HVAC in Seattle, WA: written quotes on one scope

Seattle SDCI's Refrigeration Permit guide has a Seattle Service Portal application route and an inspection stage. Start your HVAC request with the existing fuel, equipment and repair or replacement goal. The Census heating-fuel figures below describe Seattle city; identify your own system so the scopes address the equipment in your home.

InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.

By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. Sources read: 17 October 2026 Latest source read: 5 November 2026 Updated 2026-11-05

Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.

For your AI assistant

MCP connector · REST API · plain HTML

Hand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.

MCP connector URLhttps://instabids.ai/api/agent/mcp
Agent API (OpenAPI)https://instabids.ai/openapi.json
Start-request linkhttps://instabids.ai/intake?trade=ac&from=hire-hvac--wa--seattle&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=hire&page_type=hire&place=seattle%2C+WA#job=heating%20or%20air-conditioning%20job
Prompt for any AI, with your job

Open it in your assistant

Add InstaBids as a connector

Every page is plain HTML. Steps for every assistant: add to your assistant.

Key facts for hiring an HVAC contractor in Seattle

Seattle's Refrigeration Permit guide names the Seattle Service Portal, Licenses – Trade & Equipment, and the separate inspection stage. After choosing an HVAC contractor, use those named steps to discuss the refrigeration portion of the scope. Refrigeration Permit (read 2026-11-05).

How to get written quotes on one scope

Seattle's Refrigeration Permit guide has instructions for coordinating refrigeration and associated mechanical inspections. Ask the written scope to identify each kind of work and who arranges inspection access. Read the complete city inspection paragraph in the permit section below. Refrigeration Permit (read 2026-11-05).

Describe the job once, using the scope checklist below, built from what we found for Seattle.
Post it on InstaBids and send it.
Every quote is written against the same scope, so they compare line by line.
You choose who gets your number.
Your AI assistant can help you write it: InstaBids works as a connector in Claude and in any MCP client, added by URL with your InstaBids sign-in, and a ChatGPT app is coming. You send the request yourself. Connect an assistant

Your written scope for a heating or air-conditioning job in Seattle

The equipment: capacity, efficiency rating and model, in writing
Heat source: if yours is one of Seattle's homes that heat with electricity, ask whether a heat pump fits the job
Who pulls the Seattle permit for refrigeration system assembled on site, and when the inspection is booked
Whether your job is one Seattle's page quoted below lists, and who applies for the permit if one applies to your job
Removal and disposal of the old parts or materials
Warranty terms on parts and labor, in writing

Do you need a permit for a heating or air-conditioning job in Seattle?

Seattle's permit page (read 5 November 2026): “You need a City of Seattle refrigeration contractor's license to obtain a City of Seattle refrigeration permit. You can apply for a contractor’s license through the Seattle Service Portal under Licenses – Trade & Equipment. You need a refrigeration permit whenever a refrigeration system is assembled on site. The contractor or employee installing the system must have a valid City of Seattle refrigeration mechanic's license that is appropriate for the refrigerant used in the system.” Open Seattle's source page

Seattle's permit page (read 5 November 2026): “Request an inspection. You need a cover and final inspection for your project. These can be done at the same time, if everything is ready. The inspector will make this determination on site. If you have an associated mechanical permit, schedule your mechanical inspections at the same time as the refrigeration inspections, if possible.” Open Seattle's source page

What license does an HVAC contractor need in Seattle?

After you pick an HVAC contractor for refrigeration installation, read Seattle's credential guidance together. The Refrigeration Permit guide states: You need a City of Seattle refrigeration contractor's license to obtain a City of Seattle refrigeration permit. Refrigeration Permit (read 2026-11-05).

Washington license lookup guide

AC repair Seattle

Seattle city's ACS 2020–2024 heating-fuel estimates put electricity at 61.1% of occupied homes, with a margin of error of ±0.7 percentage points. Heating fuel does not identify the cooling equipment in your home; describe the AC fault and the existing system separately. American Community Survey: House Heating Fuel (read 2026-10-17).

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro (read 2026-10-17).

Ask which heat source the quoted equipment will use.

Median hourly wage for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, May 2025: $38.51 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics).

This is what workers in this occupation are paid per hour. It is not what a contractor charges for a job.

How does InstaBids work?

InstaBids does not hold payment for the work; you pay the contractor directly on the terms of the bid you accepted.

How is InstaBids different?

Each bidder appears under a stable label such as Contractor A, so you judge the work, not the brand.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

The contact-detail filter can miss disguised contact details.

Sources for the facts on this page

Seattle permit page, read 5 November 2026: www.seattle.gov
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (series OEUM004266000000049902108), May 2025, read 17 October 2026: api.bls.gov
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year (B25040), ACS 5-year 2020-2024, read 17 October 2026: api.census.gov

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.