West Virginia · HVAC licensing · official-source guide
West Virginia licenses HVAC at the state level through two bodies. The Division of Labor certifies each person doing the work, and an HVAC Technician certification requires 2,000 hours of experience plus a Prov exam. The Contractor Licensing Board separately licenses the company with an HVAC classification once a project reaches $5,000 residential or $25,000 commercial.
Verified against agency sources on 2026-09-14. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
West Virginia does not run HVAC through a single board. The person holding the wrenches needs an HVAC Technician certification from the West Virginia Division of Labor. The company bidding and signing the job needs a contractor license with the HVAC classification from the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board. The Division of Labor states that since January 1, 2016 no person may perform or offer to perform heating, ventilating and cooling system work in West Virginia without a Division of Labor certification. The Contractor Licensing Board was created by the Legislature in 1991 under Chapter 21, Article 11 of the state code. House Bill 2006, effective June 15, 2021, repealed that article and moved the Board to Chapter 30, Article 42. The Board seats eight licensed West Virginia contractors and two code officials. The Division of Labor still performs the Board's administrative and enforcement duties. The Division of Labor Licensing Section reports issuing and renewing roughly 29,000 to 30,000 contractor licenses, HVAC technician certifications, manufactured housing licenses and plumber certifications each year, and its field inspectors run both routine and complaint driven inspections. The practical result for a West Virginia HVAC company is two separate applications, two separate renewal cycles and two separate public records. Holding one does not satisfy the other. The Division of Labor answers that question directly: a current contractor license carrying the HVAC classification does not let a person perform HVAC work. Each technician on the truck needs their own certification card.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1wvclboard.wv.gov 2labor.wv.gov 3labor.wv.gov 4
Three certification levels exist under Chapter 21, Article 16. An HVAC Technician has at least 2,000 hours of HVAC related work, training and experience and may install, test, maintain and repair both residential and nonresidential systems. An HVAC Residential Technician may install, test, maintain and repair residential systems, and may work on nonresidential systems subject to the Commissioner's rules. A Technician in Training cannot work alone and must be under the direct supervision of an HVAC Technician. West Virginia defines the dividing line by equipment, not by address. A residential heating, ventilating and cooling system means no more than four separate units, each with a combined capacity of five tons or 130,000 BTUs, serving a single or dual family structure, or a commercial location of no more than 5,000 square feet where no fire damper is required. Legislative Rule 42CSR34 defines a nonresidential system as one with more than four separate units and a combined capacity of more than 20 tons or 520,000 BTUs, or one used in a commercial structure over 5,000 square feet, or one where fire dampers are used or required, or one made of packaged rooftop units. That last item catches a lot of small strip center work that a residential card will not cover. The rule also defines direct supervision to include an HVAC Technician overseeing a Residential Technician on nonresidential equipment. Read the equipment schedule before you send a residential card holder to a rooftop job.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3
The Division of Labor answers this without hedging. If three HVAC technicians are on a job, each one needs an HVAC Technician certification, and their employer needs a contractor license with a classification covering the HVAC work. Five employees installing on a residential home means five certifications. A certification is issued to a person and never to an entity, so it covers only the individual named on the card. If you bid and win an HVAC project but subcontract the actual work, you personally do not need a technician certification, because the certification follows the hands doing the work. Supervision ratios are capped. A Technician or a Residential Technician may direct no more than four Technicians in Training on a residential project and no more than two on a commercial project. Article 21-16-3 lists the exemptions. A person working on a system in a single family dwelling owned by that person or an immediate family member is exempt, and the rule defines immediate family as parents, spouse, sibling or child. An employee performing the work at a manufacturing plant or other industrial establishment for the operator of that plant is exempt. A person doing only electrical or plumbing work on an HVAC system, within the scope they are otherwise licensed for, is exempt. Routine maintenance is exempt. Everything else in West Virginia needs a card, regardless of the dollar value of the job and regardless of whether the person works for a licensed contractor.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3
An HVAC Technician applicant must submit proof of at least 2,000 hours of HVAC related work, training and experience. The statute caps what the Commissioner may demand: the rule making authority in 21-16-5 says an HVAC technician may not be required to document more than 2,000 hours of total work, training and experience for licensure. The Division of Labor accepts a range of proof, including information from previous employers, pay stubs, W-2 forms, records from consumers you performed HVAC work for, or similar documents. Applicants may also certify experience by sworn affidavit during the certification process. Legislative Rule 42CSR34 adds that training and experience are not limited to one narrow definition. Veterans get a separate path. Section 21-16-11 lets a service member who completed the course of instruction qualifying them for rating as an HVAC technician's mate or an equivalent rating apply for licensure with an honorable discharge, a completed application and the prescribed fee. The rule allows that course completion to stand in place of the 2,000 hour proof. A veteran who lets more than 30 years pass between finishing that course and applying may be told to take additional training. Section 21-16-3 also directs the Commissioner to credit verified military service, training or education toward licensing requirements, including the examination, and to expedite a provisional license or a license by endorsement for applicants with verified military experience. Technician in Training applicants submit an application and fee with no experience proof and no examination.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4labor.wv.gov 5wvclboard.wv.gov 6
Prov, Inc. administers every examination West Virginia requires here. The Division of Labor names Prov as the testing agent for HVAC Technician and HVAC Residential Technician applicants, and the Contractor Licensing Board names Prov for the contractor side. The candidate bulletin published by the Division of Labor puts the WV HVAC Technician exam at 80 questions with three hours allowed, and the WV HVAC Residential Technician exam at 80 questions with three hours allowed. On the technician exam, 47 of those 80 questions sit in air distribution and venting, which tells you where to spend study time. Both exams are delivered open book. The approved references are the 2018 International Mechanical Code and Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 21st Edition, and candidates may bring older or newer versions of the same title. Spanish language versions of both HVAC exams are offered. Legislative Rule 42CSR34 sets the passing score at 70 percent and lets a failed candidate retake on payment of the examination fee. Exams cost $59.95 each. On the contractor side, every applicant takes the Contractor Licensing Act exam, which runs 90 questions over three hours and covers Chapter 30 Article 42, Title 28 Series 2, Title 28 Series 4 on written contracts, and Chapter 21 Article 11A on notice and opportunity to cure construction defects. The HVAC classification exam is 80 questions over three hours, weighted toward general knowledge, controls, and ducting and insulation. A hand score costs $25.00.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1wvclboard.wv.gov 2labor.wv.gov 3wvclboard.wv.gov 4wvclboard.wv.gov 5
The Division of Labor publishes its certification fees directly. An HVAC Technician certification costs $75.00 initial and $75.00 to renew. An HVAC Residential Technician certification costs $50.00 initial and renewal. A Technician in Training certification costs $25.00 initial and renewal. A duplicate certification is $10.00. The late fee is $25.00. Those figures are annual, because Legislative Rule 42CSR34 describes each of the three as an annual license fee. On the company side, the Contractor Licensing Board application and affidavit is submitted with a $90.00 fee. Section 30-42-8 caps what the Board may charge, stating that the board shall establish application and annual license fees not to exceed $150. Adding a classification to an existing contractor license carries no fee beyond the examination fee, so a general building contractor picking up HVAC work pays Prov and nothing more to the Board. Examinations run $59.95 each through Prov, and a hand score request is $25.00. Budget for the exams you actually need: a new HVAC company typically sits for the Contractor Licensing Act exam, the HVAC classification exam, and then a separate HVAC Technician exam for each person who will touch equipment. The Board accepts check, credit card or money order. Renewals can be paid online, by mail, or as a walk in at the Charleston office, and the Board asks that you list your license number on the check.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1wvclboard.wv.gov 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4wvclboard.wv.gov 5wvclboard.wv.gov 6
Both credentials run on a one year clock and both punish drift the same way. A contractor license expires twelve months from the date it was issued, with the expiration date printed on the license, and renewal notices go out roughly 45 days before expiration. HVAC certifications carry the expiration date on the certification card, and the Division of Labor sends a renewal form about 45 days ahead. Legislative Rule 42CSR34 requires the Commissioner to provide each licensee a renewal notice at least 45 days in advance. Miss by more than fifteen days and a $25.00 late fee attaches, on both the contractor license and every class of HVAC certification. The hard stop is ninety days. Section 30-42-13 says a license that has lapsed for ninety days or more may not be renewed, and 42CSR34 repeats the same ninety day bar for HVAC certifications. Past that point a contractor moves into the reapplication and reactivation process, and a grandfathered license expired ninety days or more may require examinations again to reactivate. For HVAC certifications the consequence is sharper: technicians and residential technicians originally licensed without examination under the grandfathering provisions become subject to every licensure requirement, including the exam, if the license lapses. Section 30-42-13 does carve out one relief valve. If a licensee is in a dispute with a state agency and is found not to be at fault, the board shall renew the license. Neither the statute nor 42CSR34 imposes continuing education as a condition of HVAC certification renewal.
Sourceswvclboard.wv.gov 1labor.wv.gov 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4code.wvlegislature.gov 5
This is the West Virginia detail that surprises contractors moving in from other states. Legislative Rule 42CSR34 defines HVAC work as heating, ventilating and air conditioning or cooling work, but states plainly that it does not include work on refrigeration lines, steam lines, or hydronics. The statutory definition of a heating, ventilating and cooling system in 21-16-2 is built from three components: a heating system transmitting heat by radiation, conduction or convection, a ventilating system supplying or removing air at more than 250 cubic feet per minute, and a cooling system removing heat from air or surrounding surfaces. The heating definition specifically excludes a fireplace or wood burning stove that is not incorporated into or used as a primary heating system. That 250 cubic feet per minute threshold matters for exhaust and makeup air scopes, because work under it falls outside the definition. Scope of practice is set by 21-16-4: a Technician in Training assists only under the direction and control of an HVAC Technician, an HVAC Technician works without supervision, and everyone licensed under Article 16 is also subject to the Contractor Licensing Act in the performance of that work. The rule adopts the International Mechanical Code and the International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings as published by the International Code Council and adopted by the West Virginia State Fire Commission in 87CSR4, incorporating them by reference in their entirety. If your work runs into commercial refrigeration or hydronic piping, confirm the scope with the Board before you bid.
Sourceswvclboard.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3
The Contractor Licensing Board is the last step, not the first. Its step by step guide lists six items to finish before the application is submitted. First, contact the Board with your scope of work so it can confirm which classifications and exams apply, at CLBoard@wv.gov. Second, schedule and pass the exams with Prov, and note that the person testing must be an officer, member, owner, or a full time employee, with payroll records as proof for a full time employee. The Board defines a full time employee as someone working a minimum of 30 hours per week under the contractor's control and supervision. Third, obtain a Business Registration Tax Number from the West Virginia State Tax Department. Fourth, register with the Secretary of State if your entity type requires it. Fifth, provide proof of workers compensation and unemployment coverage for employees working in West Virginia, plus general liability insurance, with out of state entities submitting proof from their home state. Sixth, submit a wage bond status affidavit, which the Board requires from all applicants regardless of status and without which the application cannot be processed. The Division of Labor requires construction employers to post a wage bond unless they qualify for an exemption, and one route to exemption on the application is showing $100,000.00 or more in available assets, supported by evidence. Once a complete application reaches the Board, it is processed and the license issued and mailed within twenty four hours.
Sourceswvclboard.wv.gov 1wvclboard.wv.gov 2labor.wv.gov 3wvclboard.wv.gov 4
West Virginia writes the advertising rule into the statute itself. Section 30-42-6 requires that the contractor's license number be included in all contracting advertisements and all fully executed and binding contracts. The same subsection requires the licensee to keep the license, or a copy, posted in a conspicuous position at every construction site where the contractor is working. Violating that subsection exposes you, after hearing, to a warning, a reprimand, or a fine of not more than $200. Treat advertisements broadly. Your website, your service vehicle lettering, your yard signs, your printed flyers and your paid search copy are all places a West Virginia consumer or a Division of Labor inspector will look for the WV number. On the technician side the display duty is personal rather than promotional: 21-16-3 requires a person licensed under Article 16 to carry a copy of the license on any job where heating, ventilating and cooling work is being performed, and 42CSR34 repeats that a licensee shall carry proof of a valid license at all times when performing HVAC work in this state. A license issued under the rule is not transferable, so an apprentice cannot borrow a card. Bids carry their own requirement. Section 30-42-12 directs architects and engineers preparing plans and specifications to tell prospective bidders that a contractor license number must appear on any bid submission, and a subcontractor must furnish its number to the contractor before the contract is awarded.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4
Section 30-42-10 puts the license check at the permit counter. Anyone applying to a building inspector or other permitting authority of an incorporated municipality or political subdivision must either furnish satisfactory proof of a current license under Article 42 or file a written affidavit that they are not subject to licensure. The section then removes the discretion: the inspector or authority may not issue a building permit to any person who does not possess a valid contractor license when required. For an HVAC company this means the permit clerk in whichever West Virginia municipality you are working in will ask for the WV license number before a mechanical permit moves. The same section sets a written contract threshold. No licensee may perform contracting work with an aggregate value of $10,000 or more, including materials and labor, without a written contract setting out a description and the cost of the work, signed by the licensee and by the customer. The Board is required to file a procedural rule establishing a standard contract form meeting those minimums, post it on its website, and help licensees complete it correctly. Title 28 Procedural Rule Series 4 covers written contracts for services, and a Construction Contract form sits in the Board's forms library. Because the licensing threshold is based on the entire construction project rather than your slice, the Board warns that a subcontractor paid under $5,000 on a $200,000 residential job still needs a license.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1wvclboard.wv.gov 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3
The two tracks carry separate penalties and both start with a cease and desist order. On the technician side, 21-16-8 says a person performing or offering to perform HVAC work without a Division of Labor license, or an employer authorizing a non exempt person to perform it, is subject to a cease and desist order. Continue after that order and the fines are not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 for a first offense, not less than $500 nor more than $2,000 for a second, and not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 for a third or later offense. Each day of continued work after official notice is a separate offense. The Commissioner of Labor may also seek an injunction in Kanawha County circuit court or in the county where the violation occurred. On the contractor side, 30-42-14 has the Board issue a cease and desist order on finding unlicensed contracting, and the order is withdrawn once a license issues. After an opportunity for hearing the Board may impose a penalty of not less than $200 nor more than $1,000, and may accept payment instead of a hearing. Continuing after service of the order is a misdemeanor: a first offense draws a fine of $200 to $1,000, a second draws $500 to $5,000 or up to six months in jail or both, and a third or later offense draws $1,000 to $5,000 and confinement. Appeals run to circuit court within 30 days.
Two statutes close the local licensing layer, which is unusual and worth knowing before you expand across county lines. Section 30-42-20 states that after the effective date of the article no municipality, local government or county may require any additional occupational license or other evidence of competence as a contractor from anyone holding a valid and current license issued under the article, as a condition of performing contractor work in that jurisdiction. Section 21-16-9 does the same thing for technicians: on and after January 1, 2016 a political subdivision may not require a person holding a valid current Article 16 license to have any other license or evidence of competence beyond what the Commissioner of Labor requires. So a company running trucks in Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling works off one state contractor license and one set of state technician certifications. What local government keeps is the permit and inspection function. Section 30-42-10 still routes you through the municipal building inspector for permits, and that office checks your state license before issuing. Local business and occupation tax registration is also separate from occupational licensing and is not displaced by these sections. The code enforced on your mechanical work is likewise statewide in origin: 42CSR34 incorporates the International Mechanical Code and the International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings as adopted by the West Virginia State Fire Commission in 87CSR4. Verify permit procedures with each city, but do not pay for a second HVAC license.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3wvclboard.wv.gov 4
The Contractor Licensing Board publishes named agreements rather than a general rule. For the HVAC classification it lists three: Alabama effective May 1, 2018, Ohio effective May 10, 2018 including Ohio's business and law exam, and Tennessee effective December 17, 2020. Each of those three carries the same footnote, that workers must still be properly licensed by the West Virginia Division of Labor. Reciprocity moves the company license, not the technician card. The Board keeps reciprocity application forms for Alabama, Ohio and Tennessee in its forms library. Beyond the named agreements, the Board accepts National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies exam scores, and will review scores from accredited national testing organizations such as ICC, Prov and PSI. The Board also implemented a policy of reviewing other states' exam score reports, including business and law exams, for a current full time employee or a member of responsible management, with a written decision returned by email. Exam scores do not expire, but the Board limits each score to three uses: once as a full time employee and up to twice more for people in responsible management. Section 30-42-18 is the statutory basis, allowing the Board to grant licenses of the same or equivalent classification without written examination on satisfactory proof of equal qualifications. On the technician side, 42CSR34 section 15 lets the Commissioner grant a license of the same classification without examination where another state's requirements are equivalent, and also allows licensure based on work experience gained in a state that does not license HVAC work.
Sourceswvclboard.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3
West Virginia runs two public lookups and both are worth pointing customers to. The Division of Labor hosts a certified HVAC technician search where anyone can search by certification number, technician name, city, or any of the state's 55 counties plus an out of state option. The Contractor Licensing Board runs a separate contractor search that the Board says is updated in real time with its licensure database, searchable by license number beginning with WV, or by classification, company name, doing business as name, city or county, returning the license number, company, address, county, phone, classification and expiration date. Two lookups means a homeowner can confirm the company is licensed for HVAC and that the technician arriving at the door holds a current card. Put both links on your site and your estimates. Separate from anything West Virginia requires, federal law applies on top. EPA regulations at 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F, under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, require technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release ozone depleting refrigerants to be certified. EPA recognizes Type I for small appliances, Type II for high pressure, Type III for low pressure, and a Core section, and EPA notes that it does not issue certification cards itself. Certification comes from an EPA approved certifying organization. A West Virginia HVAC Technician certification does not substitute for Section 608, and Section 608 does not substitute for the state card.
These are common details other guides publish about West Virginia, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. The Division of Labor states that since January 1, 2016 each person performing HVAC work must hold an HVAC Technician certification, even if the company holds a contractor license with a classification covering HVAC work. If three technicians are on a job, all three need certifications and the employer needs the contractor license.
Section 30-42-3 defines contractor by project cost: $5,000 or more for residential work, or $25,000 or more for commercial work, counting materials and labor for the entire project. The Board confirms the threshold is based on the whole project, not on your individual subcontract amount.
Section 21-16-2 defines a residential system as no more than four separate units, each with a combined capacity of five tons or 130,000 BTUs, serving a single or dual family structure or a commercial space of no more than 5,000 square feet with no fire damper required. Rule 42CSR34 treats packaged rooftop units as nonresidential.
Legislative Rule 42CSR34 defines HVAC work as heating, ventilating and air conditioning or cooling work and states it does not include work on refrigeration lines, steam lines, or hydronics. Confirm scope with the Division of Labor and the Contractor Licensing Board before bidding that work.
The Division of Labor sets the ratio at no more than four Technicians in Training under one Technician or Residential Technician on a residential project, and no more than two on a commercial project. A Technician in Training cannot perform HVAC work alone under 21-16-4.
The Division of Labor candidate bulletin lists the WV HVAC Technician exam at 80 questions with three hours allowed, delivered open book. Forty seven of the 80 questions cover air distribution and venting. Approved references are the 2018 International Mechanical Code and Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 21st Edition. Passing is 70 percent under 42CSR34.
A renewal more than fifteen days late adds a $25.00 late fee. After ninety days neither a contractor license nor an HVAC certification can be renewed. Section 30-42-13 bars renewal of a license lapsed ninety days or more, and 42CSR34 sets the same ninety day bar for HVAC certifications.
Section 30-42-6 requires the contractor license number in all contracting advertisements and in all fully executed and binding contracts, and requires the license posted conspicuously at every construction site. Violating that subsection can bring a warning, a reprimand, or a fine of not more than $200 after hearing.
No. Section 30-42-20 bars any municipality, local government or county from requiring an additional occupational license from a contractor holding a current state license, and 21-16-9 does the same for technicians. Cities still issue building and mechanical permits and check your state license first.
Section 30-42-10 says the applicant must furnish satisfactory proof of a current contractor license or file a written affidavit that they are not subject to licensure, and states the inspector may not issue a building permit to anyone lacking a valid license when one is required.
The Contractor Licensing Board lists HVAC classification agreements with Alabama effective May 1, 2018, Ohio effective May 10, 2018 including its business and law exam, and Tennessee effective December 17, 2020. All three note that workers must still be properly licensed by the West Virginia Division of Labor.
No. Section 608 of the Clean Air Act and 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F require technicians who service equipment that could release ozone depleting refrigerants to be certified through an EPA approved organization, in Type I, Type II, Type III or Universal. EPA does not issue the cards. It sits on top of the state certification.
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