How to check whether your HVAC unit is registered
Updated September 2026 · Takes about five minutes per unit
Roughly one residential install in three is never registered with the manufacturer — and in most states that quietly cuts the parts warranty from ten years to five. Here's how to find out where your equipment stands, with nothing but the sticker on the unit and five minutes.
Step 1 — Find the model and serial number
Every unit carries a data plate: a metal or foil sticker listing the model number and serial number.
- Outdoor condenser / heat pump: side or rear panel, usually near the refrigerant service valves.
- Furnace: inside the front cabinet door — lift or unscrew the panel and look on the interior wall.
- Air handler / coil: exterior side panel or just inside the access panel.
Photograph the plate while you're there. A phone photo of every data plate in the house is the cheapest warranty insurance you'll ever carry.
Step 2 — Run the manufacturer's lookup
Most major brands publish a warranty lookup on their owner-support site — search the brand name plus "warranty lookup" and enter the serial number. As of September 2026:
| Brand | How to check |
|---|---|
| Goodman / Amana / Daikin | Online serial-number lookup on the brand's product-registration site |
| Lennox | Online warranty lookup by serial number |
| Carrier / Bryant | Online warranty lookup by serial number |
| Trane / American Standard | Owner-support portal, or the warranty phone line with serial + install date |
| Rheem / Ruud | Online verification on the brand's warranty page |
| YORK / Coleman / Luxaire | Owner-support lookup, or by phone with the serial number |
No public lookup for your brand? Call the manufacturer's customer-support line with the serial number and install date — they can read the coverage on file to you.
Step 3 — Read what comes back
- "Registered" with a coverage end date ~10 years after install: you're set. Note the confirmation and keep it with the install invoice.
- Base or standard coverage only: the unit was never registered. What happens next depends on the calendar — see below.
- No record found: double-check the serial (data-plate photos beat memory), then call the brand. Some lookups only cover recent model years.
If it's not registered — check the calendar first
Inside the window (60 days from install for Goodman, Amana, Daikin, Trane, American Standard, Lennox; 90 days for Carrier, Bryant, Rheem, Ruud, YORK — full table in the deadline guide): register right now on the manufacturer's site. You'll need the model, serial, install date and the installing contractor's name. Save the confirmation number — it's the proof that wins disputed claims.
Outside the window: in most states the coverage stays at the base term. The exceptions are California, Florida, Quebec and — for units sold after January 1, 2026 — Georgia, where coverage can't be conditioned on registration. Wherever you are, gather the install invoice, data-plate photos and service records into one folder; a claim in year seven is won on documentation. And avoid the seven mistakes in what voids an HVAC warranty.
HVAC contractors: check your whole install book at once.
Checking one serial takes five minutes — checking a year of installs takes a week of office time. Send us brand, serial and install date for your last 12 months and we'll audit every unit free: registered or not, window open or closed, days left on each. Answer in writing either way.
Get the free auditThis guide is general information, not legal advice, and TenKeeper is not affiliated with any manufacturer named above. Lookup tools and warranty terms are run by each manufacturer and can change; the certificate for your specific unit always governs.