Registering warranties for your customers: a contractor's workflow
Published September 18, 2026 · Applies to residential equipment in the United States
Short answer: register every install yourself, within a week of the install rather than at the end of the 60- or 90-day window. Capture every component's serial number on site. Give one person in the office the job. Store the confirmation number on the job record and send a copy to the homeowner. Most units that go unregistered were never forgotten on purpose. Nobody in the shop owned the task.
Manufacturers accept warranty registration from either the homeowner or the installing contractor. In practice, if the shop doesn't do it, nobody does. The homeowner assumes you did it, and industry estimates put the share of installs that never get registered at roughly one in three. When a compressor fails in year seven, the denied claim and the one-star review both land on the shop that did the install.
What to capture on site, for every install
- Model and serial number of every component: outdoor unit, indoor coil, furnace or air handler, and the thermostat if the brand warranties it. Photograph each data plate. Photos don't make typos.
- Install date, the actual day the system was commissioned.
- Homeowner's name, install address, email and phone, spelled the way they want it on the certificate.
- Your dealer or contractor account number for that brand.
- For new construction: the builder, the lot, and who the eventual owner will be. Some brands start the clock at closing rather than install (Lennox, for example, gives 60 days from the closing date on new construction), so check each brand's rule.
Who, when and how
| Decision | What works |
|---|---|
| Who owns it | One named person in the office, with a backup. "Everyone" means nobody. |
| When to file | Within 7 days of the install. The 60-day window is a deadline, not a schedule. |
| How to batch | A fixed weekly slot, one brand portal at a time. During peak season, twice a week. |
| Proof | The confirmation number goes on the job record the day it is issued, and a copy goes to the homeowner. |
| Safety net | A weekly list of every install with an open window and the days left on each. |
The mistakes that quietly cost a customer five years
- Registering half a split system. The condenser gets registered and the furnace or coil doesn't. Each component can carry its own serial and its own coverage.
- Serial typos. One transposed character registers a unit that doesn't exist, and the real one stays unregistered. Type from the photo, not from memory.
- Waiting for the invoice to be paid. Registration and billing are separate jobs. A slow payer shouldn't cost the homeowner their warranty.
- No record of the confirmation. If you can't produce the number, you can't prove the unit was registered, and in year seven proof is what the claim turns on.
- Assuming the old rules everywhere. In California, Florida and Quebec, and in Georgia for equipment from 2026 on, registration doesn't decide the coverage term. It still puts the install on file, which smooths claims and recalls, so keep filing, but don't tell those customers that registration is what saves their coverage.
Turn the confirmation into something the customer keeps
A one-page coverage certificate with your shop's name on it, listing each serial, the registration confirmation and the date coverage runs to, is the document a homeowner pulls out in year seven. It also puts your phone number in front of them when something breaks.
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Send us brand, serial and install date and we'll check every unit: which are registered, which windows are still open, and how many days are left on each. The answer comes in writing whatever it says.
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Quick answers
Should the HVAC contractor or the homeowner register the warranty?
Either can, and manufacturers accept both. In practice, contractors who register every install themselves avoid the most common failure: each side assumes the other did it and the 60- or 90-day window runs out.
What information is needed to register an HVAC warranty?
Typically the model and serial number of each component (outdoor unit, indoor coil, furnace or air handler), the installation date, the homeowner's name, address and contact details, and the installing contractor's dealer or account number. Requirements vary by brand.
How soon after installation should an HVAC unit be registered?
Within about a week. Most brands allow 60 or 90 days, but registering promptly leaves room to fix typos and missing serials before the window closes.
Do I need to register both the outdoor unit and the furnace?
Yes. In a split system each major component can carry its own serial number and its own warranty. Registering only the condenser can leave the furnace, air handler or coil on the shorter base warranty.
Related guides
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and TenKeeper is not affiliated with any manufacturer named above. Warranty terms are set by each manufacturer and can change; the certificate issued for your specific unit always governs.