Florida HVAC licenses for maintenance work: Class A, B and C, technicians and EPA 608

Suppose a technician with six years on split systems wants maintenance work from apartment complexes around Kissimmee. Three questions decide what he can take on: which state license, if any, covers the work; whether he can do it under someone else's license; and whether he holds the federal refrigerant card. Each has a short answer in a primary source.

What do Florida's Class A, B and C air-conditioning licenses cover?

All three are defined in section 489.105(3) of the Florida Statutes. A Class A air-conditioning contractor's services are unlimited: installing, maintaining, repairing, altering and designing central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating and ventilating systems, with the duct work needed to complete an air-distribution system. The same definition lets the contractor replace, disconnect or reconnect power wiring on the line or load side of the dedicated existing disconnect on single-phase systems, install low-voltage control wiring, and run a condensate drain to an existing safe waste.

A Class B contractor works on the same kinds of systems, limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating in any one system. A Class C contractor's business is limited to servicing air-conditioning, heating and refrigeration systems, and only someone who held a Class C license on October 1, 1988, may hold one now. For anyone starting out today, the choice is A or B.

The Class A definition also says what it leaves out: gas lines inside buildings (apart from disconnecting and reconnecting gas appliances at a changeout), potable water lines, sanitary sewer lines, swimming pool piping and filters, and electrical power wiring.

A few jobs need no air-conditioning license at all. Section 489.103(14) exempts selling, servicing or installing heating or cooling units of no more than 3 tons or 36,000 Btu that have no ducts and a factory-installed cord and plug. Our guide to Florida's handyman exemption covers the other limits on unlicensed work.

Can a technician work without a license under a licensed contractor?

Yes, if he is the contractor's employee. Section 489.103(2) exempts any employee of a certificateholder or registrant who is acting within the scope of that license and with the licenseholder's knowledge and permission. The statute defines an employee as a person paid by and under the supervision and control of an employer who regularly deducts FICA and withholding tax and provides workers' compensation.

That definition is about payroll, not skill. Suppose our technician bills a licensed company as his own one-person business, and the company withholds no tax and carries no workers' compensation for him. He does not fit the statute's definition of an employee, so this exemption is not the one to rely on.

The exemption also protects only employees of a licensed business. If the employer is not licensed for that type of contracting, the employee loses the exemption by holding himself or his employer out as licensed, by suggesting he has an ownership or management stake, or by doing any act that counts as contracting.

What is EPA Section 608 certification, and who needs it?

Section 608 certification is a federal requirement that sits beside the state license. Under EPA's rules, as its technician certification page explains, technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants must be certified. The page defines a technician by activity, including attaching and detaching hoses and gauges to measure pressure, and adding refrigerant to or removing it from an appliance.

EPA offers four types of certification:

• Type I, for servicing small appliances.
• Type II, for servicing or disposing of high- or very high-pressure appliances, except small appliances and motor vehicle air conditioners.
• Type III, for servicing or disposing of low-pressure appliances.
• Universal, for servicing all types of equipment.

The tests must be given by an EPA-approved certifying organization, and the credentials do not expire. The core test for Universal certification has to be taken proctored; an open-book core test does not count toward it. Apprentices are exempt while they are closely and continually supervised by a certified technician.

The card also controls what you can buy. EPA's refrigerant sales restriction allows only certified technicians, or employers who give the wholesaler written evidence that they employ at least one, to purchase refrigerant, and only Section 608 technicians can buy refrigerant meant for stationary air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment.

What does Osceola County ask of an HVAC contractor?

Osceola County wants the state license first, then a county registration. Its licensing page says to register through DBPR, then register with the county through the online Permit Center under Licenses, Register a License, entering the business tax receipt expiration date, the liability policy number and expiration, the state license number and expiration, and the workers' compensation policy and expiration. The certificate of insurance should name the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners, 1 Courthouse Square, Kissimmee, as certificate holder and additional insured.

Renewal runs on the local business tax receipt, due each year by September 30. A state certified contractor keeps on file a copy of the state license, general liability coverage, workers' compensation or an exemption, and the business tax receipt. A state registered contractor adds a continuation of the surety bond and a $75.00 competency card for a master contractor. The county warns that records out of date may delay or get permit applications rejected.

The receipt comes from the Osceola County Tax Collector, not from the building office. It costs $30.00 a year and expires September 30, with a prorated fee for new businesses depending on the start date. A late renewal adds a penalty from $3.00 in October up to $7.50 in January. A business inside Kissimmee or St. Cloud needs a city receipt as well as the county one, and Osceola does not honor receipts from other counties.

How does this fit with working through 1Stop?

1Stop Service Pro takes insured trade vendors, licensed where the trade requires it, and in Osceola County it takes every trade, with no emergency response target yet. Vendors pay no listing fee, lead fee or percentage, invoice one company, 1Stop, and are paid net-14. 1Stop is new and pre-launch, so it has no job counts to show you.

If your license, your Osceola registration and your 608 card are in order, the vendor application is the next step, and the Orlando-area HVAC page shows how the work is set up around Kissimmee.