West Virginia HVAC License Renewal

At a glance

Who needs it

Every person who performs or offers to perform HVAC work in West Virginia (installing, maintaining, altering, remodeling or repairing a heating, ventilating and cooling system), whatever the size of the job, unless the work is exempt (see the notes). It's issued to a person, never to a company: each technician on a job needs their own

License types

HVAC technician (at least 2,000 hours of HVAC-related work, training and experience; residential and nonresidential systems), HVAC residential technician (residential systems, and nonresidential ones under a technician's direct supervision), and technician in training, who works only under the direct supervision of a licensed technician

Contractor license too

The certification lets you do the work. HVAC work of $5,000 or more on a residential project, or $25,000 or more on a commercial one (material and labor for the entire project), also needs the business to hold a West Virginia contractor license with a classification that covers HVAC work

Renews every

Year. A license is valid for up to one year, and its expiration date is listed on your certification card

Renewal notice

The Division sends a renewal form about 45 days before your expiration date (its rule says at least 45 days)

Renewal fee

$75 for an HVAC technician, $50 for an HVAC residential technician, $25 for a technician in training. Under the rule, no fee is charged for an HVAC technician license if you're licensed as an HVAC contractor under W. Va. Code 30-42

Renew

On or before your expiration date, with the renewal application on the Division's forms and the fee. HVAC technician certification renewal can be paid by credit card through the Division's Online Payment page

Late fee

$25 on top of the renewal fee if the renewal is received or postmarked more than 15 days after your expiration date

If it expires

A license that has been expired for 90 days or more can't be renewed: contact the Division (licensing@wv.gov, 304-558-7890). The days before the late fee starts aren't extra time to work: the law requires a license to do HVAC work

Working unlicensed

HVAC work without a license can bring a cease and desist order. Working on after one brings a fine of $200 to $1,000 for a first offense, $500 to $2,000 for a second and $1,000 to $5,000 for a third or later, and each day after official notice is a separate offense

On the job

Carry a copy of your license on any job where HVAC work is being done. A license can't be transferred

Supervision

A technician or residential technician can directly supervise no more than four technicians in training on residential HVAC work; on nonresidential work, a technician can directly supervise no more than two technicians in training and residential technicians

Duplicate card

$10, on a written request to the Division

Continuing education

None. Neither the HVAC law (W. Va. Code 21-16) nor its rule (42CSR34) sets a CE requirement for renewal

Each technician's expiration date is the one on their own card, so a company with several technicians has several dates to watch.

Some HVAC work needs no license: work you do yourself on a single-family home you or an immediate family member (parent, spouse, sibling or child) owns, work at a manufacturing plant or industrial establishment as its employee, only electrical or plumbing work on an HVAC system (thermostats, bathroom fans, tankless water heater venting, for example) within the scope you're otherwise licensed or authorized for, and routine maintenance as W. Va. Code 21-16-2(i) defines it (scheduled filter, belt and lubrication work and system checks). See W. Va. Code 21-16-3(d).

Under the rule (42CSR34 3.8), HVAC work doesn't include work on refrigeration lines, steam lines or hydronics.

How to renew

1. Check the expiration date on your certification card, and watch for the Division's renewal form about 45 days before it.
2. Renew on or before that date: send the Division's renewal form with the fee. The fee can also be paid by credit card on the Division's Online Payment page.
3. Pay $75 for an HVAC technician, $50 for a residential technician, $25 for a technician in training.
4. Carry a copy of your new license on every job.

Deadline checklist

• 45 days outWatch for the Division's renewal form, and check every technician's expiration date on their own card.
• 14 days outRenew and pay: $75 for an HVAC technician, $50 residential, $25 in training.
• Expiration dateRenew by today. More than 15 days late adds a $25 late fee.
• 90 days afterA license that has been expired for 90 days or more can't be renewed.

Put this renewal in your calendar

Know your expiration date? Download a free calendar file with reminders before it, no sign-up needed. It's made in your browser: nothing you type is sent to us (your browser keeps it only if you follow the sign-up link, for your new ledger). A Google Calendar button sends just that one event to Google.

The file covers one date: once you renew, make a new one. How to add it to your calendar

Frequently asked questions