What an emergency call is and who may answer it
An emergency call is a repair visit for a system that has stopped, billed first as labor. Our estimate is $110 to $260 per hour of labor, before any call-out fee, built from one national published range and Texas's technician wage ratio of 0.91.
TDLR's air conditioning and refrigeration page says contractors who install, repair or maintain air conditioning, refrigeration or heating systems must hold a TDLR license, and a company must employ an ACR contractor at each permanent location. A technician who assists on the call has to be registered with TDLR and work under a contractor's supervision. Registered technicians may not advertise ACR services, and a registration lasts one year.
What an emergency call costs in Texas
We estimate $110 to $260 per hour of labor, before any call-out fee for this job in Texas. That's a model, not a quote: one national published cost range, widened by 15 percent each side and adjusted by the Texas wage ratio to the US (0.91).
Labor is estimated at $110 to $260 per hour of labor, before any call-out fee. That is an estimate, not a quote, and parts, a call-out fee and any permit are separate lines to ask about.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $110 to $260 per hour of labor, before any call-out fee | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Texas HVAC technician wage ratio (0.91). Three Texas HVAC companies publish a price we could count on their own websites; where five or more price the same job, the range is the middle half of their prices, and where two to four do, the estimate is widened to take them in. Coupons, specials and figures a page gives as an average are not counted. Basis: no state company sample (no counted Texas company price for this job), national estimate only. |
| Technician wage, Texas mean | $28.43 an hour | BLS May 2025 pay for Texas HVAC technicians, which an after-hours labor rate won't match. |
| Technician wage, United States mean | $31.14 an hour | Same occupation and release; the Texas to US ratio feeds the estimate. |
How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row is a model, not a quote. We have no counted Texas company price for this job, so the range is our national estimate alone. Our national estimate takes one published national range for this job (a cost guide from a third-party site that we have not verified and do not cite) and multiplies it by Texas's HVAC technician mean wage ratio to the US (0.91, BLS OEWS May 2025, heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers). The wage and permit rows below are what HVAC technicians are paid and what a city charges, and neither is a price. We have not collected quotes. Full method. Prices as of Oct 23, 2026.
Reading the truck and the license number
TDLR's penalties page lists failing to display the company name and license number on vehicles and on the job-site sign among Class A violations, under 16 TAC 75.71(g); the range for Class A administrative violations is $500 to $1,000. A license number reads like TACL/A/000000/C: title, class, number, endorsement. TDLR's search page lets you look up Air Conditioning Contractors by type or by license number. Search it before work starts.
What the Texas pages leave out about after-hours calls
None of TDLR's pages sets a call-out fee, an hourly rate or a response time, so get the rate and any call-out charge from the company in writing before the tech starts.
Problems that can't wait for a business day
- You smell gas: leave the building, then call 911 from outside.
- A carbon monoxide alarm is sounding: get everyone outdoors and call 911.
- The system runs but cools or heats unevenly, and nobody in the house is at risk.
Check these before anything else, because a yes to any of them changes what you do first.
- Smell gas, or is a carbon monoxide alarm going off? Leave the house and call 911 or the emergency number printed on your gas bill.
- Is the heat out while it's below freezing outside, or is an older person or a baby at home?
- Is the cooling out during a heat advisory?
- Is water leaking around the unit, or is there a breaker that won't stop tripping?
- Is there a burning or electrical smell coming from the vents or the unit?
Said yes to the first question? Leave the house and call 911, then your gas utility from outside. For a yes to any of questions 2 to 5, use the form with Emergency ticked, and switch the unit off if you smell burning.
Before the tech starts work
- Get the company's TDLR license number and look it up on the TDLR search page.
- Get the hourly rate and any call-out fee in writing.
- Ask whether your city requires a permit for this repair and who applies for it.
Will the city want a permit for an emergency repair?
Each city decides. Garland's page says repairs to air conditioning units need a permit, coil replacement included, while Austin's exempt list covers replacing a minor part that doesn't change the equipment's approval or make it unsafe. Houston lists condenser and evaporator replacement among the jobs needing a mechanical permit and inspection, so ask who pulls the permit.
Before any work starts, get the license number and check it with your state's licensing board; our state pages link the lookup.
Questions people ask
Who may repair my air conditioner or furnace in Texas?
A contractor holding a TDLR license, with registered technicians working under that contractor. TDLR requires a license for anyone who installs, repairs or maintains air conditioning, refrigeration or heating systems. The Occupations Code, in its 2018 wording, exempts a person doing the work in a building owned solely as that person's home.
How do I check the company that answered my emergency call?
Search the license number on TDLR's ACR license search. The search page offers Air Conditioning Contractors and A/C Technicians, and a lookup by license number. Class A and Class B numbers are different, so note which one is on the document.
Where do I complain about an HVAC company in Texas?
TDLR takes complaints against its license programs, and A/C is on its list. TDLR's complaints page treats online filing as the main route and also accepts mail-in complaints.
- BLS Public Data API v1, OEWS Read Oct 23, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (SOC 49-9021), United States, mean hourly wage Read Oct 23, 2026.
- TDLR: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors Read Oct 23, 2026.
- TDLR: Apply for a Technician Registration Read Oct 23, 2026.
- TDLR: ACR Penalties and Sanctions Read Oct 23, 2026.
- TDLR: Apply for a Contractor License Read Oct 23, 2026.
- TDLR: License Search Read Oct 23, 2026.
- TDLR: File a complaint Read Oct 23, 2026.
- Texas Occupations Code ch. 1302 (Wayback 2018-03-06) Read Oct 23, 2026.
- City of Garland: Air Conditioning Repairs Read Oct 23, 2026.
- City of Austin: Work exempt from building permits Read Oct 23, 2026.
- Houston Permitting Center: Mechanical Inspections Read Oct 23, 2026.
- HVACMatch: how we estimate costs, Texas (editorial policy) Read Oct 23, 2026.