How a quote request works

The steps

1. You describe the job. Service, ZIP, property and timing. We receive nothing until you press send.
2. We check the ZIP. The form accepts the Dallas–Fort Worth ZIPs this site covers and says so if yours is outside.
3. We route it. No partner contractor is signed yet. Until one covers your ZIP, we email you and say so instead of passing the request on.
4. The contractor contacts you. They visit, size the system and give a written quote. Compare it with the quote tool.
5. You decide. There is no obligation. Any contract is between you and the contractor.

What we check before a contractor receives requests

An active TDLR air conditioning and refrigeration contractor license with the Environmental Air Conditioning endorsement, matched on the TDLR license search, and a certificate of the liability insurance TDLR requires. We record the date of the check.

We do not certify a contractor's workmanship, and we do not install, inspect or warrant anything.

The license check matters because Texas requires it. Texas licenses HVAC contractors through TDLR. Class A has no size limit; Class B covers cooling systems of 25 tons and under. Each license carries one endorsement; residential work is the Environmental Air endorsement. Contractors must hold liability insurance and renew with continuing education every year. You can run the same check yourself in a minute with the license guide, and it is worth doing for any contractor you consider, whether or not they came through this site.

What to put in the request

A clear request gets a more useful first conversation. The form asks only for what a contractor needs to decide whether the job is one they take and to plan a visit.

• The job: a replacement, a new install, a heat pump, a mini-split, or not sure yet.
• Your ZIP: it decides whether the request can be routed at all.
• The property: a house you own, a rental or a condo. Condos often need association approval.
• Timing: a failed system in summer is a different job from planning ahead in spring.

Before the visit, fill in the sizing preparation sheet. It records the floor area, insulation, windows and problem rooms that a load calculation needs, so each contractor works from the same facts.

After the contractor calls

From the first call onward, you deal with the contractor directly. Their quote, contract and warranty are theirs. A few checks are worth making whoever you hire:

• A written quote with the equipment model numbers, the size and how it was chosen, what happens to the ducts, the permit, and the warranty terms.
• The license number on the paperwork. The licensee’s number must appear on all advertising, proposals and invoices, an invoice is required for all ACR work, and proposals, invoices and written contracts must carry the notice “Regulated by The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, P.O. Box 12157, Austin, Texas 78711, 1-800-803-9202, 512-463-6599; www.tdlr.texas.gov”.
• The permit. Most DFW cities require one to replace an AC; the permit guide lists the offices we have checked.
• Your cancellation right. Under Texas Business and Commerce Code §601.051, a consumer may cancel a consumer transaction until midnight of the third business day after signing, where the sale was solicited and agreed somewhere other than the merchant’s place of business and the price is over $25.

Get more than one quote if time allows, and compare them line by line with the quote comparison tool.

From signed quote to a running system

Once you pick a contractor, the job runs through the same stages in most DFW cities. Knowing them helps you spot a step that got skipped.

1. The sizing visit. Someone measures the house, looks in the attic and checks the ducts. Ask for the load calculation result in Btu/h, not just a tonnage. The sizing guide explains why.
2. The permit. The contractor applies to your city, not you. Dallas, Garland and most suburbs each run their own permit office, so the permit guide lists which ones we have checked.
3. Install day. Old equipment comes out, refrigerant is recovered, and the new system goes in. What happens during a replacement walks through the day.
4. The city inspection. An inspector checks the work against the code the city has adopted. Don't make the final payment until it has passed.
5. Handover. Get the model and serial numbers, the permit number and the warranty paperwork. Register the equipment yourself if the manufacturer requires it; the warranty guide explains registration.

One stage is easy to lose: the inspection. If a contractor offers a lower price "without the permit", the price is lower because the city never looks at the work. The post-install checklist lists what you can check yourself.

While no partner is signed

Today no contractor has been signed. The site does not forward requests to contractors who have not been checked. If you send a request now, we email you to say nobody is available yet, so you can look elsewhere without waiting.

The guides and tools work either way. Nothing on them depends on sending a request.

How we are paid

Partner contractors will pay a fee for introductions; none is signed yet, so we earn nothing today. That fee never changes the prices or rules on this site, which come from named, dated sources. The lead-generation disclosure has the details.

Who runs the site is on the about page; for questions, contact us.

Your data

We use what you send only to route your request and to tell you about it. The privacy policy lists what is collected and who receives it. Questions: hello@acinstallationdallas.com.

Sources

• Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, license search (retrieved 2026-10-20)
• Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• TDLR rules, 16 Tex. Admin. Code §75.71 (retrieved 2026-10-20)
• Texas Business and Commerce Code ch. 601 (retrieved 2026-10-20)

Questions

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