Operators of stationary equipment containing F-gas equivalent to 5 tonnes or more of CO2 must keep detailed records and retain them for at least five years. These records must cover gas quantities, leak-check results and contractor details, and be ready to hand to the Environment Agency on request. The threshold is calculated in CO2 equivalent rather than raw kilograms, which often includes more equipment than expected.
TL;DR:
- Operators must keep detailed records of refrigerant type, quantities, leak checks, and contractor details for at least five years if their equipment exceeds 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
- Accurate record-keeping should include certifier information, leak check dates, and recovery/disposal details, with a certified engineer weighing or labeling the initial charge when unknown.
- The 5-tonne CO2e threshold applies to various equipment like refrigeration, air conditioning, and high-voltage switchgear, calculated with the GOV.UK CO2e calculator for certainty.
- Leak checks are required annually for systems with 5 tonnes or more CO2e, with more frequent checks (every 3 to 6 months) if automatic leak detection is installed.
- Building a centralized, timestamped digital system with photo evidence and clear ownership reduces inspection failure risks and aids rapid retrieval during audits.
Table of Contents
- What to record for every qualifying asset
- Which equipment falls under the rules
- Leak-check timelines and what triggers them
- Setting up a record-keeping system that survives an audit
- Getting ready for an Environment Agency inspection
- Why timestamped records matter more than the paperwork itself
- Making F-gas records easier to keep
- Where to check the rules yourself
- Sources
- FAQ
What to record for every qualifying asset
The rules are specific about what counts as an adequate record. Under Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, retained in UK law, an operator's log must let an inspector reconstruct the full history of a system's refrigerant charge, from installation through to disposal.
In practice, that means capturing the following for each asset:
- Gas type and quantity: the refrigerant fitted at installation, plus any quantities added or recovered during servicing, in kilograms and, where possible, CO2 equivalent.
- Leak-check dates and results: every scheduled check, its outcome, and the date and outcome of any automatic leak detection system test.
- Contractor identity: the name and F-gas certificate number of the company or engineer who carried out the work.
- Recovery and disposal details: the waste carrier or reclamation facility used, with certificate numbers where the gas is recovered rather than reused on site.
Where a system's original charge size is unknown, the safest approach is to have a certified engineer weigh or calculate it at the next service and label the unit clearly with the result. A permanent label showing refrigerant type, charge weight and CO2e also speeds up every future leak check, because nobody has to dig through paperwork to find the baseline figure.
Which equipment falls under the rules
Not every appliance with a compressor needs a full F-gas record. The duty applies to stationary equipment above the CO2e threshold, which commonly includes:
- Stationary refrigeration and cold storage systems in food, retail and pharmaceutical settings.
- Air conditioning and heat pump installations in commercial and industrial buildings.
- High-voltage switchgear that uses F-gas as an insulating medium.
- Refrigerated transport units and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems.
The widely quoted trigger point is 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, and it catches smaller systems than the phrase suggests. A modest charge of a high-GWP refrigerant can cross that line at a fraction of the mass a lower-GWP gas would need. Rather than estimating from kilograms alone, use the GOV.UK CO2e calculator for each asset individually. It takes seconds and removes the guesswork that leads to accidental non-compliance.
Leak-check timelines and what triggers them
Once an asset is confirmed to be in scope, the CO2e figure also sets how often it must be checked for leaks. The GOV.UK guidance on leak checks sets out three bands.
| CO2e contained | Standard check interval | With automatic leak detection fitted |
|---|---|---|
| 5 tonnes or more | Every 12 months | Every 12 months or as specified |
| — | Every 6 months | Every 12 months |
| — | Every 3 months | Every 6 months |
Hermetically sealed systems below certain thresholds, and some older switchgear and ORC installations, carry different requirements, so it is worth checking the specific exemptions against the asset in question rather than assuming a blanket rule applies. Where a leak is found, the standard action is to repair it and retest within one month to confirm the fix held. Where an automatic detection system is fitted, that system itself needs to be checked at least once every 12 months to confirm it is functioning, and the result of that test belongs in the record alongside the standard leak-check entries.
Setting up a record-keeping system that survives an audit
Most F-gas compliance failures come from process gaps, not ignorance of the rules. Building the system properly the first time avoids that.
- Build the asset inventory first. List every site, asset ID, refrigerant type, manufacturer, installation date and known charge size before worrying about logbook format.
- Assign clear ownership. A director carries ultimate accountability, but day-to-day responsibility should sit with a named operational owner and the technicians who actually service the equipment.
- Pick a format and stick to it. A centralised digital logbook with time-stamped entries and direct links to engineer certificates is the strongest option; a structured, version-controlled paper system with regular central scanning is a workable fallback.
- Set operational rules. Entries should be logged at the point of service, every entry should require the technician's certificate number, and photographic evidence of the work helps close any gap between what was done and what was recorded.
- Reconcile regularly. A quarterly check that every active asset has a current record catches missing entries before an inspector does.
For multi-site operations, decide early how records consolidate into one system rather than sitting on separate site servers or individual engineers' notebooks, and confirm how far back your backups go against the five-year retention requirement.
Pro Tip: Log the leak check the moment it happens, on the device in hand. A record written up from memory at the end of the week is the most common source of inspection discrepancies.
Getting ready for an Environment Agency inspection
The Environment Agency can request F-gas records at any time, and what it typically asks for is straightforward: per-asset records covering the last five years, leak-check results, recovery and disposal evidence, and the certificate numbers of everyone who worked on the equipment.
Being ready to produce that quickly comes down to a few habits:
- Keep a per-asset activity log rather than one long chronological list across all sites.
- Attach timestamped service reports and certificate numbers directly to each entry rather than storing them separately.
- Avoid vague quantity descriptions like "topped up" without a figure attached.
The most common inspection failures are fragmented evidence spread across paper, e-mail and spreadsheets, missing certificate references, and quantities recorded in words rather than numbers. A short internal checklist covering these four points before any inspection window closes most of that gap.
Pro Tip: If you can produce one asset's complete five-year history in under two minutes, your system is probably audit-ready.
Why timestamped records matter more than the paperwork itself
Paper logbooks fail quietly. An engineer forgets to write up a leak check, or fills it in a week later from memory, and the record looks complete right up until an inspector asks a follow-up question it cannot answer.
The businesses that handle inspections calmly are the ones where every entry is timestamped at the point of service and tied to a named technician's certificate. That does not just reduce enforcement risk, it removes the internal argument about who did what and when. Robust records are an operational asset before they are a legal obligation.
— Luke Herridge
Making F-gas records easier to keep
Building and maintaining an F-gas record system in spreadsheets or paper logbooks works until a site grows past a handful of assets, at which point the admin load starts competing with actual service time. Some field service platforms keep asset-linked service logs, engineer certificate fields and leak-check history in one place, making a per-asset five-year record easier to find than in a filing exercise.
For F-gas specifically, Curcle's refrigeration and HVAC tools capture charge sizes, leak-check results and recovery details at the point of service, then export them in a timestamped, audit-ready format when an inspection comes round. Teams who want to see the structure before committing can start with a free compliance template or look at pricing, where plans start from £99 a month on the Starter tier.
- Asset-linked service logs that carry gas type, quantity and CO2e automatically.
- Certificate number fields tied to each engineer and each job.
- Time-stamped exports ready for an Environment Agency request.
Where to check the rules yourself
The primary references behind this guide are the GOV.UK record-keeping guidance, Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, and Refcom's F-gas downloads for ready-made logbook templates. Producers and importers should also check separate reporting duties that apply above certain thresholds.
This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.
Sources
- Record F gas in equipment you own or service
- Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 — Article 6 (record keeping)
- F-Gas downloads
FAQ
How long does an F-Gas engineer certificate last?
Certificate validity is set by the certifying scheme rather than by the record-keeping rules themselves, so the exact renewal period depends on the qualification and category held. What matters for your records is that the certificate number quoted against each job is current and belongs to the engineer who actually did the work.
Is F-Gas record keeping a legal requirement?
Yes. Operators of stationary equipment containing 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more of F-gas are legally required to keep records for at least five years under retained UK law. Failure to do so can lead to enforcement action from the Environment Agency.
What are the latest F-Gas regulations UK operators should know?
The current framework is Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, retained in UK law after Brexit, which sets out record-keeping, leak-check and reporting duties. Operators should check GOV.UK guidance directly for any updates rather than relying on secondary summaries.
Is F-Gas being phased out in the UK?
The regulations are structured around a gradual reduction in the supply of high-GWP F-gases over time, rather than an outright ban on existing equipment. Existing systems remain subject to the same record-keeping and leak-check duties for as long as they stay in service.