Colorado HVAC Technician License: County & City Rules (No State Board)

Colorado does not issue a statewide HVAC technician license — licensing happens at the county and city level. Who actually licenses HVAC technicians and where to check, verified from official sources.

Requirements at a glance

No Colorado state HVAC license exists (nothing to apply for at the state level): Colorado has no statewide HVAC, mechanical, heating, air conditioning, or refrigeration contractor or technician license. The state's occupational-licensing agency, the Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO) within the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), regulates a fixed list of professions - Accountancy, Acupuncture, Addiction Counselors, Athletic Trainers, Audiology, Barber and Cosmetology, Behavior Analyst, Chiropractic, Combative Sports, Dental, ELECTRICAL, Hearing Aid Providers, Landscape Architects, Marriage and Family Therapy, Massage Therapy, Medical, Direct-Entry Midwives, Mortuary Science, Natural Medicine, Naturopathic Doctors, Nursing, Nursing Home Administrators, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Outfitters, Passenger Tramway, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, PLUMBING, Podiatry, Professional Counselors, Psychology, Radon Professionals, Respiratory Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, Social Work, Surgical Assistant and Surgical Technology, Nontransplant Tissue Banks, and Veterinary. The two building trades DPO licenses are Electrical (Colorado Electricians Practice Act) and Plumbing (Colorado Plumbing Practice Act) - HVAC/mechanical is NOT on the list and has no state practice act. Every HVAC credential in Colorado is issued below the state level, by a city or regional building department.
State electrical and plumbing licenses can still apply to parts of an HVAC job: Although Colorado does not license HVAC itself, the state DOES license the trades that overlap HVAC work. Electrical connections (line-voltage wiring) are reserved to Colorado-licensed electricians and electrical contractors under the Colorado Electricians Practice Act (Title 12, Article 115, C.R.S.), and fuel-gas piping and plumbing connections fall under the Colorado Plumbing Practice Act (Title 12, Article 155, C.R.S.). So an HVAC changeout that includes new high-voltage wiring or plumbing/gas-line work may require a state-licensed electrician or plumber for that portion, on top of the local mechanical license. Local mechanical scopes often include limited low-voltage control wiring and gas piping (see the Denver and Colorado Springs scopes below) - confirm the boundary with the jurisdiction.
DENVER - two-step licensing: supervisor certificate + mechanical contractor license: In the City and County of Denver, HVAC contracting is licensed by Community Planning and Development (CPD) in TWO steps. First, an individual earns a Supervisor Certificate for the relevant mechanical trade by documenting qualifying experience and passing the assigned ICC National Standard exam. Second, the contracting BUSINESS obtains a Mechanical Contractor License, which requires that the business hold - or employ someone who holds - the matching supervisor certificate (a 'Supervisor of Record' who signs a Supervisor Statement of Responsibility). Denver's mechanical contractor classes include Heating and Ventilating Contractor Class A, Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning (HVAC) Contractor, Refrigeration Contractor, Gas Service Contractor, and Boilermaker Contractor.
DENVER - HVAC supervisor certificate experience and exams (examples): Denver's Mechanical Certificates page sets the experience and testing for each certificate. Examples: Heating and Ventilating JOURNEYMAN - four (4) years of heating & ventilating field-installation experience (apprenticeship or on-the-job, minimum 7,000 hours); ICC Exam #F31 National Standard Journeyman Mechanical (this holder may work only in the employ of a Heating and Ventilating Contractor Class A or an HVAC Contractor). Heating and Ventilating CLASS A SUPERVISOR - eight (8) years in commercial heating & ventilating work (four years as an H&V journeyman mechanic plus four years as a designer, draftsman, or supervisor); ICC Exam #F29 National Standard Master Mechanical; scope covers warm-air heating, ventilation, evaporative cooling, exhaust systems, ductwork, gas piping, burners/controls/venting, low-voltage wiring not exceeding 48 volts, and up to 50 tons of refrigeration for self-contained comfort cooling. Residential HVAC and Refrigeration supervisor certificates are tested with ICC Exam #F32 National Standard Residential Mechanical (Class C) and generally require six (6) years of qualifying residential experience. Projects must have been completed within the last ten years.
DENVER - fees and renewal (from the published fee schedule): Denver's Contractor Licensing fee schedule lists: 'All Mechanical License Types' - $250.00, renewed every 3 years; Supervisor Certificate - $60.00, renewed every 3 years; Journeyman Certificate - $40.00; Duplicate License or Certificate - $25.00. (Note: the mechanical CONTRACTOR license is $250 for a 3-year term - not the $160/2-year figure that some third-party summaries cite, which is actually Denver's Plumbing A license. Reading the live fee schedule is what resolves this.) Fees are paid online through Denver e-permits after the application is approved.
COLORADO SPRINGS / EL PASO COUNTY - Pikes Peak Regional Building Department mechanical contractor license: In the Colorado Springs region, HVAC contracting is licensed by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD), an intergovernmental agency that administers the Pikes Peak Regional Building Code for El Paso County, the City of Colorado Springs, and surrounding jurisdictions. PPRBD's mechanical contractor classes (Regional Building Code RBC204.2): H-A Mechanical Contractor A (Commercial) - installation, replacement, service and repair of gas piping and HVAC systems in any type or size of structure; H-B Mechanical Contractor B (Residential) - the same in one- and two-family dwellings and accessory structures up to three stories; H-C Mechanical Contractor C (Specialty), subdivided into H-C-1 Gas Piping, H-C-2 Commercial Refrigeration, H-C-3 Residential Maintenance/Repair and Replacement, and H-C-4 Residential Remodeling; and H-D Mechanical Contractor D (Manufactured Buildings). PPRBD also licenses the individual workers: e.g., M-M4 Heating Mechanic IV (HVAC Service Technician), who repairs/services HVAC only when employed by and under the direction of a licensed Mechanical Contractor, and M-M1 Heating Mechanic I (Fitter) for gas pipefitting.
COLORADO SPRINGS / PPRBD - exams, fees, and insurance: PPRBD requires a passed ICC National Standardized (or ICC Colorado Standard, where applicable) contractor exam taken on or after January 1, 2016 per the application form — PPRBD's FAQ says January 1, 2017; the two official documents conflict, so confirm the operative cutoff with PPRBD (no out-of-state exams). A non-refundable $50.00 application/processing fee is due at submission; each ICC exam costs $100.00. License fees (paid before issuance, not prorated): $100.00 for each mechanical class - H-A, H-B, H-C1, H-C2, H-C3, H-C4 (all require an exam). Contractors must carry general-liability insurance per RBC201.7 - $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate for mechanical contractors - and workers' compensation if they have employees, with PPRBD named as certificate holder. A holder of an active Colorado Journeyman Plumbing License is not required to test for the Heating Mechanic I (Fitter) license. Applications are reviewed by the Licensing Committee (2nd Thursday monthly) and approved by the Board of Review; the process takes about 6-8 weeks. Licenses are renewable (fees are not prorated for a portion of the year); a lapse longer than six months, or an insurance lapse longer than twelve months, results in administrative revocation.
OTHER COLORADO JURISDICTIONS vary - check the city or county where you will work: Because there is no state HVAC license and no statewide reciprocity, HVAC licensing in Colorado is set jurisdiction by jurisdiction. Denver and the Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs / El Paso County) region are documented here; other localities - Aurora, Boulder, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Jefferson County, and many more - each adopt their own mechanical-contractor licensing under their building codes and are NOT covered by this record. Contact the building department for the jurisdiction where the work will be performed; the downstate-Denver pattern should not be assumed elsewhere.
FEDERAL (everywhere in Colorado) - EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification: Separate from every Colorado license: under the Clean Air Act and 40 CFR part 82, subpart F, technicians who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerant must hold EPA Section 608 certification. This is a FEDERAL credential, held by the individual technician, and it is neither issued by nor accepted in place of any Colorado state or local HVAC license.

Legal basis

Colorado does not license HVAC technicians at the state level.

Colorado does not license HVAC at the state level. There is no statewide HVAC, mechanical, heating, air conditioning, or refrigeration contractor or technician license, no state HVAC board, no state HVAC exam, and no state HVAC fee schedule. The state’s occupational-licensing agency - the Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO) inside the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) - publishes the full list of professions it regulates, and HVAC/mechanical is not among them. DPO licenses about forty professions from Accountancy to Veterinary, and the only two building trades on that list are ELECTRICAL (the Colorado Electricians Practice Act, Title 12, Article 115, C.R.S.) and PLUMBING (the Colorado Plumbing Practice Act, Title 12, Article 155, C.R.S.). There is no counterpart ‘HVAC Practice Act.’ That the state licenses electricians and plumbers but deliberately not HVAC is the positive proof of the negative: the trades statutes are enumerated, and mechanical work is simply absent.

Because there is no state credential, HVAC is licensed by cities and regional building departments - and the requirements are real and substantial, just local. The two largest regimes are Denver and the Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs) region.

In the CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, Community Planning and Development licenses HVAC contracting in two steps. First, an individual earns a Supervisor Certificate for the trade by documenting qualifying experience and passing the assigned ICC National Standard exam - for example, a Heating and Ventilating Journeyman certificate requires four years (minimum 7,000 hours) of field experience and ICC Exam #F31, while a Heating and Ventilating Class A Supervisor certificate requires eight years of commercial experience and ICC Exam #F29 and carries a broad scope (warm-air heating, ventilation, evaporative cooling, ductwork, gas piping, low-voltage control wiring not exceeding 48 volts, and up to 50 tons of self-contained comfort-cooling refrigeration). Second, the contracting business obtains a Mechanical Contractor License, which requires that the business hold or employ the matching supervisor certificate holder. Denver’s published fee schedule sets the mechanical contractor license at $250 for a three-year term and the supervisor certificate at $60 for three years - and it is worth reading that schedule directly, because a common third-party figure (’$160, two years’) is actually Denver’s plumbing license, not its mechanical license.

In the COLORADO SPRINGS region, the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD) administers the Pikes Peak Regional Building Code for El Paso County, Colorado Springs, and neighboring jurisdictions. PPRBD licenses mechanical contractors by class - H-A Mechanical Commercial, H-B Mechanical Residential, H-C specialty classes (gas piping, commercial refrigeration, residential maintenance/repair, residential remodeling), and H-D manufactured buildings - each requiring a passed ICC exam (taken on or after January 1, 2016; $100 each), a $50 non-refundable application fee, a $100 license fee, and $1,000,000/$2,000,000 general-liability insurance with PPRBD as certificate holder. PPRBD is notably stricter than most jurisdictions about individual workers: even service technicians must be licensed (Heating Mechanic IV / HVAC Service Technician), working under the direction of a licensed mechanical contractor. A person holding an active Colorado Journeyman Plumbing License is exempt from testing for the Heating Mechanic I (Fitter) license.

Two cautions. First, the state trades still reach into HVAC jobs: line-voltage electrical work belongs to Colorado-licensed electricians (Title 12, Article 115) and plumbing/gas-line work to Colorado-licensed plumbers (Title 12, Article 155), so those portions may require a state license on top of the local mechanical license. Second, dozens of other Colorado jurisdictions (Aurora, Boulder, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Jefferson County, and more) each license HVAC under their own building codes and are not covered here - check the city or county where the work will actually be performed. And everywhere in Colorado, a technician who could release refrigerant must hold federal EPA Section 608 certification (40 CFR part 82, subpart F), which is separate from every Colorado license.

What it’s called

Colorado does not license HVAC technicians or contractors at the state level; licensing is handled locally by cities and regional building departments (for example, a Denver Mechanical Contractor License or a Pikes Peak Regional Building Department mechanical contractor license). A search for a ‘Colorado HVAC license’ maps to a LOCAL mechanical contractor license, not a state credential - the state licenses electricians and plumbers, but not HVAC. Within those localities the credential is generally held by the contracting BUSINESS (backed by an individual certified supervisor or examinee), not by each technician. Separately, the federal EPA Section 608 certification (to handle refrigerants) is a nationwide requirement, not a Colorado state or local HVAC license. ‘HVAC license,’ ‘mechanical contractor license,’ ‘AC license,’ and ‘HVAC certification’ are common informal names for the local credential.

Who does NOT need a license — exemptions

Colorado licenses no HVAC occupation at the STATE level, so there is no state HVAC exemption to enumerate - the operative carve-outs, and the operative licensing, are local. What the state does provide is context: the Colorado Electricians Practice Act (Title 12, Art. 115) and the Colorado Plumbing Practice Act (Title 12, Art. 155) each contain their own exemptions (for example, owner-occupant and employee-of-a-licensee provisions), and those govern the electrical and gas/plumbing portions of an HVAC job - but they do not create or exempt any HVAC license, because none exists at the state level. At the LOCAL level, the structure itself defines who does and does not need a personal credential. In DENVER, the license is held by the contracting BUSINESS through a certified supervisor of record; an employed worker generally does not each hold a contractor license, and the two-step regime attaches to work requiring a Denver building permit. In the PIKES PEAK (Colorado Springs) region, PPRBD is stricter - it licenses not only the mechanical contractor but also the individual workers (e.g., Heating Mechanic IV / HVAC Service Technician), who must work under the direction of a licensed mechanical contractor, and it grants ONE express trade carve-out relevant here: a holder of an active Colorado Journeyman Plumbing License is not required to take the examination for the Heating Mechanic I (Fitter) license. Homeowner and permit-exemption provisions (for example, whether an owner-occupant may pull a mechanical permit for their own home) are set by each jurisdiction’s building code and are not asserted here for any locality beyond what its published pages state - confirm with the specific building department. This record documents Denver and the Pikes Peak region only; every other Colorado city and county regulates HVAC, if at all, under its own code, with its own exemptions. Finally, none of these local structures waive the federal requirement: EPA Section 608 certification (40 CFR part 82, subpart F) is required everywhere in Colorado for a technician who could release refrigerant, and it is not exempted by holding any Colorado license.

Where to get licensed

There is no statewide Colorado board to call for HVAC. Identify the city and county where the work will be performed, then go to that locality’s building department.

FIRST, CONFIRM THE STATE DOESN’T LICENSE IT: the Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO/DORA, dpo.colorado.gov) licenses electricians (dpo.colorado.gov/Electrical) and plumbers (dpo.colorado.gov/Plumbing) but not HVAC - there is no state HVAC license to apply for.

IN DENVER: apply to Community Planning and Development, Contractor Licensing. Step 1 - the individual earns a Mechanical Supervisor Certificate ($60, renewed every 3 years) by documenting experience and passing the assigned ICC National Standard exam (F31 for Heating & Ventilating Journeyman, F29 for Heating & Ventilating Class A Supervisor, F32 for residential mechanical). Step 2 - the business obtains a Mechanical Contractor License ($250, renewed every 3 years), holding or employing the matching supervisor-of-record. Denver info line: (720) 865-2770.

IN THE COLORADO SPRINGS REGION: apply to the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD, pprbd.org), which covers El Paso County and Colorado Springs. Pass the required ICC exam ($100), pay the $50 non-refundable application fee and the $100 license fee, and carry $1,000,000/$2,000,000 general-liability insurance naming PPRBD as certificate holder. Choose the class that matches your scope (H-A commercial, H-B residential, or an H-C specialty). Note that PPRBD also requires individual HVAC service technicians to be licensed (Heating Mechanic IV) under a licensed mechanical contractor.

ELSEWHERE IN COLORADO: contact the building department for the specific city or county (Aurora, Boulder, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Jefferson County, etc.) - each licenses HVAC under its own code and this record does not cover them. Remember that line-voltage electrical work and gas/plumbing work on an HVAC job may require a Colorado state electrician or plumber in addition to the local mechanical license.

EVERYWHERE: if your work involves refrigerants, get EPA Section 608 certification - a FEDERAL credential (40 CFR part 82, subpart F) held by the individual technician, separate from every Colorado license above.

Frequently asked questions

Does Colorado require a state HVAC license?

No. Colorado issues no statewide HVAC, mechanical, heating, air conditioning, or refrigeration license, and there is no state HVAC board or practice act. The state’s Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO/DORA) licenses about forty professions, and the only two building trades among them are electricians (Colorado Electricians Practice Act, Title 12, Article 115) and plumbers (Colorado Plumbing Practice Act, Title 12, Article 155). HVAC is not on the list. The credential you need is issued by the city or regional building department where you work.

Who licenses HVAC contractors in Denver?

The City and County of Denver, through Community Planning and Development (Contractor Licensing), in two steps. First, an individual earns a mechanical Supervisor Certificate by documenting qualifying experience and passing the assigned ICC National Standard exam (for example, ICC #F31 for a Heating and Ventilating Journeyman after four years / 7,000 hours, or ICC #F29 for a Heating and Ventilating Class A Supervisor after eight years). Second, the contracting business obtains a Mechanical Contractor License and must hold or employ the matching supervisor-of-record. The mechanical contractor license is $250 for a three-year term; the supervisor certificate is $60 for three years.

How much does an HVAC license cost in the Colorado Springs area?

In the Colorado Springs region, the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD) charges a $50 non-refundable application/processing fee, $100 for each required ICC exam, and a $100 license fee for each mechanical class (H-A commercial, H-B residential, or an H-C specialty). You must also carry general-liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate, naming PPRBD as certificate holder, plus workers’ compensation if you have employees. Applications go through PPRBD’s Licensing Committee and Board of Review, taking about 6-8 weeks.

Do HVAC service technicians need to be licensed in Colorado?

It depends on the jurisdiction. In the Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs) region, yes - PPRBD licenses individual workers such as the Heating Mechanic IV (HVAC Service Technician), who may repair and service HVAC only when employed by and under the direction of a licensed mechanical contractor. In Denver, the license is held by the contracting business and its certified supervisor of record, and employed technicians generally do not each need a separate certificate. Because there is no state rule, the answer is set by the local building department where the work is done.

Does a Colorado electrician or plumber license cover HVAC work?

Only the electrical or plumbing portion. Colorado licenses electricians (Title 12, Article 115) and plumbers (Title 12, Article 155) at the state level, so the line-voltage wiring and the gas/plumbing connections on an HVAC job are state-licensed work. But neither state license authorizes HVAC/mechanical contracting itself - that is licensed locally (e.g., a Denver Mechanical Contractor License or a PPRBD mechanical contractor license). A full HVAC installation can therefore involve a local mechanical license plus, for those components, a state electrician and/or plumber.

Is EPA 608 certification a Colorado HVAC license?

No. EPA Section 608 certification is a FEDERAL credential under the Clean Air Act (40 CFR part 82, subpart F), held by the individual technician, and required everywhere in Colorado for anyone who could release refrigerant while servicing equipment. It is completely separate from - and not a substitute for - the local mechanical contractor license or the state electrician/plumber licenses. You may need EPA 608 and a local HVAC license.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Colorado.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: July 23, 2026.

LicensingAtlas states licensing and certification requirements categorically from official sources. It is a reference, not legal or career advice, and requirements change frequently — confirm details with the issuing board before you act.

Requirements at a glance

What it’s called

Who does NOT need a license — exemptions

Where to get licensed

Frequently asked questions

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