Nebraska · HVAC licensing · official-source guide
Nebraska has no statewide HVAC contractor license. The Nebraska Department of Labor registers every contractor working in the state under the Contractor Registration Act, and the State Electrical Division licenses the Heating/AC/Refrigeration special electrician class. HVAC trade licensing itself happens in cities: Omaha issues ACAD licenses and Lincoln issues mechanical master, journeyman and apprentice registrations.
State-level license
No — see local details
Public lookup
Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-14. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Nebraska does not issue a heating and air conditioning contractor license from any state board. There is no state HVAC exam, no state HVAC classification, and no statewide HVAC license number to paint on a truck. What the state requires instead is registration. The Contractor Registration Act, codified at Neb. Rev. Stat. sections 48-2101 through 48-2117, requires every contractor and subcontractor doing business in Nebraska to register with the Nebraska Department of Labor. The definition of contractor in section 48-2103 covers construction, alteration and repair work on buildings and on every other type of structure, project or improvement, which takes in furnace changeouts, rooftop unit sets, duct runs and refrigeration piping. Registration is a filing, not a competency test. The Department of Labor states directly that registration does not ensure quality of work or protect against fraud. Trade competency gets tested at the city level. Omaha licenses air conditioning and air distribution contractors through the Planning Department Permits and Inspections office. Lincoln licenses mechanical masters, journeymen and apprentices through Building and Safety inside Planning and Development Services. On top of that, the State Electrical Division licenses a Heating/AC/Refrigeration special electrician for the wiring side of the equipment you install. An HVAC company operating in Nebraska therefore usually carries three separate credentials at once: a Department of Labor contractor registration number, a city trade license in each city it works, and EPA refrigerant certification for the technicians who open a system.
Sourcesnebraskalegislature.gov 1nebraskalegislature.gov 2dol.nebraska.gov 3dol.nebraska.gov 4permits.cityofomaha.org 5lincoln.ne.gov 6electrical.nebraska.gov 7
Registration runs through the Department of Labor contractor registration site, where you create a user profile and file the application. Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2105 lists what the application must contain: the business name and federal employer identification number, the principal place of business in Nebraska, a Nebraska telephone number, the type of business entity, the names and addresses of officers or owners, the contractor option election for sales and use tax, and proof of workers compensation coverage or of an approved exemption. An HVAC company whose principal place of business sits outside Nebraska has to give the address and telephone number of a Nebraska registered agent as well. Any contractor operating under more than one name needs a separate registration number for each name, so a company running a separate service brand files twice. Section 48-2108 gives the commissioner thirty days from receipt of a completed application to issue the registration number, and sets its format: a five-digit number followed by a two-digit number showing the year of issuance. Section 48-2106 then requires you to report any change to the information on file within fifteen days, with one tighter deadline. Changes to workers compensation coverage must be reported at least ten days before the change takes effect. Amendments are not allowed when the business classification itself changes, such as a sole proprietorship converting to a corporation. In that case you file a new application.
Sourcesdol.nebraska.gov 1nebraskalegislature.gov 2nebraskalegislature.gov 3nebraskalegislature.gov 4dol.nebraska.gov 5
The registration is annual and cheap. The Department of Labor posts that the contractor registration annual fee increases to $40.00 effective August 1, 2026. Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2107 backs that up by capping the fee at forty dollars for each application or renewal, and directs the commissioner to remit collected fees to the State Treasurer for credit to the Contractor, Business, and Professional Employer Organization Registration Cash Fund. No fee is charged when you submit an amendment to an existing application. Renewal is done by logging into the same profile and clicking to renew. If the email address tied to the profile has gone dead, the office asks you to call before creating a second profile, because a duplicate profile creates a duplicate registration number. One item on the application matters more to an HVAC business than the fee does. Section 48-2105 requires you to record a contractor option election for sales and use tax on building materials and fixtures annexed to real property. That single checkbox decides whether you charge your customers Nebraska sales tax on a furnace and coil or absorb it yourself, and the Department of Revenue treats the election as binding on every contract you hold. Pick it deliberately before you send your first Nebraska quote.
Sourcesdol.nebraska.gov 1nebraskalegislature.gov 2nebraskalegislature.gov 3dol.nebraska.gov 4revenue.nebraska.gov 5
The Contractor Registration Act ties registration directly to workers compensation coverage, and the Department of Labor enforces it continuously rather than once a year. Every contractor with one or more employees must have a current workers compensation certificate of insurance on file, specifically an ACORD 25 listing the Department of Labor as the certificate holder. The certificate can be faxed to 402-471-5039, emailed to the contractor registration inbox, or mailed to Labor Standards at 550 S. 16th Street in Lincoln. Keeping it current is the contractor's job, not the agent's. Any contractor whose records show expired coverage is removed from the list of registered contractors until the insurance agency sends an updated certificate. Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2110 makes the consequence formal: the commissioner issues a notice of revocation when an investigation shows a contractor no longer maintains workers compensation coverage, and where the commissioner receives a cancellation notice, the registration is revoked as of the time of cancellation unless a new certificate arrives before the cancellation date. Section 48-2105 accepts three proofs: a certificate from a carrier authorized in Nebraska, evidence of approved self-insurance under section 48-145, or the statutory alternative for a contractor with no employees. Section 48-2117 then publishes that status. The public database flags whether a contractor carries coverage, is self-insured, or is a sole proprietor with no employees, and that last flag creates a rebuttable presumption of no coverage. For an HVAC crew running gas piping and lifting condensers onto roofs, a lapsed certificate takes your name off the public list on a Friday and off the job on Monday.
Sourcesdol.nebraska.gov 1dol.nebraska.gov 2nebraskalegislature.gov 3nebraskalegislature.gov 4nebraskalegislature.gov 5
Nebraska does license part of HVAC work at state level, and most contractors miss it. Neb. Rev. Stat. section 81-2102(17) defines a special electrician as a person qualified in special classes of electrical wiring, apparatus, equipment or installations, and the list of special classes names irrigation system wiring, well pump wiring, air conditioning and refrigeration installation, and sign installation. The State Electrical Division issues that license and carries it on its fee schedule as Heating/AC/Refrigeration. The fee is $37.50 for each year of the two-year license period, the same rate charged for a journeyman electrician, a residential wireman and a fire alarm installer. Licenses in the current cycle expire on December 31st, 2026. Apprentice registration runs $35. The division tests specialty applicants in its own office rather than through the outside testing vendor it uses for journeyman and contractor exams, and it publishes the specialty exam dates for Fire Alarm Installer, Sign Installer, Irrigation and HVAC. Examinees may bring a 2023 Code Book, the Ugly's Book in any version, pencils and a simple non-programmable calculator. That code year is not incidental. The division adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code as the minimum standard for electrical wiring, with electrical exams moving to the 2023 NEC and permits issued on or after August 1, 2024 falling under it. If your technicians pull disconnects, land whips and wire thermostats, this is the Nebraska license that covers the work, and it sits at 1220 Lincoln Mall, Suite 125 in Lincoln.
Sourcesnebraskalegislature.gov 1electrical.nebraska.gov 2electrical.nebraska.gov 3electrical.nebraska.gov 4electrical.nebraska.gov 5
The State Electrical Division is an independent agency created by Neb. Rev. Stat. section 81-2103, run by an executive director and directed by a seven-member State Electrical Board appointed by the Governor. The board seats two journeyman electricians, one electrical contractor or master electrician, one certified electrical inspector, one licensed professional electrical engineer, one representative of a public power district or rural electric cooperative, and one representative of the municipal electric systems, with staggered five-year terms. If your HVAC company wants to hold the electrical contractor license itself rather than sub the work out, the division sets two paths. An applicant either graduates from a four-year electrical engineering course at an accredited college or university and holds at least one year of experience acceptable to the board as a licensed journeyman electrician, or holds at least one year of experience acceptable to the board as a licensed journeyman electrician. The application fee is $180.00. The license fee then depends on the year of issuance: $187.50 in an even numbered year and $375.00 in an odd numbered year. On the two-year fee schedule the electrical contractor, Class A master, Class B electrical contractor and Class B master all sit at $187.50 per year. The board also maintains a reciprocal licensing agreement for the electrical contractor license with Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Texas, which matters to Omaha shops that cross into Council Bluffs and to companies working the Sioux City corner.
Sourcesnebraskalegislature.gov 1electrical.nebraska.gov 2electrical.nebraska.gov 3
Omaha calls its HVAC credential ACAD, short for air conditioning and air distribution, and the Planning Department Permits and Inspections office issues it under the Mechanical and HVAC licensing category. There are three ACAD tiers. An ACAD Master pays $50.00 plus a $4.00 technology fee to apply and must pass an exam. An ACAD Journeyman pays $35.00 plus a $2.80 technology fee and must also pass an exam. An Apprentice ACAD/Sheet Metal Installer pays $25.00 plus a $2.00 technology fee and takes no exam at all, which makes it the cheapest legal way to put a new hire on an Omaha job. Renewal costs more than the initial application. ACAD Master renewal is $160.00 plus a $12.80 technology fee and requires 8 continuing education hours. ACAD Journeyman renewal is $120.00 plus a $9.60 technology fee and also requires 8 continuing education hours. The apprentice renews at $25.00 plus a $2.00 technology fee. Journeyman and master licenses run up to two years and expire on December 31st of odd years. Apprentice licenses expire December 31st every year. Omaha also charges a sliding late penalty: $25.00 plus $2.00 at 31 to 60 days past expiration, $50.00 plus $4.00 at 61 to 365 days, $100.00 plus $8.00 at 365 to 730 days, and past 730 days the licensee must retest and pay $200.00 plus a $16.00 technology fee. Let an Omaha ACAD master lapse two years and you are back in an exam room.
Sourcespermits.cityofomaha.org
Omaha attaches a bond and an insurance floor to the master level of each mechanical trade, and the numbers are specific to the license rather than uniform across the department. A Master ACAD posts a bond of at least $10,000.00 and carries insurance of at least $300,000.00. A Master Steamfitter posts the same $10,000.00 bond and the same $300,000.00 insurance minimum. An Oil Tank Installer posts a bond of at least $5,000.00. An LPG Tank Installer posts at least $10,000.00. Bond and insurance documents go to the mechanical inbox at the Permits and Inspections office rather than to the building inbox, which is a common filing mistake for companies that hold both a building and a mechanical license. The surrounding license classes matter because full-service HVAC and refrigeration work in Omaha often crosses into them. Steamfitter Master costs $100.00 plus an $8.00 technology fee to apply with an exam required, and renews at $200.00 plus $16.00. Steamfitter Journeyman is $35.00 plus $2.80 to apply and $70.00 plus $5.60 to renew. Oil Burner Installer is $40.00 plus $3.20. Oil Tank Installer is $40.00 plus $3.20 with a $60.00 plus $4.80 renewal. LPG Tank Installer is $60.00 plus $4.80 with a $100.00 renewal. Stationary Engineer runs three grades, First at $60.00 plus $4.80, Second at $50.00 plus $4.00 and Third at $40.00 plus $3.20, each renewing at $70.00 plus $5.60. For these classes Omaha notes the exam cost covers the initial application fee.
Sourcespermits.cityofomaha.org
Lincoln handles HVAC through Building and Safety, part of Planning and Development Services at 555 S 10th Street, Suite 203. The city registers mechanical trades in tiers and prices them per year. A Mechanical Master Contractor pays $350. An Inactive Master pays $50, which is the line to use when a qualifying master steps back from daily work but the company wants the credential preserved. A Journeyman pays $25 and an Apprentice pays $15. Refrigeration work has its own class: a Refrigeration-Mechanical Master Contractor pays $250. Decorative gas appliance work is split out too, with a Deco Fireplace Contractor at $150 and a Fireplace Installer at $25. The renewal window is narrow and it is not a rolling anniversary. Lincoln accepts registration renewals from October 1st to December 31st. Miss December 31st and you are no longer licensed to perform the work in the city. Fail to renew within 60 days of expiration and the license is revoked outright, and you must retake any examination the license requires. Continuing education is checked before renewal is approved: a Master Contractor submits 8 hours of CEUs and a Journeyman submits 4 hours. Renewal itself runs through the city Citizen Access portal, and Lincoln notes you do not need to create an account or log in to renew, because you search by your trade license number, open Payments and then Fees, and pay. Approved renewals are emailed as a new card within 5 business days.
Lincoln runs its own mechanical examinations rather than accepting a national exam outright. The application and filing fee must be submitted by 4 p.m. CST at least two weeks before the exam date, and a request for a reasonable accommodation has to land at least 45 days before the exam date. Exam fees are billed after the application is processed: Mechanical Master is $400, Mechanical Journeyman is $50, Deco Fireplace Contractor is $50 and Deco Fireplace Installer is $50. The city publishes separate requirement sheets and examination detail sheets for each of those four exams. The insurance rules are where Lincoln applications most often stall. HVAC contractors must carry general liability with a minimum of $500,000 each occurrence, the same floor Lincoln applies to demolition, electrical, plumbing, sign, street use and fire alarm work, while fire sprinkler and chemical extinguishing work carries a $1,000,000 minimum. The certificate must name the business, list the policy number rather than a binder number, and carry the authorized agent's signature. The City of Lincoln must appear as an additional insured under the general liability policy, the endorsement has to be noted on the certificate with that exact phrase, and a copy of the endorsement form must be included. Lincoln specifically rejects contractual-relationship endorsements, because no written contract exists between the city and the insured. HVAC, plumbing, electrical and fire contractors must also list a master's name on the certificate as an insured. A bond is not required unless you work in the city right-of-way.
Nebraska enforces the registration requirement with administrative penalties rather than criminal charges, and the numbers step up fast for repeat offenders. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2114, the Commissioner of Labor issues a citation to a contractor when an investigation shows the contractor violated the requirement to be registered, or the requirement that the registration information be substantially complete and accurate. The commissioner notifies the contractor of the proposed penalty by certified mail or another delivery method the Postal Service can verify. The penalty is not more than five hundred dollars for a first violation and not more than five thousand dollars for a second or subsequent violation. A cited contractor has fifteen working days from the date of the citation or penalty to contest it, and a timely notice of contest gets a hearing under the Administrative Procedure Act. Working days there means Mondays through Fridays excluding weekends and federal or state holidays, and the day the notice is received is not counted. In a civil action to enforce the act, the state may be represented by an attorney employed by the commissioner or by the Attorney General. Separately, section 48-2117 provides that any contractor failing to comply with the Contractor Registration Act or the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 is removed from the public database, which is the version of the penalty your customers can see. City penalties bite differently. Lincoln revokes a mechanical license not renewed within 60 days of expiration and requires re-examination, and Omaha requires a retest plus a $200.00 fee once an ACAD license is more than 730 days past expiration.
Sourcesnebraskalegislature.gov 1nebraskalegislature.gov 2nebraskalegislature.gov 3lincoln.ne.gov 4permits.cityofomaha.org 5
Nebraska taxes HVAC installation through a system no neighboring state copies exactly, and the choice is made on the same Department of Labor registration form you already have to file. Department of Revenue regulation REG-1-017 sets three options. An Option 1 contractor is taxed as a retailer of building materials with a tax-exempt inventory, must hold a Nebraska Sales Tax Permit, and must collect sales tax from every customer, including other contractors, on the total charged for materials annexed to real estate or used to repair fixtures. An Option 2 contractor is taxed as the consumer of building materials with a tax-paid inventory. An Option 3 contractor is taxed as the consumer with a tax-free inventory. The election applies to all construction contracts and you may not run two options at once. If the registration application is not completed or no election is made, the state treats you as an Option 1 retailer by default. Changing option later triggers a use tax remittance or a credit on inventory on hand at the effective date. The definitions land squarely on HVAC. A fixture is equipment that must be annexed to the building to function yet remains identifiable as a separate item, and the regulation's own examples are central air conditioners, water heaters, garbage disposals, built-in dishwashers and furnaces. Window air conditioners are treated as property that normally does not become annexed, so an Option 1 contractor collects sales tax on the total amount charged to install one. Your option also shows publicly in the Contractor Registration Database.
Sourcesrevenue.nebraska.gov 1nebraskalegislature.gov 2dol.nebraska.gov 3
Nebraska issues no refrigerant credential of its own, so the federal rule is the one that governs every technician who opens a sealed system in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney or anywhere else in the state. EPA regulations at 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F, adopted under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, require that technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere be certified. Certification comes from passing an EPA-approved test administered by an EPA-approved certifying organization, and the tests are specific to the equipment type the technician works on. EPA defines a technician as an individual who attaches and detaches hoses and gauges to an appliance to measure pressure, adds refrigerant to or removes refrigerant from an appliance, or performs any other activity that violates the integrity of a motor vehicle air conditioner-like appliance or a small appliance other than disposal. There are four certification types. Type I covers servicing small appliances. Type II covers servicing or disposing of high-pressure and very high-pressure appliances other than small appliances and motor vehicle systems. Type III covers low-pressure appliances. Universal covers all types. Section 608 technician certification credentials do not expire, so there is no renewal cycle to track the way there is with an Omaha ACAD license or a Lincoln mechanical registration. Two details catch companies out. A core test taken open book cannot be used toward Universal certification, which requires a proctored core exam. Apprentices are exempt while closely and continually supervised by a certified technician.
Sourcesepa.gov
Three public lookups cover an HVAC company working Nebraska, and homeowners increasingly check all of them before they call. The Department of Labor runs Search Registered Contractors and Subcontractors at its contractor registration site, and Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2117 requires that database to be accessible on the department's website and to show whether each registered contractor carries workers compensation insurance, is self-insured, or is a sole proprietor with no employees who does not carry coverage. Your registration number reads as five digits followed by two digits for the year of issuance, so a customer comparing a proposal to the database can see at a glance whether the number on your paperwork is current. Failing to comply with the act or the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 removes you from the database entirely. Electrical licenses, including the Heating/AC/Refrigeration special electrician, are verified through the State Electrical Division licensing portal, which replaced the division's older search page. Omaha licenses are searchable and renewable through the city's Accela permit portal. Lincoln publishes a downloadable List of Mechanical Trade Professionals from its mechanical page, which functions as the city's public roster. On wording, be careful. Nebraska registration is a filing and not a qualification, and the Department of Labor says so on its own page, so describing yourself as state licensed or state certified for HVAC work misrepresents what the number means. Master and journeyman titles are city credentials in Nebraska. Claim them where you actually hold them.
Sourcesdol.nebraska.gov 1nebraskalegislature.gov 2nebraskalegislature.gov 3nesedprod.state-reg-central.tylerapp.com 4aca-prod.accela.com 5lincoln.ne.gov 6dol.nebraska.gov 7dol.nebraska.gov 8
These are common details other guides publish about Nebraska, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. Nebraska issues no statewide HVAC contractor license and runs no state HVAC exam. What you must do is register with the Nebraska Department of Labor under the Contractor Registration Act before doing any work on real property in the state. Trade licensing then happens city by city, so an Omaha ACAD license and a Lincoln mechanical registration are separate credentials you apply for separately.
The Department of Labor posts that the contractor registration annual fee increases to $40.00 effective August 1, 2026, and Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2107 caps the fee at forty dollars per application or renewal. No fee is charged for filing an amendment to an existing application. You renew by logging into the same profile you created to register.
No. Omaha and Lincoln run separate licensing programs with separate exams, separate fee schedules and separate renewal calendars. Omaha issues ACAD master, journeyman and apprentice licenses through Permits and Inspections. Lincoln registers mechanical masters, journeymen and apprentices through Building and Safety. Holding one does not exempt you from the other, and your state contractor registration covers neither.
You come off the public list. Any contractor whose records show expired coverage is removed from the list of registered contractors until the insurance agency sends an updated ACORD 25 certificate. Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2110 goes further: on a cancellation notice the commissioner revokes the registration as of the time of cancellation unless a new certificate arrives first. Coverage changes must be reported at least ten days ahead.
The special electrician license. Neb. Rev. Stat. section 81-2102(17) defines special electrician work to include air conditioning and refrigeration installation, and the State Electrical Division lists it on its fee schedule as Heating/AC/Refrigeration at $37.50 for each year of the two-year license period. The division tests specialty applicants in its own office on the 2023 National Electrical Code.
ACAD journeyman and master licenses run up to two years and expire on December 31st of odd years. Apprentice ACAD and sheet metal installer licenses expire December 31st every year. Omaha charges escalating late fees starting at $25.00 plus a $2.00 technology fee for 31 to 60 days late, and once you pass 730 days the city requires you to retest.
Lincoln's renewal period runs October 1st to December 31st. Do not renew by December 31st and you are no longer licensed to do the work in the city. Fail to renew within 60 days of expiration and the license is revoked and you must retake any required examination. Masters submit 8 CEU hours and journeymen submit 4 before renewal is approved.
A minimum of $500,000 each occurrence in general liability. The certificate must name the business, list the policy number rather than a binder number, carry the agent's signature, and show the City of Lincoln as an additional insured with the endorsement noted and a copy attached. HVAC contractors must also list a master's name on the certificate as an insured. No bond is required unless you work in the right-of-way.
Neb. Rev. Stat. section 48-2114 lets the Commissioner of Labor cite an unregistered contractor and assess an administrative penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for a first violation and not more than five thousand dollars for a second or subsequent violation. The same penalty applies where registration information is not substantially complete and accurate. You have fifteen working days to contest a citation.
Yes. Nebraska has no refrigerant credential of its own, so 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F applies directly. Anyone who attaches gauges, adds or removes refrigerant, or otherwise violates the integrity of a small or motor vehicle air conditioner-like appliance must be certified as Type I, Type II, Type III or Universal. The credentials do not expire. Apprentices are exempt while closely and continually supervised.
It is your Nebraska sales tax treatment for building materials and fixtures you annex. Department of Revenue regulation REG-1-017 sets Option 1, retailer with a tax-exempt inventory, Option 2, consumer with a tax-paid inventory, and Option 3, consumer with a tax-free inventory. Make no election and you default to Option 1, which means holding a Nebraska Sales Tax Permit and collecting tax from every customer.
Through Search Registered Contractors and Subcontractors on the Department of Labor site. Section 48-2117 requires the database to show whether each contractor carries workers compensation coverage, is self-insured, or is a sole proprietor with no employees. Electrical licenses are checked through the State Electrical Division portal, Omaha licenses through the city permit portal, and Lincoln publishes a downloadable list of mechanical trade professionals.
We can review the local market, your current search visibility, and paid-search fit before recommending any marketing work.