What the FTC, Your State Licensing Board, and Google Actually Require from HVAC Contractors Online

If you run an HVAC company and you have a website, a Google Business Profile, a Facebook page, or you run paid ads — these rules apply to you. Compliance isn't just for large contractors with marketing departments. The FTC and state licensing boards make no exception for small operators.

The three main regulatory layers that affect HVAC advertising online are:

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules — cover The FTC requires that [advertising claims](/resources/blockchain/seo-compliance-for-blockchain), endorsements, testimonials, and promotional disclosures
• State contractor licensing boards — govern what license information must appear in your advertising and what titles or credentials you can claim
• Google's platform policies — govern what you can say in Google Ads, Local Services Ads, and what review practices are permitted on your Business Profile

These layers overlap but are enforced by different bodies. You can comply with the FTC and still have your Google Ads account suspended for a policy violation. You can be Google-compliant and still face a state board complaint for omitting your license number from your website header.

Understanding each layer separately — then checking your marketing against all three — is the practical approach. The sections below break each one down.

This is educational content, not legal advice. Verify current requirements with your state licensing authority and qualified legal counsel before making changes to your advertising.

The FTC's core standard is simple to state and harder to apply: advertising must be truthful, not misleading, and substantiated. For HVAC contractors, three areas require the most attention.

Performance and Efficiency Claims

Claims like 'cut your energy bill by 40%' or 'the most efficient system on the market' must be backed by evidence. If you're citing a manufacturer's efficiency rating, that's generally supportable — but if you're projecting savings for a specific customer's home without a proper load calculation, that claim may not hold up under scrutiny. Use qualified language when exact outcomes depend on conditions outside your control: 'typical savings vary based on home size, insulation, and usage.'

Testimonials and Endorsements

The FTC's updated endorsement guides (revised in 2023) tightened requirements around what must be disclosed. Key points for HVAC contractors:

• If you incentivize a customer to leave a review — with a discount, entry into a drawing, or any other benefit — that must be disclosed
• Testimonials must reflect honest experiences; you cannot cherry-pick only exceptional results and present them as typical
• Employee or staff reviews of your own business must be disclosed as such

Promotional Offers

When you advertise a special offer — 'free filter replacement with any service call' or 'zero percent financing for 12 months' — material conditions must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed. Burying restrictions in small-print footnotes that most users won't read does not satisfy the FTC's standard. The disclosure needs to be near the claim, in readable format.

Verify current FTC guidelines at ftc.gov. Rules are subject to revision.

Licensing requirements for HVAC contractors vary significantly by state — and so do the advertising display rules that come with them. What's mandatory in California may not apply in Texas, and vice versa. This section outlines the general categories of requirements; always verify with your specific state licensing board.

License Number Display

Many states require that your contractor license number appear in all forms of advertising. 'All advertising' typically includes:

• Your website (often in the footer or on the contact page at minimum)
• Google Business Profile description or posts
• Digital and print ads
• Vehicle wraps and signage
• Business cards and estimates

In states with this requirement, omitting the license number from your website is not a minor oversight — it can be grounds for a complaint with the licensing board.

Title and Credential Claims

If you hold a specific certification — NATE-certified, EPA 608 certified, or a state-issued specialty license — you may use those credentials in advertising. What you generally cannot do is claim credentials you don't hold, or use titles that imply a level of licensure you haven't obtained.

How to Verify Your State's Requirements

The most reliable approach is to go directly to your state's contractor licensing board website or call their compliance line. Industry associations like ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America) also publish guidance on state-specific requirements. Do not rely on what competitors in your market are doing — non-compliance by others does not protect you.

As of 2024, requirements vary by state and are subject to change. This is educational content; verify current rules with your licensing authority.

Google enforces its own compliance layer independent of federal or state rules. Violating Google's policies can result in ad disapproval, account suspension, or removal of your Business Profile content — consequences that affect your visibility immediately and can take weeks to resolve.

Google Ads Policies for HVAC

Google Ads prohibits misleading claims, deceptive pricing, and certain types of promotional language. Specific areas that trip up HVAC advertisers:

• Countdown urgency tactics — artificial scarcity or urgency claims ('Only 3 spots left this week!') can trigger policy flags if they're not verifiable
• Financing claims — '0% APR financing' ads must link to a landing page that clearly discloses terms
• Guarantee language — if you advertise a satisfaction guarantee, it must be real and the terms must be accessible to users

Local Services Ads (LSAs)

LSAs have a separate verification process. Google requires license verification, insurance documentation, and background check completion for HVAC contractors to maintain LSA eligibility. Letting these verifications lapse can pause your ads without warning. Review your LSA account status regularly.

Google's Review Policies

Google prohibits businesses from soliciting reviews in bulk, offering incentives for reviews, or posting reviews on behalf of customers. Specifically:

• You cannot offer discounts or gifts in exchange for Google reviews
• You cannot use third-party services that generate fake or incentivized reviews
• Asking customers to change a negative review in exchange for a remedy is a policy violation

Violations can result in review removal or Business Profile suspension. In our experience working with home services contractors, review policy violations are one of the most common sources of unexpected GBP disruptions.

Compliance failures in HVAC advertising rarely happen because contractors set out to deceive anyone. They happen because marketing moves fast and the rules aren't always visible until something goes wrong. Here are the scenarios we see come up most often.

Efficiency Claims Without Qualification

A manufacturer's SEER rating is verifiable. A claim that a customer will 'save hundreds every year' based on that rating — without a load calculation or a clear qualifying statement — is the contractor's liability, not the manufacturer's. Always pair savings claims with honest qualifiers about the variables involved.

Review Incentive Programs

A well-meaning office manager sets up a policy: every customer who leaves a Google review gets 10% off their next service call. This violates both FTC endorsement guidelines and Google's review policies simultaneously. The risk isn't hypothetical — both the FTC and Google have taken action against businesses for incentivized review programs.

Missing License Numbers on Digital Properties

A new website goes live. The designer didn't know to include the contractor license number. The contractor didn't know it was required. Six months later, a competitor files a complaint with the state board. This is a straightforward fix — but only if you know to check for it.

Lapsed LSA Verification

Insurance renews, but the updated certificate of insurance doesn't get uploaded to the LSA account. Ads pause. The contractor doesn't notice for days. Revenue drops. This is a process failure, not a knowledge failure — build a calendar reminder for every verification renewal date in your LSA account.

Promotional Offers Without Clear Terms

An ad offers a 'free system inspection' to drive leads. The actual condition — that the inspection is free only with a qualifying service purchase — appears only on page two of the terms. This is the kind of pattern the FTC's disclosure rules are specifically designed to address.

Compliance and SEO aren't separate workstreams — they interact directly. Google's own Quality Rater Guidelines emphasize E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), and for local home services, trustworthiness signals include the kind of transparent, accurate representation these compliance rules require.

A few practical connection points:

• License information on your website — displaying your contractor license number isn't just a state requirement in many markets; it's also a trust signal for visitors evaluating whether to call you
• Accurate testimonials and case studies — content built on real, representative customer experiences performs better for both credibility and search than inflated claims
• Consistent NAP (name, address, phone) — local SEO fundamentals align with the accurate representation requirements in advertising rules; inconsistent information across directories is both an SEO problem and a potential compliance issue if it misrepresents your business
• Review strategy — a compliant review solicitation process (ask customers directly, don't incentivize, don't filter) produces the kind of authentic review profile that holds up over time on Google

If you're evaluating SEO partners for your HVAC company, it's worth asking how they handle review strategy and what their policy is on promotional claims in content. For a closer look at how we keep HVAC SEO campaigns above board, see our main HVAC SEO service page.

This section is educational. For guidance specific to your business and state, consult qualified legal counsel and your state licensing board.