Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Texas's official board.
Texas does not license appliance repair technicians: appliance repair does not appear anywhere on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's own published list of programs it licenses and regulates, and TDLR's electrician exemptions page states that residential appliance dealers, manufacturers, or their authorized designees who perform electrical work while repairing or servicing an existing appliance are specifically exempt from electrician licensing under Occupations Code 1305.003(a)(22). A different TDLR license, the Residential Appliance Installer, is required for electrical work limited to residential appliance installation, so installing a new appliance is regulated even though repairing an existing one is not.
Texas issues no appliance repair technician license, so there are no state license levels. What applies instead is set out below.
| Requirements | No state credential exists to apply for. TDLR's published page Programs Licensed and Regulated by TDLR lists every program the agency licenses and regulates, and it contains no appliance repair or appliance service program; the listed programs are Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, Elimination of Architectural Barriers, Athletic Trainers, Auctioneers, Barbering and Cosmetology, Behavior Analysts, Boiler Safety, Charitable Bingo, Code Enforcement Officers, Combative Sports, Court-Ordered Education Programs, Dietitians, Driver Education and Safety, Dyslexia Therapy, Electricians, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Elevator and Escalator Safety, Hearing Instrument Fitters and Dispensers, Industrialized Housing and Buildings, Laser Hair Removal, Licensed Breeders, Massage Therapy, Midwives, Mold Assessors and Remediators, Motor Fuel Metering and Quality, Motorcycle and ATV Operator Safety, Orthotists and Prosthetists, Podiatry, Professional Employer Organizations, Property Tax Consultants, Property Tax Professionals, Residential Solar Retailers, Sanitarians, Service Contract Providers, Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, Texas Lottery, Tow Trucks Operators and VSFs, Transportation and Delivery Network Companies, Used Auto Parts Recyclers, Water Well Drillers and Pump Installers, and Weather Modification. TDLR's Exemptions to Electrician Licensing page states directly that residential appliance dealers, manufacturers, or their authorized designees who perform electrical work while repairing or performing service on an existing appliance are specifically exempted by the law from being licensed as electricians, citing Occupations Code 1305.003(a)(22). A separate and different TDLR credential does exist for installation work: the Residential Appliance Installer license covers electrical work limited to residential appliance installation, including residential pool-related electrical installation and maintenance, performed on behalf of a Residential Appliance Installation Contractor. It has no experience requirement, requires a licensing exam, and costs a $30 non-refundable application fee. Because the state does not regulate appliance repair, local registration, permits or business licenses may still apply. |
| Reciprocity | The Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses no 'appliance repair technician'; the closest credential is the Residential Appliance Installer (individual) and Residential Appliance Installation Contractor (business) licence, administered under TDLR's Electricians programme and covering the electrical hookup of built-in residential appliances. TDLR's out-of-state applicants page for that programme states that currently there are no reciprocal licensing agreements for any other licence types, after describing reciprocity that exists only for Master Electrician (Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa Class A, Louisiana state contractor's licence, Nebraska, North Carolina and Ohio) and Journeyman Electrician (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming), which expressly excludes the Residential Appliance Installer and Contractor licences. If appliance repair is read more broadly to include refrigeration and air conditioning servicing, TDLR's separate Air Conditioning and Refrigeration programme does publish reciprocity, but only for the ACR CONTRACTOR licence (Class A and B with endorsements), with South Carolina and Georgia named, requiring the out-of-state licence to have been held at least one year and obtained by examination, at a $115 fee; it does not cover the Registered Technician or Certified Technician tiers. A separate non-reciprocal out-of-state route also exists for the ACR contractor licence, under which an examination may still be required depending on the applicant's existing licence. |
| Renewal | There is no appliance repair license to renew. The separate Residential Appliance Installer license is valid for one year from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually, and TDLR states that Residential Appliance Installers are not required to complete continuing education. |
| Notes | Texas does not license appliance repair technicians: appliance repair does not appear anywhere on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's own published list of programs it licenses and regulates, and TDLR's electrician exemptions page states that residential appliance dealers, manufacturers, or their authorized designees who perform electrical work while repairing or servicing an existing appliance are specifically exempt from electrician licensing under Occupations Code 1305.003(a)(22). A different TDLR license, the Residential Appliance Installer, is required for electrical work limited to residential appliance installation, so installing a new appliance is regulated even though repairing an existing one is not. |
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Sources: www.tdlr.texas.gov, www.tdlr.texas.gov, www.tdlr.texas.gov, www.tdlr.texas.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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