Start your own company
Start your own HVAC company in Florida
In Florida, air conditioning isn't a trade — it's infrastructure, and the state licenses the contractors who keep it running. The path to your own company runs through the Construction Industry Licensing Board's Class A or Class B air-conditioning contractor license: proven experience, two exams, insurance, and a company your license qualifies. Here's the whole road.
What it takes
What it takes in Florida
Choose your license: Class A or Class B
Florida's Construction Industry Licensing Board (under the DBPR) issues two certified air-conditioning contractor licenses. Class A covers systems of any size; Class B caps the capacity of the systems you can work on — plenty for a residential and light-commercial company, and a common starting point. Confirm the current capacity limits with the DBPR and pick the license that matches the work you want.
Log four years of trade experience
The board requires four years of experience in the trade, including time in a supervisory role. Accredited education and military service can substitute for part of the total. Start collecting proof now: W-2s, employer affidavits, and the license numbers of the contractors you worked under.
Pass the state exams
Two exams stand between you and the license: the trade knowledge exam — systems, code, load calculations, refrigeration — and the business & finance exam on lien law, contracts, and accounting. Both are open-book against approved references; both reward weeks of real preparation.
Clear the financial responsibility and background check
The board pulls a credit report as evidence of financial responsibility — a score below its threshold means posting a licensing bond instead of being turned away. Fingerprints and a background check are part of the application. Know about both early; neither has to stop you.
Register your company with Sunbiz and get an EIN
File your LLC with the Florida Division of Corporations at sunbiz.org — a bit over a hundred dollars, approved within days — and get your free EIN from the IRS. The company has to exist before your license can qualify it.
Line up insurance and workers' comp
General liability at board-set minimums is required before the license issues, and Florida's construction-industry workers' comp rules apply essentially the moment anyone works for you, with limited owner exemptions. Also plan for your EPA Section 608 certification if you don't already hold it — federal law requires it for anyone handling refrigerants.
Qualify the business
In Florida the license belongs to a person, and that person must "qualify" the company — a DBPR filing that makes you the qualifying agent for your own LLC. Once approved, your company can pull permits and contract HVAC work under your license.
A BTA specialist walks you through every one of these steps, on the phone, in order — you never file anything alone.
Our specialists walk you through the steps and point you to the right agencies — they don't give legal, tax, or insurance advice. For decisions about your specific situation, talk to your own attorney or CPA.
Information reviewed July 2026
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