Pen-and-ink Texas scene: a low commercial building with rooftop air conditioning units, a tall pump jack and a ladder on one side, a windmill and a service truck on the other.

Texas HVAC insurance requirement

what insurance
does TDLR
require?

The minimums by class, and what the department’s form accepts.

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the short answer

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation won’t issue an air conditioning and refrigeration contractor license without proof of general liability, filed on its own certificate form. Class A needs $300,000 per occurrence, $300,000 for products and completed operations and a $600,000 general aggregate, and Class B needs $100,000, $100,000 and $200,000.

what the department requires.

From the department’s own certificate of insurance form.

Class A minimum: $300,000 each occurrence for property damage and bodily injury, $300,000 aggregate for products and completed operations, $600,000 general aggregate.
Class B minimum: $100,000 each occurrence for property damage and bodily injury, $100,000 aggregate for products and completed operations, $200,000 general aggregate.
When it’s due: Before the license issues. Evidence of insurance is one of the conditions in state law.
How it’s filed: On the department’s certificate form, signed by an authorized insurance representative, with the insurer, policy number and term dates.
Not accepted: Binders and declarations pages.
Who’s named: The license holder and the business name, as the department lists them. The department is the certificate holder.
Cancellation: The form asks the carrier to notify the department before a cancellation or non‑renewal.

Sources: TDLR form ACR-LIC-009, Texas Occupations Code chapter 1302, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Last reviewed September 2026.

what the rule
doesn’t tell you.

A floor, not a ceiling.
The minimum lets the license issue. Property managers and GCs set their own limits, and usually ask for more, plus additional insured wording and waivers.
Evidence, not coverage.
The form says the certificate is for information only and doesn’t change the policy. The policy does the work, so we get it right first.
Comp isn’t on the form.
The department collects general liability. Workers’ comp is elective for most private Texas employers, and many GCs ask for it in the contract.

good to know.

Straight answers on the TDLR insurance rule.

What insurance does TDLR require for an HVAC license?

General liability, before the license issues. State law makes evidence of insurance a condition of the air conditioning and refrigeration contractor license, and the department collects it on its own certificate form. The form sets a per occurrence minimum, a products and completed operations aggregate and a general aggregate, each higher for Class A than for Class B.

Is the TDLR minimum enough for my contracts?

Usually not. The minimum exists so a license can issue. Property managers, GCs and facilities teams set their own requirements in the contract, and they commonly ask for higher limits, additional insured status and waivers. We write the policy for the contracts you sign and issue the department’s certificate from the same policy.

What happens if my TDLR insurance lapses?

Evidence of insurance is a condition of the license, and the department’s form asks the carrier to notify it before a cancellation or non-renewal. A lapse puts the license in question, and nobody wants to find that out at a permit desk. We calendar the policy period and file the new certificate before the current one expires.

Sources: TDLR form ACR-LIC-009, Texas Occupations Code chapter 1302. Last reviewed September 2026.

Insurance words, in plain English: waiver of subrogation · certificate of insurance · additional insured · primary and noncontributory · hold harmless agreement · contractual liability · completed operations · blanket endorsement