Guide
Before you hire an HVAC contractor
The contractor you reach through this site is independent. Checking them out is your job, and in Texas it takes about five minutes.
Texas licenses the work itself
The Occupations Code defines air conditioning and refrigeration contracting as performing or offering to perform the design, installation, repair, maintenance or service of the equipment (section 1302.002). Under section 1302.251, nobody may engage in that contracting without a TDLR contractor license, and the state license is valid in every Texas city.
TDLR issues two classes. Class A covers equipment of any size. Class B covers cooling systems up to 25 tons and heating systems up to 1.5 million BTUs per hour. A house system sits far below the Class B ceiling, so either class may do residential work. TDLR also requires license holders to keep general liability insurance while the license is active.
Look at the truck and the ads
Texas rule 16 TAC 75.71 requires AC contracting companies to show the license number of their affiliated licensee on advertising meant to win business, and to paint or post the license number and company name, in letters at least two inches high, on both sides of every vehicle used for the work.
A truck without a number, or a number that does not match the company name, is a reason to ask questions.
Five-minute check
Get the license number
Ask for it on the phone, or read it off the van, a quote or a business card.
Search it
Enter it on the TDLR license search and confirm the name and that it is active.
Ask about the permit
Who will pull it, and who books the city inspection.
Ask about refrigerant
Who on the crew holds EPA 608 certification.
Get it in writing
Model numbers, refrigerant type, what is reused and warranty terms.
Questions worth asking
- How did you size the system for this house?
- Will the indoor coil be replaced, and is the system an AHRI-matched combination?
- Is the old refrigerant recovered, and is haul-off included?
- What does the warranty cover, and who registers the equipment with the manufacturer?
- Does the equipment qualify for the Entergy Texas HVAC distributor program?
If something goes wrong
TDLR takes complaints against licensees through its website. A written quote and photos of the work help.
Homeowners may do this work themselves in a building they own solely as their own home (section 1302.053), but anyone you pay to do it must be licensed.
Where these facts come from
Get a heating and cooling contractor on the phone
Say what the system is doing and how old it is, if you know. The person you reach works for an independent contractor in Southeast Texas, not for this website.