STATE LICENSE
ConditionalTennessee Board for Licensing Contractors…
HVAC is a mechanical classification under the Board for Licensing Contractors: CMC-C covers HVAC, refrigeration and gas piping, and CMC is full mechanical (plumbing plus HVAC). Both require a trade exam, and the license is mandatory once the HVAC portion of a project reaches $25,000, whether you contract with the owner or a general contractor.
Below $25,000 the Board's own guidance for HVAC is 'see Electrician or Contractor': no separate state HVAC card exists. The electrical connection must be done by a licensed electrician (LLE, CE or local license), who pulls the permit. The Board's LLE guidance says permits and inspections are required for all electrical and HVAC work regardless of the dollar amount. Federal EPA Section 608 certification applies to anyone servicing refrigerant-containing equipment.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
HVAC permits ride on the electrical permit system. In about 65 counties, Fire Marshal issuing agents sell the permit and state-contracted deputy inspectors inspect. Cities with authorized local programs (Nashville, Memphis/Shelby, Knoxville, Chattanooga and others) issue their own permits and may license mechanical and gas trades locally. Chattanooga's Land Development Office handles trade permits and licensing for the city. Tennessee licenses contractors at the state level; the local desk issues the permit and does the inspecting. Every contractor also needs a business tax license for each city or county where it operates. All four big metros sit inside Home Improvement counties: Davidson (Metro Nashville), Shelby (Memphis), Knox (Knoxville) and Hamilton (Chattanooga). Residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999 there needs the state Home Improvement license, whether or not the job needs a permit. Memphis & Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement makes every state-licensed general contractor register its license before pulling a permit. The registration costs $50 and needs a Board-issued Qualifying Agent affidavit and a Memphis & Shelby County business license. Knoxville ties every permit applicant to a registration type: state contractor, homeowner, or unlicensed/state limited license. Where a city or county does not enforce its own building code, one- and two-family dwellings fall under the State Fire Marshal's residential permit program, which uses the 2018 IRC and state-contracted inspectors.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Tennessee county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
There's no state HVAC license below $25,000, but the electrical hookup must be done by a licensed electrician who pulls the permit, on every job.
The $25,000 trigger applies to HVAC subcontractors working for a general contractor, not just primes. Primes must list their HVAC sub on the bid.
Cities with their own codes programs may license mechanical and gas trades locally. Under the Board's classification rules, a CMC holder can't be made to pass a local exam.
A practical sequence for a new HVAC contractor in Tennessee. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Inspectors may not issue final approval on electrical installations, including the HVAC hookup, done by anyone not licensed under T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 6.
Anyone who engages or offers to engage in contracting without a valid license, or outside its classification or monetary limit, may not be awarded the contract or take part in any re-bid of the project. The Board's licensing instructions add that the offender's own license application may be denied or held for up to six months.
The Board may assess $50–$5,000 for violations of T.C.A. § 62-6-120(d) and for unlawful bidding, and $50–$1,000 for other violations of the contractor law. Each day of continued violation counts as a separate violation.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: Prov's per-exam fee for the Business & Law and trade exams from July 1, 2026 is not published on tn.gov (PSI charged $57 per exam per the Board's Rev. 02/25 application package) · The full text of T.C.A. § 62-6-103/§ 62-6-120 could not be fetched from an official host (the tn.gov statute mirror pages have been removed; the official code is behind LexisNexis). Any statutory cap on what an unlicensed contractor may recover in court, and the criminal grade of unlicensed contracting, are therefore not asserted here · Whether any Tennessee local jurisdictions in the dossier set issue stand-alone mechanical/HVAC licenses below $25,000, and their fees, was not verified office by office
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.