Texas ACR Contractor — Commercial Refrigeration Practice Test

What's on the Texas Commercial Refrigeration exam

One exam, two classes

Texas Occupations Code §1302.253 splits the contractor license by size: a Class A license covers equipment of any size or capacity, while a Class B license is limited to systems of not more than 25 tons cooling capacity or 1.5 million Btu/h output heating capacity — and TDLR's rule 16 TAC §75.22(c) applies that limit unit by unit, so a Class B contractor may work in a building whose combined capacity is larger as long as no single unit exceeds it. Both classes sit for the same fourteen subject areas; PSI's bulletin gives Commercial Refrigeration Class A 120 scored items in 230 minutes and Class B 100 scored items in 170 minutes, each with 5 non-scored items and 10 added minutes, each with a 70% passing score, fees $74 and $60. Eligibility (§1302.255) is 48 months of supervised ACR experience in the preceding 72 months, or 36 months in 48 for someone who has held a technician certification for the preceding 12 months, with education credits available under subsection (c).

Open book — and the switch to the 2024 codes

The exam is open book. PSI's bulletin lists three groups of references: business and law — Texas Occupations Code chapter 1302, 16 Texas Administrative Code chapter 75 and 29 CFR part 1904; the codes — the International Mechanical Code, the International Fuel Gas Code and the Uniform Mechanical Code; and technical references — Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (22nd edition) and the ADI Duct Size Calculator; the ACCA Manuals D, J and S are listed for the Environmental Air exams only, so a Commercial Refrigeration candidate does not need them. The bulletin states twice, in capitals, that effective September 1, 2026 the examinations are referenced to the 2024 IFGC, IMC and UMC, and TDLR's rule 16 TAC §75.110 adopted the same 2024 editions on the same date — so a 2021 code is now the wrong book. For code questions the exam is based only on the listed edition. Books may be highlighted, underlined, annotated and tabbed with permanent tabs before the session; during the exam you may not write in them, temporary and Post-It tabs are not allowed, and no loose paper comes in.

The subject areas, by weight

For Class A the bulletin prints HVACR Systems and Design 20 (components, installation, refrigeration systems), Controls 14 (general, pressure and safety, temperature), Equipment Requirements 12 (sensible and latent capacities, heat loads, HVACR codes, voltage), Piping 11 (condensate, pipe fittings, pipe sizing, pipe type, support, valves), Service 11 (electrical, diagnostics, refrigerant recovery, superheat and subcooling), Basic Refrigeration Components 10 (compressors, condensers, evaporators, metering devices, refrigerants), Refrigeration Principles 10 (heat transfer, physics, system pressure), Safety 7, Air Distribution 6, Testing 6 (airflow, combustion, electrical, gas), Texas Laws and Rules 6, Combustion Air 3, Ventilation 2 (air equipment, machinery room) and Venting 2 (dryers, vent assembly). Class B keeps the same list at 17, 11, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 6, 5, 5, 5, 3, 2 and 2. Read it as a plan: systems and design, controls, equipment requirements and piping together are 57 of the 120 items — nearly half the exam — and principles, components and service add 31 more; air distribution, ventilation and venting — the areas that dominate the Environmental Air exam — are only 10 items here. The arithmetic of heat loads, superheat and subcooling, pressure–temperature and voltage is where an open book helps least and practice helps most.

Texas law is inside the trade exam

There is no separate business-and-law exam for an ACR contractor in Texas, and Texas has no statewide general-contractor license, so the Texas Laws and Rules area — 6 items on Class A, 5 on Class B — is the whole legal test. It draws on Occupations Code chapter 1302 (license classes and endorsements, eligibility, exemptions, disciplinary grounds) and 16 TAC chapter 75 (insurance limits, responsibilities of the contractor and the contracting company, technical requirements, continuing education, fees). The scope of this endorsement is written in the statute: under §1302.254(c) the commercial refrigeration and process cooling or heating endorsement entitles the holder to contract for commercial refrigeration and process cooling or heating within the class held, and §1302.002 defines commercial refrigeration (6) as using mechanical or absorption equipment to control temperature or humidity to satisfy the intended use of a specific space, and process cooling or heating (15) as controlling temperature, humidity or cleanliness solely for production requirements or the proper operation of equipment. Under §1302.254(d) a licensee may not do a type of work the license is not endorsed for — comfort heating and cooling of a building is the environmental air endorsement, not this one. One rule-side detail that is specific to this endorsement: 16 TAC §75.100(a)(3) lets an ACR licensee install and service control wiring of 50 volts or less, but a licensee with the commercial refrigeration endorsement may install and service control wiring of any voltage on the equipment side of the disconnect; and §75.100(d) keeps process-cooling work to the primary closed loop and excludes cryogenic work.

How exam day works

TDLR approves your eligibility and emails scheduling instructions; you book online at test-takers.psiexams.com/tdlnrp or by phone at (833) 333-4741 and test by computer at one of PSI's Texas sites — Abilene, Amarillo, Arlington, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock, McAllen, Midland, San Antonio, Tyler, Waco and others listed in the bulletin. Arrive 30 minutes early with one valid government-issued photo ID; cancel or reschedule at least 2 days ahead or the fee is forfeited. All ACR exams are available in English and Spanish at no additional cost — choose the language when you schedule. Your score appears on screen when time ends, with a diagnostic report by subject area if you do not pass, and you may test as many times as needed within your eligibility period; under 16 TAC §75.20 every license requirement including the exam must be completed within one year of filing the application.

A realistic study plan

The full LICENA Texas ACR Commercial Refrigeration course is 500 questions across five blocks mapped to PSI's 14 areas: Refrigeration Principles, Components & Charging · HVACR Systems, Refrigeration Design & Machinery Rooms · Equipment Requirements & Piping · Controls & Service · Air Side, Combustion, Safety & Texas Law. At 30 questions a day that is about three weeks: one pass to find the gaps, a second pass on the areas you missed, then the timed final at 120 questions in 230 minutes — just under two minutes per question, tighter than most candidates expect from an open-book exam. That pace is the argument for practicing lookups rather than memorizing: tab the refrigeration chapters of the IMC and UMC (machinery rooms, refrigerant piping, system tests) early and use the same tabs every session, and keep Occupations Code 1302 and 16 TAC 75 printed and bound as the bulletin allows. Drill the heat-load, superheat and subcooling, pressure–temperature and voltage arithmetic on paper. If you also need EPA certification for refrigerant work, the free EPA 608 practice test covers those federal rules in depth.