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Hiring an HVAC contractor in Columbus, Ohio: two licenses, the permit, and what 21,000 HVAC permits show

To hire an HVAC contractor in Columbus, check both licenses it needs (Ohio's OCILB HVAC license and the City's Heating HVAC license), the furnace or AC permit in its own name, and its finished share, which varies more here than in most cities. 527 firms pulled 21,342 HVAC permits from October 2023 to September 2026; 65.7% of those a year or more old reached a final, the usual one 115 days after issue, and 54 of the 146 firms with 10 or more permits finished under 70%. Columbus HVAC permits record no job value.

By Contractor Records · data through October 18, 2026

Columbus HVAC in numbers

What we measured Columbus
HVAC permits, three years 21,342
Firms 527
Firms with a permit in the last 12 months 311
Firms matched to an active OCILB license 66.0%
Usual days from permit to final 115
Reached a final (permits a year or more old) 65.7%
10th / 90th-percentile firm (10+ permits) 29.7% / 93.1%
Firms under 70% finished 54 of 146
Share of permits held by the five busiest firms 37.4%

The spread is the story: the 90th-percentile firm finished 93.1% of its permits and the 10th 29.7%. A permit without a final is a job the City never signed off, which matters for gas furnaces in particular. Filing peaks in June and is lowest in March. For prices, see HVAC replacement cost.

Which license a Columbus HVAC contractor needs

Columbus licenses its own contractors, and for five trades it requires the state license first: Building and Zoning Services (BZS) says electrical, HVAC, refrigeration, hydronics and plumbing firms need a current Ohio OCILB license in that trade before the City licenses them (BZS, read 21 October 2026). The EPA adds Section 608 certification for whoever handles the refrigerant; it is a person's card and does not expire (US EPA, read 21 October 2026).

The five-minute check:

  1. On the City's Search for Licensed & Registered Contractors, choose the license type "Heating HVAC" and search the business name.
  2. Search the same name on the OCILB lookup and confirm the status is active.

If the City portal shows a loading error, call BZS at (614) 645-7433. The Columbus contractor license lookup has the full list of City license types.

The permit rule for a Columbus furnace or AC replacement

The City's Typical Residential Projects sheet lists "Replace a furnace or AC unit" as needing a permit, without plan review (City of Columbus, read 22 October 2026). And BZS is blunt about who buys it: "Property owners cannot purchase permits for work that they will hire a contractor to perform." Owners may pull permits only for work they do themselves on the single-family home they live in. Once the job is booked, search your address on the City's Citizen Access portal and check the contractor on the permit is the firm you hired.

Red flags in the Columbus record

  • A finished share under 29.7%. That is the 10th-percentile line among busy Columbus HVAC firms. With 54 firms under 70%, a low share is common here, including among large firms, so read the number for every firm you are quoting, not only the small ones.
  • No City Heating HVAC license. A firm with only the state license cannot pull a Columbus permit.
  • A request that you pull the permit. The City does not allow it for hired work.
  • A firm that stopped filing. 37 HVAC firms with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months.
  • A name we could not match. 34.0% of HVAC firms had no OCILB match by business name. That is usually a trade name; ask for the license number and run it yourself.

The busiest Columbus HVAC firms in the last 12 months

Ranked by Columbus HVAC permits in the last 12 months of the window. Volume, not quality.

Firm Permits, last 12 months Permits, three years
Columbus/Worthington Air 973 2,555
Atlas Butler Heating and Cooling 645 2,119
Eco Plumbers Inc 533 1,235
Five Star Home Services 448 1,164
Airtron Inc 306 912

The busiest firm alone filed 12.0% of Columbus HVAC permits. The compare list puts each firm's finished share and OCILB status next to its volume; sort it by finished share and the order changes a lot.

See every Columbus HVAC firm by finished share and OCILB status →

What the Columbus record does not tell you

A final inspection checks the install against code, not the sizing, the refrigerant charge or whether the warranty was registered. Columbus HVAC permits carry no job value, so we cannot show what firms charge; get two or three written quotes for the same equipment. Our license match covers OCILB only, not the City's Heating HVAC list, so run the City search yourself. Insurance and complaints are on neither record. The national checklist is in hiring an HVAC contractor; the permit rules across cities in do I need a permit for HVAC replacement.

How we know this

Permits are City of Columbus building permits classified as HVAC, 2023-10 to 2026-09. "Reached a final" uses permits a year or more old; days to final is the median from issue to final. Percentile and under-70% figures use HVAC firms with 10 or more permits. The busiest-firm table ranks by permits in the last 12 months. License status is our business-name match to the Ohio OCILB register. Rules are quoted from Columbus BZS pages (read 21–22 October 2026) and the US EPA (read 21 October 2026).

Numbers come from City of Columbus Building & Zoning Services permits on 1-, 2- and 3-family homes (the city's Accela permit layer), data through October 18, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.

Questions

  • How do I choose an HVAC contractor in Columbus?

    Check two licenses (the Ohio OCILB HVAC license and the City's Heating HVAC license), make sure the firm pulls the furnace or AC permit, and read its finished share against the city's: 65.7% of Columbus HVAC permits a year or more old reached a final, and 54 of 146 busy firms finish under 70%.

  • Does an HVAC contractor need a license in Columbus, Ohio?

    Yes, two. Electrical, HVAC, plumbing, hydronics and refrigeration firms must hold an Ohio OCILB license before Columbus Building and Zoning Services will license them; the City license type to search is Heating HVAC.

  • Do I need a permit to replace a furnace in Columbus?

    Yes. The City's Typical Residential Projects sheet lists 'Replace a furnace or AC unit' as needing a permit but no plan review. Property owners cannot buy permits for work they hire a contractor to do, so the contractor pulls it.

  • How long does an HVAC permit take to close in Columbus?

    The usual Columbus HVAC permit reached its final 115 days after issue. Ask the contractor to book the final inspection and send you the result.

  • Who are the biggest HVAC companies in Columbus?

    By permits in the last 12 months, Columbus/Worthington Air led with 973, and the five busiest firms hold 37.4% of the city's HVAC permits. That is volume, not quality: their finished shares differ widely.

Build your own list

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

Columbus, OH HVAC

Related guides

For one city

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Sources
  1. Contractor Licenses — City of Columbus Building and Zoning Services (accessed 2026-10-21)
  2. Search for Licensed & Registered Contractors — Columbus Citizen Access (accessed 2026-10-21)
  3. BZS Frequently Asked Questions — City of Columbus (accessed 2026-10-21)
  4. Typical Residential Projects (BA 3/26) — City of Columbus, OH (accessed 2026-10-22)
  5. Accela Citizen Access (permit search) — City of Columbus (accessed 2026-10-21)
  6. OCILB eLicense Center — License Lookup (accessed 2026-10-20)
  7. Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements — US EPA (accessed 2026-10-21)