If you own or run refrigeration, air conditioning or a heat pump that contains fluorinated gas, the Environment Agency (EA) is the body that enforces the rules, and its main tool is the civil penalty. The EA's published approach, Annex 2 of its enforcement and sanctions policy, says "In total we can impose civil penalties for around 80 breaches" of the F-gas rules. This guide explains what that means in practice, who is on the hook, and what to have in place before anyone asks.

What the Environment Agency can do

The 80 or so breaches fall under several headings: intentional release of F gas, placing F gas on the market, the F gas quota, the use of F gas, reporting and record keeping, fire protection checking, failure to comply with requirements or notices, and F gas leakage and recovery. The amount that applies to each breach is fixed in Schedule 4 of the F Gas Regulations, which is the "statutory maximum" for that breach.

The EA's starting position is firm. It says it will "normally impose a civil penalty for all breaches", and that it will "normally use the statutory maximum as the initial penalty amount", because those maximums were set with the seriousness of each breach in mind. It can go lower where the breach warrants it, for example where the potential for environmental harm was serious but the actual harm was much less. The policy gives one worked example involving a failure to comply with an enforcement notice, where it may decide that "the statutory maximum of £200,000" is not justified. So £200,000 is the figure the policy itself mentions, for that specific type of breach, rather than a single cap on every F-gas offence.

The policy also leaves room for advice before sanction. It says the EA may not impose a penalty where it considers "giving advice and guidance will be sufficient to rectify the breach", though if the breach is not then rectified it may impose one after all.

How penalties are set and how often they are used

From that starting amount, the EA works through a stepped approach. It looks at how culpable the person was (deliberate, reckless, negligent, or low or no culpability), and at the size of the organisation by turnover, from micro (not more than £2 million) to large (£50 million and over). It then adjusts for aggravating and mitigating factors. If the calculated starting point comes out below £1,000, the policy rounds it up to £1,000. In plain terms, a larger business that was reckless is treated far more seriously than a micro business that was negligent.

On volume, the EA's Chief Regulator's report 2024 to 2025 records: "We issued 93 civil penalties totalling over £5.1 million for breaches of these climate change schemes in 2024." That total covers every climate change scheme the EA regulates, including the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, Climate Change Agreements and the F gas regime, so it does not tell you how many were for F gas alone. We have not found a published F-gas-only figure and are not going to estimate one.

Who carries the liability

Both sides of the contract do. The EA's leak checking guidance says that if you use stationary refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump equipment, "you're responsible for getting it checked for F gas leaks". It adds that "responsibility for stopping leaks of F gas from equipment is shared" between the users of equipment and the service technicians who install, maintain or dispose of it. If you rent equipment out, you may be responsible for leak checks rather than the end user, depending on the rental agreement.

That shared responsibility is the point to take away. An operator cannot hand the whole problem to a contractor, and a contractor cannot assume the operator has the records. The guidance is blunt about the consequence: "You are breaking the law if you don't have the right leak checks in place, or don't fix leaks. You could receive a civil penalty."

Using engineers with the right certification

The EA's qualifications guidance is plain: "You must have your own qualifications to work on equipment containing F gas, even if you work for someone else." It adds that working with F gas without the correct qualifications is against the law and can lead to a civil penalty. For refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps, a category 1 certificate covers all activities, while the lower categories cover narrower work and smaller charges.

Anyone who remembers the old route should note one change: the page states that the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) "are no longer issuing new F gas qualifications or certification". It lists accredited organisations that do, including City and Guilds and the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). If you are hiring, ask to see the individual's certificate and its category, and keep a copy, because the next section explains why.

What to do now

  • Know your thresholds. The leak check table shows 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent is reached at about 1.3kg of R404A or 2.4kg of R410A. Systems from 5 to under 50 tonnes need a check at least every 12 months, and from 50 to under 500 tonnes at least every 6 months. Hermetically sealed systems have different rules. Check which row your equipment falls in.
  • Fix leaks and retest. If a check finds a leak, the guidance says to repair it as soon as possible and repeat the test within a month.
  • Keep records for five years. The record keeping guidance covers gas quantity and type at installation, gas added in leak repairs, the dates and results of leak checks, and recovery and disposal. As an operator you must also record the name, address and certificate number of any company that installs, services or decommissions your equipment.
  • Check certificates before work starts. The EA may ask to see your records during an inspection, and the certificate numbers are part of them.
  • Book the work. Planned leak checks and servicing keep the paperwork current before anyone asks. Our guide to F-gas rules for businesses covers the full duty, and a planned maintenance visit is the simplest way to keep checks and records up to date.

Next year's refrigerant supply is a separate pressure on the same equipment, and we cover that in our note on the HFC phasedown staying on schedule.