EPA Type 2 Certification 2026: High-Pressure Systems, Leak Rules

Who needs EPA Type 2 certification?

Anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of these appliances. EPA sorts them by the refrigerant’s pressure at 104°F, in pounds per square inch absolute (psia):

Very high pressure: a critical temperature below 104°F or more than 355 psia, such as R-13, R-23, R-503, R-508A and R-508B
High pressure: 170 to 355 psia, such as R-22, R-407A, R-407C, R-410A and R-502
Medium pressure: 45 to 170 psia, such as R-114, R-124, R-12, R-134a and R-500

Off-road vehicle air conditioning with 20 pounds of refrigerant or less, the motor vehicle air conditioner (MVAC)-like systems on farm and construction equipment, can be serviced with either Type II or Section 609 certification. Buses that use R-22 aren’t MVACs; they’re high-pressure equipment under Type II.

EPA 609 certification for vehicles →

Evacuation levels before you open a system

Appliance	Older gear	Newer gear
Very high-pressure	0	0
High-pressure, under 200 pounds	0	0
High-pressure, 200 pounds or more	4	10
Medium-pressure, under 200 pounds	4	10
Medium-pressure, 200 pounds or more	4	15

Figures are inches of mercury vacuum. “Older gear” is recovery equipment made before November 15, 1993; “newer gear” was made after that date and must be certified by an EPA-approved equipment testing organization.

If leaks make those levels impossible, isolate and evacuate the parts that don’t leak, and take leaking parts as low as you can, never above 0 pounds per square inch gauge (psig). For a repair that isn’t major (no compressor, condenser, evaporator or auxiliary heat exchanger coil removed), high-pressure equipment only has to reach 0 psig. System-dependent recovery equipment can’t be used on systems with more than 15 pounds of refrigerant unless it’s a permanently attached pump-out unit.

Leak repair rules for Type II systems

Two sets of rules apply, depending on the refrigerant. For ozone-depleting refrigerants such as R-22, Part 82 covers appliances with 50 pounds or more. For hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and other substitutes with a global warming potential (GWP) above 53, Part 84 has applied since January 1, 2026 to appliances with 15 pounds or more, except residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps.

Both use the same leak rates over 12 months to trigger a repair:

Industrial process refrigeration: 30 percent
Commercial refrigeration: 20 percent
Comfort cooling and everything else, which under Part 84 includes refrigerated transport: 10 percent

Leaks above the rate must be repaired within 30 days, or 120 days if an industrial process has to shut down, or the owner must plan to retrofit or retire the appliance. Under Part 84 the leak inspection must be done by a certified technician, and whoever adds or removes refrigerant gives the owner a record of it.

On May 21, 2026, EPA proposed taking road and intermodal container transport refrigeration units out of the HFC leak repair rules. EPA’s rules page still listed it as a proposal in October 2026, so those units stay covered until a final rule says otherwise. Dates from 2027 on are in the guide’s FAQ.

What’s on the Type II section

EPA’s test topics for Type II:

Signs of leaks in high-pressure systems, such as excessive superheat and traces of oil on hermetics, and leak testing before charging
Leak test gases in order of preference: nitrogen alone, then nitrogen with a trace of R-22, never pure refrigerant
Allowable leak rates, leak repair records and extensions to repair deadlines
Speeding up recovery: recovering liquid first, chilling the recovery vessel or heating the appliance
Avoiding cross-contamination when a recovery machine is used with a new refrigerant, and waiting a few minutes after reaching the vacuum to see if pressure rises
Evacuation levels for disposal, major and non-major repairs, leaky and non-leaky systems, charges under or over 200 pounds, and equipment made before or after November 15, 1993
Identifying refrigerants, using pressure-temperature charts (adding 14.7 to convert psig to psia), and where refrigerant is liquid or vapor in each component
Hydrocarbons aren’t approved for retrofits
Never energizing a hermetic compressor under vacuum, and equipment room rules under ASHRAE Standard 15, from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

Getting Type I and Type II together

You take Core once and add a section for each type. The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) gives credit for a type section only once you’ve passed Core, and you don’t retake sections you’ve already passed. Your card lists each type you hold, so Type I and Type II together cover small appliances plus high-pressure equipment, but not low-pressure chillers. Add Type III and you have Universal.

EPA Type 1 certification →EPA Type 3 certification →EPA universal certification →

Sources: eCFR · EPA · ACCA and 8 more. Checked October 2026.