What these fields actually mean
Most people check a licence number, see that one exists, and stop. The number is the least useful thing on the record. Here is what the rest of it tells you.
CCB number
Every business that performs, advertises or bids construction work in Oregon must hold an active licence with the Construction Contractors Board. That includes heating and cooling installation. The number must appear on their advertising, their bid and your contract — if it is missing from any of those, ask why before anything else.
Years licensed
Counted from original registration. It tells you the business has been continuously licensed and is not an entity formed last month. It does not tell you the licence never lapsed, who works there now, or whether the work is any good. Useful as a filter, worthless as a verdict.
Bond and liability insurance — they are not the same thing
A surety bond is a limited pot of money the CCB can order paid out if a contractor fails to meet their obligations. For most residential contractors it is $20,000–25,000, and it is shared across every claim against them. It is not insurance and it is not for you specifically.
Liability insurance covers damage the contractor does to your property — the common residential minimum is $500,000. A bond will not pay for a flooded floor; insurance might.
Neither one guarantees workmanship. Both being present is the floor, not the bar.
Licence expiry
An expiry inside the next 60 days is worth one question: are you renewing before my job starts? Work performed while unlicensed puts your bond and insurance protections in doubt exactly when you would need them.
Four questions worth asking before you sign
- What is your CCB number? Then check it here, or at the state's own search. A contractor who hesitates has told you something.
- What equipment, exactly? Manufacturer, model number, and the HSPF2 or SEER2 rating — in writing. "A high-efficiency heat pump" is not a specification, and rebate eligibility turns on the exact rating.
- What is the total installed price? Not the price after a rebate you might not qualify for. Most Oregon heat pump incentives require replacing electric heat — if you have a gas furnace, a quote built around that money is built on sand.
- Who pulls the permit? If the answer is "we don't usually," that is the answer.
Where this data comes from, and its limits
This is the State of Oregon's own CCB Active Licenses dataset, published as open data (data.oregon.gov, dataset g77e-6bhs). It is filtered to businesses whose registered name indicates heating, cooling, mechanical, refrigeration or sheet metal work — so a general contractor who also installs furnaces may not appear here even though they are licensed.
It is a snapshot, not a live feed. The state's copy was last updated 13 September 2026 and was pulled on 23 September 2026. A licence can be suspended, lapse or be reinstated between updates. For anything that matters, verify the individual licence at the CCB's own search before you sign.
Appearing here is not a recommendation. It is a copy of a public record. No contractor pays to appear, none can pay to be removed, and nothing on this page is a statement about the quality of anyone's work. We make no money from who you choose.