EPA Certification

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has a certification program that is required by federal law in order to be able to handle or work with refrigerants called EPA certification. This is often the first certification that HVAC professionals pursue being that it is required by law. There are two different types of EPA certification:

EPA 608 Certification

The first, and most commonly pursued certificate is the EPA 608 Certification. There are 4 different types of certification depending on the type of work you will be conducting:

• Type I –  Can only work on small appliances containing 5 lbs or less of refrigerant
• Type II – Can only work on medium, high, and very high pressure appliances
• Type III –  Can only work on low pressure appliances
• Universal Certification – Someone who possesses Type I, Type II, and Type III certifications.

All of the certification tests also require you to pass a CORE exam. Any of the tests listed above may be taken one at a time, or all together at once in conjunction with the CORE exam.

The EPA 608 Certification is currently the only nationally mandated requirement. However, many states, or even some counties, have their own requirements in addition to the 608. Very few  require additional certification (some do!) but many offer a state mandated exam in order to legally work with HVAC systems.

EPA 609 Certification

The EPA 609 Certification is specifically for those persons looking to work on motor vehicle air conditioning systems.

This certification allows the purchase of any refrigerant in any size from an auto supply house for use in the cooling of passenger compartments in motor vehicles. This certification is much less common and is pursued mainly by auto mechanics working with MVAC units. The exam is similar to those listed above. If you have no intention of working with MVAC units, this certification will most likely not be relevant for you.

For more information, visit the EPA Certification website.