Check an HVAC contractor's Arizona ROC license
Two minutes on the Arizona Registrar of Contractors site tells you whether the company in your driveway can legally do the job.
No video for this one. We looked for a video on checking an Arizona ROC license and didn't find one good enough to put here, so this page is a checklist instead. The search itself takes about two minutes at roc.az.gov.
Why does this matter in Tucson?
Arizona's Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licenses contractors. The residential HVAC license class is R-39, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Including Solar: installing and repairing comfort cooling, including refrigeration, evaporative cooling, ventilating and heating. There are narrower R-39R subclasses, such as Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Temperature Control Systems, Warm Air Heating, Evaporative Cooling and Ventilating, and Evaporative Cooling and Ventilators.
Arizona's handyman exemption covers casual or minor work under $1,000 in total, labor and materials together. It's lost when the job needs a building permit, or when the person advertises without the words "not a licensed contractor". An HVAC replacement in the City of Tucson needs a permit, so the exemption doesn't cover it.
What you'll learn
- Which license class covers residential heating and cooling in Arizona
- What to match between the license record and the quote
- When the $1,000 handyman exemption applies, and why AC replacement is not one of them
- What protection comes with hiring a licensed residential contractor
How do you do it, step by step?
- Ask for the company’s legal name and ROC license number. Both should be on the written quote.
- Go to roc.az.gov and search by license number or business name.
- Confirm the license is active, not suspended or expired.
- Check the classification. For heating and cooling, look for R-39 or an R-39R subclass that fits the work.
- Match the name on the license to the name on the quote and the contract. A different name is a question to ask before you sign.
- Read anything else the record shows before you decide.
- For refrigerant work, it is fair to ask whether the technician is EPA Section 608 certified.
When should you stop and call a pro?
- No license number, or a number that belongs to a different company.
- A license in a class that doesn’t cover HVAC.
- A suggestion to skip the permit, or to split the job into small pieces.
- Cash only, with no written contract.
Hiring a licensed residential contractor also means access to the Residential Contractors’ Recovery Fund, which the ROC administers for homeowners harmed by a licensed residential contractor. Every pro Climate Pros Tucson sends is licensed, and you can still check them yourself.
Read next
Sources and official pages
Rather have a pro handle it?
Climate Pros Tucson matches homeowners with licensed local HVAC pros across the Tucson area. You talk to us, then to the pro, and the pro quotes the job before any work starts.
What else can you check yourself?
Stay safe in the heat while you wait for AC repair
In a Tucson June, a house without AC heats up fast and stays hot overnight. Protect the people in it first, then work on the repair.
Change your AC filter, and again after a dust storm
A clogged return filter is the first thing to check when the house won't cool. In Tucson, the monsoon's dust storms load a filter fast.
Hose off the outdoor coil after monsoon dust
The outdoor unit has to dump your home’s heat into air that is often over 100°F. Dust packed in its fins makes that job harder.