Refrigerants and the Personnel Certificate — Upcoming Changes for the Heat-Pump Industry

Certification and training

Refrigerants and the Personnel Certificate — Upcoming Changes for the Heat-Pump Industry

Joanna Ryńska

People engaged in the installation, repair, maintenance, servicing, dismantling, recovery, and leak checking of refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment containing refrigerants from the F-gas group must hold a personnel certificate issued by a personnel-certifying body (in Poland, this is the Office of Technical Inspection, UDT). Owing to the amendment of Regulation (EU) No. 2024/573, important changes in certification are coming.

The obligation to hold certificates and the rules for obtaining them are governed by the Act on substances that deplete the ozone layer and on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases — the so-called F-gas Act [1], which implements the provisions of EU F-gas legislation into Polish law. The applicable EU regulation is Regulation (EU) No. 2024/573 [2]. This is why work on an amendment to the act is currently underway at the Ministry of Climate and Environment — according to the ministry’s information, the draft amendment to the act should be published as early as March 2026, while its signing and publication are planned for the end of 2026.

The amended act is to contain a number of changes stemming directly from the changed EU requirements. It will also form the basis for changes to the personnel certification system — the implementing regulations that will govern certification are to be published by the end of 2027.

Until the amended act and the relevant implementing acts enter into force, the provisions of the act in its current form apply. It is already known, however, what changes will affect certification for natural persons and what the approximate dates of their entry into force are.

A change in the scope of certification. From when, and for whom?

At present, the personnel certification obligation applies to people working with fluorinated greenhouse gases that are saturated hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These are indicated in Annex I of the F-gas Regulation [2].

After the legal changes, however, the certification obligation will be extended. It will also apply to activities concerning equipment containing unsaturated hydrofluorocarbons — HFOs or HCFOs (fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex II) [2] — and natural alternatives to F-gases: ammonia (NH₃), carbon dioxide (CO₂), or hydrocarbons [3]. It is not yet known whether certificates for individual refrigerants will be obtained separately or in the form of a single document combining selected types of certificate.

The Ministry of Climate and Environment emphasizes that the new training programmes are to feature not only the subject of alternatives to HFC-group refrigerants, but also matters of energy efficiency.

Certificates that have been or will be obtained and issued before the introduction of the new certification system remain valid. It will, however, be necessary to supplement one’s knowledge and to document this fact. The provision governing this matter will probably read as follows:

Existing certificates issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014 remain valid provided that, by 12 March 2029, the natural persons holding a certificate issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014 take part for the first time in a refresher course or pass an examination, and submit to the personnel-certifying body an application for the extension of the certificate’s validity.

The “refresher course” is a new concept in the legislation governing certification. Its introduction stems from the fact that personnel certificates will be time-limited.

Personnel certificates will be time-limited

At present, a personnel certificate may be obtained by an adult who has not been convicted by a final judgment of an offence against the environment and who has passed the (paid) examination of a personnel assessment body accredited by UDT. The personnel certificate is valid indefinitely, although it may be withdrawn, for example, in the event of a conviction for an offence against the environment [1].

After the legal changes, the personnel certificate will be issued for a fixed term. It will be valid for 7 years from the date of issue. Once its validity expires, it can be extended by submitting an application for extension at least 30 days before the certificate’s validity expires. The basis for extension will be passing an examination or attending a refresher course. It is not yet known how the condition for extension will be formulated in Polish law.

Under the regulation [2], this change should be introduced into Polish law by 12 March 2027, while the first refresher course or examination for people holding a valid F-gas certificate should take place no later than 12 March 2029.

References

  1. Act of 15 May 2015 on substances that deplete the ozone layer and on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2019, item 2158).
  2. Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014 (OJ EU L 2024/573, of 20.2.2024).
  3. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215 of 6 September 2024 establishing, on the basis of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the minimum requirements for issuing certificates to natural and legal persons and the conditions for the mutual recognition of such certificates with regard to stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment, organic Rankine cycles, and the refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks, refrigerated trailers, refrigerated vans, intermodal containers, and railway wagons containing fluorinated greenhouse gases or alternative solutions, and repealing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2067 (OJ EU L 2024/2215).
  4. Informational and technical materials from institutions: Central Refrigeration Centre, Ministry of Climate and Environment, PROZON Climate Protection Foundation, Office of Technical Inspection.

Source: Joanna Ryńska, “Rynek Instalacyjny” 3/2026. rynekinstalacyjny.pl