Texas TDLR HVAC Contractor Exam Guide: Occupations Code Chapter 1302, 16 TAC Chapter 75 and the 2024 IMC

Texas TDLR ACR Contractor Exam at a Glance

TDLR licenses ACR contractors in two classes, and each license carries one or two endorsements. Each combination has its own exam (§ 1302.257). The PSI Texas candidate bulletin, updated July 9, 2026, lists them as follows:

• Environmental Air Conditioning, Class A: 120 scored questions in 230 minutes, $74.
• Environmental Air Conditioning, Class B: 100 scored questions in 170 minutes, $60.
• Commercial Refrigeration and Process Cooling or Heating, Class A: 120 scored questions in 230 minutes, $74.
• Commercial Refrigeration and Process Cooling or Heating, Class B: 100 scored questions in 170 minutes, $60.
• Certified Technician: 60 scored questions in 112 minutes, $60.

Every contractor exam also has 5 unscored pretest questions, with 10 extra minutes allowed for them. The passing score is 70% (16 TAC § 75.21). Your score appears on screen when you finish, and if you fail you get a diagnostic report. The exam is open book. You can highlight and make notes in your references beforehand and add permanent tabs. You cannot write in them during the exam, and Post-it or other temporary tabs are not allowed.

How Hard Is the Texas HVAC Exam? Official TDLR Pass Rates

TDLR publishes its pass rates, and they are low. Its FY2025 examination statistics show these first-time pass rates:

• Environmental Air Class A: 36%
• Environmental Air Class B: 26%
• Commercial Refrigeration Class A: 50%
• Commercial Refrigeration Class B: 38%
• Certified Technician: 32%

The overall pass rate across all FY2025 attempts was 35.51%. Partial FY2026 figures to March 31, 2026, from a TDLR staff report, show only small changes: Environmental Air A at 39.31%, Environmental Air B at 26.89% and Commercial Refrigeration A at 51.01%.

The usual reason people fail is not the law section. It is running out of time while looking things up in references they have not tabbed well. Fewer than 2 minutes per question sounds generous until you are hunting through a duct sizing table.

Texas ACR Contractor License Eligibility (Occupations Code § 1302.255)

To sit a contractor exam, you must meet the requirements of Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1302 on the date you file your application (16 TAC § 75.21):

• Age: you must be at least 18 years old.
• Experience, option 1: 48 months of practical experience under a licensed ACR contractor within the last 72 months.
• Experience, option 2: hold a technician certification for the last 12 months, plus 36 months of supervised experience within the last 48 months.
• Education credit: a four-year degree in AC, refrigeration or mechanical engineering counts as 24 months. A two-year HVAC program counts as 12 months, and a one-year or two-semester program counts as 6 months.
• Apprenticeship: every 2,000 hours of on-the-job training counts as 12 months.
• Other experience: verified military HVAC experience and work in exempt or government jobs can count. Experience from another state can count if the executive director accepts it.

Your licensed supervisor must answer TDLR's request to verify your experience within 15 calendar days (16 TAC § 75.70).

Texas HVAC Exam Cost and Fees

You pay PSI for each exam: $74 for a Class A exam or $60 for a Class B exam. If you want both endorsements, you take, and pay for, two exams. TDLR charges its own license application fee. The 16 TAC § 75.80 text we could read lists $115 for a contractor application, $65 to renew and $25 to add an endorsement. TDLR amended Chapter 75, effective September 1, 2026, so confirm current fees with TDLR before you pay.

Application fees are not refundable. You also need liability insurance before your license is issued, so budget for the premium (see below).

How to Register for the Texas ACR Exam

1. Apply to TDLR for the class and endorsement or endorsements you want. The application must name them (§ 1302.256).
2. Once TDLR approves your eligibility, book through the PSI Texas candidate portal or by phone at (833) 333-4741.
3. To cancel or reschedule, give PSI at least 2 days' notice. PSI does not accept voicemail or email cancellations.
4. Pass within one year of filing your application, then file proof of insurance (16 TAC § 75.20).

If you fail, the TDLR exam information page says you can schedule a retake with PSI within 24 to 48 hours. You can retake as often as you need until your application expires, one year after you submitted it.

Texas Exam Content Outline (2024 IMC, UMC and IFGC Edition)

For Environmental Air Class A, the PSI bulletin lists these question counts by topic:

• Air Distribution: 18
• Equipment Requirements and Design: 14
• Service: 12
• Testing: 12
• HVAC Systems: 11
• 6 each: Basic Refrigeration Components, Combustion Air, Controls, Piping, Refrigeration Principles, Safety, Texas Laws and Rules, and Ventilation.
• Venting: 5

The banner on the bulletin says exams are referenced to the 2024 IFGC, IMC and UMC from September 1, 2026. The allowed references are:

• Codes: the 2024 IFGC, IMC and UMC.
• Textbook: Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.
• Design tools: the ADI Duct Size Calculator and ACCA Manuals D, J and S.
• Law and rules: Occupations Code Chapter 1302, 16 TAC Chapter 75 and OSHA 29 CFR 1904.

Our practice bank covers only the Texas laws and rules. That is 5 to 6 questions on the real exam, but they are the easiest points to lock in, and they also show up on the technician exam and in continuing education.

Key Texas Laws and Rules to Know (Chapter 1302 and 16 TAC 75)

• License classes: Class A covers any size. Class B is capped at 25 tons of cooling or 1.5 million Btu/h of heating output for each unit (§ 1302.253, 16 TAC § 75.22). Cooling capacity is rated at 40°F suction and 105°F condensing.
• Endorsements: Environmental Air Conditioning (E) and Commercial Refrigeration and Process Cooling or Heating (R). A license with both carries code C. License numbers follow the format TACL/A/000000/C.
• One license, one office: you can assign your license to only one permanent office of one company. Each permanent office needs a full-time licensee, and a company without one cannot collect its fee (§§ 1302.251–.252).
• Exemptions: the main ones are:
  • homeowners working on the home they solely own;
  • in-house maintenance staff and utility employees;
  • engineers working for their employer and not for the public;
  • industrial plant process work;
  • ductless units of 3 tons or less;
  • vehicle AC and kitchen vent hoods.
  Plumbers are not exempt (§§ 1302.053–.063).
• Insurance:
  • Class A: $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate and $300,000 products and completed operations.
  • Class B: $100,000, $200,000 and $100,000.
  (16 TAC § 75.40)
• Vehicles and paperwork:
  • Vehicles must show the license number and company name in letters at least 2 inches high on both sides.
  • Invoices and proposals must show the license number and the TDLR "Regulated by" notice (16 TAC § 75.71).
• Renewal: the license lasts one year. You need 8 hours of CE, including 1 hour of Texas law and rules, and you must keep your certificates for a year (16 TAC § 75.25).
• Scope of work:
  • You may install control wiring of 50 volts or less.
  • You may run gas piping only from an existing shut-off valve to the appliance.
  • System balancing needs a license, but system testing does not (16 TAC § 75.100).
• Penalties: knowingly contracting without a license is a Class C misdemeanor.

How Texas Differs From Other States

Many states, Alabama among them, give a separate open-book business and law exam. Texas puts law inside the trade exam. Texas also publishes its pass rates, so you can see how hard each exam is before you book. A state license is valid everywhere in Texas, and cities cannot charge a state licensee a registration fee, though they can still charge building permit fees (§ 1302.304). Technicians must also be registered, from age 16 with no exam, or certified, from age 18 with an exam.

Texas HVAC Exam Study Plan (Four Weeks)

1. Week 1: buy or borrow every reference in the current PSI bulletin. Tab the IMC and UMC by chapter and highlight the tables you expect to use.
2. Week 2: work through air distribution and equipment design. They are the two largest sections, worth 32 questions on Class A. Practise duct sizing with the ADI calculator and the Manual D, J and S procedures.
3. Week 3: cover service, testing, refrigeration principles, venting and combustion air. Time yourself looking things up: aim for under 2 minutes per question.
4. Week 4: take our 50-question law mock exam until you score over 90%, then sit a full timed technical practice set from a paid vendor.

Common Mistakes on the Texas ACR Exam

• Bringing references with Post-it tabs, which PSI does not allow.
• Studying the 2021 codes after September 1, 2026, when the exams moved to the 2024 editions.
• Confusing the Class B limit: it applies to each unit, not to the building total.
• Mixing up the insurance amounts for Class A and Class B.
• Assuming a plumbing license or a municipal license covers HVAC work. A plumbing license does not, and a municipal license is valid only within that city.
• Letting the one-year application window lapse after a failed attempt.

What Happens After You Pass

• File proof of insurance with TDLR. You can ask for a waiver only if you will not contract with the public.
• Assign your license to one company office.
• Letter your vehicles.
• Add the TDLR notice to your invoices and contracts.
• Notify any city that requires it (§ 1302.262).
• Report any change of address or license assignment within 30 days.
• Renew every year with 8 hours of CE.

What Our Texas Practice Test Covers

Our bank has more than 200 questions. Each one is written from the text of Chapter 1302 or 16 TAC Chapter 75, cites its section and quotes the source. They cover definitions, exemptions, licensing, technicians, insurance, business duties and the scope-of-work rules. We left out fee and code-edition details that the September 1, 2026 amendments changed, and we do not cover the technical IMC and UMC questions.

Start the Texas HVAC law practice test.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the Texas HVAC contractor exam?

It depends on the exam. In the PSI bulletin (updated 7/9/2026), Environmental Air Conditioning Class A and Commercial Refrigeration Class A each have 120 scored questions in 230 minutes. The Class B versions have 100 scored questions in 170 minutes. Each exam also carries 5 unscored pretest questions, with 10 extra minutes allowed for them.

What is the passing score?

70%. 16 TAC § 75.21 sets it, and the PSI bulletin uses the same figure.

Is the Texas ACR exam open book?

Yes. You may highlight and write notes in your references before the exam, and they may carry permanent tabs. You may not mark them during the exam, and temporary tabs such as Post-its are not allowed.

How much does it cost?

PSI charges $74 for each Class A exam and $60 for each Class B exam. TDLR charges a separate license application fee. The rule text we read lists $115, but TDLR amended its fee rule effective September 1, 2026, so check the current amount on TDLR's website.

Is there a separate business and law exam in Texas?

No. Texas laws and rules are a section inside each trade exam: 6 questions on the Class A exams and 5 on the Class B exams. The other questions are technical.

Can I retake the exam if I fail?

Yes. TDLR says you can schedule a retake with PSI within 24 to 48 hours of a failed attempt. You can keep retaking until your application expires, one year after it was submitted. You pay the PSI fee each time.

How hard is the Texas HVAC exam?

It is hard. TDLR's FY2025 statistics show first-time pass rates of 36% for Environmental Air Class A, 26% for Class B, 50% for Commercial Refrigeration Class A and 38% for Class B. For FY2026 through March 31, 2026, the Environmental Air Class A rate was 39.31%.

What experience do I need?

You must be 18 and have 48 months of supervised experience in the last 72 months. Alternatively, you can hold a technician certification for 12 months and have 36 months of experience in the last 48. Degrees, apprenticeships and military service can count toward it (Tex. Occ. Code § 1302.255).

What is the difference between Class A and Class B?

Class A covers systems of any size. Class B covers equipment up to 25 tons of cooling or 1.5 million Btu/h of heating output (§ 1302.253). A Class B holder may work on a building whose units add up to more than that, as long as no single unit exceeds the limit (16 TAC § 75.22).

Which code editions are tested?

The PSI bulletin says exams use the 2024 IFGC, IMC and UMC starting September 1, 2026. Check the reference list in the bulletin that is current when you book, because the bulletin's own list still showed 2021 editions.

Sources: Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1302 and 16 TAC Chapter 75 (the published text may not yet show the September 1, 2026 amendments). PSI Texas ACR bulletin, updated July 9, 2026. TDLR FY2025 statistics and the FY2026 staff report. Facts were checked October 30, 2026 (PKT). Always confirm current details with TDLR and PSI.