Home › Trades › HVAC technicians

How to become an HVAC technician

HVAC technicians typically need postsecondary instruction, in programs that generally last six months to two years, and once hired they typically have a lengthy period of on-the-job training; the EPA requires nearly all of them to be certified in refrigerant handling. Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers earned a median $61,010 a year in May 2025, and BLS projects 10.9% growth in the job count from 2025 to 2035, with about 40,600 openings a year. Typical entry education: postsecondary nondegree award.

The steps

1. Get the postsecondary instruction technicians typically need. HVAC technicians typically need postsecondary instruction from technical and trade schools or community colleges, whose programs generally last 6 months to 2 years and lead to a certificate or an associate's degree. Employers sometimes consider candidates whose highest level of education is a high school diploma.
   BLS wording

   “HVAC technicians typically need postsecondary instruction from technical and trade schools or community colleges that offer programs in heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration. These programs generally last from 6 months to 2 years and lead to a certificate or an associate's degree. Employers sometimes consider candidates whose highest level of education is a high school diploma.”

2. Pass the EPA refrigerant-handling exam. The EPA requires nearly all HVAC technicians to be certified in proper refrigerant handling. Certification requires passing an exam, which is typically included as part of completing a postsecondary HVACR program.
   BLS wording

   “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires nearly all HVAC technicians to be certified in proper refrigerant handling. Certification requires passing an exam, which is typically included as part of completing a postsecondary HVACR program.”

3. Train on the job, or through an apprenticeship. Newly hired technicians typically work alongside experienced ones, beginning with basic tasks such as insulating refrigerant lines or cleaning furnaces and in time taking on harder ones, including cutting and soldering pipes or checking electrical circuits. Some train through an apprenticeship, which usually lasts several years and includes paid on-the-job training and some technical instruction each year.
   BLS wording

   “Newly hired HVAC technicians typically work alongside experienced technicians. They begin with basic tasks, such as insulating refrigerant lines or cleaning furnaces. In time, they take on more difficult tasks, including cutting and soldering pipes or checking electrical circuits. Some technicians train through an apprenticeship program, which usually lasts several years. Apprenticeships include paid on-the-job training, as well as some technical instruction, each year.”

4. Get the state or local license where one is required. Some states and localities require HVAC technicians to be licensed; check with your state and locality. Manufacturer or industry certification is also available; many certifications are optional, although some employers prefer or require specific types.
   BLS wording

   “In addition, some states and localities require HVAC technicians to be licensed; check with your state and locality for more information. ... Manufacturer or industry certification is available for HVAC technicians. Many certifications are optional, although some employers prefer or require specific types.”

Steps follow the Occupational Outlook Handbook: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers, read 2026-09-28. The state-specific hours, exams and fees are below.

How long it takes

Postsecondary programs generally last six months to two years, and on-the-job training after hiring is typically lengthy; an apprenticeship usually lasts several years.

Counting the first license in each sourced state that takes 2,000 or more on-the-job hours, the states ask for 2,000 to 6,000 hours, about 1 to 4 years at full time, including the minimum years some states set (2,080 hours a year): WA 2,000, CT 4,000, NC 4,000, MA 6,000, MD 6,000, MI 6,000. The other 24 sourced states license the contractor rather than the worker, state the requirement in years, or leave licensing to cities; each state page says which.

Time-to-journeyman calculator: pick a state and your hours a week →

What it costs

Published license and application fees in the 25 sourced states with one (a city's or county's where the state licenses only locally) run from $12 to $850 depending on the state and tier; exam-vendor fees are separate where one applies. Apprenticeships include paid on-the-job training each year, and the EPA certification exam is typically included as part of completing a postsecondary HVACR program. What it costs to start in each state is in the table below; the full tier-by-tier fees are on each state page.

License-cost calculator: every published fee for one state, itemised →

EPA Section 608 Technician Certification

The federal refrigerant-handling certification, which the EPA requires of nearly all HVAC technicians; certification requires passing an exam. Official page →

License requirements by state

Of the 30 states sourced so far for HVAC technicians, 4 require a worker to hold a state license or certification, 5 do not at the state level and 21 are not stated on the pages read. Each row is read from the pages its record names and dated on the state page.

"State license for workers": "Required" where a state passage says a worker needs a license or certification, "None at state level" where one says none is needed, "Not stated" where the pages read do not say; the state page gives what they do say about where licensing sits. "First license after" is the on-the-job hours to the first license on the main path that takes 2,000 or more of them (a separate, narrower license a state also offers, such as a residential-only one, is not counted; the state page names it); its years are the hours at 2,080 a year (≈), a state's minimum years where it sets one (at least), or the years a state's own page gives for those hours (as published); "varies" means the state licenses contractors, states experience in years, or licenses locally. "Starting fee" is what a worker pays to start working: the published state fees for the registrations, trainee or apprentice credentials, learner's permit and federal steps held before any experience; exam-vendor fees are extra. "None required": the state licenses no one at the worker level (only contractors, or only cities and counties). "None listed": the state licenses workers but lists no credential before the first license. "Not stated": the pages read do not say whether a worker needs a license. "No state fee": the only start step is federal (EPA 608). "Not published": a start step's fee is not published. A place named beside a figure marks a city's or county's fee, a local example. The license-cost calculator also totals what it takes to hold the first license. 1. Michigan: the hours are experience, not all of it on the job: a completed 2-year HVAC program can credit up to 1 year. 2. North Carolina: the hours are experience, not all of it on the job: up to half of which may be academic or technical training. Licensing layer vintage 2026-09. The remaining 21 of the 50 states and DC carry pay and employment now and gain this section as each board is read. Compare time and cost across every sourced path →

Apprenticeships

Some technicians train through an apprenticeship, which usually lasts several years, with paid on-the-job training and some technical instruction each year; over its course they learn about topics such as safety practices, blueprint reading, and heating and cooling systems. The federal Apprenticeship Finder searches apprenticeship openings by occupation and by city, state or ZIP code. Apprenticeship Finder →

U.S. Department of Labor records list 10,373 registered apprentices active across the 50 states and DC in fiscal year 2024 under the occupation titles DOL maps to heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers; the state pages give each state's count and, where enough apprentices carry a wage DOL counts, the median starting and completing wages (how they are counted). Apprentice counts and wages in every state → · what those wages come to at your hours a week →

What HVAC technicians earn, by state

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (SOC 49-9021) earned a national median of $61,010 a year in May 2025, $29.33 an hour, with 409,670 employed. District of Columbia paid the most, $84,390, 38% above the national median.

Top five by median annual wage: District of Columbia ($84,390), Alaska ($77,430), Illinois ($77,410), Massachusetts ($77,300), Connecticut ($76,610). Lowest five: Arkansas ($48,110), Alabama ($48,370), Mississippi ($48,680), West Virginia ($48,850), New Mexico ($50,270).

"Per 1,000 jobs" is how concentrated the trade is in that state's workforce. A state can pay well and still have few openings; the employment column and this one together say how much of a market there is.

As files: pay by state (CSV) · pay by metro area (CSV) · state licensing requirements (CSV) · all files and how to credit them.

Job outlook, 2025 to 2035

BLS projects 10.9% growth in employment from 2025 to 2035 (440,900 to 489,100 jobs) and about 40,600 openings a year over the decade, counting growth and replacement.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025, retrieved 2026-10-03. Openings count growth plus the workers who leave the occupation.

Common questions

Sources

• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers, read 2026-09-28: the steps, training length and licensing pattern.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, retrieved 2026-10-03: every wage and employment figure. How the numbers are built.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, Table 1.2, retrieved 2026-10-03: growth, openings and entry education.
• State licensing authorities, one per state, each cited and dated on the state page; layer vintage 2026-09.