What Is GA-CAC Certification?

What Is GA-CAC Certification?

The Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor Class II (Unrestricted) License Exam, commonly shortened to GA-CAC, is the state examination that qualifies HVAC professionals to hold an unrestricted conditioned air contractor license in Georgia. Unlike restricted classifications that cap the size or type of systems a contractor can work on, the Class II license allows licensees to design, install, maintain, and repair conditioned air systems without the tonnage or BTU limitations that apply to lower license tiers.

This exam sits at the intersection of code knowledge, mechanical design competency, and field experience. It is not a walk-up test - candidates must satisfy strict experience and training prerequisites before the Board even allows them to schedule a seat. If you are trying to understand exactly what this credential covers and how it differs from other state-level HVAC exams, this page breaks down the mechanics, and our companion guide on GA-CAC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify goes deeper into the qualification pathway.

Who Governs and Administers the Exam

The Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board, through its Division of Conditioned Air Contractors, sets the rules, experience thresholds, and content standards for the exam. PSI handles the actual test delivery - scheduling, testing centers, and score reporting. This split matters because it explains why candidates deal with two separate processes: Board approval of eligibility first, then exam scheduling through PSI second.

Understanding this governance structure is foundational before diving into study materials. For a broader orientation to the credential's identity and scope, see What Is GA-CAC? and GA-CAC Meaning, which unpack the acronym and its regulatory context in more detail.

Exam Format and Scoring

The GA-CAC Class II exam is computer-based and multiple-choice, split into two parts of 3 hours and 30 minutes each. Across both parts, candidates face 100 scored questions plus 20 unscored beta questions that are indistinguishable from scored items during the test - meaning every question should be treated as if it counts.

To pass, a candidate needs a minimum final scaled score of 70. Scaled scoring means the raw number of correct answers is converted to a standardized scale, so the exact number of questions you need right isn't a fixed percentage you can calculate in advance.

Reference materials are allowed but tightly controlled. Only Board-approved references may be brought in, and for exams scheduled May 1 through December 31, 2026, that means the 2024 Georgia Gas and Mechanical Codes with Georgia amendments and the 2023 NEC. Permanent tabs, highlighting, and underlining in these references are permitted, but photocopies and handwritten notes are strictly prohibited. Bringing an unauthorized annotation into the test center can jeopardize your ability to sit for the exam that day, so familiarity with exactly what's allowed is worth building into your prep. Our GA-CAC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is designed to reinforce these logistics alongside content review.

The Four Exam Domains

Content on the GA-CAC Class II exam is organized into four domains, and the weighting is heavily skewed toward one area.

Because System Design carries more than half the scored weight, allocating study time proportionally matters more here than on most licensing exams. A full domain-by-domain breakdown, including how each area maps to real job tasks, is available in GA-CAC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.

Eligibility and Experience Requirements

Georgia does not allow candidates to simply register and sit for the Class II exam. Current law requires five years of full-time qualifying experience structured very 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 of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling

Beyond raw experience, applicants must submit experience affidavits and references, pass a criminal background check, and hold EPA Section 608 Type II and Type III certification. Applicants must also complete Board-approved heat-loss/gain and duct-design training, with documentation tied specifically to Manuals J, D, N, and Q - directly mirroring the weight System Design carries on the exam itself. Identity and lawful-presence documents round out the application package.

Only after the Board reviews and approves this documentation can a candidate schedule the exam through PSI. This makes eligibility review a real bottleneck in the timeline, not a formality. The full checklist of documents, affidavits, and training proof is covered step-by-step in GA-CAC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Registration, Fees, and References

Once Board-approved, candidates pay a Class II licensure-by-examination application fee of $110 and schedule their exam session through PSI. Because scheduling only opens after approval, candidates should plan around processing time for affidavits and background checks rather than assuming a fast turnaround.

A detailed cost breakdown - including how the application fee fits into total licensure expenses - is available in GA-CAC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. For scheduling windows and key deadlines tied to the current reference-code cycle, see GA-CAC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

Licensure, Renewal, and Continuing Education

Passing the exam is not the end of the process - licensure carries ongoing obligations. Class II licenses renew by November 30 of odd-numbered years, and licensees must complete four continuing education hours per year, totaling eight hours per renewal cycle. Planning your CE hours early avoids a scramble near the biennial renewal deadline.

Who Actually Needs This License

The unrestricted nature of the Class II license makes it attractive to HVAC professionals who want to operate without size or scope limitations on the systems they design, install, or service. This typically includes experienced service technicians moving into supervisory or ownership roles, lead installation mechanics expanding into commercial-scale work, and contractors who want the legal authority to bid and perform work on larger commercial systems.

Because the license is unrestricted, employers hiring for supervisory, project management, and independent contracting roles in Georgia's HVAC industry often list it as a qualification or advancement milestone. If you're weighing whether the credential fits your career trajectory, Is the GA-CAC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and GA-CAC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis look at the practical upside, while GA-CAC Jobs surveys where licensees typically end up working.

How to Approach Preparation

Given that System Design accounts for 55% of scored content, an efficient study plan front-loads Manual J, D, N, and Q material before moving into Regulations, Installation, and Maintain and Repair topics. A simple week-by-week structure can help sequence this without wasting time on lower-weight domains too early.

Because the exam is reference-permitted rather than open-book in the informal sense, speed of navigation through approved codes matters as much as raw memorization. A structured walkthrough of realistic question patterns and pacing strategy is available in GA-CAC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and if you're still calibrating how demanding this exam is relative to your current knowledge, How Hard Is the GA-CAC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down the difficulty factors in more depth. For broader performance trends, GA-CAC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows is worth reviewing as well.

Beyond domain content, hands-on practice questions that mirror the multiple-choice, reference-permitted format help build both content recall and time management. You can start working through realistic practice questions on our GA-CAC practice test platform to get a feel for question style before committing to a full study schedule, and return to the main practice site throughout your prep to track improvement across all four domains.

Frequently Asked Questions