Florida Class A vs Class B air conditioning license
One number separates them: 25 tons. Choosing the wrong class does not stop you working, but it quietly caps the size of job you can legally take for the life of the license.
Updated August 2026
The quick answer
Class A air conditioning contractors can work on systems of unlimited capacity.
Class B contractors are limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating per system.
Per system, not per job
Read the limit carefully, because the wording is where people misjudge it. The cap is per system. A building with several independent systems, each under 25 tons, is not automatically out of a Class B contractor's reach — but one large system is, regardless of how modest the rest of the job is.
That distinction matters most on light commercial work, which is exactly the boundary where a growing residential business starts bidding.
Which one fits the work you want
The work
Class needed
Residential changeouts and new installs
Class B is usually enough
Small commercial, multiple modest systems
Often Class B
A single system over 25 tons
Class A
Heating over 500,000 BTU on one system
Class A
Larger commercial and institutional plant
Class A
Scope definitions are set by the Board under Chapter 489 and change over time. Confirm current scope with the DBPR before choosing a class or bidding work near the limit.
The honest way to choose
The question is not "which is better" — it is "where do you expect to be bidding in five years". A license is not something you re-sit casually, and the exam is the same significant undertaking either way.
If residential is the whole plan, Class B covers it comfortably
If you expect light commercial, look at the tonnage of jobs you have turned down
One 30-ton system in your pipeline is the whole argument for Class A
The exam effort is comparable — the cap is the real difference
Ask what your competitors in your area hold, and why
Choosing Class B and then routinely subbing out the jobs that exceed it is a working arrangement, but it means handing the largest invoices on your route to someone else, permanently.
The exam
The Class A Trade Knowledge exam is 130 questions delivered in two open-book sessions of 65 scored questions each, with roughly 4.75 hours allotted per session. You need 70% to pass each portion, and there is a separate Business and Finance exam every applicant takes. Both are administered by Professional Testing, Inc. for the DBPR and the CILB.
Open book does not mean easy. The proctor allows a specific list of references — the Florida Building Code-Mechanical, the Florida Energy Code, refrigeration and air conditioning technology textbooks, EPA 608 material, and OSHA construction standards — and you are expected to arrive with tabbed, marked-up copies. At 65 scored questions per session, someone looking up every answer from scratch does not finish.
What is the same either way
Both classes sit under the same Chapter 489 framework: four years of experience (which may include approved education credits), both exams, financial responsibility (a FICO of 660 or higher, or a 14-hour financial responsibility course), and insurance minimums of $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property damage under Rule 61G4. Licenses renew biennially with continuing education.
Same exam material, whichever class you choose
FLHVACPrep drills all 10 official content areas with 341 practice questions and a plain-English explanation on every answer, plus a timed simulation. First questions free, no account needed.
What is the difference between a Class A and Class B air conditioning license in Florida?
A Class A air conditioning contractor can work on systems of unlimited capacity. A Class B contractor is limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating per system.
What are the Class B HVAC license Florida requirements?
The same Chapter 489 framework as Class A — four years of experience which may include approved education credits, the Trade Knowledge exam and the separate Business and Finance exam, financial responsibility, and the insurance minimums. The difference is scope, not the qualifying path.
What is a Florida Class A air conditioning license?
The unlimited-capacity class. A Class A contractor is not restricted by system tonnage or heating capacity, unlike Class B which caps at 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating per system.
Is the 25-ton limit per job or per system?
Per system. A building with several independent systems each under the limit is different from one large system that exceeds it.
Should I get Class A or Class B?
Match it to the work you expect to bid. Class B covers residential and much light commercial comfortably; a single system over 25 tons requires Class A. The exam effort is comparable, so the cap is the real decision.
What is a Class A HVAC license Florida issues?
The unlimited-capacity air conditioning contractor license. A Class A HVAC license Florida grants is not restricted by system tonnage; Class B caps at 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU of heating per system.
What are the Florida AC license requirements?
The same for both classes: four years of experience which may include approved education credits, the trade-knowledge exam and the Business and Finance exam, financial responsibility, and the insurance minimums under Rule 61G4.
Is an AC contractor license Florida requires the same as an HVAC license?
Yes — the state category is the air conditioning contractor license, issued in Class A and Class B. "HVAC license" is the everyday name for the same thing.
What is on the Florida AC license exam?
The Florida AC license exam has two parts: the trade-knowledge exam and the Business and Finance exam. For Class A the trade portion is 130 questions across two open-book sessions of 65 scored questions each, at 70% to pass per portion.
Is there a separate Class B exam?
Both classes qualify through the trade-knowledge and Business and Finance examinations under Chapter 489. The Class A Trade Knowledge exam is 130 questions across two open-book sessions of 65 scored questions each. Confirm the current format for your class with the DBPR and Professional Testing.
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