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How to check a contractor's F-gas certificate

Updated 23 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial

What is the difference between a company certificate and an engineer's qualification?

They are two separate legal requirements held by different parties, and a buyer needs to see evidence of both. GOV.UK says a company, including a sole trader, must be certified by an approved body to service stationary air conditioning, refrigeration or fire protection equipment containing F gas that is operated by others. The company must be certified to install, repair, maintain and decommission. To be certified it has to show that it employs enough trained staff and has a written procedure for handling F gases safely and minimising emissions, and the certification must be renewed every 3 years.

The individual rule is separate. GOV.UK says people must have their own qualifications to work on equipment containing F gas, even if they work for someone else.

PointCompany certificateEngineer's qualification
Held byThe business, including a sole traderEach individual who handles F gas
CoversInstalling, repairing, maintaining and decommissioningCategory 1 (all activities) down to category 4 (leak checks without breaking into the refrigeration circuit)
Issued byAn approved certification body on GOV.UK's listAn accredited organisation on GOV.UK's qualifications page
RenewalEvery 3 yearsExpiry shown on the certificate where one applies

There is one exception that matters to facilities teams. GOV.UK says a company that services only its own equipment does not need company certification, and gives the example of a supermarket that directly employs someone to service its own refrigeration. The individual still needs a personal qualification, and if the work is contracted to another company, that company must be certified.

What should a company F-gas certificate show?

The regulation behind the scheme, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2067 as it applies in Great Britain, sets minimum contents. A company certificate must show the certification body's name, the holder's full name, a certificate number and the date of expiry if any. It must also show the activities the holder may perform, with the maximum charge size of the equipment concerned, expressed in kilograms.

Three of those fields catch most problems:

  • Holder name. It should match the company on the contract. A trading name, a sister company or a parent is not the holder.
  • Maximum charge size. Compare it with the refrigerant charge of the system being installed or serviced, which the design or equipment data will state.
  • Expiry date. Certification lasts three years, so a certificate close to expiry is worth a question about when it will be renewed.

The registration number can also hint at the register. The F-Gas Register (Quidos) says its registration numbers always begin with the letters FGAS and not REF, so a number that does not start that way belongs on another body's register.

How do you check a company on a register?

  1. Ask for the certificate first. Request a copy, the exact legal name of the company, the certification body and the number, before a quote is accepted.
  2. Search the issuing body. GOV.UK names three approved bodies for stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump work: Refcom Certification Ltd, the F-Gas Register (Quidos) and Bureau Veritas UK Ltd. REFCOM's register lets a buyer search by postcode or company name, and REFCOM says all its registered companies are listed in its database. The F-Gas Register's website has a Company Directory page. For Bureau Veritas, this guide did not check a public search, so confirm directly with the body.
  3. Compare, do not just find. A hit confirms the company is listed. The certified activities and the charge limit are what show whether the company can do this particular job, so match them against the certificate itself.
  4. Treat a listing and a certificate as different things. REFCOM says a business that has applied online and met the standards appears in its public listing with a registration number even before the certificate arrives. Asking for the certificate closes that gap.

Some points are easy to over-read:

  • One register entry is enough. REFCOM states that dual registration is not required by law and gives no additional legal benefit.
  • Voluntary tiers are extras. REFCOM Elite and the F-Gas Register's FGAS Premium are described by their operators as voluntary, so they do not replace the legal certificate.
  • Other logos are different schemes. BESCA's Competent Person Scheme, for example, lets businesses self-certify building regulations compliance in England and Wales. It is not one of the three F-gas company certification bodies GOV.UK lists.
  • Check the body is approved. The regulations require the Secretary of State to publish details of each appointed certification body, and the GOV.UK list carries a last-updated date of 21 August 2019. A body that is not on it needs confirming with the regulator.

How do you check an engineer's qualification?

The public searches found for this guide cover companies, not individuals, so the check on an engineer is documentary. Ask the contractor to name the engineers who will attend and to show each person's certificate or card. For individuals, the regulation requires the certificate to show the certification body, the holder's full name, a certificate number, the date of expiry if any, and the category with the activities it allows.

The category matters as much as the name. GOV.UK says category 1 covers all activities, while category 2 covers installing, maintaining, servicing and recovering refrigerant from systems containing less than 3kg of F gas (less than 6kg if hermetically sealed). Category 4 covers leak checks that do not break into the refrigeration circuit. A category 2 or 4 holder is therefore not the right person to open up a larger commercial circuit.

Two further checks help:

  • Subcontractors. REFCOM says subcontractors doing the work must hold their own company certificate, and that a contractor cannot apply for one on their behalf. Ask who will physically do the work and check that company as well.
  • The refrigerant in the system. REFCOM describes the ACRIB SKILLcard as clarifying which refrigerants an operative is qualified to work with, and BESA Academy offers a separate course on working with flammable refrigerants for qualified F-gas engineers. For a mildly flammable refrigerant, ask what training the engineer has for it.

What should the buyer keep once the work is done?

For equipment holding F gas equivalent to 5 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide, GOV.UK says operators must keep records for 5 years. They cover the quantity and type of gas when installed, gas added during maintenance, the dates and results of leak checks, and what was done to recover and dispose of gas. It adds that users or operators must keep the name, address and certificate number of any company used to install, service or decommission the equipment.

In practice, the certificate number noted at appointment becomes a line in the building's F-gas file. The F-gas regulations guide explains the leak-check thresholds that decide how often the engineer returns.

What if the checks do not add up?

Hold off instructing the work until they do. GOV.UK says it is against the law to work with F gas without the correct certification and that a civil penalty is possible, and that anyone who sees F gas work without the right certification can report it to the Environment Agency.

The certificate check is one of several in the guide to how to choose a commercial HVAC contractor. For the work this check protects, see commercial air conditioning installation, and readers who want to put a project out to contractors can send an enquiry through the site's form.

Sources

Common questions

What does an F-gas certificate look like?

The regulation sets the minimum contents rather than a layout, so presentation can differ between certification bodies. A company certificate must carry the body's name, the holder's full name, a certificate number, any expiry date, and the activities and maximum charge size the holder may work on.

Does an F-gas certificate show a contractor does good work?

No. It shows legal permission to do the work. GOV.UK says certification requires enough trained staff and a written procedure for handling F gases. Workmanship, design and commissioning need their own checks.

Can an in-house maintenance team work on the building's air conditioning without a company certificate?

GOV.UK says a company that services only its own equipment does not need company certification. Each person who handles F gas still needs a personal qualification, and any outside company brought in must be certified.

Does the same check apply in Northern Ireland?

GOV.UK's F-gas guidance says Northern Ireland is part of the European Union F-gas system and directs organisations with a registered office there to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Buyers in Northern Ireland should confirm the arrangements with that agency.

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