Do HVAC contractors need a license in Texas?

Unlike roofing, HVAC work in Texas is licensed. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issues the air conditioning and refrigeration contractor licence, and anyone who contracts to install, service or repair a system has to hold one or work under someone who does. The licence number must appear on the contractor's advertising, his contracts and his vehicles. Technicians who do the hands-on work register with TDLR under the licensed contractor.

That gives you a check that costs nothing. Ask for the licence number, then look it up on the TDLR licence search. It tells you whether the licence is current, what class it is, and whether there have been disciplinary actions. A contractor who hesitates to give you the number has told you what you need to know.

Beyond the licence: general liability insurance with a certificate you can read, a written diagnosis and price before the work, and for any replacement the equipment by make, model and rating in writing. The licence is the floor, not the ceiling, but in this trade the floor is real, and the reason this site only connects you with licensed contractors is that it is the one thing a homeowner cannot judge from the driveway.