Florida HVAC Contractor License: Class A, B and C Explained

Fla. Stat. 489.105(3)(f)-(h) defines air-conditioning contracting as three separate classes rather than one HVAC license: Class A, whose services are unlimited; Class B, limited both by capacity — 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating in any one system — and by a narrower scope; and Class C, a servicing class whose certification or registration had to be valid on October 1, 1988.

Class and cite	Scope ceiling in the statute	DBPR trade examination
Class A — 489.105(3)(f)	services “unlimited” in contracts requiring central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating and ventilating systems, plus boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems	Air Conditioning “A” — 130 questions, 7.5 hours
Class B — 489.105(3)(g)	“limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating in any one system”; boiler, unfired pressure vessel, process and pneumatic control piping scope is not carried over from (f)	Air Conditioning “B” — 80 questions, 5 hours
Class C — 489.105(3)(h)	“servicing” only, conditioned on a certification or registration “valid on October 1, 1988”	none listed by DBPR

Class A air-conditioning — Fla. Stat. 489.105(3)(f)

The Class A paragraph states an unlimited scope, then carves other trades back out:

(f) “Class A air-conditioning contractor” means a contractor whose services are unlimited in the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems, including duct work in connection with a complete system if such duct work is performed by the contractor as necessary to complete an air-distribution system…

Quoted from Fla. Stat. 489.105(3)(f).

It also reaches a narrow band of dedicated HVAC wiring before drawing the trade boundary:

The scope of work for such contractor also includes any excavation work incidental thereto, but does not include any work such as liquefied petroleum or natural gas fuel lines within buildings, except for disconnecting or reconnecting changeouts of liquefied petroleum or natural gas appliances within buildings; potable water lines or connections thereto; sanitary sewer lines; swimming pool piping and filters; or electrical power wiring.

Class B air-conditioning — the 25-ton, 500,000 Btu ceiling

Fla. Stat. 489.105(3)(g) tracks the Class A opening with the ceiling at the front:

(g) “Class B air-conditioning contractor” means a contractor whose services are limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating in any one system in the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems…

It narrows the duct-work allowance to a system “being installed under this classification” and repeats the (f) exclusions word for word. The difference is not capacity alone: (g) also omits scope that (f) grants. Paragraph (f) reaches “boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems” and “pressure and process piping, and pneumatic control piping”; (g) reaches only “piping and insulation of pipes, vessels, and ducts”. Which class a contract falls under is a determination for DBPR and the board. A wider scope again sits at 489.105(3)(i) — see the wider mechanical classification, one of the Division II trade and specialty classes.

Class C air-conditioning — a servicing class tied to a 1988 date

Fla. Stat. 489.105(3)(h) defines Class C by reference to a fixed date:

(h) “Class C air-conditioning contractor” means a contractor whose business is limited to the servicing of air-conditioning, heating, or refrigeration systems, including any duct cleaning and equipment sanitizing that requires at least a partial disassembling of the system, and whose certification or registration, issued pursuant to this part, was valid on October 1, 1988. Only a person who was registered or certified as a Class C air-conditioning contractor as of October 1, 1988, shall be so registered or certified after October 1, 1988. However, the board shall continue to license and regulate those Class C air-conditioning contractors who held Class C licenses before October 1, 1988.

The statutory fact is the date condition above. Separately, DBPR’s construction-examination content list names Air Conditioning “A” and “B” and contains no Class C examination — a description of what that document lists, not a rule in itself. How the paragraph applies to a record is for DBPR and the Construction Industry Licensing Board to determine.

Air-conditioning is one of the trades 489.113(3) reserves

Air-conditioning sits on the subcontracting list, so the class matters to Division I contractors too:

A contractor shall subcontract all electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, sheet metal, swimming pool, and air-conditioning work, unless such contractor holds a state certificate or registration in the respective trade category, however:

Quoted from Fla. Stat. 489.113(3).

The statute continues with seven lettered exceptions at (a)–(g), qualified further by 489.113(2) and 489.117(4)(d) and (4)(e), set out on which trades a general contractor must subcontract. Whether an arrangement meets those conditions is for DBPR, the board and the local authority to determine.

The examination: two parts for a Division II applicant

DBPR’s Bureau of Education and Testing states that “Division I contractors (General, Building, and Residential) must pass three examinations,” while “Division II contractors (all other specialties) must pass two examinations: Business and Finance and General Trade” knowledge. Air-conditioning is Division II: Business and Finance is 120 questions over 6.5 hours, and the trade part is Air Conditioning “A” at 130 questions over 7.5 hours or Air Conditioning “B” at 80 questions over 5 hours, all daily computer-based testing. Content outlines sit on the DBPR construction examinations page.

Degree route, credit and insurance standards

Fla. Admin. Code 61G4-15.001(4)(b) names the degree that substitutes for experience: for “Sheet Metal; Class A and B Air Conditioning; … Mechanical Classifications,” it is Mechanical Engineering.

Two further standards are not class-specific. Fla. Admin. Code 61G4-15.006(2) sets financial stability at a credit score, FICO derived, of 660 or higher, and allows an applicant below that to qualify “by completion of a 14-hour financial responsibility course approved by the Board.” The DBPR Construction Industry FAQ sets every category other than general and building at $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property damage — minimums, not premiums. Fees are prescribed by action, not by category; the governing figure is on the category’s current form, indexed on DBPR’s Construction Industry licensing forms index.

Common questions

What is the difference between a Class A and a Class B HVAC license in Florida?

Capacity and scope. Fla. Stat. 489.105(3)(f) makes Class A services “unlimited in the execution of contracts requiring” central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating and ventilating systems; 489.105(3)(g) applies that opening language to services “limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating in any one system.” Paragraph (g) also omits “boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems” and the “pressure and process piping, and pneumatic control piping” that (f) names.

Can a Class C air-conditioning license still be obtained in Florida?

Fla. Stat. 489.105(3)(h) conditions the class on a certification or registration that “was valid on October 1, 1988,” and directs the board to keep regulating those who held Class C licenses before that date. The DBPR examination-content list names Air Conditioning “A” and “B”; it lists no Class C examination.

Does a general contractor need an air-conditioning license to perform HVAC work?

Yes, unless the work is subcontracted. Fla. Stat. 489.113(3) requires a contractor to subcontract air-conditioning work unless that contractor holds a state certificate or registration in the trade category, subject to the exceptions at (a)–(g) and the supervised-work provision in 489.113(2).

Related pages

For how these classes sit beside the Division I classes, start from the Florida contractor licensing overview.

This page summarizes Florida licensing law and is general information, not legal advice. Verify class scopes and the current application form for a category with the Florida DBPR before acting.