card
3. Who pulls the mechanical permit? "We do" The permit on the city portal
4. Who does the electrical and gas connections? This firm under its license, or a named licensed electrician or plumber Their numbers on the state board
5. How did you size the system? A room-by-room load calculation for your house (ACCA Manual J), in writing, not "same size as the old one" Ask for the printout
6. How many HVAC permits have you pulled here in three years? A number The firm's page here: search by name
7. How many passed final? Near your city's share (table below) Finished share on the firm page
8. Who books the final inspection? "We do, and we tell you the date" Days to final on the firm page
9. What is the deposit? Tied to delivery and install; in California no more than $1,000 or 10% down The contract (B&P § 7159.5)
10. Who registers the equipment warranty? The installer, in your name, with a copy to you The manufacturer's registration confirmation

Red flags the permit record can show

City HVAC permits Firms Usual filed value Usual days to final Reached final 10th-percentile firm Firms under 70% finished
Cape Coral, FL 5,015 455 $8,570 41 93.2% 79.2% 6 of 102
Seattle, WA (furnace and heating) 18,668 316 $7,550 66 86.2% 69.1% 13 of 119
Arlington, VA 2,807 274 $8,600 148 86.9% 72.9% 4 of 56
Cary, NC 9,909 372 $9,891 29 77.9% 51.6% 21 of 107
Sacramento County, CA 7,937 581 $15,268 56 84.1% 66.2% 19 of 97
Saint Paul, MN 14,402 253 $6,300 150 64.6% 46.0% 44 of 104

Seattle files heat pumps separately: 15,441 heat-pump and AC permits from 272 firms, usual value $8,000.

1. No permit, or the permit is in your name. Every city above files HVAC permits; if a contractor says yours needs none, ask the permit office before you agree. The FTC lists a contractor who asks you to get the permit as a scam sign (FTC, read October 2026). On the portal, the mechanical permit should name the firm on your contract.

2. Its finished share is below its city's 10th percentile. That line is 46.0% in Saint Paul, 51.6% in Cary and 79.2% in Cape Coral. Ask a firm below that line about its open permits, by address.

3. Its permits sit open far longer than the city's usual. The usual HVAC permit closes in 29 days in Cary and 148 in Arlington. A firm whose own jobs take many times longer leaves gas connections and refrigerant lines uninspected.

4. The quote is far from what the city's HVAC firms file. In Sacramento County the middle half of HVAC firms have a usual filed value between $10,000 and $15,950; in Cape Coral, $6,750 to $9,170. A whole-system replacement and a condenser swap file very differently, so compare like with like.

5. The license lapsed, or the firm went quiet. 40 of the 316 Seattle furnace and heating firms on permits (12.7%) now hold an L&I registration that is not active; in Saint Paul, 27 firms. 24 Sacramento County HVAC firms with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months. A firm that stops filing may not be there to honor the labor warranty.

See every Cape Coral HVAC contractor by permit record →

What a clean record does not prove

A final inspection checks the install against code; it does not check that the system was sized for your house, that the refrigerant charge is right, or that the warranty was registered. EPA 608 cards are not on any permit or license record we hold. Insurance never appears on a permit: ask for a certificate naming you and phone the insurer. In Minnesota and Colorado there is no state HVAC license to check, so the permit record and the bond or city license are all there is. Our copy updates about monthly; the city portal is the live record.

How we know this

Counts, usual filed values and days to final come from each city's HVAC permits over its three-year window (Cape Coral from January 2025; Saint Paul July 2022 to June 2025; the others October 2023 to September 2026). "Reached final" is the share of permits a year or more old that the city closed with a final; days to final is the median from issue to final. The 10th-percentile and under-70% columns use HVAC firms with 10 or more permits; the filed-value range uses firms with 3 or more. License status is matched by business name to L&I (Seattle), DLI (Saint Paul) and CSLB (Sacramento County); a firm we could not match is not shown as unlicensed. The EPA rule is quoted from epa.gov, read 21 October 2026; state rules from the boards and statutes under Sources and our state guides, read 20 October 2026.

Numbers come from City of Cape Coral building permits (the city's open permit table starts January 2025); City of Seattle (SDCI) building, trade and electrical permits on single-family and duplex homes (the city's open-data exports); Arlington County, VA building and trade permits; Town of Cary building permit applications (issued permits only); Sacramento County building permits on single-family, duplex and townhouse homes in the unincorporated county (the County's Accela permit layer); City of Saint Paul approved building permits, data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.

Questions

  • Does an HVAC contractor need a license?

    In most of our states, yes: California (C-20), Florida (air-conditioning or mechanical contractor), Texas (TDLR air conditioning and refrigeration contractor, even for a mini-split), North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio (through city registration), Virginia and others. Minnesota and Colorado have no state HVAC license: Minnesota requires a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI, and Colorado leaves it to cities such as Boulder. Whoever handles the refrigerant also needs EPA Section 608 certification.

  • What is EPA 608 certification?

    A federal credential for technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerant. Type II covers servicing or disposing of high- or very high-pressure appliances (other than small appliances and vehicle AC), and Universal covers all types. It does not expire (US EPA). It is a person's card, not a business license, so ask whose card covers your job.

  • How long does an HVAC permit take to close?

    The usual HVAC permit reached its final in 29 days in Cary, 41 in Cape Coral, 56 in Sacramento County and 148 in Arlington. Ask the contractor who books the final inspection.

  • What finished share is normal for an HVAC contractor?

    It depends on the city. 93.2% of Cape Coral HVAC permits a year or more old reached a final, against 64.6% in Saint Paul. Among Saint Paul HVAC firms with 10 or more permits, the 10th-percentile firm finished 46.0%.

  • Is there a federal tax credit for a new HVAC system or heat pump in 2026?

    No. The IRS instructions for Form 5695 say the energy efficient home improvement credit can't be claimed for property placed in service after 31 December 2025; while it ran it paid 30%, up to $2,000 a year for heat pumps. Utility rebates are what is left, and some go through the contractor: Seattle City Light's heat-pump discount of $300 to $600, by efficiency, is passed on in the bid only when the contractor buys from a participating distributor. Ask whether yours does.

  • Is a heat pump installer the same as an HVAC contractor?

    For licensing, yes: a heat pump is heating and air conditioning, so the same license applies. Seattle files heat pumps separately, and the Seattle heat pump vs furnace guide compares the two.

Build your own list

Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.

Cape Coral HVACSeattle furnace & heatingSeattle heat pump & ACArlington, VA HVACCary HVACSacramento County (unincorporated) HVACSaint Paul HVAC & gas

Related guides

For one city

All guides →

Sources
  1. Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements — US EPA (accessed 2026-10-21)
  2. Licensing Classifications — CSLB (accessed 2026-10-20)
  3. Check a License — CSLB (accessed 2026-10-20)
  4. California Business and Professions Code § 7159.5 (2025 edition, via Justia) (accessed 2026-10-20)
  5. Contractor Search — Arizona Registrar of Contractors (accessed 2026-10-20)
  6. Boulder licensed-contractor search (Customer Self-Service) (accessed 2026-10-20)
  7. Contractor search — Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (accessed 2026-10-20)
  8. Verify a License — Florida DBPR (accessed 2026-10-20)
  9. PMSB public search — Iowa Plumbing & Mechanical Systems Board (accessed 2026-10-20)
  10. eLIPSE occupational license search — Massachusetts (accessed 2026-10-20)
  11. Mechanical contractor bond — Minnesota DLI (accessed 2026-10-20)
  12. HVAC-A license application — City of Minneapolis (accessed 2026-10-20)
  13. Consumer Awareness — NC State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors (accessed 2026-10-20)
  14. License search — NC Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler board (accessed 2026-10-20)
  15. FirstStop contractor search — North Dakota Secretary of State (accessed 2026-10-20)
  16. License Search — Nevada State Contractors Board (accessed 2026-10-20)
  17. NRS Chapter 624 Contractors (NRS 624.031) (accessed 2026-10-20)
  18. DOB license search — NYC Department of Buildings (accessed 2026-10-20)
  19. OCILB License Lookup — Ohio Department of Commerce (accessed 2026-10-20)
  20. License Search — Oregon CCB (accessed 2026-10-20)
  21. Mechanical/HVAC Trade License — City of Pittsburgh PLI (accessed 2026-10-20)
  22. Verify a License — Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (accessed 2026-10-20)
  23. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors FAQs — TDLR (accessed 2026-10-20)
  24. License Search — TDLR (accessed 2026-10-20)
  25. License Lookup — Virginia DPOR (accessed 2026-10-20)
  26. Register as a Contractor — Washington L&I (accessed 2026-10-20)
  27. Verify a Contractor — Washington L&I (accessed 2026-10-20)
  28. How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam — FTC Consumer Advice (accessed 2026-10-20)
  29. Instructions for Form 5695 (2025) — IRS, last updated 30 April 2026 (accessed 2026-10-20)
  30. Home Energy Solutions — Seattle City Light (accessed 2026-10-21)