Florida’s Class A Air-Conditioning Contractor is a certified Division II category under section 489.105(3)(f), Florida Statutes, issued through the Construction Industry Licensing Board within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Its Trade Knowledge examination — Air Conditioning “A” — carries 130 scored questions in 7.5 hours of Daily CBT, and the published passing standard is stated in the Candidate Information Booklet’s own form: Passing score: 70%. The PassProfessor Florida Class A Air-Conditioning Contractor program prepares candidates for that examination.
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What this credential certifies
A Florida Class A Air-Conditioning Contractor holds a certificate of competency issued by the department and may contract in any jurisdiction in the state without fulfilling that jurisdiction’s own competency requirements. Certification is the statewide route; the registered route reaches only where its local registration stands, and this program covers the certified license only.
Class A is the unlimited air-conditioning class, defined by contrast on both sides. Against Class B, it carries no tonnage or heat cap, and its definition includes boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems, pressure and process piping, and pneumatic control piping — three elements the Class B definition does not list. Against the Mechanical Contractor, it shares the unlimited systems core and the piping inclusions but stops at the Mechanical-only extensions: lift stations, gasoline tanks and pumps, standpipes, oxygen and nitrous oxide lines, and fuel lines within buildings sit outside this definition.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Florida Class A Air-Conditioning Contractor — Air Conditioning “A” Trade Knowledge |
| Regulator | Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) |
| Statutory category | Section 489.105(3)(f), Florida Statutes — Division II, certified |
| Examination structure | Two examinations: Trade Knowledge and Business and Finance (structure only in this program) |
| Trade Knowledge examination | 130 scored questions / 7.5 hours, Daily CBT; multiple choice, four alternatives, equally weighted |
| Passing standard | Passing score: 70% — percentage scores, not rounded to the nearest percent |
| Book status | Open book, controlled references from the approved list; candidates must bring an Architect’s Scale (including 1/4″ and 1/8″) |
| Initial application schedule (qualifying a business, Form CILB 6-G) | $245 / $145 by application window — stated in full in the fee section below |
| Code layers | Tested and adopted coincide for 2026: the 2023 Florida Building Code (8th Edition) |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the CILB or DBPR |
Unlimited scope, stated exactly
Class A services are unlimited in the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law: central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems, including duct work in connection with a complete system if performed as necessary to complete an air-distribution system; boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems; and all appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection therewith; and any duct cleaning and equipment sanitizing that requires at least a partial disassembling of the system. There is no tonnage or Btu cap on Class A — the cap belongs to Class B, and its absence here is the first discriminator between the classes.
The piping inclusions follow: piping; insulation of pipes, vessels and ducts; pressure and process piping; pneumatic control piping. The electrical allowances are the family’s shared set: power wiring on the line or load side of the dedicated existing electrical disconnect switch on single-phase systems; dedicated HVAC circuit work with proper use of a circuit breaker lock; and low-voltage HVAC control wiring. Class A may install a condensate drain to an existing safe waste or other approved disposal other than a direct connection to a sanitary system, and its scope includes incidental excavation. The exclusions are exact: liquefied petroleum or natural gas fuel lines within buildings — except disconnecting and reconnecting appliance changeouts within buildings — potable water lines or connections thereto, sanitary sewer lines, swimming pool piping and filters, and electrical power wiring. Class A may also test and evaluate systems including duct work; no mandatory licensing requirement is established for those services. And section 489.113(3) applies: a contractor shall subcontract all work in a trade category unless the contractor holds a state certificate or registration in that category.
How the Trade Knowledge examination is weighted
Rule 61G4-16.001(5)(b) publishes nine weighted areas for the Class A paper — an installation-led examination. Installation of Refrigeration and HVAC Systems carries 23 percent, the largest single area on either air-conditioning paper. Pre-installation, Installation of Refrigeration and HVAC Equipment and Components, and Maintenance Service each carry 14 percent. Sheet Metal Ducts, Maintenance Analysis, and Safety and Equipment each carry 9 percent. Energy Management carries 5 percent and Indoor Air Quality 3 percent. The weights sum to 100 percent. Class A has no Excavating area and no separate mechanical systems areas — those belong to the Mechanical examination alone.
The sitting: vendors, format, references, and the Architect’s Scale
Florida’s examination system runs in two layers that must never be merged. Professional Testing, Inc. (PTI) registers candidates, and develops and scores the professional examinations for the Construction Industry Licensing Board; candidates apply directly with PTI. After PTI approval, the candidate schedules with Pearson VUE, which schedules, administers, scores, and reports the CBT examinations. All construction examinations except the Plumbing Contractor examination are administered in CBT format, under the DBPR Candidate Information Booklet, effective July 2024.
Every question is multiple choice with four alternative answers, equally weighted, and knowledge of basic mathematics is required for each part. The examination is open book under controlled conditions: only materials on the approved reference list may be brought, in published condition, with permanent tabs only, no handwritten or typewritten notes, no marking in references during the examination, and no photocopies without prior written authorization; earlier or later editions are brought at the candidate’s own risk, and only one copy of each reference is permitted. Class A candidates must also bring an Architect’s Scale, including 1/4″ and 1/8″ — a supply rule, not a practical component; no hands-on practical appears in the sourced record. An examination may contain a small number of pilot questions; they are not counted in computing scores, additional time is given for them, and they are not identified to the candidate.
Tested and adopted: the 2023 Florida Building Code, stated as two layers
For the 2026 window the tested and adopted layers coincide, stated here as the two layers they are. The tested layer is verified in full from the DBPR reference list for the Air A CBT examination, valid January 2026 through December 2026: Florida Building Code – Mechanical, 2023 and Florida Building Code – Energy Conservation, 2023 stand at its head, with titles including NFPA 90A (2015), NFPA 90B (2024), NFPA 96 (2021), the SMACNA duct construction standards, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology (9th Edition, 2021), the Contractors Manual (2025), and OSHA 29 CFR 1926 (July 1, 2025 edition). The adopted layer is the field standard: the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, Mechanical, effective December 31, 2023 and in force until the 9th Edition takes effect, built on the 2021 IMC with Florida-specific amendments. Answers key to the Florida text, not to bare IMC 2021, wherever the two differ.
Who may sit: the general gates, the category experience areas, and the ladder into Class A
The general gates are the section 489.111 frame shared across Division II: written application, 18 years of age, good moral character — refusal on that ground permitted only on a substantial connection to the professional responsibilities of a certified contractor, supported by clear and convincing evidence — electronic fingerprints, and one of the statute’s criteria: a degree in an appropriate field plus one year of proven experience; four years of active experience with at least one year as a foreman; or the combination routes that each keep the foreman year, at 2,000 person-hours per year. Passing alone does not qualify a person for licensure; the application for initial issuance follows.
The Class A form, DBPR Form CILB 6-G, gives the category its concrete shape. Its Part A experience areas are installation of: systems in excess of 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu heating capacity — one year in that area; air conditioning equipment; heating equipment; refrigeration equipment; and sheet metal ductwork. Part B mirrors the same areas under maintenance and repair. The form also lists three military-veteran qualification routes, stated here as form-layer facts: three years of military service plus one year as foreman; two years of military service plus one year as foreman plus one year as worker or foreman; and one year of military service plus one year as foreman plus two years as worker or foreman. Finally, Class A is a ladder destination: under section 489.111(2)(c)5, an active certified Class B contractor with one year of proven experience is eligible to take the Class A examination, and a Class C contractor is eligible at four years; the form exempts upgrade applicants from its Employment History section. A baccalaureate degree in building construction, or a board-approved related degree, with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher leaves only the Business and Finance portion to be taken and passed.
The verified fee schedule — and what is not stated
The Class A qualifying-a-business checklist on Form CILB 6-G verifies one fee schedule for this credential, printed here in exactly its form-layer scope: the initial application fee is $245 if applying for initial certification between May 1 of an even year through August 31 of an odd year, and $145 if applying between September 1 of an odd year through April 30 of an even year. The two figures are one schedule keyed to the biennial cycle, not two fees, and they are application figures only. No examination fee or renewal fee dollar is stated in this program, because none is verified in the sourced record.
The second examination, stated as a boundary
Certification requires passing two examinations: the Air Conditioning “A” Trade Knowledge examination this program prepares candidates for, and the Business and Finance examination — 120 scored questions, 6.5 hours, Daily CBT, within the same PTI and Pearson VUE system. This program records that structure and nothing more: the Business and Finance examination is a shared asset across Division II, and its content belongs to that shared program. Two boundary mechanics still matter: a passing candidate applying for examination in an additional category may be exempt from retaking the Business and Finance portion, and the degree provision above waives the trade examination while leaving the Business and Finance examination fully required.
Staying certified: financial responsibility, continuing education, and renewal
The financial-responsibility gates precede issuance: an affidavit of workers’ compensation, public liability, and property damage insurance in board-rule amounts, and a credit report from a nationally recognized agency. Under Rule 61G4-15.006, certification may be denied for failure to provide a current consumer credit report disclosing no unsatisfied judgments or liens, or proof of a FICO-derived credit score of 660 or higher; below 660, the only cure is completion of a 14-hour board-approved financial responsibility course. Insurance minimums for an Air Conditioning Contractor under Rule 61G4-15.003 are $100,000 liability and $25,000 property damage, carried in the licensee’s name at all times, and workers’ compensation coverage is a condition precedent to issuance or renewal.
Continuing education is 14 hours per biennium from a Board-approved provider — one hour each in a specialized or advanced module course, workplace safety, business practices, workers’ compensation, and laws and rules, with nine further hours in listed or general topics; the wind-mitigation hour does not apply to air-conditioning licensees. Certificates renew every two years, on August 31 of every even-numbered year, and a passing grade remains valid for four years from Board approval of the successful-candidates list.
Our companion guide, at /florida-class-a-air-conditioning-contractor-exam-guide/, works through the A/B contrasts, the weights, and the upgrade routes in depth.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
The unlimited class on its own terms. This program is built from section 489.105(3)(f) outward: the unlimited systems core, the boiler and pressure and process piping inclusions that separate Class A from Class B, and the installation-led weights — 23 percent on installation of refrigeration and HVAC systems alone.
The reference list as a working tool. Practice is keyed to the verified 2026 Air A reference list, from the two 2023 Florida Building Code volumes through the SMACNA duct standards to the Contractors Manual, with the Florida text treated as the examined text wherever it departs from the model code beneath it.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the Construction Industry Licensing Board or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and this program is not a Florida course. Completing it confers no certificate; the Board alone certifies, and candidates register through PTI and Pearson VUE.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Florida Class A Air-Conditioning Contractor program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Our catalog now includes this program among the Florida contractor categories in preparation. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write to you when it is ready — and only about this program.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a size limit on Class A work?
No. Class A services are unlimited; the cap — 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating in any one system — belongs to Class B.
How many questions does the Air Conditioning “A” Trade Knowledge examination carry, and how long does it run?
130 scored questions in 7.5 hours, Daily CBT. All questions are multiple choice with four alternatives, equally weighted.
What score passes?
Passing score: 70%, in the Candidate Information Booklet’s own form. Scores are reported as percentage scores and are not rounded.
What does the initial application cost for this credential?
On the Class A qualifying-a-business form, $245 if applying for initial certification between May 1 of an even year through August 31 of an odd year, and $145 if applying between September 1 of an odd year through April 30 of an even year. No examination or renewal fee dollar is verified in the sourced record.
Can a Class B contractor move up to Class A?
Yes. An active certified Class B contractor with one year of proven experience is eligible to take the Class A examination; a Class C contractor qualifies at four years.
Is the examination open book?
Yes, under controlled conditions: only materials on the approved reference list may be brought, in published condition, with permanent tabs only and no notes. Candidates must also bring an Architect’s Scale.
Does certification require a second examination?
Yes — the Trade Knowledge examination and the Business and Finance examination (120 scored questions, 6.5 hours, Daily CBT). This program covers the trade examination and records the second as structure only.
How much continuing education does renewal require?
Fourteen hours per biennium from a Board-approved provider, including one hour each in a specialized or advanced module, workplace safety, business practices, workers’ compensation, and laws and rules, with nine further hours in listed or general topics.
When does enrollment open?
The program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write to you when it is ready — and only about this program.