Alabama to Texas: journeyman HVAC technician license reciprocity

Texas has no journeyman HVAC license in the usual sense; the person-held credential for an employee who does air conditioning and refrigeration work is the Registered ACR Technician registration issued by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Anyone who assists a licensed ACR contractor with non-exempt maintenance or repair work must register: the applicant must be at least 16, file a one-page application with a $20 fee and answer a criminal history questionnaire, and there is no exam, no experience requirement and no continuing education. The registration is valid one year and is renewed for $20. TDLR also offers a voluntary Certified ACR Technician credential for technicians with 24 months of supervised experience or a TDLR-approved 2,000-hour training program who pass a PSI exam ($50 application, $60 exam, renewed for $35); it is not required to work. Because the registration is not an examined license, an out-of-state journeyman or technician license has nothing to transfer to: every technician must register with TDLR regardless of licenses held elsewhere, and all work must be performed under a Texas-licensed ACR contractor. Technicians who handle refrigerants also need federal EPA Section 608 certification.

Alabama does not issue a journeyman, technician or mechanic license for heating, air conditioning or refrigeration work. The only state credentials under Ala. Code §34-31-18 et seq. are the Certified Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor and Certified Refrigeration Contractor certifications, and §34-31-24 requires only that the person in responsible charge of a business be certified; installers and service technicians work as employees of a certified contractor with no personal state license. The Board's exam application still quotes an older version of §34-31-28 that let an applicant qualify for the exam through two years of a Board-issued apprentice registration, but the 2024 statute keeps only the 3,000-hour or approved-curriculum routes and the Board publishes no apprentice or technician registration form. An out-of-state journeyman HVAC license therefore has nothing to transfer to in Alabama and is neither required nor recognized for employment; §34-31-28(d) also bars counties and municipalities from imposing further testing on certified contractors, and no Alabama city journeyman card for HVAC work was verified from an official page. A journeyman who wants to contract independently must qualify for the contractor certification described at the master level. Federal EPA Section 608 certification is still required of anyone who handles refrigerants.