Heating and cooling in Waco
Waco's mechanical permit fee schedule lists installation of each furnace or central heating plant at $20 up to 250,000 BTU and $45 over 250,000 BTU. For a refrigerated air system, each air handler unit up to 10,000 CFM is $5, and each unit up to 5 tons is $20, going to $45 over 5 tons. The schedule says that where work begins before a permit, "the fees above shall be doubled." The city's Adopted Codes page says Waco adopted a set of codes as of January 1, 2026, including the 2024 International Mechanical Code, and it names the 2018 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code.
Exceptions and amendments sit in Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances. Development Services, Inspection Services answers at (254) 750-5612 if you need to confirm whether a permit is needed. Contractors register with the office, which doesn't charge a registration fee, and file applications in the Citizen Self Service Portal. The state ban on city registration fees for A/C contractors holding a TDLR license has applied since September 1, 2021, and building permit fees are still collected.
The city lists its offices at 300 Austin Avenue and the MyWaco line at (254) 299-2489. In Waco, the median year built is 1979 (ACS, 2020 to 2024), and 39.8% of housing units were put up from 1950 to 1979. Know the system's tonnage before you compare quotes: the fee changes at 5 tons.
What heating and cooling work costs near Waco
Nobody's given us a quote for work in Waco yet, so this page can't show a city price. The Texas page lists the estimates with what technicians earn (the Texas mean in May 2025 BLS wage data is $28.43 an hour, which is their pay, not your price) and some city permit fees. How we estimate costs.
Permits for heating and cooling work in Waco
Texas cities issue the permit for replacing a furnace, air conditioner or heat pump, and each city sets its own fee; the ones cited on our Texas page all require one. TDLR licenses the air conditioning and refrigeration contractor, so ask for that license number as well as what your city's permit office needs.
Heating and cooling jobs in Waco
Sources for Waco
- City of Waco: Permit Fee Schedules Read Oct 23, 2026.
- City of Waco: Adopted Codes Read Oct 23, 2026.
- City of Waco: Residential Construction Permits Read Oct 23, 2026.
- TDLR: ACR frequently asked questions Read Oct 23, 2026.
- Waco: Do I Need a Permit? Read Oct 23, 2026.
- ACS 5-year B25035 Median Year Structure Built
- ACS 5-year B25034 Year Structure Built