Which appliances are covered
- 40 CFR 84.106 (AIM Act): full charge of 15 lb or more of a refrigerant that contains a listed HFC, or a substitute with a GWP above 53.
- 40 CFR 82.157 (Section 608): full charge of 50 lb or more of a CFC or HCFC, or a blend that contains one.
- Not covered by 84.106: residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps (rooms, single-family homes, small commercial buildings), appliances that contain only an ozone-depleting substance (those stay under 608), and refrigerants with GWP of 53 or less.
- A blend such as R-401A that contains both an HCFC and an HFC can fall under both rules.
- Each independent circuit of a multi-circuit system counts as a separate appliance.
Leak rate on every addition
Each time refrigerant is added (except right after a retrofit, at installation, or for a seasonal variance), the owner or operator must calculate the leak rate with the annualizing or rolling average method. Every appliance at one facility has to use the same method. See how to calculate the leak rate.
| Appliance | Repair required above |
|---|---|
| Commercial refrigeration (supermarkets, restaurants, cold storage) | 20% |
| Industrial process refrigeration | 30% |
| Comfort cooling, refrigerated transport, other | 10% |
If the leak rate is over the threshold
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Identify and repair the leaks | 30 days from the addition that exceeded (120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) | 84.106(d) |
| Initial verification test | Within the same 30 or 120 day window | 84.106(e)(1) |
| Follow-up verification test | Within 10 days of a successful initial test | 84.106(e)(2) |
| Retrofit or retirement plan | Within 30 days if you choose to retrofit or retire, fail to act, or the appliance still leaks above the threshold after repairs and tests | 84.106(h) |
| Leak inspections | Every 3 months for commercial or IPR appliances of 500 lb or more, once a year for others, until the leak rate stays under the threshold (4 quarters or 1 year) | 84.106(g) |
Extensions to the repair deadline exist in specific cases, for example when parts are not available, up to 180 days (270 with an industrial process shutdown) from the exceedance. The request goes to EPA inside the original window.
Chronic leakers
An appliance of 15 lb or more that leaks 125% or more of its full charge in a calendar year must be reported to EPA by March 1 of the next year. More in the chronic leaker report guide.
Records to keep
Records must be kept for three years, on paper or electronically. They include the full charge and how it was determined, every leak rate calculation with the method used, the dates and results of leak inspections and verification tests, repairs, and any retrofit or retirement plans. Full charge records are kept until three years after the appliance is retired.
If you are the contractor: when you install, service, repair or dispose of someone else's appliance, you must give the owner or operator a record of the appliance, the date, the parts worked on, what you did, your name, and the amount and type of refrigerant added or removed (84.106(l)(4)). Leak inspection and verification test results also have to be handed over at the end of the service.
Written from the text of 40 CFR 84.102, 84.106 and 82.157 on eCFR (September 2026) and the EPA leak repair fact sheet (January 2026). Recordkeeping aid, not legal advice.