Georgia licenses conditioned air contractors in two classes through the Division of Conditioned Air Contractors of the State Construction Industry Licensing Board. Class I covers residential and light commercial work within stated BTU limits; Class II is unrestricted except for boilers. Both classes sit a PSI examination of 100 scored questions plus 20 pretest questions across seven hours, passed at a final scaled score of 70. The PassProfessor Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor (Class I & II) program prepares candidates for the class they are actually seeking — the two classes are never blended.
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Two licenses, kept separate from the first line
Georgia issues exactly two conditioned air licenses: Class I and Class II. There is no journeyman or technician conditioned air license. On Board forms, Class I is the Restricted class (prefix CR) and Class II the Non-restricted class (prefix CN), but the license itself is the class, and the route differs by class throughout: the scope authorised, the experience years required, the extra coursework the Class II applicant completes, and one reference on the Class II list alone. This page keeps the classes apart in every section, because preparing for the wrong class is not preparing at all.
The authority is the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, acting through its Division of Conditioned Air Contractors (Secretary of State). The governing law is O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 14, with conditioned air licensure at section 43-14-14, and the operative rules in Chapter 121 of the Georgia Rules and Regulations — Rule 121-3-.04 carries the experience and licensure requirements that decide most applications before an examination is booked.
The examinations at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor (Class I & II) — one program, two separately examined classes |
| Regulator | State Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Conditioned Air Contractors (Secretary of State) |
| Examination vendor | PSI Services, Examination Development and Testing Unit (EDTU); Board approval comes first |
| Presented questions | 120 — 100 scored plus 20 pretest (Beta) questions that do not count toward the score |
| Time | Seven hours in two parts of 3.5 hours each, with a break between; the limit includes the pretest questions |
| Passing standard | A final scaled score of 70 on the appropriate examination |
| Book position | Reference-permitted: only the materials on the handbook’s Suggested Reference List may be used in the room |
| Outline | One combined outline for both classes: System Design 55, Installation 25, Maintain and Repair 12, Regulations, Laws and Administrative Functions 8 |
| Practical component | None — both examinations are multiple-choice computer-based tests |
What each class authorises
Class I — Residential and Light Commercial, within the BTU limits. Class I authorises business as a residential and light commercial entity for air conditioning and heat pump systems of 60,000 BTUs of cooling or less and gas heating systems of 175,000 BTUs or less, including permitting, bidding, maintenance, service, repairs, and installation of equipment and components — ductwork, refrigerant lines, gas piping, controls, and accessories. Each complete system in a single installation is considered an individual job, so the limits apply system by system, not to a building’s systems added together.
Class II — unrestricted except boilers. Class II authorises business as a residential and commercial entity without limitations or restrictions on project size or equipment types, except the installation of boilers, which is licensed under the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. The scope includes design, bidding, permitting, maintenance, service, repairs, and installation of systems and replacements — split air conditioning and heat pumps, package units, variable refrigerant flow systems, chillers, ventilation, and all associated components.
No dollar limit exists for either class. The Class I boundary is measured in BTUs and the Class II boundary is the boiler carve-out; no dollar-value or project-cost ceiling appears in the statute or rules for either class. A license is required before performing the work, holds at the local level, and is valid statewide.
The experience gates: four years and five years, built differently
Both classes share a common gate: a completed application, the prerequisite experience, the passing scaled score, and all required Board fees. Full-time experience means at least 2,000 hours in a calendar year, each 2,000 documented hours equating to one year.
Class I requires four years: two years of residential installation as a lead mechanic, one year as a service technician — a year carrying evidence of an E.P.A. certification — and one year of residential supervisory experience, plus a Board-approved heat loss and gain and duct design course. Class II requires five years: two years of installation as a lead mechanic, at least one commercial only; one year as a service technician or service supervisor, again with evidence of an E.P.A. certification; and two years of commercial supervisory experience, plus the course — and documented experience with installations of systems exceeding 175,000 BTU of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling, the work beyond the Class I ceiling that the unrestricted license presupposes. An E.P.A. Section 608 technician certification requirement applies to applicants as part of this gate, stated here in the general form in which it is sourced; the federal certification is its own regime and its own program in this catalog. Education substitutes only within caps: a technical school diploma program in the fields the statute names counts for no more than two years, and a vocational-technical certificate program for no more than one year. The design course is required of everyone — Manuals J and D for all applicants, with Class II applicants additionally completing a course covering Manuals N and Q or the Carrier Design Manuals 1, 2, and 3; the Georgia technical-college course AIRC 1060 meets the requirement as the Board’s course sheet records it.
The sitting itself
The Division approves separate examinations for Class I and Class II, and the candidate sits the examination for the class sought. PSI’s Candidate Information Handbook publishes one combined content outline for both classes, with individual tasks marked as Class II only, and both examinations are multiple-choice computer-based tests at PSI test centers throughout the Southeast, by appointment, Monday through Saturday. Board approval is the precondition: the Board notifies PSI of approval, and PSI sends registration instructions.
Each sitting presents 120 questions across seven hours, in two parts of 3.5 hours with a break between. One hundred questions are scored; twenty are pretest (Beta) questions that do not count toward the score — and the seven-hour limit includes the time they take, so pacing that pretends only 100 questions exist will run short. The passing standard is a final scaled score of 70: the raw score is transformed taking question difficulty into consideration before the standard is applied. There is no hands-on practical, drawing, or performance component in either examination. The examination is reference-permitted: only the materials on the handbook’s Suggested Reference List may be used. References may be highlighted, underlined, or tabbed with permanent tabs; photocopied materials and handwritten notes are not permitted even if pasted into a book. A silent, non-programmable calculator without alpha keys or printing capability is allowed, and there is no penalty for guessing.
The combined outline, weighted honestly
The scored hundred divide as follows. System Design carries 55 — more than half the paper — making load calculation, duct design, and system selection the centre of gravity for both classes. Installation carries 25, across equipment, duct systems, flue venting, gas piping and tubing, refrigerant piping and accessories, condensate piping, electrical control systems, and placing the system in operation. Maintain and Repair carries 12, between general and electrical work. Regulations, Laws, and Administrative Functions carries 8 — a small block testing the licensing frame itself, which punishes candidates who treated the business side as an afterthought. Class II candidates meet the same weights, with the Class II-only tasks layered on top.
Tested codes and adopted codes: two layers, dated differently
Candidates are tested on the 2024 Georgia codes. PSI’s Suggested Reference List, effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, lists the 2024 Georgia Gas Code (the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code) with Georgia amendments and the 2024 Georgia Mechanical Code (the 2024 International Mechanical Code) with Georgia amendments, and prints the transition rule in full: beginning May 1, 2026 the exam will be based only on the 2024 Georgia Gas Code and the 2024 Georgia Mechanical Code. The earlier window allowing the 2018 Georgia codes is closed. The tested list also carries the 2023 National Electrical Code; ACCA Manual D and Manual J in the listed editions; a current refrigeration and air conditioning technology text in either of the two named alternatives; the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law, and Project Management — Georgia; OSHA’s 29 CFR Part 1926; the Carrier System Design Manuals; flexible duct standards; and — a detail generic material gets wrong — the International Energy Conservation Code (2015) with 2015 Georgia amendments, which remains the energy reference in the 2026 list. Class II candidates add Low Pressure Boilers.
The field layer is separate. Georgia’s adopted State Minimum Standard Mechanical Code and Gas Code are the 2024 international codes with Georgia State Amendments, every amendment item effective January 1, 2026. Tested and adopted converge on the same 2024 editions by different instruments on different dates — the examination keys to the PSI list and its May 1, 2026 transition, while field work answers to the adopted packets effective January 1, 2026.
Fees, renewal, and the life of the license
The Board’s published application fee for a statewide license by examination is $30 for either class, with a $10 processing fee added, stated on the form as a $40 total — separate from any examination charge. A failing candidate receives subscores for the major content areas, where a retake plan starts. A candidate who fails must retake and pass, and Georgia adds a gate with teeth: a candidate who fails twice must complete a Board-approved review course before testing a third time.
Licenses are issued and renewed biennially and expire November 30 of odd-numbered years, with a late-renewal window December 1 through December 31 of odd years. The Board’s published renewal figures are $75 on time, $100 for late renewal within 30 days of expiration, and $150 for a license lapsed more than 30 days but less than three years. An unrenewed license is deemed invalid and its holder is not authorised to engage in the business; the Board’s failure to send a renewal form does not excuse the failure to renew. Renewal requires four hours of continuing education per year — eight across the cycle — with records kept at least five years; applicants licensed less than two years owe four hours, and those licensed less than one year owe none. A license lapsed more than three years is reinstated only by taking and passing the appropriate examination again.
Behind the individual license sits the business layer: no partnership, limited liability company, or corporation may engage in conditioned air contracting unless a licensed person is regularly connected with it and actively engaged full-time, each branch office must have such a licensee stationed there, and the qualifying licensee may not qualify more than one business at a time. Every business holds a registration number built from the qualifier’s license number with its CN or CR prefix, displayed on both sides of commercial vehicles in characters at least two inches high and on advertisements, invoices, and proposal forms; if the qualifier leaves, the business must cease conditioned air contracting until a licensee qualifies it again. Georgia also provides licensure by endorsement or reciprocity under formal written agreements with boards whose requirements are substantially equal to Georgia’s and which offer Georgia licensees a similar privilege — even then, the applicant must still document Georgia’s prerequisite experience.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Both classes, prepared as two classes. The program is built around the combined outline’s real weights — System Design first, because the paper puts it first — while holding the class line everywhere it matters: both scopes, both experience compositions, the additional Class II coursework, the Class II-only tasks, and the Class II-only boiler reference. The Georgia delta as the teaching spine. The tested-versus-adopted layering, the May 1, 2026 transition to the 2024 Georgia codes only, the 2015 energy reference surviving inside the 2026 list, the scaled-score passing form, the pretest questions inside the seven-hour clock, and the review-course gate after a second failure — these decide Georgia sittings, and the program is organised around them rather than around generic air conditioning content with a state name attached.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider and is not affiliated with the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, its Division of Conditioned Air Contractors, the Georgia Secretary of State, or PSI. Completing this program confers no license and no examination eligibility; the Division alone licenses, and candidates register with PSI only after Board approval.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor (Class I & II) program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program. The companion guide, the Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor (Class I & II) exam guide, walks the route, the outline, and the code layers in full.
Frequently asked questions
What work does Class I cover?
Residential and light commercial work on systems of 60,000 BTUs of cooling or less and gas heating systems of 175,000 BTUs or less, including permitting, bidding, maintenance, service, repairs, and installation. Each complete system in a single installation counts as an individual job against the limits.
What work does Class II cover?
Residential and commercial work without limitations on project size or equipment types, except the installation of boilers, which is licensed under the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire.
Is there a dollar or project-cost limit on either class?
No. No dollar-value or project-cost limit appears in the statute or rules for either class. The Class I limit is measured in BTUs; the Class II carve-out is boilers.
How much experience does each class require?
Class I: four years — two of residential installation as a lead mechanic, one as a service technician, one of residential supervisory experience — plus the approved design course. Class II: five years — two of installation as a lead mechanic with at least one commercial only, one as a service technician or service supervisor, two of commercial supervisory experience — plus the course and documented experience on systems exceeding the Class I BTU limits.
What score passes?
A final scaled score of 70 on the appropriate examination. The raw score is transformed taking question difficulty into consideration before the standard is applied.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Georgia board or PSI?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, the Division of Conditioned Air Contractors, the Georgia Secretary of State, or PSI.
When does enrollment open?
The program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address on this page and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program.