To check a Texas contractor, use TDLR’s license search for air conditioning and electrical work, and confirm the license is active, in the business name on your contract, with an expiration date after your job ends. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation’s license list covers air conditioning and refrigeration contractors and electrical contractors but has no general contractor or remodeler category; plumbers are licensed separately by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners.
TDLR licenses run one year, so dates move fast. In the state’s TDLR All Licenses data, downloaded October 24, 2026, 11.3% of air conditioning contractor licenses and 8.8% of electrical contractor licenses expire within 60 days, and 12.8% of electrical contractor records already show a past expiration date. About 47% of current A/C contractor licenses are Class B, which is limited to smaller equipment.
At a glance: what TDLR requires and what the state data showed on October 24, 2026.
| Item | A/C contractor | Electrical contractor |
|---|---|---|
| License classes | Class A: any size unit. Class B: cooling 25 tons and under, heating 1.5 million BTU/hr and under | One contractor license, with a master electrician assigned |
| Scope of work | Endorsement E (home comfort), R (refrigeration) or C (both) | Electrical work |
| Liability insurance minimum on file (per occurrence / aggregate / products and completed operations) | Class A: $300,000 / $600,000 / $300,000. Class B: $100,000 / $200,000 / $100,000 | $300,000 / $600,000 / $300,000 |
| License term | One year | One year |
| Expiring within 60 days | 11.3% (2,303 licenses) | 8.8% (1,237 licenses) |
| Records showing a past expiration date | 7.0% | 12.8% |
| Current licenses by class or endorsement | Class B only 47.4%; E only 56.5%, C 38.8%, R only 3.5% | Not applicable |
How to check a Texas A/C or electrical contractor
- Open the TDLR license search and pick the program: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, or Electricians.
- Search by license number (from the bid, truck or invoice) or by business name.
- Confirm the license type is a contractor license, not a technician or individual electrician license.
- For A/C work, read the class and endorsement at the end of the number (next section).
- Check the expiration date against your schedule.
- Search TDLR’s disciplinary actions by name for past orders and penalties.
What the A/C license class and endorsement mean
TDLR’s contractor license page sets two classes and three types of work, and both show up in the license number, for example TACL/A/000000/C.
- Class A: any size unit.
- Class B: cooling systems of 25 tons and under, and heating systems of 1.5 million BTU per hour and under.
- E – Environmental Air Conditioning: comfort cooling, heating and ventilation for people.
- R – Commercial Refrigeration and Process Cooling or Heating: coolers, freezers, ice machines and similar equipment.
- C – Combined: both E and R, as TDLR’s out-of-state applicant page explains.
A contractor with only an R endorsement is licensed for refrigeration, not for a home’s central air system. Match the endorsement to the job.
Insurance TDLR requires on file
- A/C Class A: $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate, and $300,000 aggregate for products and completed operations.
- A/C Class B: $100,000 per occurrence, $200,000 aggregate, and $100,000 for products and completed operations.
- Electrical contractor: $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate and $300,000 for products and completed operations, per TDLR’s electrical contractor page and application form.
These are minimums the contractor must keep on file with TDLR, not a payment fund for homeowners. For workers’ compensation, an electrical contractor can show a policy, approved self-insurance, or a statement that it has elected not to carry coverage, so ask which applies to the crew coming to your house. The application form also says an electrical contractor can have only a master electrician assigned to it.
What 34,493 Texas A/C and electrical contractor records show
We downloaded every A/C contractor and electrical contractor record in the TDLR All Licenses data on October 24, 2026: 20,462 A/C contractor and 14,031 electrical contractor records. The data includes licenses whose expiration date has passed, the oldest by about 18 months. These are our calculations from license dates and codes; the data does not include complaints or insurance details.
- Expiring soon: 2,303 A/C contractor licenses (11.3%) and 1,237 electrical contractor licenses (8.8%) expire within 60 days.
- Already past the date: 1,428 A/C contractor records (7.0%) and 1,790 electrical contractor records (12.8%) show an expiration date that has passed, a median of 172 and 214 days ago. The license search is where to confirm whether one has since been renewed.
- Class B is close to half: of 19,034 current A/C contractor licenses, 52.6% include a Class A license and 47.4% are Class B only.
- Most are environmental only: 56.5% of current A/C licenses carry only the E endorsement, 38.8% the combined C endorsement, and 3.5% refrigeration only.
- Where they are: Harris County is the largest business county for both, with 3,044 A/C and 1,742 electrical contractor records. 9.6% of electrical contractor records list an out-of-state business location, compared with 3.3% of A/C contractors.
- Both trades: 371 business names hold both a current A/C contractor and a current electrical contractor license, by exact name match.
Checklist before you hire in Texas
- Contractor license (not only a technician or individual license) active in TDLR’s search, under the business name on your contract.
- A/C: class and endorsement that fit the equipment; E or C for home comfort systems.
- Expiration date compared with your project end date.
- Disciplinary action search by business and owner name.
- A certificate of insurance with current dates, and a clear answer on workers’ compensation.
- Plumbing license checked with TSBPE if the job includes plumbing.
- The building permit pulled with your city before work starts.
For other states, see our contractor license lookup guide and our analysis of Washington contractor registrations. To check the permit side in North Texas, see our Fort Worth permit history guide.
Counts are our calculations from the TDLR All Licenses data on data.texas.gov, downloaded October 24, 2026. “Current” means an expiration date on or after that day. TDLR pages checked October 24, 2026.