1. (a) The licensee shall:

   1. (1) if affiliated with a business, choose one business affiliation that will use the licensee's license;
   2. (2) be a bona fide employee, owner, or officer of the business affiliation, and must work full time at the business affiliation, or permanent office of the business affiliation;
   3. (3) use his license for one business affiliation and one permanent office at any given time;
   4. (4) furnish the Department with his or her permanent mailing address and the name, physical address, and telephone number of the business affiliation; and
   5. (5) furnish to the Department, copies of assumed name registrations.

2. (b) A licensee may subcontract portions of work requiring a license under the Act to unlicensed persons, firms, or corporations as long as:

   1. (1) the licensee actively provides work or service which requires a license, either in person or with the licensee's bona fide employees;
   2. (2) the work or service provided in person or with the licensee's bona fide employees consists of more than accepting a contract or request for service, scheduling the work, and providing supervision of the work; and
   3. (3) the licensee is ultimately responsible to the customer for all work performed by the subcontractor.
3. (c) The design of a system may not be subcontracted to an unlicensed person, firm or corporation.
4. (d) A licensee who subcontracts with an air conditioning and refrigeration company other than his own, must work under the license of the other air conditioning and refrigeration business. The work must be billed by the other air conditioning and refrigeration company, and the licensee working as a subcontractor must be paid by the other company. The licensee who is the contractor is responsible for all subcontracted work.
5. (e) Each air conditioning and refrigeration company shall have a licensee employed full time in each permanent office operated in Texas. All work requiring a license under the Act shall be under the direct personal supervision of the licensee for that office. The licensee's license number shall appear on all proposals and invoices for that office.
6. (f) If a licensee is employed as the license holder for the company or the permanent office of that company, the licensee is responsible for work performed under his supervision. If the owners, officers, or managers of the company do not allow the licensee the authority to supervise, train, or otherwise control compliance with the Act, the licensee is still responsible under the Act.
7. (g) If an air conditioning and refrigeration company uses locations other than a permanent office, those locations shall be used only to receive instructions from the permanent office on scheduling of work, to store parts and supplies, and/or to park vehicles. These locations may not be used to contract air conditioning sales or service. The air conditioning and refrigeration company shall provide the address of these other locations to the Department no later than 30 days after the locations are established or changed.
8. (h) A licensee may not permit a person or any company with which his or her license is not affiliated to use his or her license for any purpose.
9. (i) Each licensee shall display his/her license at the permanent office to which it is assigned.
10. (j) Each licensee shall display the license number and company name in letters not less than two inches high on both sides of all vehicles used in conjunction with air conditioning and refrigeration contracting. When an unlicensed subcontractor is at a job site not identified by a marked vehicle, the site shall be identified either by a temporary sign on the subcontractor's vehicle or on a sign visible and readable from the nearest public street containing the contractor's license number and company name.

11. (k) All advertising by licensees designed to solicit air conditioning or refrigeration business shall include the licensee?s license number. Advertising which requires the license number includes:

    1. (1) printed material;
    2. (2) television ads, except that in nationally placed television advertising, a statement indicating that license numbers are available upon request may be used in lieu of the licensee's license number;
    3. (3) newspaper ads;

    4. (4) telephone book ads, except:

       1. (A) telephone book listings that contain only the name, address, and telephone number;
       2. (B) manufacturers' and distributors' ads endorsing an air conditioning and refrigeration contractor;
    5. (5) business cards;
    6. (6) billboards;
    7. (7) telephone solicitations, except that the statement that the company is licensed by the state may be substituted unless the consumer requests the number;
    8. (8) proposals, quotations, and invoices; and
    9. (9) electronic media such as the Internet and websites, and solicitation through electronic mail.
12. (l) Items intended to attract business, other than promotional items of nominal value such as ball caps, tee shirts, and other gifts, must include the license number. Letterheads and printed forms for office use are not required to have the license number included. Signs located outside the contractor's permanent business location are not required to have the license number displayed.

13. (m) A licensee must have the following information: "Regulated by The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, P.O. Box 12157, Austin, Texas 78711, 1-800-803-9202, 512-463-6599" listed on:

    1. (1) proposals and invoices;
    2. (2) written contracts; and
    3. (3) a sign prominently displayed in the place of business if the consumer or service recipient may visit the place of business for service.
14. (n) A licensee that also acts as a general contractor may provide a one-time notice stating the information above to customers for whom they provide services requiring a license under the Act.

15. (o) If information provided to the Department by the licensee changes, the licensee shall:

    1. (1) notify the Department, in writing, within 30 days of any change in permanent mailing address, business affiliation, business location, or business telephone number;

    2. (2) revise the license, if the information is printed on the license by:

       1. (A) returning the current original license to the Department;
       2. (B) paying the appropriate revision fee required in Section 75.80 of this title (relating to Fees); and
       3. (C) providing a revised insurance certificate if the business affiliation name or address has changed.
16. (p) The permanent address shall be considered the licensee's permanent mailing address and address of record. All correspondence from the Department will be mailed to that address.

Source Note:The provisions of this §75.70 adopted to be effective July 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 5469.