How to start an appliance repair business

This guide takes a technician from choosing a business model to a registered, insured shop with its first customers, quoting the rules in California, Texas, Florida and New York City. The most useful finding: a new shop cannot legally buy refrigerant until someone on its payroll holds EPA Section 608 certification, so the Type I exam belongs before the first sealed-system job, not after it.

By Niomi AscotUpdated October 3, 202616 min read

Licensing: No federal license; California registers every shop per location with no exam, and NYC moved the trade to a new license in August 2026
Refrigerant: EPA Section 608 certification (Type I covers household fridges and window units) before a seller will supply refrigerant
Median pay, 2025: $50,990 a year for home appliance repairers (BLS via O*NET)
Shop size: 79.5% of the 5,595 appliance repair employers counted in 2023 had fewer than five employees
Gas appliances: Licensed separately where propane or gas work is regulated: a Railroad Commission license in Texas, Chapter 527 in Florida
Brand authorization: Whirlpool asks a $75 fee, a $300 minimum yearly tech subscription and $1 million liability cover

What an appliance repair company does, and the ways to run one

California’s repair statute gives the cleanest description of the work. A service dealer is paid for “Repairing, servicing, or maintaining major appliances,” and the appliances it names run from refrigerators, freezers, ranges and microwave ovens to washers, dryers, dishwashers, trash compactors, ice makers, dehumidifiers and room air conditioners (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9801). The task list on O*NET OnLine adds a line every owner-operator will recognize: “Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment.”

Most new companies run one of four models, or a mix of them:

Independent in-home repair. The homeowner calls and pays you. In California it comes with a written notice, covered below.
Manufacturer-authorized service. The brand pays you to fix its products while they are under warranty. Whirlpool says it “provides warranty service free of charge to the customer,” and its contractors can also join a program where Whirlpool “provides out of warranty referrals at a fee” (Whirlpool ISC application).
Home warranty dispatch. A warranty company assigns the job. American Home Shield tells its members it “will assign an independent, qualified repair Pro from our network,” and charges the homeowner a service fee of $100 or $125 per request. No page we read published what contractors are paid.
Retailer service. Some brands let their dealers repair what they sell under warranty, which suits an appliance store more than a technician starting out.

No primary source counts appliance repair franchises, so judge any franchise offer on its own contract.

Pay, demand and who you compete with

Bureau of Labor Statistics figures on O*NET OnLine put the median home appliance repairer at $24.51 an hour, or $50,990 a year, in 2025. There were 37,300 people in the job in 2024, growth from 2024 to 2034 is projected as “Average (3% to 4%),” and O*NET lists 3,100 projected openings, a figure that includes replacing workers who leave. Of the workers O*NET surveyed, 97% are on the phone every day and 78% spend every day in a vehicle.

The competition is mostly very small. In the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns for 2023, appliance repair and maintenance (NAICS 811412) had 5,595 establishments with paid employees, 24,621 employees and about $1.158 billion in payroll. Of those 5,595, 79.5% had fewer than five employees and 91.7% fewer than ten. Solo operators are counted separately: the 2023 nonemployer file shows 31,411 businesses with no employees in the wider home, garden and appliance repair group (81141). That group includes lawn equipment repair, so read it only as a sign that one-person shops far outnumber employers.

On the supply side, ISCET, which runs the NASTeC certification, cites research by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers that “over 52,000 new technicians could be needed in the next 5 years” (ISCET, NASTeC exams). The page gives no date or method. On the demand side, EPA estimates 11 to 13 million refrigerated household appliances reach the end of their life every year, and each of those is a repair-or-replace decision first.

Federal rules: refrigerant, warranties and right to repair

No federal agency licenses appliance repair. Three bodies of federal law still shape the business from its first week.

EPA Section 608 certification. Federal rules under the Clean Air Act “require that technicians who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere must be certified” (EPA, certification requirements). That includes anyone who attaches gauges, adds or removes refrigerant, or otherwise breaks into a sealed system. The types are:

Type I for small appliances, units holding five pounds of refrigerant or less (EPA, appliance disposal): household refrigerators, freezers, window units and dehumidifiers.
Type II and Type III for high- and low-pressure equipment, and Universal for all of it.

An EPA-approved certifying organization gives the test, the credential does not expire, and apprentices may work only while “closely and continually supervised by a certified technician.” EPA itself “does not issue certification cards” (EPA, Section 608 certification); the certifying organization does.

Buying refrigerant. This is the rule that catches new owners. A distributor may not sell refrigerant, including HFC substitutes since January 1, 2018, unless among other options “The buyer employs at least one technician who is certified as a Type I, Type II, Type III, or Universal technician” and shows proof (40 CFR 82.154). Until someone on payroll is certified, the shop cannot open a refrigerant account at all.

Recovery equipment and venting. Machines used on small appliances must be certified to recover 90% of the refrigerant in a test stand when the compressor runs and 80% when it does not (40 CFR 82.158), and Section 608 “prohibits individuals from intentionally venting” refrigerants, HFCs included (EPA, Section 608). EPA notes that some new refrigerated appliances use R-290, which is propane; in our experience, training on those units is worth doing before the first one arrives.

Haul-away. The final disposer must make sure the refrigerant is recovered; if you recover it and someone else disposes of the unit, they need a signed statement with your name, address and the date (40 CFR 82.155).

Magnuson-Moss. Customers often ask whether your repair voids their warranty. The rule says “No warrantor may condition the continued validity of a warranty on the use of only authorized repair service and/or authorized replacement parts for non-warranty service and maintenance” (eCFR, 16 CFR 700.10). The same rule lets the maker refuse a claim where it “can demonstrate that the defect or damage was so caused” by the outside repair. The FTC’s warranty guide gives sample wording a warrantor may print: repairs “can be performed by any company.” The FTC’s July 2024 warning letters on this point went to makers of other products, not appliances. So your repair does not void a warranty by itself, though a product still under warranty is usually better sent to the brand’s servicer, which the brand pays.

Right to repair. California’s SB 244, operative July 1, 2024, makes manufacturers of appliance products with a wholesale price of $100 or more offer documentation, parts and tools “on fair and reasonable terms” for at least seven years after a model was last made, and three years for products from $50 to $99.99, for products first sold or used in California on or after July 1, 2021. Minnesota’s Digital Fair Repair Act covers equipment sold from July 1, 2021, and on our reading does not exclude home appliances.

State and city licensing

Most states have no appliance repair license. Where the trade is regulated, it is through a consumer registration, a city license or a gas license that reaches appliance work. The SBA notes that requirements “vary based on your business activities, location, and government rules,” and in our experience nearly every city or county wants a local business license or tax receipt.

Place	Agency	What you need	Key requirements, as the agency states them
California	Bureau of Household Goods and Services	Service dealer registration	$190 per location for an appliance dealer, $375 combination; “Are there exam or education requirements for a license? No.”; renew within 12 months
Texas	Railroad Commission (LP-gas only)	No appliance license; LP-gas license for propane appliance work	License for “the service, installation, and repair of appliances” on LP-gas systems; household fridges, freezers and ice machines are outside the state AC license
Florida	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (LP gas)	No appliance license found; LP gas license may apply to gas appliance service	Category V installer license $200 a year; each location licensed separately; willful unlicensed work “is a felony of the third degree”
New York City	Department of Consumer and Worker Protection	Electronics license	“As of August 31, 2026, the Electronic and Home Appliance Dealer license is now the new license category Electronics”

Fees are as of October 2026. The issuing agency’s own page is the authority, so confirm every requirement with it, and with your city and county, before you apply or advertise.

California. “It shall be unlawful to act as a service dealer without first having registered” (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9840). The fee is due per place of business and per drop-off location, out-of-state dealers register too, each registration covers one entity and one DBA, and selling your own service contracts takes a separate license (BHGS). The law also writes much of your daily paperwork, all of it in the BHGS law book:

Written estimate first. “An initial written estimate for the cost of repair shall be given to the customer before performing any repairs,” covering parts and labor, and you may not bill above it without the customer’s consent (section 9844).
Diagnostic fee in writing. A “reasonable fee” for finding the fault is allowed, but the customer must be told the amount in writing before a repair in the home.
Invoice detail. Invoices describe all work and all parts, say clearly when a part is used, and are kept for at least three years (9842).
Old parts go back. Replaced parts are returned to the customer, apart from warranty returns and exempt parts (9843).
Piercing valves. A clamp-on piercing valve must be replaced with a solder-in valve or sealed, unless the owner agrees in writing to “only a temporary repair.”
Advertising. Ads carry the firm name and address as registered; “24 hour” requires real round-the-clock service, not an answering service; “Factory Authorized,” “Licensed” and “Certified” only when true (16 CCR 2751).

Two more rules shape hiring and the counter. A dealer “may not make the compensation of any employee” depend on the value of parts replaced (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9845), which rules out a parts commission. And under SB 244, a shop that is not an authorized repair provider “shall provide a written notice to any customer” before the repair saying so, and must disclose used parts or parts from a supplier other than the manufacturer. Cities, counties and the state can seek $1,000 a day for a first violation, $2,000 for a second and $5,000 for each one after. Put the notice on the estimate form so it is signed every time.

Texas. The state air conditioning and refrigeration license “does not apply” to work on “a residential refrigerator, freezer, or ice machine,” or on a portable or self-contained ductless unit of three tons or less (Tex. Occ. Code 1302.058). Central air still needs it. Gas is the other line: no one may do “appliance activities,” meaning “the service, installation, and repair of appliances” on LP-gas systems, without a Railroad Commission license, with exceptions for connecting appliances by connector and for duct or electrical work only (Tex. Nat. Res. Code 113.081). Outside the metros many ranges and dryers run on propane, so settle this before listing gas appliance repair.

Florida. We found no statewide appliance repair license on a primary source, and cities may levy a local business tax (Fla. Stat. 205.042). Gas is where it gets unclear. Florida’s LP gas law defines a Category I dealer to include anyone “servicing, altering, or modifying apparatus, piping, tubing, appliances, and equipment for the use of liquefied petroleum or natural gas” (Fla. Stat. 527.01), and Chapter 527 makes unlicensed work in those categories unlawful. Whether a shop that repairs a gas range or dryer without touching the gas piping needs one of these licenses is our reading of broad definitions, not a ruling, so put the question to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in writing before you advertise gas appliance work.

New York City. From August 31, 2026, appliance service dealers need DCWP’s new Electronics license in place of the old category. Get the Electronics license requirements from DCWP before you open.

Becoming a manufacturer-authorized servicer

Warranty work is steady, the brand pays for it, and the brand decides who gets it. Each one runs its own application:

Whirlpool asks for a “$75 non-refundable processing fee,” a technical subscription “at a minimum cost of $300 annually based on the number of technicians,” background screening for anyone entering homes, a competency assessment, general liability of “$1,000,000 per occurrence for Service” naming Whirlpool as additional insured, and whether you hold a parts distributor account (Whirlpool).
LG lists business licenses, “Certification and Training to service Sealed System Products,” a 10-panel drug test, a background check, and $1 million each in general and auto liability plus workers’ compensation (LG).
GE Appliances asks about same or next day service, after-hours calls, technician background checks, years in business and refrigerant recovery compliance (GE Appliances).

These forms ask for what a new shop rarely has on day one: years in business, $1 million limits, a parts account and spare capacity. From what we see, most owners start independent and apply to one or two brands in their first slow season.

NASTeC, run by ISCET, is the trade’s voluntary national certification: a Basic Skills exam plus at least one of three specialty exams, each of 40 multiple-choice questions (ISCET). It shows competence; it is not a license.

Setting up the company

Entity and EIN. The SBA says an LLC shields personal assets “in most instances.” Form the entity with your secretary of state first, then get the EIN, which the IRS issues free online. Use one legal name on the state filing, any registration, the brand applications and the Google profile.

Sales tax. California’s registration form asks for a seller’s permit number where the sales tax law requires one. In our experience parts on a repair ticket are often taxable while labor may not be, and the split varies by state, so ask your revenue department how to invoice before the first job.

Insurance. The SBA lists general, product and professional liability and commercial property; Google asks appliance repair advertisers for general and professional liability. Add commercial auto for the van.

Workers’ compensation. California employers need it “even if they have only one employee” (California DIR). Florida requires it outside construction once four or more employees work for the same employer (Fla. Stat. 440.02). The Texas Department of Insurance says the state “doesn’t require most private employers” to carry it. LG and Whirlpool ask for it regardless where it applies.

Contractors or employees. The IRS warns that classifying an employee as a contractor without a reasonable basis can leave you liable for the employment taxes.

Van, tools, parts and software

This is practice, not regulation. A cargo van with parts shelving, a dolly and straps covers the first year; add a ramp or liftgate for haul-away. Most vans stay under the 10,001-pound weight rating at which federal rules start treating a vehicle in interstate commerce as a commercial motor vehicle (49 CFR 390.5), so check the rating before you buy a larger box truck.

For sealed systems you need a recovery machine certified for small appliances, gauges, a vacuum pump, brazing gear, a leak detector, a scale and recovery cylinders, and tools rated for R-290 if you will touch propane units. Add a multimeter, a clamp meter and a tablet for manufacturer diagnostics and manuals.

Parts drive most second visits, so open a distributor account early. Pick field service software that writes estimates and invoices detailed enough for California’s rules, stores photos and sends review requests. Many shops start from a home garage.

Pricing and cash flow

Most shops charge a diagnostic fee, then quote parts and labor at a flat rate or by the hour. No source with a stated method publishes typical prices or a startup cost, so build your own from local quotes using the SBA’s startup cost categories.

Warranty and home warranty jobs pay at the payer’s rates. In our experience that trade of margin for volume fills an early calendar and should shrink as direct calls grow. Expect to buy parts and make a second trip before a bill is paid.

One Texas-based company’s published work orders show 3,070 jobs in July against 1,486 in September (Upper Appliance Repair), and its records put the quietest stretch at late September through February. That lull is a good window to sit the NASTeC exams, send brand applications and train a new hire.

Hiring and safety

On O*NET, 69% of respondents said a high school diploma is required and 20% a post-secondary certificate, and registered apprenticeship titles include “Gas Appliance Servicer” and “Propane Service Technician.” A time-based registered apprenticeship means at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning, with 144 hours of related instruction a year recommended (29 CFR 29.5). An uncertified apprentice can work on refrigerant only under close, continual supervision.

Lockout. OSHA’s hazardous energy standard excludes cord-and-plug equipment only when unplugging controls the hazard and the plug stays “under the exclusive control of the employee performing the servicing” (29 CFR 1910.147). Keep the plug in sight, and lock out the breaker on a hardwired range. Lockout was the fourth most-cited OSHA standard in fiscal year 2025 (OSHA).

Protective equipment must be provided and kept in good condition wherever hazards call for it (29 CFR 1910.132); brazing, refrigerant and cut sheet metal are the usual reasons. Google’s Local Services screening can include identity and criminal history checks, with no credit pull (Google, screening).

Finding the first customers

Google Business Profile. A service-area business “can’t list a ‘virtual’ office unless that office is staffed during business hours” (Google guidelines), and its area should stay within about two hours of driving (Google, service areas). Google picks the verification method and recommends video where it is offered, and phone codes will not reach an automated phone menu (Google, verification).

Local Services Ads. Google’s category is Appliance repair services. Before ads run it asks for general and professional liability insurance, a state business or owner license where local law requires one, and business and owner checks for some advertisers, and screening averages 3 to 4 weeks (Google, requirements). In California, the state-level license is the BHGS registration. From August 2026 Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads, and appliance repair is in the first phase; you still pay only for valid leads, but a manual maximum per lead is no longer offered (Google Ads help).

Reviews. In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey, 47% of consumers said they will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews. Ask after every finished repair. The FTC’s 2024 rule bans buying fake reviews and offering incentives for reviews that express a particular sentiment.

Referral sources. Property managers, landlords, listing agents and dealers that do not service what they sell all need someone to call.

The marketing side is set out on our page for appliance repair companies. For the profile itself see Google Business Profile management, and for the ads, Google Ads and Local Services Ads.

What trips up new appliance repair owners

Sealed-system work before anyone is certified. Illegal, and you cannot buy the refrigerant anyway.
Verbal quotes. In California the written estimate caps the bill unless the customer agrees to more.
Gas work without the gas license. Texas licenses LP-gas appliance service; Florida’s definitions are broad enough to ask about.
Living on dispatch. The warranty company keeps the customer, so the next call from that house goes to it.
A parts commission in California. Barred by section 9845.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a license to repair appliances?

Not federally, and not in most states. California requires BHGS registration per location ($190, no exam), New York City the DCWP Electronics license, and Texas and Florida regulate gas appliance work through their LP gas laws.

Do I need EPA certification to fix refrigerators?

Yes, if you open the sealed system. Type I covers household units holding five pounds of refrigerant or less, and the credential never expires.

Can I buy refrigerant without a certification?

No, not for the shop. A seller can supply a business only when it employs at least one certified technician and shows proof, under 40 CFR 82.154.

Does my repair void the customer’s manufacturer warranty?

Not by itself. Under 16 CFR 700.10 a maker cannot tie a warranty to authorized service for non-warranty work, though it can deny a claim it shows your repair caused.

How do I become a factory-authorized servicer?

Apply to each brand once you have the insurance and a track record. Whirlpool, LG and GE each run their own application, with fees, $1 million insurance limits, background checks and capacity questions.

What do I have to give a California customer in writing?

A written estimate, the diagnostic fee before a repair in the home, an invoice that flags used parts and, if you are not the brand’s authorized provider, the SB 244 notice.

Do I need workers’ compensation for one technician?

In California, yes. Florida requires it outside construction at four employees, and Texas does not require it of most private employers.

How long before Google will send me paid leads?

Plan on about a month: Local Services screening averages 3 to 4 weeks, and the Business Profile must be verified first, so start both the week you register.

Sources

Checked on October 3, 2026. Rules and fees change, and many are set state by state or city by city: confirm the current requirements with the agency that issues them before you apply.

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