HVAC Technician License in Kentucky — Requirements, Fees & Exam

How to get licensed as an HVAC technician in Kentucky: Prov exam — verified from Kentucky Department of Housing.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC), Division of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (official site) and last verified July 24, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

Who must be licensed: A person shall not practice HVAC contracting in Kentucky unless that person has met the requirements of KRS 198B.650 to 198B.689 (KRS 198B.656(4)), and shall not claim to be, advertise as, or use a title implying they are a master HVAC contractor, journeyman HVAC mechanic, or apprentice HVAC mechanic without the corresponding valid license or certificate (KRS 198B.656(1)-(3)). 'Practice of HVAC contracting' means the installation, maintenance, altering, remodeling or repair of heating systems, ventilation systems, hydronic systems, burner service, or cooling systems; it does not include cleaning of duct work (KRS 198B.650(15)). Kentucky licenses INDIVIDUALS: the person doing or supervising the work must personally hold a master or journeyman license. There is no separate company or contractor-business license number - a company operates through its licensed master HVAC contractor, whose license 'represents' the company (815 KAR 8:010 Section 1(1)(b)). A subordinate employee of a master who is not a journeyman or apprentice, and who does not engage in HVAC contracting except as an employee, needs no individual license (KRS 198B.674(1)).
Master HVAC contractor - supervision and responsibility: The master HVAC contractor supervises and is primarily responsible for all HVAC work performed by the licensee's (or the represented company's) employees and subcontractors (815 KAR 8:010 Section 1(1)(a); KRS 198B.656(1)). If the master's license represents a company and the master stops representing it or the company's name changes, the master must notify the department in writing and request a change of information. If a company's master HVAC contractor dies, the company has a 180-day interim period under KRS 198B.667 to secure a replacement master before it must stop using the deceased's license.
Journeyman - on-site supervision role: A journeyman HVAC mechanic must be physically on site, personally observe and be responsible for each apprentice assigned to the journeyman during installation, alteration and repair of HVAC systems, and otherwise operate under the general direction and supervision of the master HVAC contractor (815 KAR 8:010 Section 1(2); KRS 198B.650(10)).
Insurance (required of anyone practicing HVAC contracting; carried at the master/company level): No person, firm or corporation may practice HVAC contracting unless it maintains general liability insurance of at least $500,000 AND property damage insurance of at least $300,000, underwritten by a carrier licensed and approved by the Kentucky Department of Insurance (KRS 198B.668(1)). Proof of insurance must be submitted before a license is issued or renewed; a master HVAC contractor applicant must attach it (815 KAR 8:010 Section 2(1)(a)4). No license is valid without the required insurance, and this state insurance exempts licensees from any separate insurance requirement under local licensing laws (KRS 198B.668(3),(4)). Journeyman and apprentice applicants do not carry this insurance themselves.
Examination and passing score: Both master and journeyman applicants must pass the department's examination at 70% or higher (815 KAR 8:010 Section 4(4)). Exams are developed, administered and scored by the department or its designee - DHBC's Division of HVAC contracts examinations to Prov, Inc.; exams are open-book and timed. A passing score is valid for three years (Section 4(7)). The department will recognize another examination as equivalent on a showing that it covers the same material at the same level (Section 4(8)).
Renewal and continuing education: Licenses renew annually on or before the last day of the licensee's birth month (KRS 198B.664(1); 815 KAR 8:010 Section 7). Renewal requires the renewal fee, proof of annual continuing education under 815 KAR 2:010, and (for a master) current proof of insurance. A 60-day grace period follows expiration during which the licensee may keep practicing and restore the license by paying the renewal fee plus a restoration fee; a license not restored within the grace period terminates. A terminated license may be reinstated within three years without re-examination by paying the renewal plus reinstatement fee (KRS 198B.664(2)-(4)).
Reciprocity: A person licensed in another state whose licensing, educational and experience requirements are substantially equal to or greater than Kentucky's, and which grants equal privileges to Kentucky licensees, may be issued an equivalent Kentucky license on terms and conditions set by the department (KRS 198B.666). A reciprocity applicant follows the master or journeyman application requirements of 815 KAR 8:010 Section 3 and pays the applicable application fee for each license sought.
Local HVAC jurisdictions: Kentucky runs a statewide HVAC permitting and inspection program (in place since Jan. 1, 2011); local jurisdictions may operate their own HVAC programs meeting the criteria in 815 KAR 8:100, but the state license is the credential to practice, and the state insurance requirement satisfies any local insurance requirement (KRS 198B.668(3)).
Federal refrigerant certification (context, not a Kentucky license): Anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerants must separately hold federal EPA Section 608 Technician Certification under the Clean Air Act (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F). It is a federal credential held by the individual technician; it is not issued by Kentucky and does not substitute for the Kentucky master or journeyman HVAC license.

Legal basis

Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC), Division of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning administers HVAC technician licensing in Kentucky. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.

What it’s called

Kentucky licenses INDIVIDUALS, not a business: the state credentials are the Master HVAC Contractor license and the Journeyman HVAC Mechanic license (plus an Apprentice HVAC Mechanic certificate), issued by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction’s Division of HVAC. Despite the word ‘contractor’ in its name, the ‘master HVAC contractor’ is an individual license held by a person - it is what lets that person (and the company they ‘represent’) practice HVAC contracting; Kentucky does not issue a separate HVAC company or business license number. ‘HVAC license,’ ‘AC license,’ ‘HVAC contractor license’ and ‘HVAC certification’ are common informal names for these state credentials; the license a business needs is really its master’s individual license. Separately, federal EPA Section 608 refrigerant-handling certification is a nationwide requirement held by the individual technician - it is not the Kentucky HVAC license and does not substitute for it.

License types & fees

Type	Experience	Exam	Fee
Master HVAC Contractor (individual license; the person may hold it in their own name or as the licensee who 'represents' a company)	Applicant must be at least 18, and a U.S. citizen or a resident alien authorized to work in the U.S. Experience is one of three routes (KRS 198B.658(1)(c)): (1) at least 2 years as a licensed journeyman HVAC mechanic under the direction and supervision of a master HVAC contractor; (2) at least 2 years as a master HVAC contractor (or the equivalent) in Kentucky or another jurisdiction, shown by verifiable documentation; or (3) at least 2 years regularly and principally licensed and employed as a mechanical engineer. By rule one year of experience means at least 1,500 hours of HVAC work in a continuous 12-month period (815 KAR 8:010 Section 5(2)), so the 2-year route is roughly 3,000 hours. One year of approved teaching, or qualifying work obtained while exempt under KRS 198B.674(2),(7),(8),(10),(13) or (14), may each substitute for up to one year (KRS 198B.658(3),(6) - the academic-curriculum credit in 198B.658(5) applies to the journeyman license only); relevant military training and experience can satisfy the requirement (KRS 198B.659).	Master HVAC Contractor examination, passed at 70% or higher (815 KAR 8:010 Section 4). It tests knowledge of codes, standards and current/industry-recommended practices for the installation, maintenance, repair, remodeling or alteration of all types of HVAC systems, AND the law and regulation relating to HVAC business. Open-book and timed; developed, administered and scored by the department or its designee (DHBC has contracted with Prov, Inc.). A passing score is valid for three years.	Initial application fee $250 for a 12-month license (Form HVAC 1); at first application the fee is prorated by the applicant's birth month for a 7-to-18-month initial term (the live HVAC 1 form's birth-month chart runs from $145.83 to $375.00, with $250.00 the full-year amount). Examination fee $150, non-refundable, paid separately (815 KAR 8:010 Sections 2(1)(a), 4(5)). Annual renewal $250. Restoration of an expired license $125; reinstatement of a terminated license $250 per 12-month period since termination, capped at $750.
Journeyman HVAC Mechanic (individual license; works under a master HVAC contractor's direction)	Applicant must be at least 18, and a U.S. citizen or a resident alien authorized to work in the U.S. Experience is one of two routes (KRS 198B.658(2)(c)): (1) at least 2 years employed or engaged in HVAC trades under the direction and supervision of a master HVAC contractor; or (2) at least 2 years of HVAC work in Kentucky or another jurisdiction, shown by verifiable documentation. One year means at least 1,500 hours in a continuous 12-month period (815 KAR 8:010 Section 5(2)). One academic year of a department-approved curriculum or professional training, one year of approved teaching, and qualifying exempt-status work (KRS 198B.674(2),(7),(8),(10),(13),(14)) may each count as up to one year; apprenticeship hours registered with the Education and Labor Cabinet in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor count toward the 2 years (KRS 198B.658(4)(b),(5),(6)).	Journeyman HVAC Mechanic examination, passed at 70% or higher (815 KAR 8:010 Section 4). It tests codes, standards and current/industry-recommended practices for installing, maintaining, repairing, remodeling or altering all types of HVAC systems (KRS 198B.658(2)(d) frames it as competency to install, maintain and repair heating and cooling systems, heating/cooling service, burner service and hydronic systems). A journeyman applicant may use a passing master HVAC contractor examination to satisfy the journeyman exam requirement. Passing score valid three years.	Initial application fee $50 for a 12-month license (Form HVAC 2). Examination fee $50, non-refundable, paid separately. Annual renewal $50. Restoration of an expired license $25; reinstatement of a terminated license $50 per 12-month period since termination, capped at $150 (815 KAR 8:010 Sections 2(1)(c), 4(5), 7, 8).
Apprentice HVAC Mechanic (registration/certificate, not a license)	An individual learning the HVAC trade who assists and works under the supervision of a master HVAC contractor and a journeyman HVAC mechanic (KRS 198B.650(2)). The department issues an apprentice certificate to any person who registers as an apprentice; minimum apprentice experience hours and the apprentice register are set by 815 KAR 8:030 (KRS 198B.658(4)).	No licensing examination to register as an apprentice.	No fee. By statute apprentices and pre-apprentices are not required to pay a fee to obtain a certificate of registration or to renew it (KRS 198B.658(4)(e)).

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

Kentucky’s HVAC exemptions are consolidated in ONE statute, KRS 198B.674 ‘Exemptions’ (16 subsections, effective April 8, 2022), which provides that KRS 198B.650 to 198B.689 ‘shall not apply to’: (1) ‘Employees of any master heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractor who are subordinates of the licensee, if those employees are not journeyman heating, ventilation, and air conditioning mechanics or apprentice heating, ventilation, and air conditioning mechanics and do not engage in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contracting, except as an employee’; (2) ‘An employee of the United States government while practicing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contracting on or within property owned by the United States government’; (3) ‘An individual owner of real property while practicing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning work on or within property owned and occupied by the individual’; (4) ‘A person employed in the installation, maintenance, repair, or replacement of residential window air conditioning units’; (5) ‘A person licensed under KRS Chapter 236, if he is installing, servicing, repairing, or replacing boiler devices’; (6) ‘A person licensed under KRS Chapter 322, if he is preparing plans or conducting construction inspections’ (professional engineers); (7) ‘A full-time maintenance person or maintenance engineer performing routine maintenance of heating, ventilation, or air conditioning in connection with his employment’ (note KRS 198B.650(11),(16) limit this to a bona fide employee of a property owner/lessor/manager not in the HVAC business, and ‘routine maintenance’ does NOT include major repairs - the complete replacement of furnaces, condensing units, heat pumps, fan coil units, chiller systems or heating boiler systems); (8) ‘Contractors or employees while installing or maintaining heating, cooling, air conditioning, ventilation, or burner services on any property or site owned or operated by any entity: (a) Subject to the jurisdiction of KRS Chapter 278 [utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission]; or (b) Of any municipal electric, water, gas, or sewer utility operating pursuant to any of the provisions of KRS Chapter 96’; (9) ‘The adjustment of an air flow device performed by any entity specified in subsection (8) of this section, if the adjustment is performed in conjunction with the installation, replacement, or repair of a gas distribution line’; (10) ‘A person licensed or certified pursuant to KRS 227.570, or the administrative regulations promulgated thereunder, upon initial installation of air conditioning units incorporated with the original sale of a manufactured housing unit’; (11) ‘A general retailer whose primary business is not the practice of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contracting, if that general retailer uses only licensed subcontractors that comply with the provisions of KRS 198B.650 to 198B.689’ - but this ‘shall not exclude or limit the liability of the general retailer, or exempt the general retailer from the insurance requirements as established in KRS 198B.668, if the general retailer is engaging in the practice of’ HVAC contracting; (12) ‘The installation, service, repair, or replacement of electrical units on any heating, ventilation, or air conditioning system’; (13) ‘An employee or agent of the Commonwealth of Kentucky while practicing heating and ventilation contracting in connection with weatherization assistance for low income persons pursuant to 903 KAR 6:020’; (14) ‘A person conducting routine maintenance of heating, ventilation, or air conditioning as a volunteer for any church or religious organization, provided he receives no compensation for the services rendered’; (15) ‘The installation, service, repair, or replacement of liquefied petroleum gas units on any heating, ventilation, or air conditioning system by an employee of any person licensed under the provisions of KRS 234.120(1)(a)’; and (16) ‘A person cleaning duct work not engaged in installation or repair of the heating, ventilation, or air conditioning system unless, in cleaning the duct work it was necessary to cut an access point or hole, in which case the repair of the access point or hole shall be included in the cleaning service and the duct work shall be restored to its original integrity before concluding the cleaning service. A person who cuts, repairs, or restores duct work related to a duct cleaning service shall be a contractor that is licensed and insured in the state of Kentucky.’ SEPARATELY, definitional carve-outs in KRS 198B.650 keep certain work OUTSIDE the license scope entirely: ‘heating system’ (198B.650(7)) ‘does not include fireplaces and free-standing stoves not incorporated into a primary heating system, electric thermal storage units, electric ceiling cable heating systems, or electric baseboard heating units’; and the ‘practice of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contracting’ (198B.650(15)) ‘does not include cleaning of duct work.’ A single exemptions section governs (there is no second hidden exemptions statute in the KRS 198B.650-198B.689 range - unlike the electrician chapter KRS 227A), but the definitions layer above must be read with it.

Fees

All HVAC fees are set by administrative regulation (KRS 198B.676; 815 KAR 8:010). MASTER HVAC CONTRACTOR: initial application $250 for a 12-month license (prorated by birth month at first application over a 7-to-18-month term - the live HVAC 1 form’s chart ranges $145.83 to $375.00, with $250.00 the full year); examination $150; annual renewal $250; restoration of an expired license $125; reinstatement of a terminated license $250 per 12-month period since termination, not to exceed $750. JOURNEYMAN HVAC MECHANIC: initial application $50 for a 12-month license; examination $50; annual renewal $50; restoration $25; reinstatement $50 per 12-month period, not to exceed $150. APPRENTICE: no fee to register or renew (KRS 198B.658(4)(e)). Shared special-service fees: inactive-status fee $20; reactivation fee $20 (815 KAR 8:010 Section 8). A master applicant must also carry general liability ($500,000) and property damage ($300,000) insurance, whose premium is paid separately to the insurer (KRS 198B.668). The $250 master and $50 journeyman amounts on the live April-2023 application forms match the regulation.

Exam

Kentucky requires master HVAC contractor and journeyman HVAC mechanic applicants to pass a department examination with a score of at least 70% (815 KAR 8:010 Section 4). The Division of HVAC develops the exams and has contracted with Prov, Inc. to administer them; exams are open-book and timed. The master examination covers codes, standards and current/industry-recommended practices for installing, maintaining, repairing, remodeling or altering all types of HVAC systems, plus the law and regulation relating to HVAC business; the journeyman examination covers the same technical body of knowledge without the business-law component (KRS 198B.658(1)(d),(2)(d)). Examination fees are $150 (master) and $50 (journeyman), non-refundable. A journeyman applicant may satisfy the journeyman requirement by passing the master exam. A passing score is valid for three years, and the department may recognize an equivalent examination on a proper showing (Section 4(7),(8)).

Renewal & continuing education

Annual. Every license renews on or before the last day of the licensee’s birth month (KRS 198B.664(1); 815 KAR 8:010 Section 7(2)). A 60-day grace period follows expiration, during which the licensee may keep practicing and restore the license by paying the renewal fee plus a restoration fee ($125 master / $25 journeyman) and providing current insurance (master). A license not restored within the 60-day grace period terminates; a terminated license may be reinstated within three years of termination without re-examination by paying the renewal fee plus the reinstatement fee (KRS 198B.664(2)-(4)). A licensee not currently practicing may request inactive status ($20), which is exempt from annual renewal and, for a master, from the insurance requirement while inactive (815 KAR 8:010 Section 6). Six (6) hours of approved continuing education per year, completed in the 12 months before each renewal (815 KAR 2:010 Section 2(1); authorized by KRS 198B.684). HVAC licensees fall under the default 6-hour requirement - HVAC is not among the trades given a different hour count in 815 KAR 2:010 Section 2(2) (which sets 12 hours for building/electrical inspectors, 8 for elevator, 5 for certified installers). Each HVAC continuing education course must relate to business, job safety, codes relating to HVAC, or subject matter directly related to the HVAC trade. No more than two (2) hours of safety practices count per 12-month period; excess hours carry forward up to a total of 12 hours over the next two educational years; and the annual requirement is waived for a licensee’s first renewal if the initial license was issued within 12 months of that renewal. (Federal EPA Section 608 certification is separate and is not Kentucky continuing education.)

How to apply

Applications are handled by Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC), Division of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. Start at the official application page .

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license to do HVAC work in Kentucky?

Yes. A person may not practice HVAC contracting in Kentucky unless licensed by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction’s Division of HVAC (KRS 198B.656). Kentucky licenses individuals: you must personally hold a Master HVAC Contractor license or a Journeyman HVAC Mechanic license (an apprentice registers with the department). There is no separate company license - a business operates through its licensed master, whose license ‘represents’ the company. A subordinate employee of a master who is not a journeyman or apprentice, and who only works as an employee, needs no individual license (KRS 198B.674(1)).

What is the difference between a master HVAC contractor and a journeyman HVAC mechanic in Kentucky?

The master HVAC contractor is the licensed individual who is primarily responsible for the HVAC work and can ‘represent’ a company; the master must carry insurance and pass the master exam (which also covers HVAC business law). The journeyman HVAC mechanic works under the master’s direction and supervision, must be on site to supervise apprentices, and passes the journeyman exam. Reaching master normally requires about 2 years as a licensed Kentucky journeyman under a master’s supervision (or 2 years as a master elsewhere, or 2 years as a licensed mechanical engineer); journeyman requires about 2 years of supervised HVAC trade experience (KRS 198B.658).

How much does a Kentucky HVAC license cost?

The master HVAC contractor initial application fee is $250 for a 12-month license (prorated by your birth month at first application - the live HVAC 1 form’s chart runs $145.83 to $375.00), the master exam is $150, and master renewal is $250 per year. The journeyman HVAC mechanic initial application fee is $50, the journeyman exam is $50, and journeyman renewal is $50 per year. Apprentice registration is free. A master must also carry general liability insurance of at least $500,000 and property damage insurance of at least $300,000 (KRS 198B.668), paid separately to the insurer.

Does Kentucky require continuing education for HVAC licensees?

Yes. Master and journeyman HVAC licensees must complete 6 hours of approved continuing education each year before renewal (815 KAR 2:010; KRS 198B.684). Courses must relate to business, job safety, codes relating to HVAC, or the HVAC trade; no more than 2 hours may be safety, excess hours carry forward up to 12 hours, and the requirement is waived for a first renewal if the license was issued within 12 months of that renewal. Licenses renew annually by the last day of your birth month. EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification is a separate federal requirement, not Kentucky continuing education.

Who is exempt from the Kentucky HVAC license?

KRS 198B.674 lists 16 exemptions. Common ones: subordinate employees of a licensed master who are not journeymen or apprentices; a person working on residential window air conditioning units; an individual owner working on their own occupied property; full-time maintenance staff doing routine maintenance (not major repairs) as part of their job; a person installing, servicing, repairing or replacing the electrical units on an HVAC system; work by federal, utility (KRS Chapter 278) and municipal-utility (KRS Chapter 96) employees on their own property; certain volunteers for a church or religious organization who receive no compensation; and duct-cleaning that does not cross into installation or repair. Note that Kentucky’s definitions also place electric baseboard, electric ceiling-cable and electric thermal-storage heating, free-standing stoves, and duct cleaning outside the HVAC contracting scope (KRS 198B.650).

Is EPA 608 certification the same as a Kentucky HVAC license?

No. Federal EPA Section 608 Technician Certification (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F) is required nationwide for technicians who could release refrigerants, and is held by the individual technician. It does not replace the Kentucky master or journeyman HVAC license, and the Kentucky license does not replace EPA 608 - many technicians need both.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Kentucky.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: July 24, 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.