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Home / HVAC Technicians / Virginia

How to become an HVAC technician in Virginia

Virginia licenses HVAC technicians at the state level through DPOR.1 You start as an apprentice or trainee and work toward the exam.

80registered apprenticeship programs$28.72median an hour in Virginia

Pick your way in

Apprenticeship

Earn while you learn

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Pay
From day one
In VA
80 registered programs
Find a program near you
Trade school

Classroom first

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Pay
You pay tuition
In VA
27 schools with programs
Compare 27 schools
Helper

Start on a crew

Get hired as a helper by a licensed HVAC contractor and log hours on the job.

Pay
Paid on the job
Start
No experience needed
How to get started

The license steps

  1. Start as an apprentice or trainee

    Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.

    Issued by
    Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors
    Compare the ways in
  2. residential hvac5 yrs

    Six years of practical experience, or 40 hours of vocational training + 5 years, 80 + 4, 120 + 3, 160 hours + 2 years

    Time
    5 yrs
  3. Journeyman license5 yrs

    Four years of practical experience plus 240 hours of formal vocational training, or one year with an engineering bachelor's degree, two years with a two-year associate degree or certificate in a tradesman-related field, or longer experience with fewer training hours (160 hours + 5 years, 80 + 6, 40 + 7, none + 8 years)

    Time
    5 yrs
  4. Master license

    Hold a Virginia journeyman license in the trade for at least one year, or nine years of practical experience in the trade

  5. Run your own shop

    Master tradesman: held a valid journeyman license in the trade 1 year, or the residential tradesman license 3 years, or 9 years of practical experience (18VAC50-30-39 D). Journeyman exam eligibility ranges from 1 year of experience with an engineering bachelor's degree to 8 years with no education (18VAC50-30-39 B).

    Issued by
    VA Board for Contractors (DPOR)
    Virginia contractor license
Already logging hours?

Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Virginia license.

Virginia HVAC technician license
Pay once you're working

$59,730

a year is the median for HVAC technicians in Virginia ($28.72 an hour, May 2025).5

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Staunton–Stuarts Draft$29.98
  2. Harrisonburg$28.95
  3. Charlottesville$28.63
  4. Virginia Beach–Chesapeake$28.59
  5. Richmond$28.43
Virginia median $28.72 an hour

Questions

Do you need a license to work on your own as an HVAC technician in Virginia?

Yes. Virginia licenses HVAC contractors through the VA Board for Contractors (DPOR).3

Are HVAC technicians in demand in Virginia?

Projections Central expects about 1,410 HVAC technician openings a year in Virginia through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.4

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

80 registered programs in Virginia. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for HVAC technicians in Virginia

Sources

  1. Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors (law.lis.virginia.gov, 2026-10-27)
  2. Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors: experience requirements (law.lis.virginia.gov, 2026-10-27)
  3. VA Board for Contractors (DPOR) contractor licensing (law.lis.virginia.gov, 2026-10-27)
  4. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  5. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Virginia, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)