Core
25%of exam
Type I Small Appliances
25%of exam
25 questionsFive-pound maximumRecovery PercentagesPassive RecoverySafe Disposal
Type II Medium to Very-High Pressure
25%of exam
25 questionsHigh PressureEvacuation LevelsLeak RepairService Practices
Type III Low Pressure
25%of exam
25 questionsLow PressureCentrifugal ChillersPurge UnitsFreeze Prevention
Quick Facts
- Universal structure
- Core + I + II + III
- Question total
- 100
- Questions per part
- 25
- Closed-book passing
- 70%
- Mail-in Type I passing
- 84%
- Universal testing
- Closed-book and proctored
- Universal award
- Pass all four examinations
- Open-book Core
- Cannot count toward Universal
- Certifier
- EPA-approved organization
- Federal time limit
- Not specified
- Federal exam fee
- Not specified
- Credential validity
- Does not expire
- Primary rules
- 40 CFR Parts 82 and 84
Universal Four
Core | I | II | III
Core proctoredI smallII highIII low
Open Core vs Universal Core
Open-book Core
- Type I pathway
- Mail-in option
- Cannot count Universal
Universal Core
- Closed-book
- Secure and proctored
- Counts toward Universal
Universal requires proctored Core
Certification Picker
- Small factory-charged appliance→Type I(Five pounds maximum)
- Medium through very-high pressure→Type II
- Low-pressure appliance→Type III
- All Section 608 types→Universal(All four proctored)
- Motor vehicle AC→Section 609
- Registered apprentice→Supervised exemption(Closely and continually)
Certification and Exam
- Test source
- EPA question bank
- Administrator
- EPA-approved certifying organization
- Universal questions
- One hundred total
- Core
- Twenty-five questions
- Type I
- Twenty-five questions
- Type II
- Twenty-five questions
- Type III
- Twenty-five questions
- Closed-book passing
- Seventy percent
- Mail-in Type I
- Eighty-four percent; not Universal
- Universal conditions
- Closed-book, secure, proctored
- Universal award
- Pass all four examinations
- Universal route
- One sitting or combined passes
- Combined-route condition
- Every counted part closed-book proctored
- Open-book Core
- Invalid toward Universal
- Expiration
- Credentials do not expire
- EPA card role
- Does not issue cards
- Time and fee
- Provider determines both
Three Rs
Recover | Recycle | Reclaim
RemoveCleanAHRI 700Reclaim before transfer
Section 608 vs 609
Section 608
- Stationary appliances
- Types I through III
- Universal available
Section 609
- Motor vehicle AC
- Separate training and test
- MVAC refrigerants
Stationary versus motor vehicle
Service Practice Sequence
- Before connecting equipment→Identify refrigerant
- Opening the circuit→Recover required amount
- Large charge present→Recover liquid first
- Recovered refrigerant stays owner→Reuse permitted
- Refrigerant changes owner→Reclaim first
- Pressure leak testing→Use regulated nitrogen
- Charging zeotropic blend→Charge liquid
- Repair is complete→Evacuate air and moisture
Certification Scope
- Type I
- Small appliances
- Type II
- Medium through very-high pressure
- Type III
- Low-pressure appliances
- Universal
- All Section 608 types
- Section 608
- Stationary refrigeration equipment
- Section 609
- Motor vehicle air conditioning
- Technician action
- Violates refrigerant-circuit integrity
- Hoses and gauges
- Technician activity
- Adding refrigerant
- Technician activity
- Removing refrigerant
- Technician activity
- Registered apprentice
- Closely and continually supervised
- Training class
- Voluntary, not federally required
Recover vs Recycle
Recover
- Remove refrigerant
- External container
- No cleaning required
Recycle
- Clean refrigerant
- Oil and moisture removal
- Equipment reuse
Remove versus clean
Environment and Refrigerants
- CFC
- Chlorine, high ODP
- HCFC
- Chlorine, lower ODP
- HFC
- Zero ODP, often high GWP
- R-12
- CFC example
- R-22
- HCFC example
- R-134a
- HFC example
- ODP
- Ozone depletion potential
- GWP
- Global warming potential
- Stratospheric chlorine
- Catalytically destroys ozone
- Montreal Protocol
- International ODS phaseout
- AIM Act
- HFC phasedown and management
- Drop-in replacement
- No universal substitute exists
- Oil compatibility
- Verify refrigerant and lubricant
- Zeotropic blend
- Can fractionate
Recycle vs Reclaim
Recycle
- Field cleaning
- Same-owner use
- No AHRI certification
Reclaim
- AHRI 700 purity
- EPA-certified reclaimer
- Ownership transfer allowed
Reuse versus ownership transfer
Refrigeration Cycle
- Compressor
- Raises vapor pressure
- Condenser
- Rejects heat, forms liquid
- Metering device
- Drops refrigerant pressure
- Evaporator
- Absorbs heat, forms vapor
- Receiver
- Stores high-side liquid
- Accumulator
- Protects compressor from liquid
- Filter-drier
- Removes moisture and contaminants
- Sight glass
- Shows refrigerant condition
- High-side gauge
- Red hose
- Low-side gauge
- Blue hose
- psia conversion
- Add atmospheric pressure
- Vacuum purpose
- Removes air and moisture
ODP vs GWP
ODP
- Stratospheric ozone
- Chlorine matters
- HFC equals zero
GWP
- Climate warming
- HFC can be high
- CO2 is baseline
Ozone impact versus climate impact
Three Rs and Ownership
- Recover
- Remove into external container
- Recycle
- Clean for equipment reuse
- Reclaim
- Process to AHRI 700
- Same owner
- Reuse across same-owner appliances
- Ownership changes
- Reclamation required first
- Reclaimer
- EPA-certified processor
- Mixed refrigerants
- Avoid cross-contamination
- Recovery speed
- Short, large-diameter hoses
- Liquid recovery
- Begin before vapor
- Pressure rebound
- Wait and recheck
Venting, Sales, and Records
- Intentional venting
- Generally prohibited
- De minimis release
- Good-faith recovery incident
- Normal operation
- Permitted, subject to leak rules
- Exempt substitutes
- Only EPA-listed uses
- Refrigerant purchase
- Matching certification required
- Stationary refrigerant
- Section 608 buyer
- MVAC refrigerant
- Section 609 buyer
- Employer purchase
- Certified employee evidence
- Wholesaler invoice
- Buyer, date, quantity
- Invoice retention
- Three years
- Technician copy
- Keep at business
- Copy retention
- Three years after stopping
Refrigerant Safety
- Eye and skin
- Goggles and gloves
- Large release
- Use SCBA if trained
- Liquid contact
- Frostbite risk
- Confined space
- Oxygen displacement risk
- High heat
- Toxic decomposition products
- Recovery cylinder
- Gray body, yellow top
- Cylinder fill
- Eighty percent maximum
- Disposable cylinder
- Never refill
- Leak-test gas
- Dry regulated nitrogen
- Oxygen or air
- Never pressure-test
- Nitrogen regulator
- Required
- Relief valve
- Required with nitrogen
- Shipping cylinder
- Identify refrigerant and hazard
HFC Management Since 2026
- Rule
- 40 CFR Part 84
- Start date
- January 1, 2026
- Refrigerant scope
- Regulated HFC or qualifying substitute
- Substitute GWP threshold
- Greater than fifty-three
- Full-charge threshold
- Fifteen pounds or more
- ODS-only appliance
- Excluded; Part 82 may apply
- Comfort and other
- Ten percent annually
- Refrigerated transport
- Ten percent annually
- Commercial refrigeration
- Twenty percent annually
- Industrial process
- Thirty percent annually
- Residential light-commercial
- AC and heat pumps excluded
- Repair period
- Thirty days
- IPR shutdown
- One hundred twenty days
- Verification
- Initial and follow-up tests
- Retrofit or retire
- Plan within thirty days
- Plan completion
- Within one year
- Mothballing
- Pauses applicable timelines
- Chronic leak
- 125% requires EPA report
- Current changes
- Check EPA Part 84 updates
Small Appliance 90-80-4
Working 90 | Dead 80 | Vacuum 4
Post-1993 workingDead compressorFour inches Hg
Type I vs Type II
Type I
- Small appliances
- Five pounds maximum
- Factory-charged sealed unit
Type II
- Medium pressure
- High and very-high pressure
- Excludes small appliances
Charge and appliance type decide
Type I Recovery
- Small appliance
- Factory-charged, hermetically sealed
- Charge maximum
- Five pounds
- Post-1993 recovery + working
- Recover ninety percent
- Pre-1993 recovery equipment
- Recover eighty percent
- Dead compressor
- Recover eighty percent
- Vacuum alternative
- Four inches Hg vacuum
- System-dependent
- Uses appliance pressure
- Self-contained
- Has independent compressor
- Dead compressor access
- Use both system sides
- Working compressor
- Run during passive recovery
- Piercing valve
- Remove after service
- R-134a
- Common R-12 substitute
Leak Threshold Ladder
Comfort 10 | Commercial 20 | Industrial 30
10% comfort20% commercial30% industrial
ODS vs HFC Leak Rules
Part 82 ODS
- Fifty-pound charge
- ODS refrigerant
- 10/20/30 thresholds
Part 84 HFC
- Fifteen-pound full charge
- Substitutes above GWP 53
- Sector exclusions apply
Identify refrigerant and governing rule
Evacuation Picker
- Small post-1993, compressor working→Recover 90%
- Small pre-1993 recovery equipment→Recover 80%
- Small compressor inoperative→Recover 80%
- Small vacuum alternative→Four inches Hg
- Very-high pressure→Zero inches Hg
- High under 200 pounds→Zero inches Hg
- High 200+ post-1993→Ten inches Hg
- Medium under 200 post-1993→Ten inches Hg
- Medium 200+ post-1993→Fifteen inches Hg
- Low-pressure appliance→25 mm Hg absolute
- Changing refrigerant oil→Five psig maximum
Required Evacuation Levels
- Equipment date
- November 15, 1993
- Very-high, either date
- Zero inches Hg
- High under 200
- Zero inches Hg
- High 200+, pre-date
- Four inches Hg
- High 200+, post-date
- Ten inches Hg
- Medium under 200, pre-date
- Four inches Hg
- Medium under 200, post-date
- Ten inches Hg
- Medium 200+, pre-date
- Four inches Hg
- Medium 200+, post-date
- Fifteen inches Hg
- Low-pressure, either date
- Twenty-five mm Hg absolute
- Date applies to
- Recovery equipment manufacture
Leak Rule Picker
- ODS full charge under fifty→No Part 82 leak trigger
- ODS full charge fifty-plus→Apply 10/20/30 thresholds
- Part 84 charge under fifteen→No Part 84 leak trigger
- Part 84 charge fifteen-plus→Check refrigerant and exclusions
- Residential light-commercial AC→Part 84 leak exclusion
- Leak exceeds threshold→Repair within thirty days
- IPR shutdown required→One hundred twenty days
- Repair completed→Perform verification tests
- Repair not chosen→Retrofit or retire
Type II Service Practices
- Liquid recovery
- Recover liquid first
- System-dependent limit
- Fifteen pounds unless permanent pump-out
- Major repair
- Removes compressor or listed heat exchanger
- Major opening
- Over 4 in² beyond fifteen minutes
- Nonmajor exception
- No later evacuation to atmosphere
- Medium/high/very-high nonmajor
- Zero psig before opening
- Leaking component
- Lowest attainable, maximum zero psig
- Oil change
- Five psig maximum
- Hermetic under vacuum
- Never energize
- Leak testing
- Test before recharging
- Zeotropic blend
- Charge as liquid
- Pressure rebound
- Wait before declaring complete
- Recovery machine change
- Prevent cross-contamination
- ASHRAE 15
- Equipment-room safety
ODS Leak Repair
- Rule
- 40 CFR Part 82
- Refrigerant scope
- Ozone-depleting refrigerant
- Full-charge threshold
- Fifty pounds or more
- Comfort cooling
- Ten percent annually
- All other appliances
- Ten percent annually
- Commercial refrigeration
- Twenty percent annually
- Industrial process
- Thirty percent annually
- Repair period
- Thirty days
- IPR shutdown
- One hundred twenty days
- Retrofit plan
- Create within thirty days
- Plan completion
- Within one year
- Verification
- Initial and follow-up tests
- Mothballing
- Pauses applicable timelines
- Chronic leak
- 125% requires EPA report
- Report deadline
- March 1 following calendar year
Low-Pressure Numbers
25 absolute | 10 test | 15 relief
25 mm Hg10 psig test15 psig rupture
Type II vs Type III
Type II
- Above atmospheric operation
- Leaks move outward
- High-pressure equipment
Type III
- Below atmospheric operation
- Leaks pull inward
- Low-pressure chillers
Operating pressure determines type
Type III Chillers
- Operating pressure
- Below atmospheric pressure
- Leak direction
- Air and moisture enter
- Excessive purging
- Leak warning
- Purge unit
- Removes noncondensables
- Recovery target
- Twenty-five mm Hg absolute
- Leak pressurization
- Warm water preferred
- Nitrogen
- Second pressurization choice
- Leak-test maximum
- Ten psig
- Rupture disc
- Fifteen psig
- Low-pressure nonmajor
- Pressurize no higher than zero psig
- Recovery sequence
- Liquid, then vapor
- Freeze prevention
- Circulate or remove water
- Oil removal
- Heat oil to 130°F
- Recharge sequence
- Vapor before liquid
- Charging valve
- Evaporator connection
- Pressure rebound
- Wait and recheck
Common Traps
Open Core toward Universal
Open-book Core cannot count ≠ Universal Core must be proctored
Combined Universal score
Pass every required examination ≠ Strong parts do not substitute
Type I size
Five pounds is maximum ≠ Factory-charged and sealed
Equipment date
Date refers recovery equipment ≠ Not appliance manufacture
Low-pressure vacuum
Twenty-five millimeters absolute ≠ Not inches of vacuum
ODS vs HFC leaks
ODS trigger starts fifty pounds ≠ Part 84 starts fifteen pounds
Below leak-rule charge threshold
Only leak repair is untriggered ≠ Other requirements can still apply
Every hydrocarbon exempt
Only EPA-listed uses exempt ≠ Check exact substitute and end-use
Universal covers MVAC
Universal covers Section 608 ≠ MVAC generally needs Section 609
Recycle equals reclaim
Recycling is field cleaning ≠ Ownership transfer needs reclamation
Fixed federal logistics
EPA sets no standard time ≠ Provider controls fees and scheduling
Last Minute
- 1.Universal = Core + I + II + III
- 2.Universal Core must be proctored
- 3.Pass all four examinations individually
- 4.Closed-book passing = 70%
- 5.Mail-in Type I passing = 84%
- 6.Type I maximum = five pounds
- 7.Working small appliance = 90%
- 8.Dead compressor = 80%
- 9.Small vacuum option = four inches Hg
- 10.High 200+ post-1993 = ten inches
- 11.Low pressure = 25 mm absolute
- 12.Oil change = five psig maximum
- 13.Leak-test with regulated nitrogen
- 14.Never refill disposable cylinders
- 15.Never exceed eighty-percent cylinder fill
- 16.Recover liquid before vapor
- 17.Ownership transfer requires reclamation
- 18.ODS leak rule begins fifty pounds
- 19.Part 84: fifteen-pound full charge
- 20.Part 84: check GWP and exclusions
- 21.608 stationary; 609 motor vehicle
- 22.Check current EPA Part 84 updates
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