Trades by State
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Oregon HVAC license requirements and insurance

To work for yourself as an HVAC contractor in Oregon, you need the CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs) license. Oregon has 4 HVAC license types, and which one you need depends on the work you take on. The state's minimum liability insurance is $300,000, and workers' comp is required as soon as you pay one worker who is not an independent contractor. A $20,000 bond is required.

Who it applies to

1Who needs a heating and air conditioning license in Oregon? What is this?

CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs): any business that installs, replaces or repairs heating and cooling equipment for pay in Oregon. There is no separate state HVAC license, so for an installer this is the main license

LicenseWho needs itWhat it covers
CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs)Any business that installs, replaces or repairs heating and cooling equipment for pay in Oregon. There is no separate state HVAC license, so for an installer this is the main licenseSet by the endorsement you pick. Most HVAC businesses fit Residential Specialty Contractor, which allows up to two unrelated trades on homes and small commercial buildings. Add Commercial Specialty Contractor Level 2 for larger commercial work
Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor, HVAC/R (the electrical license for a service business)A business that maintains, services, repairs or replaces heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment in commercial and industrial buildings, and does the electrical work that goes with itElectrical work on commercial and industrial equipment that uses fuel or other energy to make heat, power, refrigeration or air conditioning. You may change wiring or fit electrical products only where the maker approves the change, the size and the type of part. Work on the building service is out. Homes are not covered by this license
Limited Maintenance Electrician (the electrical card for HVAC/R technicians)A technician who repairs and replaces the electrical parts of HVAC and refrigeration equipment. It does not let you wire a new unit into the buildingMaintaining, repairing and replacing electrical installations at the place where you are employed, and nowhere else. In an industrial plant there is no voltage limit. In a commercial office building, a state or local government building, or a facility the board names, the limit is under 600 volts phase to phase. No new installations and no work on the building service
Limited Specialty Plumber, water heaters (an add-on for HVAC/R contractors)An officer, partner or employee of a Limited Maintenance Specialty contractor who replaces water heaters in houses and duplexes. The business must be a registered plumbing contractor as well as an electrical limited maintenance specialty contractor before anyone there can hold this cardReplacing a home water heater in the same spot, including a fuel change. You may fit two short nipples and flex lines up to 96 inches, and the relief valve pipe. No other plumbing changes
Electrical wiring for new installationsAnyone who wires a new furnace, heat pump or air conditioner into the building. Oregon treats that as an electrical installation, so it takes an electrical contractor license and a licensed electricianSee the Oregon electrical page for the electrical contractor license, the general supervising electrician and the general journeyman electrician
Who runs it

2Who issues HVAC contractor licenses in Oregon? What is this?

Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) for the business license, bond and insurance. The Building Codes Division (BCD), part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, for the electrical licenses that HVAC work needs issues HVAC licenses in Oregon.

See how this compares in every state: How to check a contractor's license, state by state

NameOregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) for the business license, bond and insurance. The Building Codes Division (BCD), part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, for the electrical licenses that HVAC work needs
Websiteoregon.gov
Contractor registrationoregon.gov
Look up a licensesearch.ccb.state.or.us
The lawORS chapter 701 (Construction Contractors Board) and ORS chapter 479 (electrical safety law)
The rulebookOAR chapter 812 (Construction Contractors Board) and OAR chapter 918, divisions 30 and 282 (Building Codes Division)

The Building Codes Division has its own license search at https://www4.cbs.state.or.us/exs/all/mylicsearch/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.show_search_name&group_id=30 for the electrical cards.

Checked by a person against the official page
·4 official pages
Getting licensed

3How to become an HVAC contractor in Oregon What is this?

Oregon has 5 licenses that matter to an HVAC contractor: CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs), Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor, HVAC/R (the electrical license for a service business), Limited Maintenance Electrician (the electrical card for HVAC/R technicians), Limited Specialty Plumber, water heaters (an add-on for HVAC/R contractors), Electrical wiring for new installations. Each is below, with what you need before you apply.

LicenseExperience requiredTraining requiredExam
CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs)None for a residential endorsement. Commercial Specialty Level 2 needs key employees with four years of experience between them. Level 1 needs eight years16 hours of pre-license classes from an approved provider, taken by your responsible managing individual (the owner or officer who stands behind the license)Yes. An open-book exam run by PSI. 80 multiple choice questions, three hours, and you need 56 right (70 percent)
Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor, HVAC/R (the electrical license for a service business)Two years, shown as 4,000 hours, of installing, setting up and testing HVAC/R equipment or related electrical work, plus approved specialized trainingYou must keep electrical training records for every employee who does electrical work, and send the division a list of trained staff when you apply and when you renewNo exam for the business itself
Limited Maintenance Electrician (the electrical card for HVAC/R technicians)4,000 hours of on-the-job training. That includes 1,000 hours on controls, 1,000 on troubleshooting, 500 on motors and generators, 500 on power distribution, 500 on lighting and 100 on electrical drawings. The law also accepts a two-year training program approved by the boardA board-approved two-year program, or the hours aboveYes, a written exam. Passing score is 75 percent. It runs 2 hours, 28 questions, open book
Limited Specialty Plumber, water heaters (an add-on for HVAC/R contractors)—An eight-hour class on water heater installationYes, a division-approved exam on the installation rules and the code
Electrical wiring for new installations———
What it costs

4How much does an HVAC license cost in Oregon? What is this?

The government fees on this page add up to about $535 in Oregon. Add insurance, tools, and a vehicle to get the real number.

LicenseApplicationFirst licenseRenewalYearly license feeExam sitting (paid to PSI)
CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs)$400—$400—$60
Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor, HVAC/R (the electrical license for a service business)—$75$75$25—
Limited Maintenance Electrician (the electrical card for HVAC/R technicians)—$100$100——
Limited Specialty Plumber, water heaters (an add-on for HVAC/R contractors)$100—$150——

Added up

Government fees, added up$535

Does not include the $100 Limited Maintenance Electrician card and its exam, the 16-hour CCB class, the EPA 608 test, the bond premium, insurance, workers' comp, tools, a vehicle or permits. If you wire new units yourself, add the electrical contractor and electrician fees from the Oregon electrical page

Our estimate
Insurance

5How much HVAC insurance do you need in Oregon? What is this?

The least liability insurance Oregon lets an HVAC contractor work with is $300,000. Most customers ask for more. Workers' comp is required as soon as you pay one worker who is not an independent contractor.

Minimum liability insurance$300,000
Type of policyPublic liability, personal injury and property damage insurance, per occurrence. The amount depends on your CCB endorsement
Liability insurance by license sizeResidential Specialty Contractor $300,000 per occurrence. Residential General Contractor $500,000 per occurrence. Commercial Specialty Contractor Level 2 $500,000 per occurrence. Commercial Specialty Level 1 $1,000,000 aggregate
Who this applies toThe business that holds the CCB license
Who must be named on the certificateYou must show the CCB proof of insurance when you apply and at every renewal. Insurance agents can send it through the CCB's online proof system
Workers' comp required?Yes, as soon as you pay one worker who is not an independent contractor
Who can opt out
  • A sole owner with no employees does not need it and can hold the CCB license in the exempt class.
  • A partner, an LLC member or a corporate officer with a substantial share of a CCB licensed business is not counted as a covered worker.
  • That holds even when they do the construction work themselves.
  • No election is needed.
  • The number treated this way is capped at two, or one for every ten employees if that is more.
  • Without the CCB license the opposite applies and they would be covered
Workers' comp: if you skip it
  • Twice the premium you should have paid, with a minimum of $1,000.
  • Then up to $250 a day until you comply.
  • If a worker is hurt while you are uninsured you pay the claim yourself
Workers' comp: what to knowYou buy the policy from any of more than 300 private insurers licensed in Oregon. If none will take you, the Oregon Assigned Risk Plan will
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·11 official pages
Money checks

6Does Oregon check your credit for an HVAC contractor license? What is this?

Oregon does not check your credit for this license.

Credit score you needNone. Neither the CCB nor the Building Codes Division asks for a credit score, a net worth figure or a financial statement
What the application asks about money
  • The application does ask one money question.
  • For every owner, partner, member and officer, you must attach any court judgment that is still unpaid on the day you apply.
  • It counts if it was entered in the last five years and relates to construction work.
  • An unpaid bankruptcy or a debt to a public body counts too
If your score is lowerNone is asked for
How we know
  • The CCB licensing rules run to more than forty sections.
  • They cover bonds, insurance, fees and the exempt class, and none asks for a credit check or a financial statement.
  • The bond and insurance are the money test
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·2 official pages
Bonds

7Does an HVAC contractor need a bond in Oregon? What is this?

Oregon requires a bond of $20,000. A bond is a promise, backed by an insurance company, that customers can be paid if you do not finish the job.

Does the state require a bond?Yes
Amount$20,000

The CCB bond (a promise, backed by an insurance company, that customers can be paid if you do not finish or do bad work) depends on your endorsement. Residential Specialty Contractor $20,000. Residential General Contractor $25,000. Commercial Specialty Contractor Level 2 $25,000, Level 1 $55,000. Commercial General Level 1 $80,000. Amounts went up by $5,000 on 1 January 2024. A public works job over $100,000 needs a separate $30,000 public works bond. The Building Codes Division asks for no bond of its own.

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·4 official pages
Federal rules

8Federal rules that also apply What is this?

Rules from the US government that apply to an HVAC contractor in Oregon on top of the state's own.

EPA refrigerant certification
  • Anyone who services, repairs, maintains or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant must hold an EPA Section 608 card.
  • Type I covers small appliances, Type II high-pressure systems such as home air conditioners and heat pumps, Type III low-pressure chillers, and Universal covers all three.
  • The card never expires.
  • Oregon does not issue it and the state licenses are separate
Checked by a person against the official page·epa.gov
Showing your number

9Where must an Oregon HVAC contractor show the license number? What is this?

In Oregon: any home job over $2,000 needs a written contract, and the contract must carry your name, address, phone number and CCB license number, legible and in dark ink. It must also say the customer can complain to the CCB. Hand over the Consumer Protection Notice, the Notice of Procedure and the Information Notice to Owner on or before the day you sign, and keep proof for two years.

On quotes, contracts, and invoices
  • Any home job over $2,000 needs a written contract, and the contract must carry your name, address, phone number and CCB license number, legible and in dark ink.
  • It must also say the customer can complain to the CCB.
  • Hand over the Consumer Protection Notice, the Notice of Procedure and the Information Notice to Owner on or before the day you sign, and keep proof for two years
On ads
  • Your CCB number goes in every ad.
  • That means newspaper ads, phone directories, business cards, letterhead, site signs and your website.
  • A radio ad must say the number out loud.
  • A TV ad must show it on screen.
  • Promotional gifts like pens and caps, and a fixed sign at your own premises, are the only exceptions
On your vehicles
  • Yes.
  • The advertising rule ends with a catch-all covering all other written or visual advertising, so the lettering on your van must carry your CCB number.
  • Only two things are let off, a permanently fixed sign at your own premises that mainly shows your business name, and promotional gifts such as pens, cups and clothing
Where the license itself must beIf you hold an electrical contractor license, the rule that it be on show at each place of business applies to that license, not to the limited heating license an HVAC firm usually holds
If you forgetUp to $5,000 per offense from the CCB. For some listed offenses the first fine is $500 to $1,000 and the second $1,000 to $2,000
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·7 official pages
Tax

10Does an HVAC contractor charge sales tax on labor in Oregon? What is this?

In Oregon, no sales tax. The rest of the rules are below.

See how this compares in every state: Can you charge sales tax on labor? The rule in 25 states

What this tax isOregon has no sales tax. The Department of Revenue says the state has no general sales or use tax
LaborNo sales tax
MaterialsNo sales tax when you buy a furnace, a heat pump or parts, and none when you bill them
Tax rate0 percent
Do you register to collect tax?You do not register to collect sales tax. Oregon taxes business income instead, so ask an accountant about income tax and any local business taxes where you work
Checked by a person against the official page·oregon.gov
Getting paid

11Getting paid: lien and notice deadlines for an Oregon HVAC contractor What is this?

If you are not paid in Oregon, a lien on the property is your backstop, but only if your notice goes out on time: send it in your first week. The notice only protects work done from eight working days before you mail it (weekends and holidays do not count). If you first deliver on Monday March 2 and mail the notice on Friday March 13, work before Tuesday March 3 is not covered.

The order things have to happen in, counted in days
  1. Day 0
    Your first day on the job

    The clock starts here.

  2. Day 75
    File your lien

    File the claim of lien with the county recorder within 75 days of your last day of work or delivery, or 75 days after the whole job is finished, whichever comes first (last day of work on June 1 means the lien is filed by August 15)

Each day count is counted from the day the rule beside it names, which is not always the same day. Read the sentence under each one.

Who has to send a notice
  • Anyone who supplies labor, materials or equipment to a home job and was not hired by the owner sends a Notice of Right to a Lien.
  • If the owner hired you, you do not send it.
  • On a commercial job people who supply labor, or labor and materials, or rent equipment, do not send it either
Send your notice by
  • Send it in your first week.
  • The notice only protects work done from eight working days before you mail it (weekends and holidays do not count).
  • If you first deliver on Monday March 2 and mail the notice on Friday March 13, work before Tuesday March 3 is not covered
File your lien byFile the claim of lien with the county recorder within 75 days of your last day of work or delivery, or 75 days after the whole job is finished, whichever comes first (last day of work on June 1 means the lien is filed by August 15)
Copy to the ownerWithin 20 days of filing the lien, mail a copy to the owner and to any lender. If you skip this you lose your costs and attorney fees when you go to court
Written notice you must give the customer
  • On any home job over $2,000 the contractor who deals with the owner must give the Information Notice to Owner about construction liens.
  • Miss it and you cannot file a lien on that job, and the CCB can fine you up to $5,000.
  • You also cannot file a lien at all unless your CCB license was valid when you bid and the whole time you worked
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·5 official pages
Keeping it

12How do you renew an HVAC license in Oregon? What is this?

The CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs) renews every two years.

LicenseRenewalTraining hours each renewal
CCB contractor license (the business license every contractor needs)Every two years—
Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor, HVAC/R (the electrical license for a service business)Every three years. All three years are billed at once—
Limited Maintenance Electrician (the electrical card for HVAC/R technicians)Every three years—
Limited Specialty Plumber, water heaters (an add-on for HVAC/R contractors)Every three years—

Renewal fees are in what the license costs. The official page for each license is linked under how you get it.

Watch out

13What catches people out in Oregon What is this?

The things people get wrong or do not expect about Oregon, in a few sentences.

  • Oregon has no HVAC license of its own. The business runs on a CCB contractor license, and the trade cards that matter are electrical ones from the Building Codes Division.
  • A service business that only fixes commercial equipment can hold the Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R license for $75, which buys three years. It stops at the disconnect switch and never covers a new install.
  • Wiring a new furnace or heat pump into the building counts as an electrical installation. That takes an electrical contractor license and a licensed electrician, not just the CCB license.
  • The bond and insurance follow the CCB endorsement you choose. A Residential Specialty endorsement means a $20,000 bond and $300,000 of liability insurance per claim.
  • Every home job over $2,000 needs a written contract with your CCB number and three state notices handed over on or before signing day.
Checked by a person against the official page
·6 official pages

14Where these numbers come from

The labels under each table are explained on how to read a page.

  1. oregon.gov/ccb/Pages/index.aspx
  2. oregon.gov/bcd/licensing/Pages/index.aspx
  3. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_chapter_918_division_282
  4. oregon.gov/bcd/licensing/Pages/search.aspx
  5. oregon.gov/ccb/Pages/CCB%20License.aspx
  6. oregon.gov/ccb/Pages/Proposed-Fee-Increase.aspx
  7. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-003-0131
  8. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-003-0290
  9. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_701.084
  10. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-003-0142
  11. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_701.021
  12. apps.oregon.gov/SOS/LicenseDirectory/LicenseDetail/640
  13. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-282-0040
  14. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_479.840
  15. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-030-0015
  16. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-030-0210
  17. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_479.630
  18. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-282-0240
  19. oregon.gov/bcd/licensing/Pages/exam.aspx
  20. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-030-0130
  21. apps.oregon.gov/SOS/LicenseDirectory/LicenseDetail/657
  22. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-695-0120
  23. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-780-0030
  24. oregon.gov/bcd/licensing/Documents/Clarifications/pl-el-combo-license-clarification.pdf
  25. oregon.gov/bcd/licensing/Pages/licensing-clarifications.aspx
  26. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_479.620
  27. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_479.540
  28. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_656.027
  29. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-003-0221
  30. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_701.081
  31. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_701.073
  32. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-003-0250
  33. wcd.oregon.gov/employer/Pages/compensation-insurance-overview.aspx
  34. wcd.oregon.gov/employer/Pages/penalties.aspx
  35. wcd.oregon.gov/employer/Pages/how-to-buy-it.aspx
  36. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_chapter_812_division_3
  37. oregon.gov/ccb/Pages/Licensing.aspx
  38. epa.gov/section608/section-608-technician-certification-requirements
  39. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-003-0120
  40. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-012-0110
  41. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_701.305
  42. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_812-012-0130
  43. oregon.public.law/rules/oar_918-282-0010
  44. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_701.992
  45. oregon.gov/dor/programs/businesses/Pages/sales-tax.aspx
  46. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_87.021
  47. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_87.035
  48. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_87.039
  49. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_87.093
  50. oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_701.131