§ 82.161 - Technician certification.

§ 82.161 Technician certification.

Until January 1, 2018, this section applies only to technicians and organizations certifying technicians that maintain, service, or repair appliances containing class I or class II refrigerants. Starting on January 1, 2018, this section applies to technicians and organizations certifying technicians that maintain, service, or repair appliances containing any class I or class II refrigerant or any non-exempt substitute refrigerant.

(a) Certification Requirements.

(1) Any person who could be reasonably expected to violate the integrity of the refrigerant circuit during the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of appliances (as follows in this paragraph) containing a class I or class II refrigerant or a non-exempt substitute refrigerant must pass a certification exam offered by an approved technician certification program.

(i) Persons who maintain, service, or repair small appliances must be certified as Type I technicians.

(ii) Persons who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of medium-, high-, or very high-pressure appliances (except small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances) must be certified as Type II technicians.

(iii) Persons who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of low-pressure appliances must be certified as Type III technicians.

(iv) Persons who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of all appliances described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section must be certified as Universal technicians.

(v) Technicians who maintain, service, or repair MVAC-like appliances must either be certified as Type II technicians or be certified in accordance with 40 CFR part 82, subpart B.

(vi) Persons who maintain, service, or repair MVAC appliances for consideration must be certified in accordance with 40 CFR part 82, subpart B.

(vii) Persons who dispose of small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances are not required to be certified.

(2) Apprentices are exempt from the requirement in paragraph (a)(1) of this section provided the apprentice is closely and continually supervised by a certified technician while performing any maintenance, service, repair, or disposal that could reasonably be expected to release refrigerant from an appliance into the environment, except those substitute refrigerants exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this section. The supervising certified technician and the apprentice have the responsibility to ensure that the apprentice complies with this subpart.

(3) The Administrator may require technicians to demonstrate at their place of business their ability to perform proper procedures for recovering and/or recycling refrigerant, except those substitute refrigerants exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Failure to demonstrate or failure to properly use the equipment may result in revocation or suspension of the certificate. Failure to abide by any of the provisions of this subpart may also result in revocation or suspension of the certificate. If a technician's certificate is revoked, the technician would need to recertify before maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of any appliances.

(4)

(i) Technicians certified under this section must keep a copy of their certificate at their place of business.

(ii) Technicians must maintain a copy of their certificate until three years after no longer operating as a technician.

(5) Recertification. The Administrator reserves the right to specify a requirement for technician recertification at some future date, if necessary, by placing a notice in the Federal Register.

(b) Requirements for Technician Certification Programs.

(1) No technician training or testing program may issue certificates under this section unless the program complies with all the standards of this section and appendix D, and has been granted approval by the Administrator.

(2) Program Approval. Persons may seek approval of any technician certification program (program), in accordance with this paragraph, by submitting to the Administrator at the address in § 82.160(a) verification that the program meets all the standards listed in appendix D of this subpart. The Administrator reserves the right to consider other relevant factors to ensure the effectiveness of certification programs. If approval is denied under this section, the Administrator must give written notice to the program setting forth the basis for the determination.

(3) Alternative Examinations. Programs are encouraged to make provisions for non-English speaking technicians by providing tests in other languages or allowing the use of a translator when taking the test. A test may be administered orally to any person who makes this request, in writing, to the program at least 30 days before the scheduled date for the examination. The written request must explain why the request is being made.

(4) Proof of Certification. Programs certifying technicians must provide technicians with identification cards in accordance with section (f) of appendix D of this subpart.

(5) Programs certifying technicians must maintain records in accordance with section (g) of appendix D of this subpart.

(6) Starting January 1, 2018, programs certifying technicians, excluding Federally-run programs, must publish online a list of all technicians they have certified on or after January 1, 2017. Certifying organizations must update these lists at least annually.

(i) The list must include the first name, middle initial, and last name of the certified technician, the technician's city of residence when taking the test, the type(s) of certification received, and the date each certification was received.

(ii) Programs certifying technicians must provide notice to technicians that such information will be published online in compliance with any other Federal, state or local regulations, and allow technicians to opt out of being included in such lists.

(7) If an approved program violates any of the above requirements, the Administrator may revoke approval in accordance with § 82.169. In such cases, the Administrator must give notice to the organization setting forth the basis for the determination.

(c) Test Subject Material. A bank of test questions developed by the Administrator consists of groups, including a core group and technical groups. The Administrator will release this bank of questions only to approved technician certification programs. Each test for each type of certification must include at least 25 questions drawn from the core group and at least 25 questions drawn from each relevant technical group. These questions must address the subject areas in appendix D of this subpart.

[81 FR 82363, Nov. 18, 2016]