Texas HVAC and Electrician License Cost
Every dollar figure on this page is a TDLR fee, published on TDLR's own application or renewal page for the specific license, or a dated CE-course market price pulled from a TDLR-listed provider's public course page. TDLR's own fees are the same no matter which CE provider or trade school you use to log your hours; a provider's course price is separate and varies. Neither trade has a state exam fee bundled into the application fee that TDLR breaks out separately on the pages this site has verified, so the figures below are the full TDLR-side cost picture.
How Much Does a Texas HVAC Contractor License Cost to Get?
A new ACR Contractor license costs a $115 non-refundable application fee, the same for Class A and Class B, plus whatever your liability insurance and any CE or training program you use to log hours costs separately.
TDLR's own exam-information page confirms the separate PSI testing fee: $74 per attempt for the Class A exam and $60 per attempt for the Class B exam, on top of the $115 application fee. Upgrading from Class B to Class A later costs a $25 change fee plus passing the additional Class A exam at that same $74 fee, not a second full application fee.
How Much Does a Texas HVAC Contractor License Cost to Renew?
Renewal is $65 per year for both Class A and Class B, and the two technician-tier credentials renew separately and more cheaply: $20 a year for ACR Registered Technician and $35 a year for ACR Certified Technician.
None of these renewal fees include the cost of the CE hours a Contractor license needs before that renewal; that is a separate payment to whichever TDLR-approved provider you choose, covered further down this page and on approved providers.
How Much Does a Texas Electrician License Cost to Get?
A new Journeyman Electrician license costs $30 to apply; Master Electrician costs $45; Residential Wireman and Apprentice Electrician each cost $20; Residential Appliance Installer costs $30, per TDLR's own fee tables.
These are TDLR's stated application fees per individual license type per TDLR's electrician apply pages. A business-entity Electrical Contractor license, which a person typically holds in addition to an individual Master or Journeyman license, costs the same $110 to apply for as it does to renew, per TDLR's own Electrical Contractor application page.
How Much Does a Texas Electrician License Cost to Renew?
Master Electrician renews at $45 a year, Journeyman Electrician at $30 a year, Residential Wireman at $20 a year, Apprentice Electrician at $20 a year, and the Electrical Contractor business license at $110 a year.
Every individual license type above these renewal fees, except the CE-exempt Residential Appliance Installer and the three business-entity contractor licenses, also needs 4 CE hours completed before that renewal payment counts toward keeping the license active.
How Much Does TDLR-Approved Continuing Education Cost?
Electrician CE pricing observed on the TDLR-approved market runs roughly $12 to $24 per 4-hour course; HVAC/ACR CE pricing observed across three TDLR-listed providers ran roughly $22.95 to $35.99 for the full 8-hour package.
This site does not sell CE courses itself and both price ranges are market data points pulled from providers' own public course pages, not TDLR-published fees and not a quote from this site's two named affiliate partners, RocketCert and At Your Pace Online (TradesmanCE), whose exact per-course pricing was not publicly confirmed at the time this page was last checked. TDLR's own ACR continuing-education page (tdlr.texas.gov/acr/acrce.htm), checked directly 2026-09-19, confirms course reporting and content are the CE provider's own responsibility, not a TDLR-set item, and lists no course price; CE course pricing is a market rate providers set themselves, not a TDLR fee, so the $22.95-$35.99 HVAC/ACR CE range remains corroboration only (onlinetexasce.com, allamericance.com, 1stchoice-ce.com), not a regulator-published figure. Always confirm the current price directly on the provider's own course page before enrolling; see approved providers for the roster this site has checked against TDLR's list.
What Late Fees Apply If I Miss a Renewal Deadline?
HVAC/ACR Contractors pay $97.50 within 90 days or $130 from 91 days to 18 months; Master Electricians pay $67.50 or $90 on the same two windows, and Journeyman Electricians pay $45 or $60.
Past these windows, both trades add further conditions: HVAC contractors need Executive Director approval between 18 months and 3 years expired, and Master Electricians need the same approval between 18 and 36 months, after which TDLR requires a brand-new application rather than any late renewal at all.
Return to Texas HVAC License and Electrician License: Requirements, Cost, and CE for the full overview of both trades.
Sources
| Fact | Value | Authority | URL | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACR Contractor application fee | $115, non-refundable (Class A and B) | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-apply.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Contractor renewal fee | $65/year | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-renew.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Registered/Certified Technician renewal fee | $20/year; $35/year | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/technician-renew.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Contractor Class B to A upgrade fee | $25 change fee plus exam | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-renew.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Contractor late fee, 90 days or less | $97.50 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-renew.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| ACR Contractor late fee, 91 days to 18 months | $130 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/contractor-renew.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Journeyman Electrician application / renewal fee | $30 / $30 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/individuals/journeyman-electrician.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Master Electrician application / renewal fee | $45 / $45 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/renew/individuals/master-electrician.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Master Electrician late fee, 90 days or less / 91 days to 18 months | $67.50 / $90 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/renew/individuals/master-electrician.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Journeyman Electrician late fee, 90 days or less / 91 days to 18 months | $45 / $60 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/renew/individuals/journeyman-electrician.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Residential Wireman / Apprentice Electrician fee | $20 / $20 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/individuals/wireman.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Electrical Contractor (business) renewal fee | $110/year | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/elecce.htm | 2026-06-27 |
| Fee-setting authority (no per-tier rationale specified) | Occ. Code Sec. 1305.103: commission sets "reasonable and necessary fees" to cover administration costs | Texas Occupations Code | https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/OC/htm/OC.1305.htm | 2026-09-19 |
| Electrician CE market price observed | Approximately $12-$24 per 4-hour course | electricallicenserenewal.com (TDLR-listed provider) | https://www.electricallicenserenewal.com/Electrical-Continuing-Education-Courses.php?state=TX&trade=Electrical | 2026-07-05 |
| ACR Contractor PSI exam fee | $74 (Class A) / $60 (Class B), per attempt | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/acrexam.htm | 2026-09-14 |
| Electrical Contractor (business) application fee | $110, non-refundable | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/apply/businesses/contractor-elec.htm | 2026-09-14 |
| HVAC/ACR CE market price observed (8-hour course) | Approximately $22.95-$35.99 | onlinetexasce.com, allamericance.com, 1stchoice-ce.com (TDLR-listed providers) | https://onlinetexasce.com/courses/texas-8-hour-a-chvac-continuing-education-course ; https://allamericance.com/TXHVACCourse ; https://1stchoice-ce.com/courses/checkout/texas/texas-hvac-license-renewal-imc | 2026-09-14 |
| CE course reporting/content is the provider's own responsibility; TDLR publishes no CE course price | confirmed | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/acr/acrce.htm | 2026-09-19 |
| TDLR Customer Service phone | (512) 463-6599 / (800) 803-9202 | TDLR | https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/help/ | 2026-09-19 |
Frequently asked questions
Does TDLR charge a separate exam fee on top of the application fee?
Yes, for HVAC: TDLR's ACR exam-information page confirms a separate PSI testing fee of $74 (Class A) or $60 (Class B) on top of the $115 application fee. The electrician application pages this site checked do not break out a separate PSI testing fee the same way; confirm current electrician exam fees directly through TDLR's exam-scheduling page.
Are RocketCert and At Your Pace Online the cheapest TDLR-approved CE providers?
This site does not have confirmed, dated pricing from either provider and makes no cheapest-price claim; see approved providers and check each provider's own course page for its current price before enrolling.
Do I pay the TDLR renewal fee before or after completing CE hours?
TDLR requires CE to be completed before the license's expiration date; the renewal fee payment and the CE-hours requirement both need to be satisfied by that date, not in any specific payment order relative to each other.
Is there a fee to switch between electrician license types, like Journeyman to Master?
This page covers each license type's own application fee; TDLR's Master Electrician application itself is the $45 fee cited above, since Master is a new application built on your existing Journeyman experience, not a fee-based "upgrade" transaction like the HVAC Class B to Class A path.
Why does the Electrical Contractor business license cost more to renew than an individual electrician license?
TDLR sets the Electrical Contractor renewal at $110/year versus $20 to $45/year for individual licenses; this site's sources confirm the fee amounts but not TDLR's rationale for the difference. A 2026-09-19 browser render of statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/OC/htm/OC.1305.htm (the full section text loads there, unlike a plain WebFetch of the same URL) confirms Occupations Code Section 1305.103 delegates fee-setting to the commission generally ("shall establish and collect reasonable and necessary fees in amounts sufficient to cover the costs of administering this chapter") without specifying a rationale for any particular fee tier. No TDLR-published rulemaking record for the specific business-versus-individual fee split was found in this pass; call TDLR Customer Service at (512) 463-6599 or (800) 803-9202 to ask for the rulemaking rationale.