Texas HVAC Continuing Education

If you’re licensed to perform air conditioning and refrigeration (ACR) work in the state of Texas, you probably know that you need to renew your license annually. But that means doing more than just completing the online renewal application and paying the $65 fee. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) also requires you to get some continuing education (CE) hours each year. 

They have some pretty specific requirements around the CE hours you need, too. Here’s what you need to know to ensure you get the right number and type of CE hours to renew your Texas air conditioning and refrigeration license.

How many CE hours ACR contractors need

The TDLR requires all licensed ACR contractors to complete eight hours of continuing education each year. 

To make sure you have ample time to get your hours done by the date your renewal is due, they recommend starting your renewal process (which basically means starting your CE hours) a month or two before your license would expire. 

Note: this requirement only applies to ACR contractors. If you’re a certified or registered ACR technician, you don’t need CE. But you do need to submit your renewal and pay the renewal fee each year.  

Finding qualifying CE

The TDLR is pretty specific about which hours can count toward the eight you need. Basically, there are two main things you need to look for:

A TDLR-approved provider

You need to take your hours from an education provider that has the green light from the TDLR or they won’t count. To make sure you’re not wasting your time, look for approval info from the state for any provider you’re considering. As an example, you can scroll to the bottom of this page to see our approval letter with the TDLR’s seal. 

Fortunately, the TDLR approves online education providers along with in-person schools. That means you can take your ACR CE online. Many online CE providers (including TradesmanCE.com)  offer their courses on-demand so you can get hours done whenever you’ve got time to spare. 

Relevant topics

Your CE needs to focus on ACR work. Specifically, each year, you need at least one hour on the Texas laws and rules that regulate ACR contractors. 

Your remaining seven hours can focus on any of the following:

• Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1302: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
• Title 16, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 75: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Administrative Rules
• The International Mechanical Code (IMC), the Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC), or other applicable codes
• Ethics
• Business practices
• Technical requirements

If you choose a TDLR-approved education provider, their courses should automatically cover the above topics. This is an eight-hour course that will tick all of these boxes. But if you take your hours from multiple providers, make sure at least one of your hours is about Texas ACR laws and rules. 

Reporting CE to the TDLR

In order to be eligible for license renewal, the TDLR needs to know that you’ve got your eight hours finished. It’s your CE provider’s responsibility to report any hours you finish to the state. But if your hours aren’t showing up (you can check your record here) within a couple of weeks, you can file a complaint. 

When you finish a course, your CE provider should also issue you a certificate of completion. Hold onto that for at least a year because the TDLR can ask you for a copy of it.