HVAC & Refrigeration (Kälte- und Klimatechnik)
Key Facts
- Type: Regulated trade
- Qualification: Qualification exam or relevant technical degree
- Registration cost: Free (€0)
- F-gas certificate: EU F-gas Regulation certification mandatory for refrigerant handling
- Growing sector: High demand due to heat pumps and climate adaptation
What This Trade Covers
- Installation and maintenance of air conditioning systems
- Commercial and industrial refrigeration systems
- Heat pump installation and commissioning
- Cold room and cold chain logistics infrastructure
- Ventilation systems and indoor air quality solutions
- Refrigerant handling, recovery, and disposal (F-gas compliant)
Related Guides
What this licence additionally covers
§ 150 (9): „Kälte- und Klimatechniker (§ 94 Z 37) sind auch zur Ausübung der Tätigkeiten der Mechatroniker für Elektromaschinenbau und Automatisierung (§ 94 Z 49), der Mechatroniker für Elektronik, Büro- und EDV-Systemtechnik (§ 94 Z 49) und der Heizungstechnik; Lüftungstechnik (§ 94 Z 31) berechtigt. Sie sind unbeschadet der Rechte der Gewerbetreibenden, die zur Ausübung des Gewerbes der Elektrotechnik (§ 94 Z 16) berechtigt sind, zum Anschluss der selbst hergestellten Maschinen und Anlagen sowie der selbst errichteten Anlagen an bestehende und ausreichend dimensionierte Stromversorgungsleitungen berechtigt.“
Qualification: how to prove it
Kälte-/Klimatechnik is a regulated trade under §94 Z.37 of the Austrian Trade Act (GewO 1994). The standard route is the master craftsman exam (meisterprüfung).
- Examined by: Meisterprüfungsstelle WK
- Exam modules: 5
- Exam fee: €0 — exam fees are covered by the federal government
If you cannot sit the exam, these routes are open to you:
- Individual assessment under §19 GewO
- Appointing a qualified managing director
Registering the trade
- Cost: Free — registration itself carries no fee
- Where: District administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde)
- Decision within: max. 3 months
- Typically takes: 1-5 Werktage (bei vollständigen Unterlagen)
- Start trading: immediately on registration — you do not have to wait for the decision
You can register in these ways:
- Online via GISA (the trade register)
- Online via USP (the business service portal)
- In person at the authority
Who may register
- Minimum age: 18
- Citizenship or residence: Austria, EU, EEA or Switzerland
- Clean record: no disqualifying convictions (checked by the authority)
Documents to bring
- Photo ID
- Certificate of competence (Befähigungsnachweis)
- Criminal record certificate
Terms shown in German are the ones printed on the Austrian forms — you will meet them exactly like this at the authority.
Where to go, by province
| Province | Competent authority |
|---|---|
| Vienna | Magistrat der Stadt Wien, MA 63 |
| Lower Austria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft |
| Upper Austria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Linz/Wels/Steyr |
| Styria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Graz |
| Tyrol | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Innsbruck |
| Salzburg | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Salzburg |
| Carinthia | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Klagenfurt/Villach |
| Burgenland | Bezirkshauptmannschaft |
| Vorarlberg | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Bregenz |
Sole trader, GmbH, or partnership?
Trade law does not prescribe a legal form — but it does draw one line. Under § 9 (1) GewO, legal entities and registered partnerships (GmbH, OG, KG) may hold a trade licence, but they „must have appointed a managing director (§ 39)“ — a named person who carries the qualification and the legal responsibility for the trade. As a sole trader you are that person yourself.
Whether a GmbH pays off financially depends on profit, drawings, SVS contributions and allowances. There is no general profit threshold, and that question belongs to a tax adviser, not to this page.
Running this trade alongside a job
Nothing in Austrian law forbids running a trade as a side business. Two things about social insurance are regularly misremembered, and both cost money.
- The obligation follows Chamber membership, not profit. Under § 2 (1) 1 GSVG compulsory SVS insurance attaches to membership of the Economic Chamber, which you acquire with the trade licence itself. It therefore applies in a year in which you make no profit at all.
- There is an exemption — but only on application. § 4 (1) 7 GSVG lets very small businesses be exempted while turnover and income stay under the limits it refers to. Nothing happens automatically: without the application, the obligation stands.
If you are employed, check your employment contract separately for a secondary-activity clause — that is a matter between you and your employer, not trade law.
Legal basis: GewO 1994 §94 Z.37 . Last reviewed April 2026. This is not legal advice.
Rule-change alerts
Austrian trade rules change through amendments, new regulations and new thresholds. Every day we check the Federal Law Gazette for changes to the Trade Act and its regulations. When one affects this trade, you get an email: what changes, from when, and where it is written. Otherwise we do not write.
First you get one email to confirm. No advertising, no tracking.