How to check an HVAC contractor's license in Texas before they touch your system

In Texas, air conditioning and refrigeration contracting is licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The license belongs to an individual who has documented years of supervised experience and passed the state exam, and it is assigned to one company at a time. That company is then allowed to advertise, sell and perform HVAC work, and it must carry the minimum liability insurance that goes with the license. Class A licenses cover any size equipment; Class B covers residential and light commercial sizes, which is what most home service companies hold.

1. 1Ask for the license number. It is required on the company's advertising, its vehicles, its proposals and its invoices, so it should be easy to find without asking.
2. 2Go to the TDLR license search at tdlr.texas.gov and search the number, or the company name if you do not have it.
3. 3Check that the status is active, that the expiration date has not passed, and that the company name on the license matches the name on your quote.
4. 4Check the class and the endorsement: residential work needs the Environmental Air endorsement, which nearly every home service company has.
5. 5If you want to go further, ask for the certificate of insurance. TDLR requires general liability coverage as a condition of the license.

The person at your door is usually a registered or certified technician, which is a separate TDLR credential for the individual doing the work. It means they are on file with the state and work under a licensed contractor's supervision. It does not by itself allow them to advertise or sell HVAC work in their own name. A technician doing side work in their own name, with no contractor license behind it, is working illegally, however skilled they are, and you have no license, no insurance and no state complaint process if it goes wrong.

• No license number on the truck, the website or the quote
• A license number that belongs to a different company name
• Cash only, or a large deposit before any work
• No written price before the work starts
• A replacement recommended before any readings were taken
• 'The new refrigerant rules mean you have to replace it'
• A refusal to pull a city permit for a replacement, or an offer to skip it for a discount

Texas requires licensed contractors to put a notice on proposals, invoices and contracts telling you the company is regulated by TDLR, with the agency's address and phone number. Seeing it is a small sign a company runs by the book. Not seeing it is worth a question.