Project topic
See which mechanical and related trade scopes may apply.
Furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioning, refrigeration, and related trades.
Browse all project topics ↗Start with your property’s permitting authority and the complete work description. An equipment replacement, a repair and a fuel conversion can follow different local paths. Use these questions to prepare for your contractor or building department:
The Chicago HVAC guide explains a conditional residential replacement exemption and its limits. The Boston HVAC guide separates sheet-metal, gas and boiler work, with applicant and closeout steps. These examples help you ask better questions; their rules do not apply nationwide.
Choose your city below, check the scope and source dates, and follow the cited authority’s instructions. If your city is absent, use your local building department; absence here does not mean a permit is unnecessary.
Choose a city guide ↓Atlanta provides a technical HVAC permit path for qualifying residential work, with building review added when the project changes structure or use.
Qualifying residential HVAC replacement can use Austin's stand-alone Mechanical Change Out permit path without formal plan review.
Installed HVAC replacement is a trade and building scope that Boston Inspectional Services must classify before work begins.
Mecklenburg County expressly excludes HVAC replacement from its limited project-cost exemption, so a mechanical permit and inspection are required.
Installed HVAC replacement is a project-specific building or trade scope in Chicago, with mechanical, electrical, fuel, and inspection requirements determined by the work.
Denver connects qualifying HVAC replacement and trade work to residential construction and energy-code review.
Changing, moving or repairing a central HVAC system, ductwork or exhaust fan requires a Fort Worth mechanical permit.
Houston requires the applicable mechanical permit and inspection for residential HVAC replacement or alteration, with licensed-contractor or eligible homestead-owner rules.
Jacksonville expressly lists air-conditioning replacement and regulated heating equipment as permit work.
Installed HVAC replacement is a mechanical, electrical, fuel, and inspection scope determined by LADBS.
Installed A/C and HVAC replacement is a mechanical and electrical permit scope.
HVAC replacement follows NYC DOB mechanical requirements, including equipment-specific plans, energy analysis, inspections, and commissioning when capacity thresholds are reached.
Phoenix's mechanical exemption covers in-kind outdoor refrigeration-unit replacements up to five tons, in the same location and no heavier than the old unit. Indoor refrigeration-system repair or replacement requires a permit.
Portland requires a residential mechanical permit for furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioners, mini-splits, ductwork and related gas work.
A furnace, heat pump, or air-conditioning replacement requires the applicable mechanical permit.
Columbus requires a mechanical permit for HVAC replacement. Its minor-work list covers certain furnace, air-conditioning and heat-pump replacements, with equipment-location and smoke-detection limits.
Dallas generally requires a permit for residential mechanical equipment replacement or alteration, with licensed-contractor or qualifying homestead-owner rules.
District DOB requires the applicable mechanical or supplemental trade permit for regulated residential HVAC installation, repair or replacement.
Las Vegas requires a permit to install or change heating or cooling systems and offers a no-plan online record for an exact changeout or repair.
Louisville Metro requires an HVAC permit for replacement of regulated installed equipment and offers an instant no-review residential replacement record when no building work is involved.
Installed residential heating, cooling, ventilation or gas-system replacement work uses Metro Nashville's gas-mechanical permit process.
Most installed residential heating, cooling, ventilation, refrigeration and gas-piping replacement work requires a Minneapolis mechanical permit.
Oklahoma City requires licensed mechanical work to be performed and permitted by a contractor licensed by the state and registered with the City.
Philadelphia classifies HVAC, ductwork, appliances, and related equipment under the mechanical/fuel-gas trade permit path when the work is limited to that trade.
Raleigh requires a permit for HVAC replacement and offers an online simple-permit path for qualifying changeouts outside a floodplain.
Sacramento treats one- and two-family HVAC changeouts as no-plan residential minor permits.
A residential air-conditioner or HVAC replacement requires the City mechanical permit path; a licensed contractor can use Limited Service Repair for qualifying urgent replacement work.
Installed HVAC replacement requires a mechanical permit in San Diego; qualifying residential equipment can use the Simple No-Plan combination permit.
San Francisco uses a plumbing/mechanical permit for residential furnaces, hydronic heat, heat pumps and other regulated HVAC replacement work.
New or replacement central HVAC and mini-split systems require a trade permit; a same-type, same-size evaporative-cooler replacement can be exempt outside preservation areas.