Texas license lookup / A/C and refrigeration / Renewal guide
Renewing a Texas air conditioning licence
Eight hours of approved continuing education every year for contractors, one of which has to be Texas law and rules. Technicians follow a different path. Here is the difference, the process, and how many licences renew each month.
The short version
Cycle: air conditioning and refrigeration licences renew every year.
Continuing education, contractors: 8 hours from a TDLR-approved provider, including at least 1 hour of instruction in the Texas state law and rules that regulate licensees.
Deadline: the courses have to be completed before the licence expires.
Technicians: TDLR's continuing education requirement is written for contractor licences. Technician credentials renew annually without it.
Repeats do not count: the same course taken twice does not add hours, and only approved providers count.
Contractor or technician: check which one you hold
This is where money gets wasted. The eight-hour requirement belongs to the air conditioning and refrigeration contractor licence, the one that carries a class A or class B endorsement. If you hold a technician credential you still renew every year, but the contractor continuing education requirement is not yours to meet. Look at your licence record before you buy a course: the licence type is printed on it.
Worth remembering while you are at it: class A covers systems of any size, and class B is limited to systems up to 25 tons of cooling or 1.5 million BTU per hour of heating. The class changes what work you may take, not how many CE hours you owe.
Step by step
- Check your expiration date and start 30 to 60 days out, which is what TDLR itself suggests, so the licence does not expire mid-process.
- Take the 8 hours with a TDLR-approved provider, making sure one of them is the Texas law and rules hour. Courses from providers that are not approved do not count.
- Confirm the hours were reported. Reporting is the provider's responsibility. TDLR has a course lookup where you can see your completed hours; if they are missing, contact the provider first.
- Renew through TDLR online services and pay the annual fee.
- Keep the certificate and the confirmation in case a job or an inspector asks.
If the licence already expired
A late renewal may still be possible, with an additional fee. The condition is specific: for a late renewal, the continuing education has to have been completed within the one-year period immediately before the date you renew. Older coursework does not carry the renewal.
EPA 608 is a different thing
Handling refrigerant requires federal EPA certification, which has nothing to do with TDLR's continuing education. Holding one does not satisfy the other, and neither replaces the state licence itself.
How many A/C licences renew, and when
From the public TDLR file: 59,945 active air conditioning and refrigeration licences in Texas between contractors and technicians, of which 58,019 expire in the next twelve months, an average of 4,835 every month.
A/C and refrigeration licences expiring each month over the next year. Source: public TDLR file, 20 September 2026.
Where they are
| County | Active A/C licences |
|---|---|
| Harris | 10,813 |
| Dallas | 5,406 |
| Bexar | 4,622 |
| Tarrant | 4,124 |
| Travis | 2,052 |
| Out Of State | 1,867 |
| Fort Bend | 1,664 |
| Montgomery | 1,640 |
Questions
Can I take all eight hours online?
Yes, as long as the provider is approved by TDLR. The department's provider list marks which ones offer internet courses.
Does the law and rules hour have to be separate?
It has to be part of the eight, and it cannot be swapped for more technical content. Most approved eight-hour packages include it.
I hold a contractor licence and a technician credential. How many hours?
The requirement follows the contractor licence. Check your record and, if you are unsure, ask TDLR before paying for hours you may not need.
How long does the provider take to report?
Usually a few days. If your hours are not visible in TDLR's course lookup a week after finishing, contact the provider, and TDLR if the provider does not resolve it.
Sources
Eight hours including the Texas law and rules hour, the deadline and the late-renewal condition: TDLR continuing education for air conditioning and refrigeration. Annual renewal and the 30 to 60 day recommendation: TDLR contractor renewal page. Renew at TDLR online services.
Reviewed 23 September 2026. Written by an independent site; not legal advice and not an official TDLR publication. Rules and fees change: confirm yours with TDLR before renewing.