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United States · Certification test

EPA Type 1 certification for small appliances

Type I is the Section 608 certification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for small appliances: equipment that’s fully made, charged and hermetically sealed in a factory with 5 pounds of refrigerant or less. You earn EPA Type 1 certification by passing Core and the 25-question Type I section. It’s the only type you can take in a mail-in or open-book format, and it doesn’t cover split systems, chillers or other larger equipment.

  • 84%Pass mark on a mail-in Type I test
  • 80% or 90%Share of the charge you must recover
  • 5 pounds or lessRefrigerant in a small appliance
Where to study

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

How does the EPA Type 1 certification test work?

Programs that certify only Type I can give the test on site or by mail. On site, a proctor watches and you need 70 percent. In the mail-in format you need 84 percent, and the program must still check your ID and make sure you did the test yourself. The approved programs page shows which program EPA’s list marks for mail-in tests, and Mainstream Engineering gives an open-book Type I test online.

An open-book or mail-in pass counts for Type I only. The universal page explains what that means if you add other types later.

Open-book and online EPA 608 tests →ESCO, Mainstream and other approved programs →

Which appliances Type I covers

EPA’s rule lists these as small appliances when they’re factory-sealed with 5 pounds of refrigerant or less:

  • Refrigerators and freezers for home, commercial or consumer use
  • Medical or industrial research refrigeration equipment
  • Room air conditioners, including window and portable units and packaged terminal heat pumps
  • Dehumidifiers
  • Under-the-counter ice makers
  • Vending machines
  • Drinking water coolers

You don’t need certification to dispose of a small appliance. The final person in the disposal chain, such as a scrap recycler or landfill, must make sure the refrigerant was recovered and keep a record of it.

Recovery rules for small appliances

  • Recover 90 percent of the refrigerant if your recovery equipment was made after November 15, 1993 and the appliance’s compressor works.
  • Recover 80 percent if your equipment was made before November 15, 1993 or the compressor doesn’t work.
  • Or evacuate the appliance to 4 inches of mercury vacuum, which also meets the rule.
  • Use the recovery equipment as its manufacturer directs.

What’s on the Type I section

EPA’s test topics for Type I:

  • The definition of a small appliance
  • Evacuation requirements with recovery equipment made before and after November 15, 1993, with and without a working compressor
  • Using pressure and temperature to identify refrigerants and find noncondensables
  • Recovering from appliances with a dead compressor using a passive (system-dependent) device, such as heating and striking the compressor or using a vacuum pump with a non-pressurized container
  • Installing both high- and low-side access valves when the compressor doesn’t work, and running a working compressor during passive recovery
  • Removing solderless access fittings at the end of service
  • The hydrofluorocarbon HFC-134a (R-134a) as the likely substitute for the chlorofluorocarbon CFC-12 (R-12)
  • What refrigerants break down into at high temperatures
EPA 608 study guide: Core topics →EPA Type 2 certification →EPA universal certification →Free EPA 608 practice tests →
Sources: eCFR · EPA · Mainstream Engineering and 6 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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