Missouri to Texas: journeyman HVAC technician license reciprocity
Missouri does not issue a statewide journeyman HVAC technician license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Texas's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Technician registration required of everyone (no exam, no reciprocity)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
An HVAC technician or journeyman licensed in any other state must register with TDLR as an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician before assisting a Texas ACR contractor; the registration is a $20, no-exam filing that does not evaluate or credit the out-of-state license. TDLR publishes no reciprocity, endorsement or exam waiver at this level because there is no exam to waive. A technician who wants the optional Certified Technician designation must meet the Texas experience or training requirement and pass the PSI Certified Technician exam; TDLR's certified technician page does not describe any credit for an out-of-state license.
Applicants without a criminal conviction receive a 21-day temporary registration on filing (16 TAC §75.27). Whether TDLR will count out-of-state supervised experience toward the voluntary Certified Technician credential was not confirmed from an official page.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Do not count
- Typical processing
- About 21 days
What you must already have
- At least 16 years old; criminal history questionnaire if convicted of a felony or misdemeanor
What you'll do to get licensed in Texas
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($20). Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician registration application fee (non-refundable, 16 TAC §75.80); renewal $20 per year.
- 2Other. EPA Section 608 technician certification (Type I/II/III/Universal) to handle refrigerants; federal, does not expire. TDLR's technician pages do not list it, but it applies to every technician who services refrigerant-containing equipment.
- 3Other. Optional Certified ACR Technician designation: $50 application fee plus $60 PSI exam, after 24 months of supervised ACR work or a TDLR-approved 2,000-hour certification training program (if applicable).
Published fees on this path total $20, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Other
- Other · if applicable
How Texas licenses journeyman HVAC technicians
Texas journeyman HVAC technician · “Registered Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician”
Statewide license
Issued by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)
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.
Why Missouri has nothing to transfer
Missouri journeyman HVAC technician
Licensed by cities and counties
Missouri does not issue a journeyman HVAC license and has no state HVAC or mechanical board; the Division of Professional Registration's list of licensed professions contains no heating, air conditioning, refrigeration or mechanical contractor profession, and the only statewide construction credential is the voluntary electrical contractor license. HVAC technicians are licensed, where they are licensed at all, by cities and counties under their own ordinances: Springfield certifies Journeyman Mechanical craftsmen on an ICC exam, St. Louis County licenses mechanical journeymen through its Board of Examiners for Mechanical Licensing, Kansas City certifies trade supervisors and licenses mechanical contractors, and the City of St. Louis licenses mechanical contractors and journeyman pipefitters. Requirements, exams and fees differ in each place and there is no statewide reciprocity. A journeyman arriving from another state must apply in each jurisdiction where they will work; the widespread use of ICC and Prometric exams means a matching passing score is often accepted in place of retesting (Springfield accepts an identical Prometric, Experior, Block or ICC exam score of 75% or better, and Kansas City may accept another jurisdiction's comparable exam). EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification is a separate federal requirement that applies statewide.
How local licensing works in Missouri
How local licensing works. Missouri has no state HVAC license and no statute standardizing local HVAC licensing, so each city or county that licenses mechanical tradespeople does so under its own building code and ordinance. The credentials below are the ones published by the largest jurisdictions.
Springfield. Building Development Services certifies Journeyman Mechanical craftsmen. Eligibility is 4 years under the supervision of a master in the trade or 6 years of experience in the trade, documented on notarized employer experience forms reviewed by the Building and Trades board (first Thursday of each month); approval to test is good for one year. The exam is the ICC mechanical exam through Pearson Vue (about $125 paid to Pearson Vue), 75% to pass, after which the city issues the certification card for $25 (renewal $25 per year). An applicant licensed elsewhere may apply for 'Reciprocation' by submitting a copy of their other-state licenses and an exam score notification of 75% or better from Prometric, Experior, Block or ICC, provided the exam is identical to the one Springfield requires; otherwise they test.
St. Louis County. The Board of Examiners for Mechanical Licensing licenses mechanical apprentices and journeymen and certifies mechanical contractors; applications go through the Accela permitting portal. An applicant approved to test must sit the journeyman exam within one year of approval (Rule 4), a temporary six-month project-specific journeyman license is available for a $45 application fee to applicants who meet the regular criteria (Rule 1), and renewal requires 12 Professional Education Units (24 hours) every three years (Rule 3). The board's rules do not provide for acceptance of another state's license; the only testing exemption (Rule 6) is for pipefitting and sprinkler-fitting journeymen licensed under the county plumbing code. The specific journeyman categories (such as HVAC Servicer-Installer) and the experience hours required to test could not be confirmed from the pages that could be opened; contact [email protected].
Kansas City. The city does not issue a separate journeyman HVAC card. City Planning and Development licenses mechanical contractors and requires each to employ a full-time supervisor holding a Kansas City certificate of qualification in the mechanical trade, earned by application with notarized references and a passing score from Prometric or ICC ($60 application, no charge for the first four-year certificate, $181 renewal every four years); comparable exams from other jurisdictions may be accepted if the city deems them equivalent or superior. Non-supervising technicians work under the licensed contractor.
City of St. Louis. The Mechanical Contractors Board of Examiners (Ordinance 62579, City Code 25.10) examines mechanical contractors and journeyman pipefitters; mechanical permits are issued only to contractors licensed by the Building Division's Mechanical Section. No HVAC journeyman license or reciprocity is published.
Out-of-state holders. No Missouri jurisdiction publishes reciprocity with another state's journeyman HVAC license. The practical route is to present an identical ICC or Prometric mechanical exam score where the jurisdiction accepts one (Springfield, and case by case in Kansas City), document experience, and apply locally; otherwise take the local exam.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Texas journeyman HVAC technician exam if I'm licensed in Missouri?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Texas journeyman HVAC technician license from Missouri?
- Published fees on this path total $20, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Missouri work hours count in Texas?
- No. Texas does not credit out-of-state hours on this path.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 21 days.
- Does it work the other way, from Texas to Missouri?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Texas to Missouri, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- EPA Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements · 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F (Clean Air Act §608) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Other · verified September 15, 2026Federal requirement in every state: technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere must be certified (Type I small appliances, Type II high-pressure, Type III low-pressure, Universal). Apprentices under direct supervision are exempt. Certification does not expire; the core exam must be proctored for Universal certification. State HVAC boards commonly require it before licensure, but it is not itself a state license.
- TDLR Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation / PSI Services · Other · verified September 15, 2026Linked from the TDLR exam page. Exam fees: Environmental Air Class A $74 (120 items, 230 minutes), Class B $60 (100 items, 170 minutes); Commercial Refrigeration Class A $74, Class B $60; Certified Technician $60 (60 items, 112 minutes); passing score 70%. Effective September 1, 2026 the exams reference the 2024 IFGC, 2024 IMC and 2024 UMC.
- 16 TAC §75.120 - Certified Technician: Application and Eligibility Requirements · 16 TAC §75.120 · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (mirrored by Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Certified technician: age 18, completed education or 24 months of supervised work experience, pass the examination, pay the fees, complete all requirements within one year; certification expires on the first anniversary of issuance.
- 16 TAC §75.27 - Technician Registration Requirements: Initial Application · 16 TAC §75.27 · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (mirrored by Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026A technician registration requires only a completed application and the fee; the term is one year; a 21-day temporary registration is issued to applicants without a criminal conviction who pay the fee. No exam or experience is required.
- 16 TAC §75.80 - Air Conditioning and Refrigeration: Fees · 16 TAC §75.80 · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (mirrored by Cornell LII) · Admin Rule · verified September 15, 2026Read on the Cornell Legal Information Institute mirror because the Texas Secretary of State's texreg site has moved to a new portal that could not be opened. Contractor application $115, renewal $65, endorsement addition $25; registered technician application and renewal $20; certified technician application $50, renewal $35; all application fees non-refundable.
- TDLR - Apply for a New Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Certified Technician · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Certified Technician is a voluntary qualification that exceeds the Registered Technician standard: age 18; 24 months of ACR work under a licensed contractor or a TDLR-approved 2,000-hour certification training program (apply within 48 months of completion); $50 application fee; exam after approval; all requirements within one year; certification valid one year. No out-of-state provision.
- TDLR - Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors FAQs · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Faq · verified September 15, 2026States that Texas reciprocates only with South Carolina and Georgia, that experience from states or municipalities with substantially equivalent licensing requirements is accepted, that anyone performing non-exempt air conditioning work must hold at least a technician registration, that 'there is no exam required' for technician registration ($20, one-page application, criminal background check), and that all work must be provided through a Texas-licensed ACR contractor holding the required liability insurance.
- TDLR - Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors program · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Program home page. Lists the three credentials (Contractor License, Technician Registration, Certified Technician) and states that a company must employ an ACR contractor at each permanent location. Links to the out-of-state and reciprocity pages.
- TDLR - Apply for a New Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician Registration · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Any person who assists a licensed ACR contractor in performing air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance or repair work must register as a technician; age 16; $20 non-refundable fee; registration valid one year; criminal history questionnaire if convicted; technicians work under contractor supervision and may not advertise independently. No exam is listed.
- TDLR - Renew an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician Registration or Certification · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026Registered technician renewal $20 and certified technician renewal $35, each valid one year from issue.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.