Refrigerant handling: company capacity certificate and personal certificate

Refrigeration engineers, air-conditioning and heat-pump installers and maintainers, commercial and industrial refrigeration firms, garages and body shops servicing vehicle air conditioning, in-house technical teams in retail, food processing and local authorities — plus the training providers that prepare and assess the personal certificates.

What this scheme covers

• C.1Two distinct, complementary documents: the capacity certificate covers the company (the “operator”), the personal certificate covers each individual technician. Neither substitutes for the other.
• C.2The capacity certificate is issued for a maximum of five years by the approved body, subject to two cumulative conditions: employing staff who hold the personal certificates matching the activities carried out, and holding suitable tooling in sufficient quantity.
• C.3The personal certificate is issued by an assessment body after a written and a practical test. It states the authorised activity category: historically categories I to IV for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps, and category V for vehicle air conditioning.
• C.4An annual refrigerant movement declaration: each year the operator files with the body that issued its certificate a statement, for the previous calendar year, of quantities purchased, charged, recovered and transferred, plus stocks at 1 January and 31 December.
• C.5A check during the validity period: the approved body carries out at least one site visit to verify the information filed and the consistency of refrigerant movements. Failure to put things right can lead to withdrawal of the certificate, after the holder has been invited to comment.
• C.6A reform under way: two orders of 21 November 2025, published in the Official Journal in December 2025, rewrite how both certificates are issued in order to implement Regulation (EU) 2024/573, widening the scope to natural refrigerants and hydrocarbons and introducing periodic knowledge updates.

The link with Qualiopi

The capacity certificate is an environmental licence to operate: it says nothing about teaching quality and has no connection with Qualiopi. The bridge lies on the training side. The personal certificate is listed in France compétences' répertoire spécifique register under RS5638, which makes it eligible for the personal training account (CPF); and CPF or pooled-fund financing requires the provider delivering the preparatory course to hold Qualiopi certification. A refrigeration firm training its own staff in-house therefore does not need Qualiopi; a provider selling that preparation to third parties with public funding does.

The process, summarised

1. 1.Identify the activities actually carried out — leak testing, commissioning, maintenance, recovery — and the equipment involved, since they determine which personal certificate categories are needed and the scope of the capacity certificate.
2. 2.Have each technician sit the assessment with a certified assessment body: a written and a practical test in the category concerned. Preparatory training is not compulsory but is strongly advised, and can be funded where the provider holds Qualiopi certification.
3. 3.Assemble the tooling required for the activities concerned: recovery unit, leak detector, scales, manifold gauge set, test equipment — the list depends on the categories applied for.
4. 4.File the capacity certificate application with an approved body, attaching the staff certificates and proof of tooling. The certificate is issued within two months of receipt of a complete file, for a maximum of five years.
5. 5.Keep an intervention record for every operation and file the annual refrigerant movement declaration with the approved body within the deadline it sets.
6. 6.Notify the approved body without delay of any change in the initial conditions — a certified employee leaving, a change of tooling, a new activity — and prepare renewal before the five-year expiry.
7. 7.Anticipate the reform: the orders of 21 November 2025 extend the scheme to natural refrigerants and hydrocarbons and provide for a knowledge update for holders of the current categories. Check the applicable timetable with your approved body.