Check a TexasHVAC license
Anyone who works on your air conditioning or heating in Texas should be able to hand you a license number. Looking it up takes a couple of minutes.
What Texas law requires
Sources: Texas Occupations Code sections 1302.251 and 1302.002.
Texas Occupations Code section 1302.251 says a person may not engage in air conditioning and refrigeration contracting without a license. Section 1302.002 defines contracting to include performing or offering to perform design, installation, repair, maintenance, service or modification work on environmental air conditioning equipment.
The same section makes a contractor license valid statewide, and it ties each license to one permanent office of one company. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, or TDLR, issues the licenses.
Advertising must show the number
Under TDLR's rule at 16 Texas Administrative Code section 75.71, advertising by an air conditioning and refrigeration contracting company that solicits business must include the affiliated licensee's license number. The rule lists a few exemptions, such as nationally placed television ads that say numbers are available on request.
In practice, a website, flyer or truck that advertises repair or installation and shows no number is a prompt to ask for one.
Five steps to check a contractor
Ask for the license number
Ask on the first call. A contractor with a license gives the number without hesitation.
Search TDLR
Open the TDLR license search. You can look up by license number, or by individual or business name. The search shows active licenses only.
Match the name
Check that the name on the license is the company that will do the work, or the licensee who works for it.
Note the license type
TDLR issues air conditioning contractor licenses in classes, and a class sets the size of system the holder can work on. Ask which class applies to your job.
Check the city
Burleson requires mechanical contractors to register, so ask whether the contractor is registered with the city.
If the license is not found
Re-check the spelling and try the number alone. If nothing turns up, TDLR customer service is at 800-803-9202, the number its license search page gives for that situation.
Work done by someone without a license is a problem in its own right, since the state licensing rules are meant to protect homeowners. Do not hand over a deposit while the question is open.
More to check beyond the license
- Proof of insurance, which the homeowner is responsible for verifying under the disclaimer on this site.
- A written scope, price and payment schedule.
- Who will pull the permit, if the work needs one.
- What the warranty covers and who handles claims.
Call and get a contractor on the line
The number connects you with an independent HVAC contractor that serves your ZIP code. Early in the day usually leaves more room on a contractor's schedule.