Home › Trades › HVAC technicians › Oklahoma
How to become an HVAC technician in Oklahoma
Technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants need the federal EPA Section 608 certification, except for an apprentice closely and continually supervised by a certified technician. Oklahoma's Mechanical Licensing Act covers heating, cooling and refrigeration work: no person may do mechanical work as a journeyman or contractor without a license from the Construction Industries Board, and a journeyman license takes three years of verifiable experience in the license category. Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in Oklahoma earned a median $57,560 a year in May 2025 ($27.67 an hour).
HVAC technician licensing in Oklahoma
The licensing authority is Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (Mechanical). The pages each row was read from are listed under the table, with the date each was read.
| License | What it takes | Experience | Exam | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPA Section 608 Certification (federal) | Required nationwide for technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants, except apprentices closely and continually supervised by a certified technician: Type I (small appliances), Type II (high- and very-high-pressure, other than small appliances and motor-vehicle air conditioners), Type III (low-pressure) or Universal (all). Pass an EPA-approved test; the credential does not expire. | — | EPA-approved Section 608 test (Type I / II / III / Universal) | not published |
| Mechanical Apprentice (registration) | Register with the Board ($25: a $20 registration fee and a $5 application fee) while working for an active, licensed mechanical contractor who provides direct on-the-job supervision; the contractor signs the application. Under the Mechanical Licensing Act the applicant must be 16 or older and enrolled in a school or training course for mechanical apprentices recognized by the Board, or have arranged employment as a mechanical apprentice with a licensed mechanical contractor. No more than three apprentices work under one journeyman or contractor. The registration expires one year after it is issued, and the Board does not count experience from periods when an apprentice is unregistered, except experience lawfully obtained under federal or state law. | — | — | $25 |
| HVAC/R Journeyman (limited or unlimited) | Applicants must be 18 or older and have three years of verifiable experience in the mechanical trade in the license category; the Board counts one year of verifiable experience as 2,000 hours. Committee-approved education can replace part of it: a program of 1,000 hours or more with one year of experience, or one of 500 hours or more with two years. Then the exam for the category, taken with the Board's national testing provider, PSI, which provides the study materials, testing fees and testing dates; a failed exam can be taken again after 30 days, and after 90 days for later failures. The HVAC/R limited license covers cooling equipment of no more than 25 tons, heating equipment of no more than 500,000 Btu/h per appliance, and sheet metal, natural gas piping and refrigeration; the application adds ventilation (duct) systems to the limited license. The unlimited license covers any cooling product, system or equipment, heating equipment, and sheet metal, natural gas piping and refrigeration; experience must be certified above 25 tons and 500,000 Btu/h to qualify for it. The Board's fee is $75 ($50 license and $25 application). A journeyman works for an active, licensed mechanical contractor. The Board also issues a Limited Residential Journeyman license for complete new systems in new construction of detached one or two family dwellings and townhouses of no more than three stories, with cooling systems of 5 tons or less and heating systems of 150,000 Btu/h or less; its installations exclude fuel gas piping, welding, soldering, brazing and the final connection of refrigerant lines or electrical wiring, and its fee is also $75. | — | Oklahoma mechanical journeyman exam for the category (PSI) | $75 |
| HVAC/R Contractor (limited or unlimited) | The journeyman requirements plus one more year of experience in the mechanical trade. The contractor exam has a technical trade part and a business and law part, both passed within three years of approval to take it. An active contractor carries a $5,000 corporate surety bond and at least $50,000 of commercial general liability insurance. The Board's fee is $330 ($300 license and $30 application). | — | Oklahoma mechanical contractor exam, trade and business and law parts (PSI) | $330 |
Renewal. Every year: a license expires on the last day of the licensee's birth month, and a journeyman or contractor needs 6 hours of continuing education within the 36 months before the license expires (EPA Section 608 credentials do not expire).
Licensing sources: EPA Section 608 Technician Certification (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: mechanical (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: mechanical apprentice (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: mechanical journeyman (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: mechanical contractor (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: apprentice application (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: mechanical application (retrieved 2026-10-03) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: Mechanical Licensing Act (59 O.S. 1850.1 et seq.) (retrieved 2026-10-03). Requirements change; confirm with Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (Mechanical) before you act.
The steps in order, with exams, fees and renewal → · Every fee here, itemised and totalled → · Compare time and cost across trades and states →
Common questions
Do you need a license to work as an HVAC technician in Oklahoma?
Technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants need the federal EPA Section 608 certification, except for an apprentice closely and continually supervised by a certified technician. Oklahoma's Mechanical Licensing Act covers heating, cooling and refrigeration work: no person may do mechanical work as a journeyman or contractor without a license from the Construction Industries Board, and a journeyman license takes three years of verifiable experience in the license category.
What does it cost to get licensed as an HVAC technician in Oklahoma?
The published fees in the table above run from $25 to $330 depending on the tier. Read each tier's requirements for any exam or license-issue fee charged on top.
How long does it take to become an HVAC technician in Oklahoma?
It depends on which credential you need and the training and testing each step takes; the full path is in the table above.
How much do HVAC technicians make in Oklahoma?
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in Oklahoma earned a median $57,560 a year in May 2025, $27.67 an hour. That median is 6% below the national figure of $61,010, and Oklahoma ranks 39 of 51 by pay for this trade.
How much do apprentice HVAC technicians make in Oklahoma?
In fiscal 2023 (October 2022 to September 2023), among registered apprentices in Oklahoma under the occupation titles the U.S. Department of Labor maps to heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers, 50 apprentices started, at a median $16.00 an hour across the 50 whose starting wage DOL counts. Of those who completed that year, 1 has an exit wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs. Wages are in that year's dollars.
What HVAC technicians earn in Oklahoma
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in Oklahoma earned a median $57,560 a year in May 2025, $27.67 an hour. 5,650 people held the job, 3.3 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 6% below the national figure of $61,010, and Oklahoma ranks 39 of 51 by pay for this trade.
The full wage spread in Oklahoma
| Point | Hourly | Annual | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.33 | $36,050 | A tenth of the workforce earns less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $21.25 | $44,190 | A quarter earn less. |
| Median | $27.67 | $57,560 | Half earn less, half earn more. |
| 75th percentile | $34.67 | $72,110 | A quarter earn more. |
| 90th percentile | $38.30 | $79,660 | A tenth earn more than this. |
| Mean | $27.71 | $57,640 | The average. Pulled up by the top earners. |
Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.
Pay by metro area in Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, OK employs the most HVAC technicians of the 4 metro areas based in Oklahoma that BLS publishes, 2,120, at a median $60,120 a year. The best-paid is Lawton, OK at $72,980.
| Metro | Employed | Median annual | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City, OK | 2,120 | $60,120 | $37,160 | $83,530 |
| Tulsa, OK | 1,620 | $58,750 | $37,170 | $78,390 |
| Lawton, OK | 280 | $72,980 | $36,740 | $74,310 |
| Enid, OK | 150 | $54,290 | $36,390 | $79,900 |
Metropolitan statistical areas as BLS publishes them in the same May 2025 estimates. A metro that crosses a state line is listed only under its primary state, so part of a neighboring state's metro can sit outside this table. Areas outside any metro are not shown. Listed under another state but reaching into Oklahoma: Fort Smith, AR-OK.
Oklahoma against its neighbors on the pay ladder
| # | State | Median annual | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | Louisiana | $58,650 | 5,380 |
| 37 | Kentucky | $58,620 | 5,100 |
| 38 | Texas | $57,760 | 34,730 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $57,560 | 5,650 |
| 40 | North Carolina | $57,260 | 15,230 |
| 41 | Florida | $56,670 | 39,160 |
| 42 | South Carolina | $56,610 | 6,920 |
The complete ranking is on the HVAC technicians page.
Against the national figure
| Figure | Oklahoma | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual | $57,560 | $61,010 |
| Median hourly | $27.67 | $29.33 |
| 10th percentile, annual | $36,050 | $40,050 |
| 90th percentile, annual | $79,660 | $95,210 |
| Employed | 5,650 | 409,670 |
Apprenticeships in Oklahoma
U.S. Department of Labor records list 50 registered apprentices active in Oklahoma in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) under the occupation titles DOL maps to heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021). The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024. In fiscal 2023, the latest year the file holds in full, 50 apprentices started, at a median $16.00 an hour across the 50 whose starting wage DOL counts. Of those who completed that year, 1 has an exit wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs.
Find a registered program: DOL's Apprenticeship Finder → · What those wages come to at your hours a week → · Every state's count and wages for this trade →
Wages are DOL's own hourly figures in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Which wages DOL counts, which titles count and how the state is assigned are on the data page.
Other trades in Oklahoma
Electricians ($61,010) · Plumbers and pipefitters ($57,970) · Welders ($49,720) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($54,410) · Lineworkers (power-line installers) ($76,010) · Elevator installers ($105,430) · Ironworkers ($47,660) · Sheet metal workers ($65,640) · Carpenters ($46,910) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($50,620) · Auto service technicians ($46,560) · Diesel mechanics ($55,340) · Heavy equipment operators ($47,970) · Machinists ($51,120)
See all 15 ranked by pay in Oklahoma.
The pay and employment figures on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, apart from the apprenticeship figures, which are DOL's; the licensing detail is read from the pages listed in the licensing section, each with the date it was read. See how the numbers are built.