How to Become a Certified HVAC Tech in Texas

Austin Career Institute
ACI's Residential & Commercial HVAC-R diploma is 720 clock hours (348 lecture, 372 lab) over about 30 weeks, taught in English or in a Spanish track that starts every month and adds English-as-a-second-language instruction. EPA 608 training and testing are included, and graduates can apply to TDLR for registration as an ACR technician. Classes run traditional or hybrid, with morning, evening and weekend options advertised. Total price: $19,995 at the Austin, TX main campus on Cameron Road (catalog, Aug 2026).

• Austin

CLC, Inc
HVAC training at CLC is part of Maintenance & Repair Tech, a 10-week, 400-hour full-time course for up to 20 students at the Pat Lane Center in Fort Worth that follows the Certified Apartment Maintenance Technician (CAMT) curriculum. Besides HVAC operation, maintenance and repair, it covers hand tools and safety, plumbing, light electrical work and appliance repair, and it leads to EPA 608 Universal certification. The school's site lists $6,500, while the Texas training-provider list (September 2026) shows $5,000, so confirm the price.

• Fort Worth, Forest Hill

CyberTex
CyberTex's HVAC certificate takes 45 weeks (900 clock hours) and is taught at the Killeen and Smithville campuses, with morning and evening classes. Courses run from shop safety, basic electricity and refrigeration through brazing, piping, sheet metal and duct systems to commercial HVAC and commercial refrigeration. Students prepare for EPA Section 608 certification and industry certificates such as R-410A and gas heat, and the school encourages ESCO Group Employment Ready exams after the program. The total cost is $22,200 on the January 2026 schedule.

• Austin, Killeen, Smithville

Dallas College
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology is taught at Cedar Valley, Eastfield and North Lake. The AAS costs about $5,940 at the Dallas County rate (October 2026); credit certificates run from occupational skills awards ($1,089) and a Rising HVAC certificate ($1,782) to Level I ($2,475) and Level II ($5,049). Continuing-education options are Residential HVAC ($3,888) and Commercial HVAC ($8,640).

• Farmers Branch, Lancaster, Mesquite, Dallas, Irving, Coppell, Garland

ForgeNow
ForgeNow's HVAC Maintenance Technician program is a six-week, 240-clock-hour Certificate of Completion taught in person, Monday to Friday from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm, with 138 of the hours spent in the lab. The modules run from safety and brazing through HVAC electrical, installation and troubleshooting, ductwork and residential heat. Two certifications are built in: EPA 608 Universal and Low GWP refrigerant safety. The total price is $12,000, including $630 for tools and $140 for books, under the July-December 2026 catalog.

• Lewisville

Fortis College & Fortis Institute
Fortis's HVAC-R diploma runs 48 weeks at Birmingham, AL (64 quarter credits, 960 contact hours), in morning or evening sessions Monday to Thursday. Its 16 courses cover thermodynamics, electricity and controls, residential air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, gas heat and heat pumps, and students are required to take and pass the EPA Section 608 exam. Several campuses listed $23,759 in total, including Cincinnati, OH and both Houston, TX campuses; Salt Lake City listed $23,859.

• Houston

Grayson College
Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology (HART) is taught in the Career and Technical Center on the Denison main campus and at South Campus in Van Alstyne. Awards are a 60-credit AAS, a HART Technician Certificate of about 36 credits and a shorter Apprentice Certificate, each ending with an exit exam. Some courses run only every third semester, so plan the sequence early. The catalog page names local employers in the field. 2026-27 tuition and fees are $100 a credit in-district, $150 out-of-district and $210 for non-residents.

• Denison, Van Alstyne

Hands On HVAC Schools
Hands On HVAC School's HVAC/R course is short: 100 classroom and lab clock hours over 12 or 16 weeks, in person only, leading to a certificate of completion rather than a diploma or degree. Nine modules run from HVAC theory and basic electrical to brazing, refrigerant recovery and charging, gas heat and heat pumps. On the last class day students take the EPA 608 exam online through ESCO; one voucher is included and retests cost $45. The 2026-27 Phoenix catalog lists $3,350; other locations may differ. No federal aid.

• Dallas, San Antonio

Houston City College
HCC's Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration program is taught at the Central, South and Eastside campuses as a 21-credit Basic certificate, a 42-credit Advanced certificate and a 60-credit AAS, and a continuing-education Air Conditioning Technician award is a shorter option. The program page names no outside certification such as EPA Section 608, so ask how students prepare for it. At the 2026-27 in-district rate of $84.50 per credit including fees, the Basic certificate comes to about $1,775.

• Houston, Katy, Missouri City, Stafford

Interactive College of Technology
ICT teaches HVAC as two diplomas: HVAC/R Technology at its main Georgia campus, which also covers residential and commercial refrigeration, heat pumps and controls, and HVAC Residential in Kentucky and Texas. Both prepare students for the EPA 608 refrigerant-handling exam and end with a 135-hour externship, and ICT says its HVAC programs are approved for VA education benefits. Chamblee, GA awarded 77 HVAC/R credentials in the latest federal count, and its tuition and fees were $11,330 (2024-25).

• Pasadena, Houston

Lamson Institute
The Commercial Refrigeration, Heating & Air Conditioning diploma is 840 clock hours, taught on campus in six-week modules and finished in as few as 10 months, and it prepares students for EPA Section 608 certification. Applicants need a valid driver's licence. In the school's 2025 ACCET report for 2024, 80% of scheduled students completed and 80% of eligible completers were placed. Federal data list 2024-25 tuition and fees of $17,010, plus about $1,000 for books and supplies, at the San Antonio, TX campus; confirm current prices with the school.

• San Antonio

Lincoln Tech
Lincoln Tech's Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating program is about 1,200 clock hours, roughly 52 weeks on a day schedule, for a certificate or diploma; a 1,425-hour management version leads to a degree. Ten courses cover electricity, heating systems, air conditioning, basic and commercial refrigeration, energy conservation and troubleshooting. Students learn refrigerant recovery and are encouraged to take the EPA Section 608 certification test; ask whether your campus includes it. Lincoln works with Johnson Controls and Hussmann on advanced training. At Mahwah, NJ the total cost was $32,770 (Feb 2025).

• Grand Prairie, Houston

Lone Star College
HVAC & Refrigeration stacks three Certificates Level I (Occupational Entry, Residential Servicing and Commercial Servicing) into an AAS. It is taught at LSC-North Harris, LSC-Houston North's Victory Center, the East Aldine Center and the Magnolia Center, which opened in January 2026. Employers require EPA Section 608 certification for refrigerant work. Tuition is $111 per credit hour in-district (2026-27), so 12 credits cost $1,332 before lab fees.

• Cypress, Houston, Kingwood, Conroe, Tomball, Katy, Magnolia, Spring

Milan Institute
Milan's HVAC-R certificate is taught only at its Houston campus, which opened in June 2025 as the school's first skilled-trades site. The 51-week program covers trade math and system design, safety and refrigerant handling, soldering, brazing and piping, ductwork and airflow, heat-pump troubleshooting and commercial refrigeration, with labs on working equipment. The school does not say whether it prepares students for EPA Section 608 certification. Houston is still applying for COE accreditation, and no prices or outcomes are published yet.

• Amarillo, Denton, El Paso, Houston, Plano, San Antonio

National Technical Institute
NTI's HVAC course (titled HVAC/Installation Technician in Texas and HVAC/R Technician in Nevada) runs 192 clock hours in person over 12 weeks, 144 as Fusion over 16 weeks (192 in the Nevada catalog), or 100 as Immersion with 40 on-campus lab hours. It includes the EPA Section 608 exam, with the $25 fee in the price; the tool bag is handed out only to students who pass it and meet the other requirements. 2026-27 catalog totals: $10,995, $8,895 and $6,395.

• Houston

North Central Texas College
NCTC's HVAC program runs at a training site recognised by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and prepares students for EPA Section 608 certification. Students can stop at a 15-credit Basic Level 1 certificate, earn a 30-credit certificate in about a year, or complete a 60-credit AAS in about two years. The degree can be finished at the Gainesville campus or at the Champions Circle training center in Fort Worth. At Fall 2026 rates the 30-credit certificate costs $3,360 for Cooke County residents and $6,360 for other Texans.

• Gainesville, Corinth, Denton, Flower Mound, Bowie, Graham, Fort Worth

Remington College
Remington College's HVAC diploma covers residential and light-commercial heating and cooling, refrigeration and freezers, domestic air-conditioning appliances and indoor air quality, and prepares students for the EPA Section 608 Type I, II, III and Universal tests. Several campuses add an HVAC associate degree, and Fort Worth teaches a version with smart technology. Diploma tuition differs by campus: $17,850 at Nashville, TN and $23,500 at Dallas, TX in 2026 catalogs.

• Dallas, North Richland Hills, League City

RightTek HVAC Training
RightTek's Trade Warriors HVAC Bootcamp, taught for Trane, runs eight weeks in person, Monday to Thursday from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, with more than 300 hours of hands-on work on Trane heat pumps, air conditioners and furnaces. It prepares students for the EPA Section 608 and NATE Ready-to-Work exams, and Trane dealers interview students from the second week. Only transitioning soldiers, veterans, military spouses, and children under 26 can enroll. There is no published tuition: a hiring dealer sponsors the seat, or the GI Bill pays.

• Killeen

South Texas Vocational Technical Institute 
STVT's HVAC and Basic Refrigeration diploma is 50 credit hours over 10 months, taught in a hybrid format at the Arlington, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, McAllen and San Antonio campuses. It covers system design fundamentals, heating, air conditioning and refrigeration, with EPA Section 608 and Clean Air Act rules, and STVT's 2026 consumer report lists it as NCCER-recognized. In STVT's 2025 ACCSC report, graduation ran from 69% at Arlington to 84% at McAllen, and 70% to 71% of graduates were employed.

• Arlington, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, McAllen, San Antonio, Weslaco

Southern Careers Institute
The HVAC diploma is 942 clock hours over 36 weeks, taught on campus or in a hybrid format, with evening shifts on the catalog schedule. At $20,025 in the 2026 catalog, it is SCI's most expensive diploma. Shorter paid seminars are also listed: HVAC Installer Technician (160 hours, $2,000) and HVAC Service Technician (320 hours, $4,000). Ask the campus which certification exams, if any, are included in the price.

• Austin, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, Pharr, San Antonio, Waco

Tarrant County College
TCC South teaches HVAC/R through six awards: an 11-credit HVAC Installer occupational skills award, Residential Technician I (23 credits) and II (20 credits) certificates, a 51-credit Commercial Technician certificate, and two 60-credit AAS degrees, one residential and one commercial. Tuition and fees for Tarrant County residents run from $814 for the installer award to $4,440 for either degree (2026–27). Students buy their own hand tools, and the program page does not name EPA Section 608 certification.

• Fort Worth, Hurst, Arlington

Texas State Technical College
HVAC at TSTC is taught at six campuses: Abilene, Fort Bend County (Rosenberg), Harlingen, North Texas (Red Oak), Waco and Williamson County (Hutto). Students choose HVAC Technology, HVAC Technician or HVAC Residential Service Technician, in person or hybrid, with night classes as well as day classes. HVAC is in Tier 3 of TSTC's four tuition tiers, while welding and diesel are in Tier 1.

• Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood, Hutto, Rosenberg, Harlingen, Marshall, New Braunfels, Red Oak, Sweetwater, Waco

Tulsa Welding School
Tulsa Welding School's Refrigeration Technologies diploma is 700 clock hours over about seven months (750 at some campuses), in seven courses covering heating, air conditioning and refrigeration. It includes R-410A safety and an EPA Section 609 opportunity, and the HVR200 course offers an EPA Section 608 opportunity. Theory is online and lab work is on campus. The latest published total is $23,825 at every campus; Electro-Mechanical Technologies, at four campuses, adds electrical and solar work for $28,025.

• Houston, Irving

UEI College
UEI's HVAC diploma is about 36 weeks (720 clock hours on Arizona's listing), with online theory and campus labs twice a week. Courses cover electricity, motors and controls, refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps, heating, duct design and load calculations, commercial refrigeration and building automation. Passing the EPA Section 608 refrigerant exam is required to graduate, and UEI also prepares students for ESCO's R-410A certification. UEI lists no externship. Total cost was $21,500 at the Huntington Park, CA campus (2025–26).

• Dallas, Houston

Universal Technical Institute
UTI's HVACR Technician program runs 39 weeks (40 at Canton, MI) for a diploma and prepares students for EPA 608, NATE Core, R-410A and OSHA 10 credentials. It is offered at 15 campuses, including the new San Antonio and Atlanta sites; at Avondale it costs $26,935 including fees (Aug 2026).

• Austin, Irving, San Antonio, Houston

Weatherford College
HVAC training at Weatherford College is a non-credit ladder of three workforce awards, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced, run by the Workforce Education office; the catalog ties it to EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification and TDLR. In September 2026 the college was among the first in the country approved for Workforce Pell Grants, and HVAC is one of its three approved programs, so eligible students can use Pell for it. Most of the college's other non-credit courses are not Pell-eligible.

• Weatherford, Bridgeport

Wharton County Junior College
WCJC teaches heating and air conditioning together with electrical work through two Level I Certificates: Entry Level Residential Air Conditioning & Electrical, and Apprentice Level Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration & Electrical. Classes are at the Wharton campus only, and the course list includes HART 1356, EPA refrigerant recovery certification preparation. The college says its instructors hold Texas HVACR and Master Electrician licences. In-district tuition is $2,469 for the entry certificate and $3,857 for the apprentice certificate (checked October 2026).

• Wharton, Richmond, Sugar Land, Bay City