Texas Statutes, Administrative Rules, Safety, and Business Practices
Who regulates what
Air conditioning and refrigeration contracting in Texas is administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1302, with detailed requirements in 16 TAC Chapter 75. Expect questions on licensing tiers, technician registration, what activity requires a license, exemptions, insurance, continuing education, renewal, advertising, and the complaint and enforcement process. Rule numbers, fees, and dollar thresholds are amended periodically - verify current figures in the adopted rule text rather than trusting a number from an older prep book. A wrong statutory figure is worse than an admitted blank.
Safety
Refrigerant, electrical, and combustion safety all appear. Never pressurize a system with oxygen; use dry nitrogen with a regulator. Venting refrigerant is prohibited under EPA Section 608, and technicians who handle refrigerant must be certified. Lock out and tag out before opening a compressor terminal box, discharge capacitors, and treat every control circuit as live until proven dead. A carbon monoxide call is an emergency: shut down and isolate the appliance, ventilate, and do not simply relight and observe.
Business practice
Use written contracts with scope, price, and payment terms; handle change orders in writing; understand lien rights under the Texas Property Code; advertise truthfully; and never promise a result you cannot verify. Local authorities issue permits and inspect under adopted mechanical codes, and code compliance is the contractor's responsibility - not something a customer can waive.
Worked example
A homeowner asks you to skip the permit on a changeout "because it's just a swap." The exam answer is to pull the required permit, install to the adopted code, and document the work.