Do you need an F-Gas certificate to install heat pumps in Ireland?

Does your company need an F-Gas company certificate?

Yes, if your business installs, commissions or services heat pumps that contain F-gas refrigerant for other people. The EPA says this applies to companies including sole traders, and F-Gas Registration Ltd issues the certificate in Ireland.

The EPA's ODS and F-Gas FAQ lists stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment among the equipment covered. F-Gas Registration Ltd says the requirement has applied to businesses since 4 July 2009 and that doing the work without a company certificate is a criminal offence.

The certificate belongs to the business, not to an individual. The EPA says it demonstrates that qualified technicians are in the company's employment, so get the personal certificates in place first and the company certificate second.

Does water-side work count? Not on its own. F-Gas Registration Ltd's FAQ says that simply installing water piping to a heat pump system does not need certification, while commissioning the heat pump does. It describes installation as joining the equipment or circuits that hold the refrigerant. The FAQ quotes definitions from earlier Commission regulations, so for an edge case, ask the EPA's F-Gas team at fgases@epa.ie rather than assume you are exempt.

Which personal F-Gas certificate do your technicians need?

Every technician who works on the refrigerant side of a heat pump needs a personal F-Gas certificate. You get it by completing training with a QQI-approved provider and passing an exam, and the EPA says certificates awarded in other EU Member States are recognised in Ireland.

Under Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573, natural persons must be certified for installation, maintenance, servicing, repair and decommissioning of equipment that includes heat pumps, and for leak checks on it. F-Gas Registration Ltd's qualification page names three accepted routes: the QQI Level 5 Specific Purpose Certificate in Handling F-Gas Refrigerants, an EPA exchange certificate, or the QQI Advanced Craft Certificate in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.

The same page describes four certification categories under Commission Regulation 303/2008, an older rule than the 2024 regulation. Category I covers all activities; the other three are narrower. Ask your course provider which category your certificate carries.

In what order should you do it?

Are UK F-Gas certificates still valid in Ireland?

No. The EPA says UK F-Gas awards have not been recognised in the EU since 2021 because of Brexit, and it names City & Guilds certificates as an example. You need a valid Irish or EU-compliant certificate.

F-Gas Registration Ltd's qualification page also says City & Guilds F-Gas certificates are not valid in the European Union, and its FAQ says a certificate issued outside the EU is not valid. The EPA recognises a company certificate from a certification body in another EU Member State, but that does not extend to the UK.

If you or your staff trained in the UK, check who issued each certificate. If it is UK-issued, ask a QQI-approved provider which route applies to you.

What changes with refresher training before 2029?

According to the EPA's January 2026 FAQ, every holder of a personal F-Gas certificate must complete refresher training or an evaluation by 12 March 2029 at the latest, then repeat it. The FAQ adds that Ireland's arrangements had yet to be established but must be in place by 12 March 2027.

The rule comes from Article 10(9) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573. Certificates issued under the earlier regulation stay valid on the conditions they were issued under, and their holders must do the first refresher by 12 March 2029. After that the regulation says at least every seven years, and the EPA gives a range of five to seven years depending on the course.

For now, keep a list of every technician's certificate and its date, and watch the EPA and F-Gas Registration Ltd for the Irish scheme. The EPA FAQ quoted here dates from January 2026, so check the current position before you pay for a course sold as a refresher.

Sources: F-Gas Registration Ltd; EPA ODS and F-Gas FAQ, January 2026; Regulation (EU) 2024/573, Article 10.

What records should you keep on each installation?

Keep a written record for each unit showing who installed it, what gas it holds and which checks were done. Where mandatory leak checking applies, the records are a legal requirement. Where it does not, the EPA treats them as best practice.

Article 7 of the regulation sets the content for equipment that must be leak checked. Operators keep the records for at least five years, and the undertaking that does the work for them keeps copies for at least five years. Gas added or recovered later, and the dates and results of leak checks and repairs, go into the same record.

On leak checking, the EPA says newly installed and charged equipment must be checked for leakage immediately after it is put into service, and again after a leak repair. Article 5(1) exempts hermetically sealed equipment in a residential building that holds less than 3 kg of F-gas from mandatory leak checks, provided it is labelled as hermetically sealed. Check the label and the charge on each unit before you decide which records apply.

Put this on your commissioning sheet, and give the customer a copy:

• The type of gas and the charge in the unit
• The amount added at installation, shown separately
• Your company certificate number
• The technician's name
• The date and result of the leak check, where one is required

How can customers and partners check your certificate?

They can search the public register on F-Gas Registration Ltd's website. The EPA says a third-party contractor's company certificate can be checked there when the company is registered in Ireland.

The certified companies register can be searched by company name, county, postcode, email or certificate number. Each entry shows the certificate number, the years the company has been registered and the number of employees certified in the safe handling of F-gases. Search for your own firm now. If a detail is wrong or your staff have changed, the renewals page says to amend company and engineer details on the website.

Partners are expected to check too. Article 10(12) of the regulation says an undertaking may assign F-gas work to another undertaking only after verifying that it holds the necessary certificates. If a main contractor hands you refrigerant work, have your certificate number ready. For the wider process with One Stop Shops, see working with SEAI One Stop Shops.

Typical F-Gas compliance mistakes

Most problems come from assuming one certificate covers everything:

• Relying on a UK or City & Guilds certificate. The EPA says the EU no longer recognises them.
• Treating the company certificate as optional because you are a sole trader. The EPA includes sole traders.
• Having certified technicians but no company certificate, or the reverse. They are separate documents.
• Letting the company certificate run past 31 December, because certificates are issued for a calendar year.
• Assuming water-side exemptions cover commissioning. F-Gas Registration Ltd's FAQ says commissioning needs certification.
• Handing refrigerant work to a subcontractor without checking their company certificate on the register.
• Skipping the leak check at commissioning, or leaving the record off the job file.

For the wider route into the trade, including SEAI registration, read heat pump installer training and registration. For work on existing systems, see heat pump replacement and service. The overview of the whole area is on the heat pump installer hub.