Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Get the specialist approvals for the systems you repair and install

Some kinds of equipment can only be worked on under a specific approval or certification. If you install, service or repair gas appliances, refrigeration and air-conditioning, pressure systems, aircraft or ships, this guide takes you through the registration, certification and competence you need before you do the work.

Guide summary

Get the right approvals before you work on pressure systems, gas, or refrigeration equipment. You must register with Gas Safe for gas work, get F-gas certification for refrigeration and air conditioning, and follow pressure system rules. Working without these approvals is illegal and can lead to prosecution or heavy fines.

  • Register with Gas Safe before doing any gas work
  • Get F-gas certification for your company and engineers
  • Ensure pressure systems have a written examination scheme before use
  • Do not return a repaired pressure system if it could cause danger
  • Carry out mandatory leak checks on F-gas equipment at 5/50/500 tonnes CO2e thresholds
  • Recover F-gases instead of venting them into the air
  • Keep records of F-gas quantities used and recovered
  • Use only competent, registered engineers for all work
  • Working without approval can lead to prosecution or civil penalties
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Related guides in Health & Safety

Most repair and installation work is governed by the general workplace duties in the spine. But some systems are so hazardous, or so tightly regulated, that you can only work on them under a specific approval, registration or certification — and working on them without it is usually an offence. Work through the section for each kind of equipment you handle; if none of them applies to you, the spine and the checklist are all you need.

A. Pressure systems

If the plant you install, repair or maintain is or includes a pressure system — steam boilers, compressed-air systems, air receivers and their pipework and protective devices — the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 apply. As the installer your duty is to install it so that it does not give rise to danger when operated; the duty to have a written scheme of examination in place, and to operate only within safe operating limits, rests on the user or owner, so a written scheme drawn up by a competent person must be in place before the system is operated. As a repairer you must not return a system to service in a condition that gives rise to danger, and you support its examination under the written scheme. In Northern Ireland the equivalent Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 apply.

B. Gas appliances and fittings

Any business that installs, commissions, services or repairs gas appliances and fittings is carrying out gas work and must be registered with the Gas Safe Register, with the work done by registered, competent engineers. The same registration covers installation and ongoing repair and maintenance. Working on gas without registration is an offence under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. In Northern Ireland the equivalent Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 apply.

C. Refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pumps (F-gas)

If you install, service, maintain or repair refrigeration, air-conditioning or heat-pump equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases, both your company and your individual engineers must hold the relevant F-gas certification, and you must carry out leak checks, recover gas rather than vent it, and keep records under the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015 and the assimilated GB F-gas Regulation. The regime is enforced by the Environment Agency in England, SEPA in Scotland and Natural Resources Wales in Wales; in Northern Ireland the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 apply.

D. Ships and marine equipment

If you repair, refit, convert or install equipment on commercial and fishing vessels, your work must preserve the vessel's compliance with the construction, safety and survey requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and the regulations made under it, administered by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Significant repairs or conversions can trigger re-survey and re-certification by the MCA or a recognised organisation. The MCA regime applies across the United Kingdom; work on recreational craft is largely outside it.

E. Aircraft and aircraft components

If you maintain, repair, overhaul or install components on aircraft, you must hold a maintenance organisation approval (Part-145) from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), with authorised certifying staff, approved data and a quality and safety-management system, and you must release work to service through a certificate of release to service. The framework derives from the Air Navigation Order 2016 and the assimilated continuing-airworthiness regulations and applies across the United Kingdom; lighter activity may use a Part-CAO approval.

  1. 1

    1. Identify which specialist regimes apply to your work

    Match the systems you work on to the regimes above — pressure systems, gas, F-gas refrigeration/air-conditioning, ships or aircraft — and get the approval or certification before you do the work.

  2. 2

    2. Register or certify before you start

    Get Gas Safe registration for gas work, company and engineer F-gas certification for refrigeration and air-conditioning, and the CAA Part-145 approval for aircraft maintenance; working without these is generally an offence.

  3. 3

    3. Operate the examination and survey duties

    Make sure pressure systems have a written scheme of examination before return to service, keep your F-gas leak-check and recovery records, and support MCA survey and re-certification for vessel work.

What to do next

With your safe-business spine and the specialist approvals for the systems you work on in place, confirm the whole picture with the repair and installation compliance checklist. Start from the router if you are not sure which guides apply to you.

Official sources

Authoritative guidance on the specialist approval regimes.