Every figure checked against its source on 7 November 2026
How to check an air conditioning installer on the F-gas register
Two things have to be true before anyone connects the refrigerant in your Dartford home: the firm must hold a company certificate from an approved body, and the engineer must hold a personal qualification. Both can be checked in minutes. This guide says what to ask for and what the categories mean.
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What must the company hold?
A company certificate. Any business that installs, services, maintains, repairs or decommissions stationary equipment containing F gas for other people, sole traders included, must be certified by an approved body, and must renew the certificate every three years. For refrigeration and air conditioning the approved bodies are Refcom Certification, F-Gas Register (Quidos) and Bureau Veritas UK. A firm servicing only its own equipment does not need one, but that is not your situation. Source: GOV.UK.
What must the engineer hold?
| Category | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Category 1 | All activities on any size of system |
| Category 2 | Installing, servicing and recovering on systems holding under 3kg of F gas, or under 6kg if hermetically sealed |
| Category 3 | Recovery only, on the same small systems |
| Category 4 | Leak checking that does not break into the refrigeration circuit |
The qualification is personal: an employee needs his own, and the company's certificate does not cover him. A domestic split holds well under 3kg, so Category 2 is enough to fit it; Category 1 covers everything. Source: GOV.UK.
How do you check?
- Ask the firm which body certifies it and for its certificate number.
- Look the firm up on that body's public register. Refcom, Quidos and Bureau Veritas each publish one.
- Ask the engineer who will do the work for his category and the body that issued it.
- Check that the name on the certificate is the name on your quote. A certificate held by a different company, or by a subcontractor nobody has mentioned, is a reason to ask more questions.
What else should be in the file after the job?
The electrical certificate for the new circuit, from an electrician registered with a competent person scheme or a registered third-party certifier, because a new circuit in a home is notifiable under Part P. The sound calculation for the outdoor unit. The commissioning record showing the pressure test, the vacuum and the charge. And if the system is large enough to need leak checks, the record of them: from 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, at least every 12 months. Sources: IET; GOV.UK; Grant UK; GOV.UK on leak checks.
Why does this matter more since 2025?
Because the refrigerants are changing. Since 2025 it has been illegal to put a new single split on the market if it holds under 3kg of a refrigerant whose global warming potential is above 750; movable units on gases above 150 were banned earlier. So new systems use gases such as R32 that are mildly flammable and need handling by someone trained for them. An uncertified fitter is not just a paperwork risk. Our air conditioning in Dartford page sets out the documents we hand over. Source: GOV.UK.
Questions people ask
What about our own certificates?
Ask us for them and check them the same way. We only print registrations on this site once they are confirmed.
Is an F-gas certificate the same as Gas Safe?
No. Gas Safe is for gas appliances. F-gas certification is for fluorinated refrigerants, under different law, and an installer needs the F-gas one.
Can a handyman connect a pre-charged unit?
Not lawfully if the job involves opening the refrigerant circuit, and a quick-connect kit does not change the law. Ask for the category.
Sources we checked
- GOV.UK: company certification for firms working on F gas equipment
- GOV.UK: the personal qualifications needed to handle F gas
- IET: Part P of the Building Regulations for England and Wales
- GOV.UK: using a competent person scheme for building work
- Grant UK: planning guide for heat pumps in England, with the 37 dB(A) test (May 2025)
- GOV.UK: how often F gas equipment must be checked for leaks
- GOV.UK: F gas bans on new products and equipment
Worth knowing before you ring
With these we can usually tell you on the first call whether the job is simple.
- The postcode
- Whether it is a house, a flat or business premises, and roughly its age
- If you rent or lease, who owns the external wall
- Which room, how big, and the direction its window faces
- Any management company, conservation area or listing that applies
Decided? Our air conditioning in Dartford page covers what we install, what we maintain and where we go.
The services this guide leads to
Air conditioning installation
The whole job from the first measurement to the handover of the remote, with every consent checked on the way.
Air conditioning servicing
An annual visit for any system by any installer, with the legal leak check where the charge demands one.
Air conditioning repairs
Warm air, a puddle under the indoor unit, ice on the pipes or a blinking code: the cause found before anything is ordered.
Other guides
What does air conditioning cost to fit and to run?
Where the money goes: the unit, the labour, the wiring, the electricity, and the extras a flat or a new estate brings.
Air conditioning and planning permission: the rules for England
Every permitted development condition in one table, then the twists Dartford's new estates and conservation areas add.
Air conditioning with no outdoor unit: how monoblocs work
The through-the-wall units for flats and blocks that cannot take an outdoor box.
Air conditioning in a flat: who has to agree, and in what order
Lease, freeholder, management company and planning, in the order to tackle them.
Bedroom air conditioning: what it does for sleep, and what it costs
The sleep threshold, noise at night, sizing and the price of a quiet bedroom.
Cooling a loft conversion: the options that work
Why lofts cook, the free fixes first, then where a unit goes on a dormer.
What size of air conditioner does a room need?
Kilowatts and BTU by room size, with the adjustments that matter.
Portable or fixed air conditioning: which is right for you?
Price, power, noise and running cost, and when a portable is the right call.
Want us to ring you?
A name, a number and a postcode is enough. Say which room if you can. Or ring 01322 952910.