EPA Section 608 Certification

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EPA Section 608 Certification

RSES – An Industry Leader

RSES has one of the largest EPA programs in the industry. RSES training materials have been used to certify nearly 200,000 technicians in accordance with Section 608 of the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Who Needs to be Certified?

Any person who performs maintenance, service, repair or refrigerant disposal that could be reasonably expected to release refrigerants into the atmosphere needs certification. The definition of "technician" specifically includes certain activities as follows:

Attaching and detaching hoses and gauges to and from the appliance to measure pressure within the appliance
Adding refrigerant to or removing refrigerant from the appliance
Any other activity that violates the integrity of the MVAC-like appliances, and small appliances

In addition, apprentices are exempt from certification requirements provided the apprentice is closely and continually supervised by a certified technician.

What are the Types of Certification?

The types of certification include:

Core A Technician must pass Core in order to earn any other certification.
Type–I For servicing small appliances.
Type–II For servicing or disposing of high-pressure appliances, except small appliances and MVACs.
Type–III For servicing or disposing of low-pressure appliances.
Universal The successful passing of all four sections of the examination.

Certification Preparation

RSES has the following training available to prepare individuals for the EPA Section 608 Certification examination:

The Refrigerant Usage Certification – A Study Guide for Service Technicians (Second Edition) manual

COMING SOON - The Refrigerant Usage Certification-Second Edition Instructor Review CD

COMING SOON - RSES eLearning - EPA Section 608 Certification Preparation online course

Where Can I Take the Exam?

Local Chapter - View the RSES Calendar of Events to find scheduled exams in your area or contact your local Chapter to obtain testing date and location information in your area.

Online - RSES is working with ESCO to provide online proctoring through ProctorU. Need to take the 608 Refrigerant Handling exam today and do not have a proctor? Click here to get started.

Need More Information?

For more information on EPA Section 608 certification training and testing, please call RSES at 800/297-5660 or 847/297-6464, or e-mail us at certification@rses.org.

Click here to find the results of your recent 608 certification exam

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RSES is the leading education, training and certification preparation organization for HVACR professionals. RSES publishes various comprehensive industry training and reference materials in addition to delivering superior educational programs designed to benefit HVACR professionals at every stage of their careers through instructor-led training courses, online training for HVAC, educational seminars, interactive CD and DVD products, industry-related reference manuals, and helpful technical content through Service Application Manual chapters, the RSES Journal, the RSES Journal archives and feature articles, as well as web-exclusive features.

Beginning with basic theory and extending to complex troubleshooting, training courses covering refrigeration and air conditioning, heating, electricity, controls, heat pumps and safety may be conducted in a classroom environment or though self study. RSES publications may be purchased by schools, contractors, manufacturers or any other industry group wanting to conduct comprehensive training programs. Seminars covering air conditioning troubleshooting, electrical troubleshooting, compressor training, condenser training, refrigerant piping practices, DDC controls, and more are held in various cities across North America.

Select training programs offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and NATE Continuing Education Hours (CEHs).

In addition, RSES offers industry certification preparation materials for refrigerant handling (EPA Section 608), R-410A and North American Technician Excellence (NATE) examinations.

RSES’ monthly magazine, RSES Journal, serves HVAC contractors, service technicians, students, operations/maintenance managers, engineers and technicians who work in the residential, light commercial, commercial and institutional markets on air conditioning, warm-air heating, refrigeration, ventilation, electrical, ice machines, chillers, hydronic heating, piping, refrigeration control and energy management, building automation, indoor air quality and duct cleaning, and sheet metal fabrication equipment and/or systems.