South Carolina HVAC license requirements and insurance

To work for yourself as an HVAC contractor in South Carolina, you need the Mechanical Contractor, air conditioning (AC), heating (HT), packaged equipment and refrigeration classifications, Contractor's Licensing Board license. South Carolina has 2 HVAC license types, and which one you need depends on the work you take on. Workers' comp is required once you have employees. A $10,000 bond is required.

Checked by the Trades by State editor on 2026-09-16 Based on 17 official pages, listed at the bottom Something wrong? Tell us

License you need: Mechanical Contractor, air conditioning (AC), heating (HT), packaged equipment and refrigeration classifications, Contractor's Licensing Board Renew Every two years. There is no common expiry date for everyone. Your own license carries its date, and the board renews in two-year blocks. The board's site was showing the 2026 to 2028 block open for renewal in September 2026
Workers' comp: Required as soon as you hire anyone
Credit score: None or take a 14-hour course
To protect your pay, send notice by: No fixed deadline for a preliminary notice. The lien itself must be served on the owner within 90 days of your last day on the job (last day March 1 means serve and file by May 30)

Turn this into a checklist

1 What stands out in South Carolina for an HVAC contractor What is this?

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

A residential HVAC license from the Residential Builders Commission stops at 5 tons of cooling and 175,000 BTU per hour of heating per unit. Anything bigger, or any job over $10,000, needs a mechanical contractor license from the Contractor's Licensing Board.
The mechanical license threshold is $10,000, not the $5,000 most websites quote. It changed in May 2023.
Heating and air conditioning contractors have a display rule that plumbers do not. Your license number must be on both sides of every work vehicle in letters at least 2 inches high, and on every invoice and proposal.
South Carolina does not set a minimum liability insurance figure for HVAC contractors in the statute or rules read. It checks your money instead. Group One needs $7,000 net worth, and a $7,000 bond can stand in for the financial statement.
You pay sales tax when you buy the unit, ductwork and parts. Air conditioning systems and heating systems are listed by name as building materials. You do not charge the customer sales tax on an install.
Workers' comp becomes mandatory at four employees, or once last year's payroll reached $3,000, and anyone who handles refrigerant needs federal EPA Section 608 certification on top of the state license.

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2 Who issues HVAC contractor licenses in South Carolina? What is this?

South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), Contractor's Licensing Board (CLB) for jobs over $10,000 or larger equipment, and Residential Builders Commission (RBC) for house jobs from $500 up issues HVAC licenses in South Carolina.

Name	South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), Contractor's Licensing Board (CLB) for jobs over $10,000 or larger equipment, and Residential Builders Commission (RBC) for house jobs from $500 up
Website	https://llr.sc.gov/clb/
Website for home jobs	https://llr.sc.gov/res/
Look up a license	https://verify.llronline.com/LicLookup/
The law	SC Code Title 40 Chapter 11 (mechanical contractors) and Title 40 Chapter 59 (residential specialty contractors)
The rulebook	SC Code of Regulations Chapter 29 (Contractor's Licensing Board), Chapter 106 (Residential Builders Commission), and Chapter 10 (fees, regulations 10-10 and 10-38)

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3 South Carolina HVAC contractor license requirements and fees What is this?

South Carolina has 2 license types that matter to an HVAC contractor. The Mechanical Contractor, air conditioning (AC), heating (HT), packaged equipment and refrigeration classifications, Contractor's Licensing Board needs two years of full-time work in the classification you are applying for, within the last five years, shown on an affidavit from the employers you worked for. The board may accept other proof of experience instead.

Mechanical Contractor, air conditioning (AC), heating (HT), packaged equipment and refrigeration classifications, Contractor's Licensing Board

Any business that does, or bids on, heating, air conditioning or refrigeration work where the total cost of the whole project is more than $10,000, and any residential job on equipment above 5 tons or 175,000 BTU per hour per unit

What you can work on

Each classification is separate.
Air conditioning, heating and refrigeration have no size limit.
Packaged equipment is limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU per hour of heating per unit.
You pass a technical exam for each classification you want

License groups

Group One, jobs up to $35,000.
Group Two, up to $100,000.
Group Three, up to $200,000.
Group Four, up to $400,000.
Group Five, no limit.
The group depends on the money check in the financial_responsibility section

Experience required

Two years of full-time work in the classification you are applying for, within the last five years, shown on an affidavit from the employers you worked for. The board may accept other proof of experience instead

Training required

None required by the statute or rules read

Exam

Yes, a technical exam per classification (the 2004 PSI bulletin lists 80 questions with 56 to pass for air conditioning) plus a South Carolina law exam, all run by PSI.
Pass mark is 70 percent.
You may sit an exam twice in 12 months, then once every six months

Fees

First license	$350
Renewal, every two years	$135
Getting a lapsed license back	$350
Late renewal, up to 30 days late	$100
Late renewal, 31 to 60 days late	$150
Late renewal, 61 to 90 days late	$200
Exam	Not listed yet

Renewal

Every two years.
There is no common expiry date for everyone.
Your own license carries its date, and the board renews in two-year blocks.
The board's site was showing the 2026 to 2028 block open for renewal in September 2026

Training hours each year

About training hours

No continuing education found in Chapter 11 or Chapter 29

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Licensed Residential Specialty Contractor, Heating and Air Conditioning Installer and Repairer, Residential Builders Commission

Anyone who contracts for heating or air conditioning work on houses (up to three floors, up to 16 units per building) when the job is more than $500 and not already covered by the mechanical contractor rules above

What you can work on

Installing, replacing, altering and repairing air conditioning and heating equipment in homes, limited to 5 tons cooling and 175,000 BTU per hour heating per unit. Includes ductwork, controls, insulation, gas furnaces, space heaters, heat pumps and split systems (Regulation 106-1(c))

Experience required

Not stated in the statute or rules read

Training required

None found

Exam

Yes, heating and air conditioning installers must pass an exam before the commission licenses them (Regulation 106-2(a), in force since July 2004)

Fees

Application	$135
First license	$220
Renewal	$220
Late fee	50
Getting a lapsed license back, after 12 months	$260

Renewal

Annual

Training hours each year

About training hours

The commission may require continuing education by regulation. None was found in Chapter 106

Bond

A surety bond of at least $10,000 whenever a single job for a homeowner costs more than $5,000 in labor and materials

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4 How much insurance does an HVAC contractor need in South Carolina? What is this?

What South Carolina requires you to carry before you work.

Minimum liability insurance	Not listed yet
Type of policy	None found. Neither Chapter 11, Chapter 59 nor the board regulations read for this record set a liability insurance minimum for HVAC contractors
Who this applies to	Not applicable at state level. Cities, general contractors and customers usually ask for a certificate anyway
Who must be named on the certificate	None found
Workers' comp required?	Only once you cross both thresholds. You need cover when you regularly have four or more employees and your total payroll in the previous calendar year was $3,000 or more. Part-time workers and family members count toward the four
Who can opt out	Either threshold on its own exempts you. Fewer than four employees, or a payroll under $3,000 last year, and you are outside the law. You need both before cover is required. A sole proprietor or partner may choose to be covered as an employee and must tell the insurer. If you hire a subcontractor, you are treated as the employer of the subcontractor's injured workers if the subcontractor has no coverage (42-1-400 and 42-1-410)

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5 Does South Carolina check your credit for an HVAC contractor license? What is this?

South Carolina does not check your credit for this license.

Credit score you need	None
Money check	For the mechanical contractor license you must show net worth or working capital that matches your group. Group One, $7,000 net worth or $3,500 working capital. Group Two, $15,000 or $10,000. Group Three, $30,000 or $20,000. Group Four, $60,000 or $40,000. Group Five, $300,000 or $200,000
Type of financial statement	Groups One and Two may use an owner-prepared statement on the board form with an affidavit. Groups Three, Four and Five need a CPA-compiled or audited statement for the first application, and may use an owner-prepared statement at renewal. The balance sheet must be dated within the last 12 months
If your score is lower	A surety bond for the same amount as the net worth for your group, filed with the application (40-11-262)
About home jobs	The Residential Builders Commission asks for proof of financial responsibility or a bond at each annual renewal (40-59-230)

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6 Does an HVAC contractor need a bond in South Carolina? What is this?

South Carolina requires a bond of $10,000. 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	$10,000

Two separate rules. Residential specialty contractors must post a surety bond of at least $10,000 for any homeowner job over $5,000 (40-59-240(D), Regulation 106-2). Mechanical contractors may post a bond equal to their group's net worth figure instead of a financial statement (40-11-262); that one is optional. A bond is a promise, backed by an insurance company, that customers can be paid if you do not finish the job

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7 Federal rules that also apply What is this?

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

EPA refrigerant certification	Anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant must hold EPA Section 608 technician certification, on top of the state license. Types are Core plus Type I (small appliances), Type II (high pressure), Type III (low pressure), or Universal. You test through an EPA-approved certifying organization, not the EPA itself. The EPA page read did not say whether the card expires

EPA refrigerant certification

Anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant must hold EPA Section 608 technician certification, on top of the state license.
Types are Core plus Type I (small appliances), Type II (high pressure), Type III (low pressure), or Universal.
You test through an EPA-approved certifying organization, not the EPA itself.
The EPA page read did not say whether the card expires

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8 Where must a South Carolina HVAC contractor show the license number? What is this?

In South Carolina: air conditioning, heating, and packaged equipment contractors must display the license where the public can see it at the main office. The license number must be on both sides of every vehicle used only for the business, in letters and numbers at least 2 inches high on a contrasting background. It must also be printed on every invoice and proposal form.

The rule	Air conditioning, heating, and packaged equipment contractors must display the license where the public can see it at the main office. The license number must be on both sides of every vehicle used only for the business, in letters and numbers at least 2 inches high on a contrasting background. It must also be printed on every invoice and proposal form
If you forget	Administrative fines under 40-11-100 are up to $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for a second. Third and later violations go to the board
About home jobs	No matching rule was found for the residential HVAC license. 40-59-570 reads as a home inspector rule in the current text

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9 Does an HVAC contractor charge sales tax on labor in South Carolina? What is this?

In South Carolina, no sales tax on your labor or on your bill to the customer for an install or repair, because the tax was paid when you bought the materials. The rest of the rules are below.

See how this compares in every state: Sales tax on labor for plumbers and HVAC contractors by state

Rule for contractors	You are the final consumer of everything you install. You pay sales or use tax when you buy the unit, ductwork, sheet metal, controls and parts. The regulation lists air conditioning systems, heating systems, floor furnaces and built-in fans by name as building materials
Labor	No sales tax on your labor or on your bill to the customer for an install or repair, because the tax was paid when you bought the materials
Homes versus businesses	Same rule for homes and businesses. South Carolina does not tax contractor labor in either
Labor on new buildings	No sales tax
Selling and installing as two prices	If you run a showroom or sell units to people who install them elsewhere, you are a retailer for those sales. You buy for resale tax-free and charge the customer tax on the sale price. Installation is not taxed if it is a separate, reasonable line on the bill
One-off sales	Selling a filter or a part to a customer now and then is an isolated sale and is not taxed, as long as you paid tax on it when you bought it
Buying from out of state	Equipment bought in another state and used in South Carolina owes South Carolina use tax, with a credit for tax paid to the other state
Tax rate	6 percent state, plus local taxes collected by county. Local use tax is owed by the contractor where the materials are first used

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10 Getting paid: lien and notice deadlines for a South Carolina HVAC contractor What is this?

If you are not paid in South Carolina, a lien on the property is your backstop, but only if your notice goes out on time: no fixed deadline for a preliminary notice. The lien itself must be served on the owner within 90 days of your last day on the job (last day March 1 means serve and file by May 30).

Who has to send a notice	Contractors hired by the owner do not send a preliminary notice. Subcontractors hired by the contractor do not either. Only a sub-subcontractor, or a supplier to a subcontractor, must send a Notice of Furnishing by certified mail to the contractor. That applies only if the owner filed a Notice of Project Commencement with the county within 15 days of the job starting. Without that notice, the sub-subcontractor's lien is capped at what the contractor still owes the subcontractor
Send your notice by	No fixed deadline for a preliminary notice. The lien itself must be served on the owner within 90 days of your last day on the job (last day March 1 means serve and file by May 30)
File your lien by	File the lien statement with the county register of deeds or clerk of court, and serve it on the owner, within 90 days after you last did work or supplied materials (last day March 1 means by May 30). Then sue to enforce it within six months of that last day or the lien is dissolved
What the owner can argue back	Your lien can never exceed what the owner still owes on the contract. If the owner already paid the contractor in full, there may be nothing left to lien

Checked by a person against the official page·scstatehouse.gov

11 How much does it cost to become an HVAC contractor in South Carolina? What is this?

The government fees on this page add up to about $355 in South Carolina. Add insurance, tools, and a vehicle to get the real number.

Government fees, added up	$355

Residential specialty HVAC path, application $135 plus license $220. The mechanical contractor path is $350 for the license plus PSI exam fees not confirmed. Does not include the $10,000 bond premium, the EPA 608 test, insurance premiums, tools, a vehicle, or city permits

Our estimate

12Where these numbers come from

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