Utah · HVAC licensing · official-source guide
Yes. Utah licenses HVAC work at the state level through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, which issues the H100 HVAC Contractor classification under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act. The license goes to the business entity, and its qualifier must pass two exams, hold a Certified Natural Gas Technician certificate, and document HVAC work experience.
State-level license
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-14. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
The Utah Division of Professional Licensing, known as DOPL, sits inside the Utah Department of Commerce and issues every contractor license in the state. DOPL runs from the Heber M. Wells Building at 160 East 300 South in Salt Lake City, with a mailing address at P.O. Box 146741, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6741. The division answers contractor questions at (801) 530-6628 and toll free inside Utah at (866) 275-3675. The Construction Services Commission sits alongside the division and adopts the rules that define what each classification may do. HVAC licensing in Utah is a state function, not a county or city function. Utah Code 58-55-301 spells this out twice over. Subsection (1)(b) says the DOPL license plus the business license issued by the jurisdiction holding your principal place of business are the only licenses you need to work the trade anywhere in Utah. Subsection (1)(c) then bars the state and any political subdivision from demanding additional business licenses, registrations, certifications, contributions or donations as a condition of qualifying you to do business locally. That is why one DOPL number covers a furnace change out in Ogden and a rooftop unit in St. George. The license is issued to the business entity rather than to a person, so a corporation, LLC or partnership holds it and names an individual qualifier who carries the technical credentials. Sole proprietors are licensed in their own legal name. Nothing about the DOPL license removes the need for building permits from the local building department, which stay local on every job.
Utah Code 58-55-301(2) lists HVAC contractor as one of the statutory license classifications the division must issue, sitting in the same list as general building contractor, general electrical contractor and general plumbing contractor. DOPL's application form codes it H100 and groups it with the general classifications rather than the specialty trade classifications. That matters, because Utah's specialty trade list is where most narrow trades live. On DOPL's current contractor application the specialty list runs B200 modular unit installation, R101 residential and small commercial non-structural remodel, R200 factory built housing, S202 solar photovoltaic, S220 carpentry and flooring, S230 masonry and siding, S260 asphalt and concrete, S270 drywall and paint, S280 roofing, S310 foundation and excavation, S330 landscape and recreation, S354 radon mitigation, S370 fire suppression systems, S410 boiler, pipeline, wastewater and water conditioner, S440 sign installation, S510 elevator and S700 limited scope. HVAC is not on that list. It stands on its own as H100. An applicant may hold more than one classification, but Utah requires a separate application and a separate fee for each classification or subclassification under 58-55-301(3). Applicants may select up to three specialty trade classifications on a single application form. Section 58-55-301(4) lets the commission further define the scope of work by rule for the HVAC contractor classification specifically, which is the hook the division used for the 2026 changes. Section 58-55-501(2) makes it unlawful conduct to act beyond the scope of the license you hold, so an H100 that starts running new gas piping or panel work outside its defined scope is exposed.
DOPL posted new H100 requirements on its contracting page under a rule effective March 30, 2026, with the new requirements starting April 20, 2026. The announcement applies to every H100 application submitted online or postmarked on or after that date. Four things are named. The qualifier must hold RMGA or equivalent certification. The applicant must pass both the Utah Business and Law Exam and the HVAC H100 exam through Prov. The applicant must show two years of HVAC-specific experience verified by W-2 forms, and if a payroll agency or professional employer organization is used, supporting documentation has to come with it. Insurance minimums move to $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, and that insurance change applies to all contractors, not only HVAC. DOPL also said new application forms would be available April 20, 2026, and that a fingerprint-based background check requirement takes effect January 1, 2027. If you are planning an H100 application, the fingerprint date is the one to calendar, because it adds processing time that did not exist before. The division directs H100 questions to its contractor email address listed on the same announcement. Anyone who already holds an H100 is not re-applying, but the insurance floor and the January 2027 background check are division-wide changes that reach existing licensees at renewal. Read the announcement text on the contracting page before you build an application packet, because DOPL states plainly that applicants who miss these items should expect processing delays.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov
Utah treats gas appliance and combustion work as a separate competency from HVAC contracting generally. Utah Code 58-55-308(2) covers the installation, repair, maintenance, cleaning or replacement of a residential or commercial gas appliance or combustion system. It applies both to licensees whose license authorizes that work and to people who are exempt from licensure under 58-55-305. Anyone in either group must first receive training and certification specified in commission rule, and must make sure that any employee authorized to do that work has received the same training and certification first. The division may exempt someone with adequate experience. Section 58-55-308(3) allows an exemption for a person who has passed a test equivalent to the division's certification level, or who completed a federally approved apprenticeship program teaching gas line appliance installation, and for a person working under immediate one-to-one supervision of a certified natural gas technician. DOPL's contractor application turns this into a checkbox on the H100 page: the qualifier must be a Certified Natural Gas Technician, and the applicant provides the RMGA certificate from the Rocky Mountain Gas Association or an equivalent certificate. The April 2026 announcement repeats it as RMGA or equivalent. Practically, this means an HVAC company in Utah cannot staff a furnace crew with people who hold only a refrigerant card. The gas side carries its own credential, and 58-55-503 lists a violation of 58-55-308(2) as a qualifying violation that supports a citation and immediate license suspension.
Sourcesle.utah.gov 1le.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
DOPL's current contractor application asks H100 applicants to provide W-2 forms, K-1 forms or tax returns showing qualified HVAC employment totaling 4,000 hours within the past five years. The form offers one alternative: instead of the hours, the qualifier may supply an active Utah journeyman plumber, master plumber, residential journeyman plumber or residential master plumber license number. The April 2026 announcement on DOPL's contracting page words the same requirement as two years of HVAC-specific experience verified by W-2 forms, and adds that documentation is required when a payroll agency or professional employer organization issued the W-2s. Either way, the point is the same. Utah wants paper from a payroll system, not a signed statement about years in the trade. That is a real departure from how Utah handles its other general classifications. For B100, E100 and R100, DOPL's own FAQ says the applicant self-certifies two years or 4,000 hours of paid construction work, and that experience counts whether it was paid as a W-2 or as an owner, whether licensed or exempt, including construction work performed in the military and work under a construction trades instructor in an educational program. Specialty contractor classifications require no experience at all. HVAC is the classification where Utah asks for proof. Start pulling old W-2s before you start the application, because reconstructing five years of payroll records from former employers is the step that stalls H100 packets.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
Utah makes you sit through a class before it will look at your application. DOPL requires a pre-licensure course from one of three approved providers: Associated Builders and Contractors Inc, the Utah Home Builders Association, or Associated General Contractors of Utah. Specialty contractors take a 25-hour pre-licensure course. General contractors in the B100, R100 and E100 classifications, plus plumbing and electrical contractors, take a 30-hour course, though anyone who took the pre-licensure course before October 1, 2019 does not need the extra five hours. DOPL's contractor application handles H100 by stacking the pieces: it lists H100 among the classifications that must also complete the 5-hour Business and Law Course on top of the 25-hour pre-licensure course. The certificate of completion goes into the application packet. There is no way to test out of the course, and DOPL does not accept an out-of-state equivalent in place of it. Build the calendar around this. The course is a fixed block of classroom or virtual hours that has to happen before the packet is complete, and provider schedules do not bend to your application timing. Contractors who are adding H100 to an existing Utah license through the add-classification form are in a different position than first-time applicants, so read the add-a-qualifier and add-classification form rather than assuming the full new-license checklist applies. DOPL publishes the approved provider list on its specialty contractor page.
The H100 license requires two passing exams. The first is the Utah Contractor Business and Law exam, which DOPL requires for B100, E100, H100, R100, E200, E201, P200 and P201. The second is the Utah HVAC written trade exam. DOPL names Prov as the division's contractor exam administrator, and states that no pre-approval is required to sit for either examination. You can take the exam in person at one of 21 Prov testing centers or online through Examroom AI. The retake rules are strict and worth planning around. DOPL allows three attempts, spaced 30 days apart, with each subsequent retake 180 days apart. Fail twice and you have lost roughly a year before the next attempt. The division publishes an HVAC H100 Examination Handbook and tells candidates to pay particular attention to the approved reference list and the identification requirements, since showing up with the wrong reference book or wrong ID is a wasted seat. Candidates who need ADA accommodations submit the ADA Accommodations Application directly to Prov and should not schedule the exam until the accommodation is confirmed. Exam fees go to the exam provider rather than to DOPL, and the application packet includes a copy of your results. DOPL's FAQ adds a useful exception for existing licensees: no retest is required for an entity change or a reinstatement when the qualifier has already been approved in the same classification.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
DOPL publishes a single fee schedule covering every profession it licenses, and the contractor block is short. A primary classification costs $175 to apply and $128 to renew. HVAC contractor is listed on its own line at the same $175 application and $128 renewal. General electrical, general plumbing, residential electrical and residential plumbing contractors carry identical figures. A handyman exemption registration is $45 to apply and $45 to renew. Replacing or changing a qualifier costs $50. A corporation conversion fee is $35. An ownership list or ownership change costs $20, and an ownership status report is $20. Continuing education course approval, which matters to training providers rather than contractors, is $40. DOPL's contractor application adds one more: an unincorporated applicant entity with one or more owners owning less than 8 percent submits an additional $20 registration fee for each such owner, along with Appendix F from the additional forms page. Exam fees are separate and are paid directly to Prov, not to DOPL. Pre-licensure course tuition is paid to the approved provider. DOPL's FAQ states flatly that licensing fees submitted with an application are processing fees and are not refundable if you withdraw. Since 58-55-301(3) requires a separate application and fee for each classification, a company that wants H100 plus a specialty classification is paying twice. DOPL also warns that application and fee amounts change periodically and tells applicants to pull the current form from its website each time.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3le.utah.gov 4
Utah requires a general liability insurance certificate with minimum coverage of $1,000,000 for each incident and $2,000,000 in total, and DOPL must be listed as the certificate holder. The April 2026 announcement restates this as $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate and applies it to all contractors. The certificate holder line has to read DOPL, 160 E 300 S, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111, and at renewal DOPL wants a PDF certificate of insurance from your carrier with that exact certificate holder. Workers compensation depends on how you are staffed. If you have employees, or owner-workers owning less than 8 percent, you must supply a certificate of workers compensation insurance with DOPL as certificate holder, plus registration numbers proving registration with the Utah Department of Workforce Services and the Utah State Tax Commission. If you have no employees, you obtain a Workers Compensation Coverage Waiver from the Utah Labor Commission instead. New applicants also need a Utah state withholding tax registration and an unemployment registration when they have employees. Every entity applicant registers with the Utah Division of Corporations and holds a federal EIN, and a sole proprietor may use a Social Security number. DOPL's FAQ is blunt about carrying coverage during slow periods: Utah law requires every active contractor license to maintain general liability insurance and financial responsibility, and only an inactive license is exempt. If your corporate registration lapses, the statute automatically expires the contractor license.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
Utah contractor licenses expire on November 30 of odd-numbered years, so every active and inactive license renews on a two-year cycle tied to the same statewide date. DOPL emails renewal notices to the address on file at least 60 days before expiration and tells licensees the responsibility for keeping that address current is theirs. Renewal costs $128 for the HVAC contractor classification. Renewal runs through MyLicenseOne and requires a UtahID account, and DOPL warns that contractor renewals cannot be completed on a mobile device. Continuing education is 6 hours per licensing period. Three of those hours must be core education, and the remaining three may be core or professional. A maximum of 3 hours may be completed online. The renew page words the live requirement from the other direction, saying three of the six hours must be taught live, and notes that a live webinar counts. Each course applies to all of your contracting licenses at once, so a company holding H100 plus a specialty classification does not double up. DOPL does not enter hours manually. Providers submit them, so if hours are missing you contact the education provider with all of your license numbers. Renewal also requires a current business entity registration with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, an active liability insurance certificate naming DOPL, and workers compensation documentation where it applies. Section 58-55-501(20) makes failing to complete approved continuing education unlawful conduct.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4le.utah.gov 5
DOPL answers the reciprocity question in one word. No. Utah does not have reciprocity with other states. What Utah offers instead is licensure by endorsement, and the terms are narrower than most contractors expect. You must currently hold a contractor license in a state, district or territory of the United States that DOPL has determined is equivalent to the Utah classification you want. You must have a minimum of one year of experience under that license. The license has to be currently active and in good standing. The ownership test is where endorsement applications usually die: at least 50 percent of the ownership proposed for the Utah license must be the same as the ownership of the license used for endorsement, and no more than 50 percent of the ownership may have changed within the last year. Endorsement applicants submit official verification of the out-of-state license that includes ownership information. DOPL publishes a Contractor Endorsement to Utah map showing which states it has evaluated as equivalent, along with an endorsement information sheet. Separately from endorsement, one year of licensed experience in another state, district or territory in a scope of practice similar to the Utah classification sought can satisfy the exam requirement for a general classification. Applicants with foreign education are routed through DOPL's internationally trained applicant information page. Military members and military spouses should read DOPL's military resources page before applying, since that path has its own rules.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
Utah Code 58-55-501 lists unlawful conduct, and the list reaches past the obvious. Working without a license is item one. Acting beyond the scope of your license is item two. Hiring an unlicensed person to work on a project is item three. Applying for or obtaining a building permit while unlicensed is item four, and failing to obtain a permit when required is item seven. Submitting a bid for work requiring a license while unlicensed is item eight. Letting someone else use your license is item ten, and doing business under a name other than the name on the license is item eleven. Section 58-55-503(2) makes most of these a class A misdemeanor, including failure to comply with a final citation. A person who bids while unlicensed may not be awarded and may not accept the contract. Fines follow a ladder: up to $1,000 for a first offense handled by citation, up to $2,000 for a second, and up to $2,000 for each day of continued offense after that. Violations tied to 58-55-501(16)(e) or (28) double that ladder to $2,000, $4,000, and $4,000 per day. A citation must be contested in writing within 20 calendar days or it becomes the division's final order. The division may refuse to issue or renew, suspend, revoke or place on probation the license of anyone who ignores a final citation. DOPL's own FAQ notes that loaning and borrowing a license are both class A misdemeanors.
Utah exempts small jobs from contractor licensure under 58-55-305(1)(h). A person doing alteration, repair, remodeling, addition or improvement work on a building with a contracted or agreed value of less than $7,000, counting both labor and materials and including every change order, does not need a contractor license for that work. Anyone relying on that exemption whose project value exceeds $3,000 must file a one-time affirmation with the division, subject to periodic reaffirmation by rule, stating that they carry public liability insurance in the amounts and form set by division rule and workers compensation insurance where applicable. DOPL charges $45 for a handyman exemption registration and $45 to renew it. Here is the part HVAC contractors need to know. The statute carves specific trades back out of that exemption. Subsection (1)(h)(ii)(F) says installation, repair or replacement of a heating, ventilation or air conditioning system on one of those small projects must be performed by an HVAC contractor licensed by the division. There is no dollar floor under it. Subsection (1)(h)(ii)(B) applies the same treatment to residential and commercial gas appliances and combustion systems, requiring certification under 58-55-308(2). Electrical and plumbing systems, water-based fire protection, alarm systems and radon mitigation get the same carve-out treatment. So a $600 furnace repair in Utah still requires a licensed H100 contractor, and a handyman registration does not cover it. That is a competitive fact worth stating plainly in your marketing.
Two Utah rules shape what you can put on a truck, a website or an estimate. First, 58-55-501(11) makes it unlawful conduct to do business under a name other than the name appearing on the license, except as permitted by statute or rule. DOPL's FAQ explains how to stay inside that: business must be conducted in the name on the license, and any other name requires a DBA. A DBA is not automatically attached to your license just because it is registered with the Division of Corporations. It has to be submitted to DOPL, either with the application or later through the Contractor Name Change or Add a DBA form on the additional forms page, it has to be owned by the licensee, and it has to be active with the Division of Corporations. Once a DBA expires it cannot be used. Second, 58-55-501(10) makes allowing your license to be used by another unlawful, and DOPL's FAQ says the only legal way to work under someone else's license is as an officer or a W-2 employee of the licensed contractor. Paying an unlicensed worker on a 1099 exposes both sides. Qualifier changes carry their own deadline: when a qualifier leaves, both the qualifier and the licensee must notify DOPL in writing within 10 days of the last day of employment, and the licensee then has 60 days to replace the qualifier or the license can be revoked. The license stays with the company.
Utah runs a public license lookup at the Licensee Lookup and Verification System, operated for DOPL at secure.utah.gov. Anyone can search by name and profession or by license number, with the option of a search that begins with the name or a wildcard search that contains it. The profession dropdown includes the contractor categories, and the page states the date the data was last refreshed. Homeowners in Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden and St. George all use the same tool, because there is no separate municipal HVAC registry to check. DOPL also publishes a disciplinary actions and citations search, so a citation that became final is visible alongside the license. Assume your prospects look. The practical move is to make verification easy rather than leave it to a search. Put the DOPL license number where a homeowner can find it without asking, use the exact entity name that appears on the license so a lookup returns a match on the first try, and if you operate under a DBA, make sure that DBA has been filed with DOPL and is active with the Division of Corporations so the two names line up. A prospect who searches your marketing name and gets no result has learned the wrong thing about you. DOPL also offers an optional Residential Construction Agreement, with an exhibit specifically for proof of license and insurance, which is a clean way to hand over both at signing.
Sourcessecure.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
The H100 license is a Utah credential. Refrigerant handling is federal, and it applies whether or not your state license is current. EPA regulations at 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F, issued under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, require that technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release ozone depleting refrigerants be certified. EPA publishes four certification types built around the test topics it lists: Core, Type I for small appliances, Type II for high-pressure systems, and Type III for low-pressure systems. EPA does not issue the certification cards itself. Approved certifying organizations run the programs and issue the cards, and EPA publishes both the list of technician certification programs and the steps for replacing a lost card through a certifying organization. This is a per-technician credential, not a company credential, which makes it different from the H100 license that DOPL issues to your entity. Utah's own gas side works the same way: the Certified Natural Gas Technician requirement under 58-55-308(2) reaches employees, not just the qualifier. So a Utah HVAC company running three trucks is tracking three separate stacks of paper: one DOPL entity license, individual Section 608 cards for the technicians touching refrigerant, and individual gas technician certification for anyone touching a gas appliance or combustion system. Build a renewal tracker for all three. Losing a technician's card does not suspend your DOPL license, but it does stop that technician from legally doing the work you sold.
Sourcesepa.gov 1le.utah.gov 2
These are common details other guides publish about Utah, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Utah Division of Professional Licensing issues the H100 HVAC Contractor license, and Utah Code 58-55-301(2) lists HVAC contractor as a statutory classification. Utah Code 58-55-301(1)(b) and (1)(c) make the DOPL license plus your local business license the only licenses required, and bar cities from adding their own contractor registration on top.
DOPL's fee schedule lists HVAC Contractor at $175 to apply and $128 to renew. A handyman exemption registration is $45. Replacing a qualifier is $50, an ownership change is $20, and an unincorporated entity pays an extra $20 for each owner holding less than 8 percent. Exam fees and pre-licensure tuition are paid to the providers, not to DOPL.
Two. The Utah Contractor Business and Law exam and the Utah HVAC written trade exam, both administered by Prov. No pre-approval is needed to sit for either one. You get three attempts, spaced 30 days apart, with each later retake 180 days after that. DOPL publishes an HVAC H100 Examination Handbook with the approved reference list.
Required. DOPL's contractor application says the H100 qualifier must be a Certified Natural Gas Technician and must provide an RMGA certificate from the Rocky Mountain Gas Association or an equivalent. The April 2026 announcement repeats it. Utah Code 58-55-308(2) is the statutory basis, and it reaches employees doing gas appliance or combustion work, not only the qualifier.
DOPL's application asks for W-2s, K-1s or tax returns showing 4,000 hours of qualified HVAC employment within the past five years. The April 2026 announcement words it as two years of HVAC-specific experience verified by W-2 forms. An active Utah journeyman plumber, master plumber, residential journeyman plumber or residential master plumber license can substitute for the hours.
No. Utah's small-job exemption under 58-55-305(1)(h) stops at HVAC. Subsection (1)(h)(ii)(F) requires that installation, repair or replacement of a heating, ventilation or air conditioning system on an otherwise exempt project be performed by an HVAC contractor licensed by the division. There is no dollar floor beneath that carve-out.
Contractor licenses expire on November 30 of odd-numbered years, so every licensee in the state renews on the same date. DOPL emails a renewal notice to the address on file at least 60 days out. Renewal runs through MyLicenseOne with a UtahID, and DOPL warns that contractor renewals cannot be completed on a mobile device.
Six hours per licensing period. Three must be core education and three may be core or professional. A maximum of three hours may be completed online, and DOPL's renewal page notes that three hours must be taught live, with a live webinar counting. Courses apply to all of your contracting licenses at once, and providers submit the hours, not you.
Not through reciprocity. DOPL states that Utah has no reciprocity. It offers licensure by endorsement if your current license is in a jurisdiction DOPL considers equivalent and you have at least one year of experience under it. At least 50 percent of the proposed Utah ownership must match the out-of-state license ownership, with no more than 50 percent ownership change in the last year.
General liability with minimum coverage of $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 in total, listing DOPL as certificate holder at 160 E 300 S, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111. Workers compensation is required if you have employees or owner-workers holding under 8 percent. With no employees, you file a Workers Compensation Coverage Waiver from the Utah Labor Commission.
Utah Code 58-55-503 makes most violations of 58-55-501 a class A misdemeanor. Fines by citation run up to $1,000 for a first offense, up to $2,000 for a second, and up to $2,000 for each day of continued offense after that. A citation has to be contested in writing within 20 calendar days or it becomes the division's final order.
Only through a DBA that DOPL has on file. Utah Code 58-55-501(11) makes doing business under a name other than the name on the license unlawful conduct. DOPL's FAQ says the DBA must be submitted to the division, owned by the licensee, and active with the Utah Division of Corporations. An expired DBA cannot be used.
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