GA-CAC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify

What the GA-CAC Class II License Actually Requires

Before you can sit for the Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor Class II (Unrestricted) License Exam, the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board's Division of Conditioned Air Contractors has to sign off that you're actually eligible. This isn't a certification you can register for on a whim - it's a licensure exam with real prerequisites tied to years of documented field experience, specific technical certifications, and formal Board review. PSI administers the exam itself, but the Board controls who gets to walk into the testing center in the first place.

If you're still deciding whether this credential is worth pursuing, it helps to first understand what GA-CAC actually is and how the Class II designation differs from more restricted licensing tiers. This article focuses specifically on the eligibility gate: what you need to have done, documented, and certified before the Board will even let you schedule.

The Five-Year Experience Requirement, Broken Down

Current Class II law requires five years of full-time qualifying experience, and the Board doesn't accept a generic "five years in HVAC" summary. The experience has to break down into three distinct categories:

Because the experience requirements map so closely to the exam's actual content, it's worth reviewing the GA-CAC Exam Domains 2026 guide to see how System Design, Installation, and Maintain and Repair System connect directly to the fieldwork you're required to log.

Documentation, Affidavits, and Background Checks

Experience alone isn't enough - you have to prove it. The Board requires:

• Experience affidavits covering each qualifying period of work
• References who can verify your role and the scope of systems you worked on
• A completed criminal background check
• Identity and lawful-presence documents

Gather these early. Affidavits from former employers or supervisors can take weeks to track down, especially if you've changed companies multiple times across your five years of qualifying work. Missing or incomplete documentation is one of the most common reasons applications stall before ever reaching the exam-scheduling stage.

EPA Section 608 and Design Training Prerequisites

Two additional prerequisites sit alongside your experience and documentation:

• EPA Section 608 Type II and Type III certification - required before the Board will approve your application. If you haven't earned these yet, this needs to happen well before you plan to apply.
• Board-approved heat-loss/gain and duct-design training, with documentation covering Manuals J, D, N, and Q. This training ties directly to System Design, the largest domain on the exam at 55% of scored content, so completing it isn't just a box to check - it's foundational preparation.

Because System Design carries so much weight on the exam itself, candidates who treat the Manual J/D/N/Q training as "just a requirement" rather than genuine study material tend to struggle later. Pair that training with a dedicated look at how the domains are actually tested - the exam domains guide walks through what System Design questions look like in practice.

Application Process, Fees, and Board Approval

Once your experience, documentation, and certifications are in order, you submit your application for Board review. Key facts to know:

• The Class II licensure-by-examination application fee is $110.
• Board approval is required before scheduling - you cannot register with PSI until the Board has reviewed and approved your file.
• After two failed exam attempts, candidates must complete a Board-approved review course before a third attempt is permitted.

For a full breakdown of every cost involved - from the application fee through study materials and potential retake expenses - see the GA-CAC Certification Cost breakdown.

Exam Format Once You Qualify

Once you're approved, here's what you're preparing for: a computer-based, multiple-choice, reference-permitted exam split into two sessions of 3 hours and 30 minutes each. It contains 100 scored questions plus 20 unscored beta questions, and you need a minimum final scaled score of 70 to pass.

The exam is organized around four domains:

• Domain 1: Regulations, Laws, and Administrative Functions
• Domain 2: System Design (the largest domain at 55%)
• Domain 3: Installation
• Domain 4: Maintain and Repair System

For a full understanding of how difficult the exam actually is relative to your experience level, read How Hard Is the GA-CAC Exam? and review the exact scoring mechanics in the GA-CAC Passing Score guide.

Approved References for 2026 Exams

Because the exam is reference-permitted rather than closed-book, knowing exactly which materials you're allowed to bring matters as much as knowing the content. For exams scheduled May 1 through December 31, 2026, approved references include the 2024 Georgia Gas and Mechanical Codes with Georgia amendments and the 2023 NEC.

Only these approved references may be used in the testing room. You're permitted permanent tabs, highlighting, and underlining in your reference books - but photocopies and handwritten notes are strictly prohibited. Build your tabbing system well before test day; fumbling through an untabbed code book under a 3.5-hour time limit wastes minutes you don't have.

Planning Your Path Once You're Eligible

Once your application clears Board approval, the real preparation window begins. Rather than generic study advice, focus your remaining weeks on the domain that carries the most exam weight and the reference navigation skills you'll actually use in the testing room.

For a domain-by-domain study sequence with more detail, see the GA-CAC Study Guide 2026. And if you want a fast, condensed review before test day, the GA-CAC Cheat Sheet summarizes the highest-value facts across all four domains. You can also sharpen your timing and reference-navigation habits using full-length practice exams on the main practice test site before you sit for the real thing.

After Licensure: Renewal and CE Requirements

Passing the exam isn't the finish line - 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 now prevents a scramble later.

Curious what the license actually opens up professionally? Check out GA-CAC Jobs and the GA-CAC Salary Guide for a sense of where Class II license holders typically work, and Is the GA-CAC Certification Worth It? for a broader ROI perspective before you commit the time to the full eligibility process.

Frequently Asked Questions