GA-CAC Certification

Not a Generic HVAC Test: Because GA-CAC is a Georgia-specific licensure exam, national HVAC study materials that ignore Georgia code amendments and Board rules will leave gaps. The exam draws on the 2024 Georgia Gas and Mechanical Codes with Georgia amendments and the 2023 NEC for exams scheduled May 1 through December 31, 2026.

Who Needs This License

Class II (Unrestricted) licensure targets experienced HVAC professionals - typically service technicians, service supervisors, and installation leads - who have already put in years of field time and are ready to hold their own contractor license rather than working under someone else's. Because the experience requirements specifically call out commercial supervisory work and systems exceeding 175,000 BTU heating / 60,000 BTU cooling, this exam is aimed at people who've handled larger commercial jobs, not just residential split systems.

Contractors pursuing GA-CAC are usually planning to bid and run their own jobs, take on commercial mechanical work, or move into a supervisory role that requires a license on file with the state. For a deeper look at who benefits from holding it and how it plays out financially, see whether GA-CAC certification is worth it and the GA-CAC salary guide. If you're wondering what kinds of positions actually list this license as a requirement, GA-CAC jobs covers that ground.

Exam Format and Scoring

The GA-CAC exam is computer-based and multiple-choice, delivered as a reference-permitted test - meaning you're allowed to bring approved code books and reference materials into the testing room rather than relying purely on memorization. Structurally, it's split into two parts:

• 100 scored questions total across both parts
• 20 additional unscored beta questions mixed in (used by the Board to evaluate future exam content)
• Two sections, each with a 3-hour, 30-minute time limit
• A minimum final scaled score of 70 required to pass

Because beta questions are unscored but indistinguishable from scored ones during the exam, you have to treat every question as if it counts. There's no way to identify which 20 are beta items in the moment, so pacing strategy has to assume the full question count is live. For a full breakdown of how the scaled score is calculated and what 70 really means in practice, read GA-CAC Passing Score 2026.

The Four Exam Domains

GA-CAC content is organized into four domains, and they are not weighted evenly. Knowing the split changes how you allocate study hours.

Because Domain 2 carries more than half the exam's weight, it deserves proportionally more of your prep time. Our full domain-by-domain walkthrough at GA-CAC Exam Domains 2026 goes deeper into subtopics within each area, and How Hard Is the GA-CAC Exam? discusses where candidates typically underestimate the design-heavy content.

Domain	Focus Area	Relative Weight
Domain 1	Regulations, Laws, Administrative Functions	Smaller share
Domain 2	System Design	55% (largest domain)
Domain 3	Installation	Moderate share
Domain 4	Maintain and Repair System	Moderate share

Eligibility and Experience Requirements

You can't just register and sit for GA-CAC - the Board requires demonstrated field experience before it will even approve you to schedule the exam. Current Class II law requires five years of full-time qualifying experience, broken down specifically:

• Two years of commercial supervisory experience
• One year as a service technician or service supervisor
• Two years of installation as a lead mechanic, with at least one commercial year on systems exceeding 175,000 BTU heating and 60,000 BTU cooling

Beyond the hours themselves, applicants must submit experience affidavits and references, pass a criminal background check, and hold EPA Section 608 Type II and Type III certification. You'll also need to complete Board-approved heat-loss/gain and duct-design training documented through Manuals J, D, N, and Q, plus provide identity and lawful-presence documentation. This is a heavier eligibility bar than most trade exams, and it's worth mapping out well before you think about a test date. The complete eligibility checklist lives at GA-CAC Requirements 2026.

Application, Fees, and Approval

Board approval is required before you can schedule your exam with PSI - you don't just pay a fee and pick a date. The Class II licensure-by-examination application fee is $110. Once the Board reviews and approves your experience documentation, background check, and certifications, you become eligible to schedule.

Because approval has to happen before scheduling, timeline planning matters. If your affidavits or references are incomplete, or your EPA certifications aren't on file, that delay pushes your exam date back regardless of how ready you are on content. A full cost breakdown, including how the $110 fee fits into the broader picture of training and prep expenses, is available at GA-CAC Certification Cost 2026. For the testing calendar itself and how the 2026 windows work, see GA-CAC Exam Dates 2026.

Approved References and What You Can Bring

GA-CAC is a reference-permitted exam, but "permitted" doesn't mean "anything goes." For exams scheduled May 1 through December 31, 2026, the approved references are the 2024 Georgia Gas and Mechanical Codes with Georgia amendments, along with the 2023 NEC. Only these approved references are allowed in the testing room.

You're permitted to use permanent tabs, highlighting, and underlining in your reference books to speed up navigation during the exam. What's prohibited is photocopies and handwritten notes - so any prep strategy that involves writing summary notes into your code book to bring in on test day will get flagged. Tab your book strategically during study, not as an afterthought the night before.

If You Don't Pass the First Time

A scaled score below 70 means you didn't pass, and you're allowed to retake the exam. But the Board has a specific rule for repeat failures: after two failed attempts, you're required to complete a Board-approved review course before you're allowed to sit for a third attempt. That's a meaningful checkpoint - it means two unsuccessful tries triggers a mandatory intervention, not just a cooldown period.

Given that structure, it makes more sense to front-load serious preparation rather than treat the first attempt as a "practice run." If you're trying to gauge realistically how difficult the exam is relative to your current knowledge, How Hard Is the GA-CAC Exam? and GA-CAC Pass Rate 2026 both address this from different angles - one from a content-difficulty perspective, one from outcome data.

Building a GA-CAC-Specific Study Plan

Generic study techniques - spaced repetition, timed practice, breaking material into short focused sessions - work fine as a framework, but they only pay off if you're applying them to the right content in the right order. For GA-CAC, that means weighting your time toward Domain 2 (System Design) since it accounts for 55% of the scored content, while still building enough familiarity with Domains 1, 3, and 4 that you're not caught off guard.

For a structured week-by-week plan built specifically around this domain weighting, our GA-CAC Study Guide 2026 lays out a fuller schedule. And if you want a condensed reference for last-minute review, the GA-CAC Cheat Sheet 2026 compiles the must-know facts in one page. Running realistic practice questions on our practice test platform before test day is one of the more reliable ways to confirm your pacing across two 3.5-hour sections holds up under exam conditions.

After You're Licensed

Passing the exam and clearing Board approval isn't the end of the obligation - Class II licenses renew by November 30 of odd-numbered years, and license holders must complete four continuing education hours per year, totaling eight hours per renewal cycle. Building CE tracking into your calendar from day one avoids a scramble near your renewal deadline.

If you're still deciding whether the licensure path is the right investment of time given the experience prerequisites and ongoing CE commitment, our ROI analysis weighs that against the career paths this license opens up, and GA-CAC training covers where to get the Board-approved heat-loss/gain and duct-design coursework required for eligibility. You can also start building exam familiarity now on GA-CAC Exam Prep's practice platform well before your Board approval comes through.

Frequently Asked Questions