EU F-gas Regulation 2024/573: leak checks for reefers, vans and vehicle AC from 12 March 2027

From 12 March 2027, F-gas leak checks and refrigerant recovery extend to reefer containers, refrigerated vans and train wagons. They also reach the air-conditioning and heat pumps in trucks, vans, construction and farm machinery, trains, metros, trams and aircraft. The operator of each piece of equipment above the threshold must have it leak-checked on schedule by a qualified person and keep a record of every check, refill and recovery for at least five years.

The regulation is EU law. It covers equipment operated in the EU, and that can include the reefers, trucks and aircraft of carriers and container lines based elsewhere. It does not reach equipment operated only outside the EU.

What is the F-gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573?

The F-gas Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/573, controls fluorinated greenhouse gases: the HFC refrigerants in refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pumps, plus the gases in fire protection systems and electrical switchgear. It replaced Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 and has applied since 11 March 2024. As a regulation, it applies directly in all 27 Member States without national transposition. National rules on certification and enforcement still exist alongside it.

Most thresholds are set in metric tons of CO2 equivalent (t CO2e). To convert, multiply the charge in kg by the gas’s global warming potential (GWP) and divide by 1,000. HFC-134a (R-134a) has a GWP of 1,430 under Annex I, so 5 t CO2e is about 3.5 kg of R-134a. A typical car or van cab AC holds less than that. Reefer containers and bus, coach and rail AC often hold more.

The 2024 regulation also added a second category. HFC-1234yf (R-1234yf), the refrigerant in most vehicle AC since the 2017 phase-in under the MAC directive, is an Annex II Section 1 gas, with a threshold of 1 kg rather than 5 t CO2e. Many AC units in heavy vehicles, machinery and buses hold 1 kg or more of R-1234yf, so check the nameplate charge before you decide a unit is out of scope.

What changes on 12 March 2027?

Article 5(1) requires operators to leak-check equipment holding 5 t CO2e or more of Annex I gases, or 1 kg or more of Annex II Section 1 gases, other than in foams. Hermetically sealed, labeled equipment is exempt below 10 t CO2e (or 2 kg of Annex II gases). Under Article 5(5), that obligation and the frequencies in Article 5(6) start applying on 12 March 2027 to two mobile categories:

• Article 5(3)(b): refrigeration units of refrigerated light-duty vehicles (vans), intermodal containers including reefer containers, and train wagons.
• Article 5(3)(c): air-conditioning and heat pumps in heavy-duty vehicles, vans, non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) used in agriculture, mining and construction, trains, metros, trams and aircraft. In practice: truck cabs, tractors, excavators and mining machinery.

Refrigeration units on refrigerated trucks and trailers are a separate category, Article 5(3)(a). They were already covered under Regulation 517/2014 and still are, so for a fleet running truck and trailer reefer units the 2027 date adds only the cab AC on the tractor units.

Who may do the check depends on the category. For stationary equipment and for mobile refrigeration units, categories (a) and (b), the leak check must be done by a person certified under Article 10. For vehicle and machinery AC and heat pumps, category (c), a person holding at least a training attestation is enough (Article 5(4)). Article 5(7) also treats the category (c) obligation as met when the equipment is subject to a regular inspection regime that includes leak checks.

Recovery starts the same day. From 12 March 2027, Article 8(5) requires operators of category (b) and (c) equipment to have the gas recovered before disposal, so it can be recycled, reclaimed or destroyed.

Separately, Annex IV bans from 1 January 2027 cover several self-contained AC and heat pumps and some small split units running on higher-GWP gases. Older installed equipment can keep running, so expect it to need more servicing and refills.

How often must equipment be leak-checked?

Article 5(6) sets minimum intervals by the quantity of gas in the equipment. They apply to stationary and mobile equipment alike. Each tier is “at least every”, and the second figure applies when a leak detection system is installed:

• Under 50 t CO2e (or under 10 kg of Annex II gases): every 12 months, or 24 months with a leak detection system.
• 50 to under 500 t CO2e (or 10 to under 100 kg): every 6 months, or 12 months with a leak detection system.
• 500 t CO2e or more (or 100 kg or more): every 3 months, or 6 months with a leak detection system.

Under Article 6, a leak detection system is mandatory for stationary refrigeration, AC, heat pumps and fire protection equipment at 500 t CO2e or more (or 100 kg of Annex II gases). It also applies to organic Rankine cycles and switchgear of that size installed from 1 January 2017. A leak detection system is a fixed device that alerts the operator or service company when it detects a leak, and it must itself be checked at least every 12 months (every six years for switchgear). A mobile app does not count as one.

What must an F-gas leak check record contain?

Article 7(1) lists what the operator must record for each piece of equipment that needs leak checks. There is no official F-gas leak check record template. Article 7(6) lets the Commission set a format by implementing act, but none has been adopted. The content is fixed and the layout is up to you. Use this checklist to build your own F-gas logbook form:

• Gas in the equipment: quantity and type of refrigerant, with the quantity added at installation shown separately (7(1)(a)).
• Gas added: quantities added during maintenance, servicing or because of leakage, each with its date (7(1)(b)).
• Gas recovered: the quantity recovered (7(1)(c)).
• Origin of added gas: quantity, type, whether it was recycled or reclaimed, the name and EU address of the recycling or reclamation facility, and its certificate number where applicable (7(1)(d)).
• Who did the work: the company that installed, serviced, maintained, recovered, repaired, leak-checked or decommissioned the equipment, with its certificate number. Where it is a company, record both the company and the person who did the work (7(1)(e)).
• Leak checks and repairs: the date and result of every leak check, and the date and result of every leak repair (7(1)(f)).
• Decommissioning: if the equipment was taken out of service, the measures taken to recover and dispose of the gases (7(1)(g)).

In practice, a form also needs an equipment ID that matches the nameplate, the charge in kg and in t CO2e, and the check interval that follows from it. Those fields are not in Article 7(1), but they make each record easy to find and the next due date easy to work out.

How long must F-gas records be kept, and by whom?

At least five years, by two parties. Under Article 7(2), the operator keeps the records for at least five years, and the company that did the work keeps copies for at least five years too. Both must make them available to the national competent authority or the Commission on request.

These retention duties do not apply where the records are stored in a database set up by the Member State’s competent authorities. Check whether your country runs one. The record format stays open until the Commission uses its Article 7(6) power. The Commission’s 2025 simplification proposals do not change the leak-check and record-keeping articles.

After a leak: repair and follow-up check

Article 4(5) requires a leak to be repaired without undue delay. A person certified under Article 10 then checks the equipment again, no earlier than 24 hours of operating time after the repair and no later than one month after it, to confirm the repair holds.

For mobile equipment in Article 5(3)(a) to (c), the follow-up leak check may be done directly after the repair. That fits a reefer container that leaves port the next day, or a machine that moves to another site. Record the repair and the follow-up check as two separate entries, each with its date and result.

Capturing F-gas records in the field, even offline

Reefer containers sit in depots, ports and rail yards. Machinery works in quarries and on remote sites. Many of these places have weak or no mobile signal, and a record written up later from memory tends to have gaps. Build the leak check form so each Article 7(1) item is a field the technician fills on site:

1. Equipment ID: the unit, container or vehicle number, with a photo of the nameplate.
2. Gas type and charge: refrigerant, kg, and the t CO2e band that sets the check interval.
3. Leak check: method used, result, and a photo of the leak detector display or gauge readings.
4. Quantities: gas added or recovered, with a photo of the cylinder label and, for recycled or reclaimed gas, the facility’s name and certificate number.
5. Who: technician name and certificate or training attestation number, plus the company and its certificate number.
6. Proof: signature, GPS position and timestamp, captured at the time of the check.

FormRift lets your technicians or drivers capture these Article 7(1) fields on site with standardized forms, even offline. Each record carries photos of the gauge readings, leak detector display, nameplate and cylinder label, plus GPS position, signature and timestamp. Data syncs when the network returns, the office gets real-time visibility, every entry feeds an audit trail, and records stay retrievable for five years and export to CSV. FormRift is not the F-gas Portal, a national authority database, a certification body or an Article 6 leak detection system. It does not make anyone compliant, and it does not stand in for certified technicians or training-attestation holders. It keeps the field records they produce. See the features, and how it applies to logistics and mobility and fleet teams. Reefer operators preparing for 2027 may also want our article on eFTI and electronic freight information.

Checklist before 12 March 2027

1. List your mobile equipment by category: reefer containers, refrigerated vans, train wagons, and AC or heat pumps in trucks, vans, NRMM, trains and aircraft.
2. Read the nameplates. Record the gas type and charge for each unit. Convert Annex I charges to t CO2e and flag every unit with 1 kg or more of R-1234yf.
3. Set each unit’s interval from the Article 5(6) tiers, and note where a leak detection system doubles it.
4. Line up qualified people: Article 10 certified technicians for refrigeration units, and at least training-attestation holders for vehicle and machinery AC.
5. Check existing inspection regimes. For category (c) equipment, find out whether a regular inspection that includes leak checks already covers it under Article 5(7).
6. Build one leak check form that covers every Article 7(1) item, and test it where your equipment actually sits.
7. Agree retention with your service companies: five years for your records and five years for their copies.

Frequently asked questions

Does the F-gas regulation apply to reefer containers?

Yes, from 12 March 2027. Article 5(3)(b) brings refrigeration units of intermodal containers, including reefer containers, into the leak-check obligation when they hold 5 t CO2e or more of Annex I gases, or 1 kg or more of Annex II gases. Checks must be done by a person certified under Article 10, and the operator keeps the records for five years.

Do refrigerated trucks need leak checks?

Yes, and they already did. Refrigeration units on refrigerated trucks and trailers were covered under Regulation 517/2014 and remain covered under Article 5(3)(a), so nothing new starts for them in 2027. What changes on 12 March 2027 is the cab air-conditioning on heavy-duty vehicles and vans, which falls under Article 5(3)(c) from that date.

Who can carry out a leak check on vehicle air-conditioning?

For air-conditioning and heat pumps in vehicles, machinery, trains and aircraft, Article 5(4) accepts a person holding at least a training attestation. Full Article 10 certification is not required for that category. Refrigeration units, such as reefer containers and refrigerated vans, still need a certified person. Article 5(7) also counts a regular inspection regime that includes leak checks.

What is 5 metric tons CO2e in kg?

It depends on the gas. Multiply the kilograms by the gas’s GWP and divide by 1,000. For R-134a, with a GWP of 1,430, 5 t CO2e is about 3.5 kg. R-1234yf, used in most vehicle AC, is an Annex II gas with a separate threshold of 1 kg. Check the charge on the nameplate.

How long must F-gas records be kept?

At least five years. Article 7(2) requires the operator to keep the records for five years and the service company that did the work to keep copies for five years. Both must hand them to the national competent authority or the Commission on request, unless the records sit in a database set up by the Member State’s authorities.

Is there an official F-gas logbook template?

No. Article 7(6) allows the Commission to set a format by implementing act, but none has been adopted. Article 7(1) fixes the content: gas type and quantities, additions with dates, recovery, origin of added gas, who did the work with certificate numbers, leak-check and repair results, and decommissioning. Any form that captures all of these works.

Does a leak detection system replace leak checks?

No. A leak detection system doubles the interval between checks, for example from 12 to 24 months below 50 t CO2e, but checks still happen. The system itself must be checked at least every 12 months. It is mandatory under Article 6 for stationary equipment at 500 t CO2e or more, not for vehicles or containers.

Does the 2025 simplification change leak checks?

The Commission’s 2025 simplification proposals do not change the leak-check and record-keeping articles of Regulation 2024/573. The 12 March 2027 start date for mobile equipment, the Article 5(6) intervals and the Article 7 records stay as written. Plan for them as they stand, and recheck the official text before any deadline.

The bottom line

From 12 March 2027, reefer containers, refrigerated vans, train wagons and the AC in vehicles, machinery, trains and aircraft join the F-gas leak-check and recovery rules. Operators need to know each unit’s charge, check it on schedule, record every check, refill and recovery, and keep those records for five years. Most of it happens in yards and on sites where the signal drops, so capture the record at the unit, with its evidence.

Inspections, audits and reports then rest on records that hold up, built on simplicity, an audit trail and security.