Yes — if you can clear all four sections.
This EPA 608 universal practice test gives you all 100 questions the Universal exam carries — 25 Core, 25 Type I, 25 Type II, 25 Type III — scored by section against the 70 percent pass bar.
EPA keeps the real question bank confidential, so every question here drills EPA's published topic list instead.
Set a timer, sit it closed-book, and grade each part separately.
How the full mock is scored by section
The real Universal test is 100 questions: at least 25 from the core group plus at least 25 each for Type I, Type II, and Type III.
You can sit it all at once or build Universal by combining passing scores on separate proctored type tests — which is why section scoring matters.
Passing one section is not passing Universal; it is banking one of the four pieces.
The bar is the same for every closed-book section: 70 percent, with 84 percent for mail-in Type I.
One honest note on the arithmetic — 70 percent of a 25-question section is not a whole number, and EPA states the passing score as a percentage of the section, not as a count of questions you can miss.
How a certifying organization rounds that percentage is its convention, not something EPA publishes.
So on this mock, grade each part as a percentage against the bar, and treat any cheat sheet that converts the bar into a number of questions you can miss with the suspicion it deserves.
Grade the four parts separately when you finish, and the mock hands you a study plan: any part under 70 percent is the section you study before you book.
If you want the credential rules behind the score — who legally needs it, what each type allows, what it costs — our EPA 608 certification guide covers them.
If you would rather drill one section at a time first, the free per-section epa 608 practice test breaks the same material into shorter sets with answers explained.
A mock exam is practice, not the exam
Take the 100-question timed mock
Sit it the way the real thing is given: closed-book, no notes, no tabs, one sitting.
The closed-book Universal and type tests are proctored in a secure environment with your photo ID verified first, so train for that format now — an open-book Core and a mail-in Type I both exist, but neither can count toward Universal certification.
Set a timer before you start.
EPA's rules fix the format — 100 questions, closed-book, proctored — but our research found no federal time limit, and individual certifying organizations set their own test-day conditions, which our research did not confirm.
Note your finish time and roughly how many minutes each part took you: a section you barely pass while racing the clock deserves the same review as one you failed.
Part 1: Core — questions 1 to 25
1. Under the federal rule, who must pass an EPA-approved 608 exam?
- A. Only the service manager
- B. Anyone who could reasonably be expected to violate the integrity of the refrigerant circuit while maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of an appliance
- C. Only apprentices
- D. Only technicians who buy refrigerant
Answer: B.
The requirement at 40 CFR 82.161 reaches anyone who could open the circuit on appliances containing CFC, HCFC, or non-exempt substitute refrigerants such as HFCs.
It attaches to the work, not the job title.
2. The certification requirement attaches to:
- A. Your job title
- B. Your years in the trade
- C. The work you do — opening the refrigerant circuit
- D. Your employer's licence
Answer: C.
The rule keys the requirement to work that could violate the integrity of the refrigerant circuit while maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of covered appliances.
A helper doing that work needs the certification; a dispatcher who never touches it does not.
3. Which set of activities does the rule name?
- A. Selling and installing
- B. Maintaining, servicing, repairing, and disposing
- C. Bidding and estimating
- D. Designing and commissioning
Answer: B.
Maintaining, servicing, repairing, and disposing are the four activities the rule names for covered appliances.
Disposal counts — recovering refrigerant before scrapping an appliance is certified-technician work.
4. HFC refrigerants such as R-410A are:
- A. Ozone-depleting class I refrigerants
- B. Exempt from every Section 608 requirement
- C. Non-exempt substitute refrigerants the rule covers
- D. Regulated under Section 609 only
Answer: C.
The certification requirement reaches appliances containing CFC and HCFC refrigerants and non-exempt substitutes such as HFCs.
HFCs are not ozone-depleters, but the rule keeps the certification, sales restriction, evacuation, and safe-disposal requirements for them.
5. Section 608 sits under which federal law?
- A. The Clean Air Act
- B. The Clean Water Act
- C. OSHA's General Duty Clause
- D. The Energy Policy Act
Answer: A.
EPA's Core topic list pairs the Clean Air Act with the Montreal Protocol, and the enforcement penalty behind the program is Clean Air Act Section 113(b).
"Section 608" is the section of the Clean Air Act the program comes from.
6. Which international agreement appears on EPA's Core topic list alongside the Clean Air Act?
- A. The Kyoto Protocol
- B. The Paris Agreement
- C. The Montreal Protocol
- D. USMCA
Answer: C.
EPA names the Montreal Protocol directly on the published Core topic list, alongside the Clean Air Act and ozone depletion.
Worth knowing both names — the topic list is the syllabus the exam draws from.
7. Which Core topic covers releasing refrigerant to the atmosphere?
- A. The venting prohibition
- B. The sales restriction
- C. Shipping labels
- D. The three Rs
Answer: A.
The venting prohibition is one of EPA's named Core topics, alongside the sales restriction.
Know each topic by name — the exam tests the syllabus, not just the procedures.
8. The "three Rs" of refrigerant handling are:
- A. Reduce, reuse, recycle
- B. Recover, recycle, reclaim
- C. Recover, remove, replace
- D. Repair, retrofit, recover
Answer: B.
EPA's Core topic list names recover, recycle, and reclaim together.
They blur under exam pressure, so practice telling them apart by what each one does to the refrigerant.
9. Pulling refrigerant out of an appliance into a recovery cylinder is which of the three Rs?
- A. Recovering
- B. Recycling
- C. Reclaiming
- D. Venting
Answer: A.
Recovery is the step that removes refrigerant from the appliance; recycling cleans it, and reclaiming reprocesses it.
EPA lists all three as Core topics — the exam wants you to keep them distinct.
10. Who may buy ozone-depleting or substitute refrigerants such as HFCs?
- A. Anyone over 18
- B. Only EPA-certified technicians, with limited exceptions
- C. Any licensed contractor
- D. Anyone with a supply-house account
Answer: B.
The sales restriction ties purchases to certification: Section 608 for stationary refrigerants, Section 609 for vehicle refrigerant, with limited exceptions.
This is one of the named Core topics, so the exam owns this question.
11. An employer wants to buy refrigerant for its crews. Under the sales restriction it may buy only if it:
- A. Posts a bond with EPA
- B. Gives the wholesaler written evidence that it employs at least one certified technician
- C. Buys only cans of 5 lb or less
- D. Files a purchase plan each quarter
Answer: B.
The employer exception is written evidence to the wholesaler that the company employs at least one certified technician.
The certified technician on staff is what makes the shop's cylinder order legal.
12. A technician holds only a Section 609 card for vehicle air conditioning. Buying R-410A for a stationary split system is:
- A. Fine — 609 covers every refrigerant
- B. Allowed in cans of 2 lb or less
- C. Not allowed — a 609-certified technician cannot buy refrigerant intended for stationary equipment, regardless of container size
- D. Allowed with employer sign-off
Answer: C.
The restriction follows the refrigerant's purpose, not the can size.
The small-can exception applies to MVAC refrigerant sold to uncertified do-it-yourselfers — it never opens stationary HFCs to a 609 card.
13. The small-can exception in the sales restriction applies to:
- A. Stationary HFCs in cans of 2 lb or less
- B. MVAC refrigerant in cans of 2 lb or less with a self-sealing valve, sold to uncertified DIYers
- C. Any refrigerant sold to apprentices
- D. Recovery cylinders under 15 lb
Answer: B.
The exception is narrow: cans of 2 lb or less with a self-sealing valve, MVAC refrigerant only.
The sales restriction also never covered equipment or components that already contain refrigerant.
14. Never fill a recovery cylinder more than:
- A. 100 percent
- B. 90 percent
- C. 80 percent
- D. 50 percent
Answer: C.
EPA's Core safety topics state it flatly: never fill a cylinder more than 80 percent full.
Refrigerant expands as the cylinder warms, and an overfilled cylinder has nowhere to put it.
15. Which gas do you use to pressurize a system for leak testing?
- A. Oxygen
- B. Compressed air
- C. Nitrogen
- D. Refrigerant vapor
Answer: C.
Use nitrogen, not oxygen — EPA's Core safety topics say exactly that.
It is one of the two safety rules the topic list spells out, next to the 80 percent cylinder-fill limit.
16. Which Core topic governs how you mark a refrigerant cylinder for transport?
- A. Shipping labels
- B. The three Rs
- C. Leak detection
- D. Evacuation techniques
Answer: A.
Shipping labels are a named Core topic — recovered refrigerant moving by truck or freight carries its own labeling duties.
It is easy points if you have read the topic list; a guessed answer is a missed question.
17. EPA's leak-rate rules apply to appliances holding 50 or more pounds of class I or class II refrigerant. Both classes are:
- A. Ozone-depleting
- B. HFC blends
- C. Flammable A2L refrigerants
- D. Low-pressure refrigerants
Answer: A.
The leak-rate rules at 40 CFR 82.157 apply to class I and class II refrigerants — the ozone-depleting kinds.
Since April 10, 2020, that section applies only to ozone-depleting refrigerants, which is exactly why HFC systems sit outside it.
18. How many questions does the Core section contribute to every 608 exam, at minimum?
- A. 10
- B. 25
- C. 50
- D. 100
Answer: B.
Every 608 test pairs at least 25 Core questions with at least 25 questions per technical type.
The Core is not optional and not lighter — it carries a quarter of the Universal exam.
19. The passing score on the closed-book Core is:
- A. 60 percent
- B. 70 percent
- C. 75 percent
- D. 84 percent
Answer: B.
The closed-book Core passes at 70 percent, the same bar as the closed-book type sections.
The 84 percent figure belongs to mail-in Type I, not to the Core.
20. An open-book Core pass counts toward Universal certification:
- A. Always
- B. Never — the Core must be proctored to earn Universal
- C. Only within one year of passing
- D. Only for Type I work
Answer: B.
EPA states that a Core test taken open-book cannot be used to earn Universal certification.
If Universal is the goal, the Core goes through a proctor like the rest of the exam.
21. Before the test starts, the proctor must verify your:
- A. Employment history
- B. Photo identification
- C. Social Security card
- D. Union membership
Answer: B.
Proctors verify photo ID — a driver's licence, government ID, passport, or military ID all qualify.
Bring it; a missed wallet is a missed test date.
22. How quickly must a certifying program report your results and issue your card?
- A. Within 30 days of the test — the legal maximum for both
- B. Same day
- C. Within one year
- D. The rule sets no deadline
Answer: A.
Programs must tell you your results within 30 days of the test and issue a standard wallet-sized card within 30 days.
Those are ceilings — the rule guarantees 30 days, and actual turnaround varies by organization.
23. EPA 608 certification:
- A. Expires after 3 years
- B. Expires after 5 years
- C. Does not expire
- D. Expires when you change employers
Answer: C.
The certification does not expire.
EPA has reserved the right to require recertification someday, but only by publishing a notice in the Federal Register — and no such requirement exists today.
24. Who issues your 608 card?
- A. EPA
- B. The certifying organization you tested with
- C. OSHA
- D. Your state licence board
Answer: B.
EPA writes the rules and the question bank, but it issues no cards — the approved certifying organization does, and it handles replacements too.
"EPA issued my card" is the classic wrong answer.
25. Where must a certified technician keep a copy of the certificate, and until when?
- A. In the truck, until the end of each job
- B. At the place of business, until three years after they stop working as a technician
- C. At home, permanently
- D. No copy is required
Answer: B.
The rule requires a copy at the place of business, kept until three years after the technician stops working as one.
It is an employer-facing record, not a wallet duplicate.
Part 2: Type I — questions 26 to 50
26. What makes an appliance a "small appliance" under EPA 608?
- A. Any unit under 10 lb
- B. Fully manufactured, charged, and hermetically sealed in a factory with 5 pounds or less of refrigerant
- C. Any unit installed in a home
- D. Any unit without service valves
Answer: B.
All three parts matter: factory-manufactured, factory-charged, hermetically sealed, with 5 pounds or less of refrigerant.
Fail one part and the appliance belongs to another type.
27. Which of these is a small appliance?
- A. A residential split-system heat pump
- B. A household refrigerator
- C. A centrifugal chiller
- D. A pickup truck's air conditioner
Answer: B.
The household refrigerator is factory-sealed with 5 pounds or less.
The heat pump is Type II, the chiller is Type III, and the truck is Section 609 territory.
28. A window air conditioner needs its sealed system opened. Which certification covers the work?
- A. Type I
- B. Type II
- C. Type III
- D. Section 609
Answer: A.
Window and portable air conditioners sit squarely in EPA's small-appliance definition, and small appliances are Type I work.
29. A packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) in a hotel room needs its sealed system opened. Which type covers it?
- A. Type I
- B. Type II
- C. Type III
- D. None — PTACs are exempt
Answer: A.
EPA's definition names PTACs and PTHPs explicitly, alongside vending machines and water coolers.
Hotel-room units look commercial but test as small appliances.
30. Which list of small appliances is correct?
- A. Household refrigerators, dehumidifiers, vending machines, water coolers
- B. Chillers and rooftop units
- C. Vehicle air conditioning only
- D. Ice machines over 5 lb
Answer: A.
Refrigerators, window and portable ACs, PTACs and PTHPs, dehumidifiers, vending machines, and water coolers are the examples EPA's definition names.
All are factory-sealed at 5 pounds or less.
31. A vending machine's sealed system needs repair. Certification required:
- A. Type I
- B. Type II
- C. Type III
- D. Section 609
Answer: A.
Vending machines are on EPA's small-appliance list.
Maintaining, servicing, or repairing one is Type I work.
32. A water cooler carries 4 lb of factory-sealed refrigerant. Servicing it requires:
- A. Type I
- B. Type II
- C. Type III
- D. Universal only
Answer: A.
Water coolers are named in the small-appliance definition, and 4 lb clears the 5-pound ceiling.
Universal also covers the work — but the minimum credential that does is Type I.
33. A factory-sealed unit holds 6 lb of refrigerant. Under the small-appliance definition it is:
- A. A small appliance — anything under 10 lb
- B. Not a small appliance — the cap is 5 pounds or less
- C. A Type III appliance
- D. Exempt from Section 608
Answer: B.
The 5-pound cap is hard: 5 pounds or less is a small appliance, 6 is not.
A sealed 6-lb unit fails the small-appliance test and takes the type its pressure class calls for instead.
34. Which work does Type I certification cover?
- A. Maintaining, servicing, and repairing small appliances
- B. Low-pressure chillers
- C. Commercial rooftop units
- D. Vehicle air conditioning
Answer: A.
Type I is the small-appliance certification: maintaining, servicing, and repairing the factory-sealed, 5-pounds-or-less units.
Chillers are Type III and vehicles are Section 609.
35. "Hermetically sealed" in the small-appliance definition means the unit was:
- A. Manufactured, charged, and sealed at the factory
- B. Sealed by the technician after the last repair
- C. Evacuated to a deep vacuum before shipping
- D. Wrapped in factory insulation
Answer: A.
The definition requires the appliance to be fully manufactured, charged, and hermetically sealed in a factory.
A unit someone field-charged fails that test no matter how small it is.
36. With recovery equipment made after November 15, 1993 and the compressor operating, recover a small appliance to:
- A. 90 percent of the charge
- B. 80 percent of the charge
- C. 0 in. Hg vacuum
- D. 25 mm Hg absolute
Answer: A.
Small appliances recover to 90 percent of the charge when the compressor works.
The 0-inch and 25 mm Hg figures belong to the Type II and Type III evacuation tables.
37. The compressor in a small appliance will not run. With post-1993 recovery equipment, recover to:
- A. 90 percent
- B. 80 percent
- C. 70 percent
- D. 100 percent
Answer: B.
A dead compressor drops the target to 80 percent of the charge.
Working versus non-working compressor is the split the rule draws — learn both sides, not just the one your jobs use.
38. Instead of the percentage targets, you may recover a small appliance by evacuating it to:
- A. 0 in. Hg
- B. 4 inches of mercury vacuum
- C. 10 in. Hg
- D. 15 in. Hg
Answer: B.
Four inches of mercury vacuum is the small-appliance alternative to the 90/80 percent targets.
Note the unit — inches of mercury, not the millimeters of mercury absolute that Type III uses.
39. The equipment date that changes small-appliance recovery targets is:
- A. November 15, 1993
- B. January 1, 2017
- C. April 10, 2020
- D. January 1, 2026
Answer: A.
The 90/80 percent targets apply to recovery equipment manufactured after November 15, 1993.
The other dates matter elsewhere in the rule — 2017 for published technician lists, 2020 for the leak-repair scope, 2026 for the AIM Act's HFC leak rules.
40. Organizations offering only Type I certification may run the test:
- A. On-site or by mail-in
- B. Proctored only
- C. Online only
- D. Orally only
Answer: A.
Type-I-only organizations may use either format — on-site or mail-in.
That flexibility is unique to Type I and comes with a catch the next question tests.
41. A mail-in Type I pass counts toward Universal certification:
- A. Yes, always
- B. Never
- C. Only with a perfect score
- D. Only within 30 days of passing
Answer: B.
Mail-in Type I tests cannot be used toward Universal.
If Universal is the goal, Type I happens proctored, like the other sections.
42. The passing score on a mail-in Type I test is:
- A. 70 percent
- B. 84 percent
- C. 75 percent
- D. 90 percent
Answer: B.
The looser format carries a higher bar: 84 percent for mail-in Type I against 70 percent for every closed-book section.
Mix the two up on the exam and it costs you a question.
43. The closed-book Type I test — the one that counts toward Universal — passes at:
- A. 70 percent
- B. 84 percent
- C. 90 percent
- D. 100 percent
Answer: A.
Closed-book Type I sits at the standard 70 percent bar.
The 84 percent figure applies only when Type I goes by mail.
44. Type I taken as part of the Universal exam is:
- A. Closed-book and proctored
- B. Open book
- C. Mail-in
- D. Unproctored
Answer: A.
When Type I counts toward Universal, it is closed-book and proctored in a secure environment.
The mail-in and open-book formats exist, but they sit outside Universal.
45. Which of these is NOT a small appliance?
- A. A dehumidifier
- B. A portable air conditioner
- C. A residential split-system air conditioner
- D. A water cooler
Answer: C.
A split system is not factory-sealed — it has field-installed lines — so it fails the small-appliance test and lands in Type II.
The dehumidifier, portable AC, and water cooler are all on EPA's list.
46. Passing scores on separate proctored Type I, Type II, and Type III tests:
- A. Expire after one year
- B. Can be combined into Universal certification
- C. Count only for the type passed
- D. Replace the Core requirement
Answer: B.
The rule lets you build Universal from passing scores on separate type tests — bank a type now, add another when your work demands it.
Each sitting still pairs its type with the Core.
47. An uncertified apprentice services window units. When is that legal?
- A. Never — everyone who touches refrigerant must be certified
- B. Only while closely and continually supervised by a certified technician
- C. For the first 2 years of the apprenticeship
- D. Whenever the shop owner approves it in writing
Answer: B.
The apprentice exemption requires close, continual supervision by a certified technician, who shares responsibility for compliance.
There is no 2-year limit anywhere in the rule — that myth is exactly that, a myth.
48. You lose your 608 card. Who replaces it?
- A. EPA
- B. The certifying organization that issued it
- C. OSHA
- D. The refrigerant wholesaler
Answer: B.
EPA does not issue cards and cannot replace one — the certifying organization that issued yours handles it.
Start there, not with a federal form.
49. Your original certifying organization went out of business, but you kept your passing documentation. EPA lists which organizations as replacement-card issuers?
- A. ESCO Institute and Ferris State University
- B. OSHA and NIOSH
- C. Any refrigerant supply house
- D. Your state licence board
Answer: A.
With documentation of passing in hand, EPA lists ESCO Institute and Ferris State University as organizations that will issue a replacement card.
Your paperwork is what makes that possible.
50. No organization can verify your certification. Your only path back to a card is:
- A. A written appeal to EPA
- B. Retaking the 608 test
- C. A notarized statement from your employer
- D. Paying a reinstatement fee
Answer: B.
When nobody can verify the certification, neither EPA nor a testing organization can issue a replacement — the rule's answer is to retake the test.
Keeping your own copy of the certificate is the cheap insurance.
Part 3: Type II — questions 51 to 75
51. Type II certification covers:
- A. Small appliances only
- B. Medium-, high-, and very-high-pressure appliances — except small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances
- C. Low-pressure chillers only
- D. Vehicle air conditioning
Answer: B.
Type II is everything at medium pressure and above that is not a small appliance or vehicle work.
The exclusions are as testable as the coverage.
52. Residential split-system air conditioning sits under:
- A. Type I
- B. Type II
- C. Type III
- D. Section 609
Answer: B.
Split systems are field-installed at medium or high pressure — the type that covers residential split-system AC and heat pumps is Type II.
It is the certification behind everyday residential and light-commercial work.
53. EPA classifies R-410A as:
- A. Very high pressure
- B. High pressure
- C. Medium pressure
- D. Low pressure
Answer: B.
The classic trap.
Prep sources love calling R-410A "very high pressure," but EPA's own definition puts it in the high-pressure class.
Very-high-pressure is its own separate class in the rule.
54. Which refrigerants share R-410A's high-pressure classification?
- A. R-11 and R-123
- B. R-22, R-407A, R-407C, and R-502
- C. R-113 and R-245fa
- D. None of them
Answer: B.
EPA lists R-410A with R-22, R-407A, R-407C, and R-502 as high-pressure.
R-11, R-123, R-113, and R-245fa are the low-pressure Type III refrigerants.
55. EPA's high-pressure class is defined by a liquid saturation pressure of:
- A. 170–355 psia at 104 °F
- B. 0–50 psia at 104 °F
- C. 400–500 psia at 104 °F
- D. Any pressure above atmospheric
Answer: A.
High-pressure means 170 to 355 psia liquid saturation pressure at 104 °F.
It is a straight recall number — worth memorizing because it anchors which class R-410A really sits in.
56. The air conditioning on off-road construction equipment — 20 lb or less, open-drive compressor — is an MVAC-like appliance. Servicing it requires:
- A. Type II or Section 609
- B. Type I
- C. Type III
- D. A special EPA waiver
Answer: A.
MVAC-like appliances accept either Type II or Section 609.
That flexibility makes them a favorite exam question about the boundary lines between the programs.
57. Which appliance is OUTSIDE Type II's coverage?
- A. A rooftop commercial unit
- B. A supermarket rack system
- C. The air conditioning in a delivery van
- D. A residential heat pump
Answer: C.
A delivery van's AC is an MVAC — vehicle work under Section 609.
Rooftop units, racks, and heat pumps are all Type II at medium, high, or very-high pressure.
58. Which of these appears on EPA's published Type II topic list?
- A. Leak detection and the leak-repair rules
- B. Heating oil to 130 °F before removing it
- C. ASHRAE 15 equipment-room sensors
- D. Vapor-before-liquid recharging
Answer: A.
Leak detection, leak-repair rules, recovery by appliance size, and the system-dependent equipment ban are Type II topics.
The other three are Type III chiller procedures — the exam loves that cross-type confusion.
59. System-dependent (passive) recovery equipment is banned on systems containing:
- A. More than 15 lb of refrigerant
- B. Less than 5 lb
- C. Any HFC refrigerant
- D. More than 200 lb
Answer: A.
The ban sits at 15 lb: above that, system-dependent equipment is out and active recovery takes over.
It is a published Type II topic with a number attached — easy to drill, easy to miss.
60. EPA's Type II recovery requirements are split by:
- A. Appliances under and over 200 lb of refrigerant
- B. System age
- C. Refrigerant cylinder color
- D. Indoor versus outdoor installation
Answer: A.
The published topic list sizes the recovery requirements under versus over 200 lb — the same split the evacuation table uses.
Know the number and the two sides of it.
61. Required evacuation level for a very-high-pressure appliance, using recovery equipment made on or after November 15, 1993:
- A. 0 in. Hg vacuum
- B. 10 in. Hg
- C. 15 in. Hg
- D. 25 mm Hg absolute
Answer: A.
Very-high-pressure appliances evacuate to 0 inches of mercury.
So do high-pressure appliances under 200 lb — the table starts deep and gets shallower as the charge and class change.
62. Required evacuation level for a high-pressure appliance under 200 lb:
- A. 0 in. Hg
- B. 10 in. Hg
- C. 15 in. Hg
- D. 4 in. Hg
Answer: A.
High-pressure under 200 lb matches the very-high class: 0 inches of mercury.
The 4-inch figure belongs to the small-appliance alternative, not this table.
63. Required evacuation level for a high-pressure appliance of 200 lb or more:
- A. 0 in. Hg
- B. 10 in. Hg
- C. 15 in. Hg
- D. 25 in. Hg
Answer: B.
Crossing 200 lb moves a high-pressure appliance from 0 to 10 inches of mercury.
This is the table's signature move: bigger charge, shallower vacuum.
64. Required evacuation level for a medium-pressure appliance under 200 lb:
- A. 0 in. Hg
- B. 5 in. Hg
- C. 10 in. Hg
- D. 15 in. Hg
Answer: C.
Medium-pressure under 200 lb matches high-pressure over 200 lb: 10 inches of mercury.
The table pairs classes and sizes in ways that reward actual memorization, not intuition.
65. Required evacuation level for a medium-pressure appliance of 200 lb or more:
- A. 10 in. Hg
- B. 15 in. Hg
- C. 20 in. Hg
- D. 25 in. Hg
Answer: B.
Medium-pressure at 200 lb and above is 15 inches of mercury — the shallowest requirement in the inches-of-mercury rows.
66. The evacuation table splits its requirements by recovery equipment manufactured:
- A. On or after November 15, 1993
- B. After January 1, 2017
- C. After April 10, 2020
- D. After January 1, 2026
Answer: A.
November 15, 1993 is the line.
Equipment made on or after it faces the deeper requirements; in Table 1 of 40 CFR 82.156(a) the pre-1993 column is shallower or equal in every row — and the next part tests the one row it does not touch.
67. The leak-rate threshold that triggers repair on commercial refrigeration is:
- A. 10 percent
- B. 20 percent
- C. 30 percent
- D. 35 percent
Answer: B.
Commercial refrigeration leaks at 20 percent.
The three thresholds — 20, 30, and 10 — are among the most-drilled numbers on the Type II section.
68. The leak-rate threshold for industrial process refrigeration is:
- A. 10 percent
- B. 20 percent
- C. 30 percent
- D. 50 percent
Answer: C.
Industrial process refrigeration gets the loosest threshold, 30 percent — with a matching longer repair window when a shutdown is needed to do the work.
69. The leak-rate threshold for comfort cooling and other appliances is:
- A. 5 percent
- B. 10 percent
- C. 20 percent
- D. 30 percent
Answer: B.
Comfort cooling sits at the tightest threshold, 10 percent.
Comfort is the strict one, industrial the loose one — that ordering alone answers half the threshold questions.
70. Once a covered appliance exceeds its leak-rate threshold, the owner must repair it within:
- A. 30 days — extended to 120 days when an industrial process shutdown is needed
- B. One year
- C. 10 days
- D. 60 days
Answer: A.
Thirty days to repair, 120 when an industrial process has to shut down first.
And the leak inspection itself must be done by a certified technician.
71. Who must perform the leak inspection on a covered appliance?
- A. The owner
- B. A certified technician
- C. An EPA inspector
- D. The refrigerant supplier
Answer: B.
The rule assigns the leak inspection to a certified technician.
It is one more way the certification attaches to the work rather than the job title.
72. An appliance leaks 125 percent or more of its full charge in a calendar year. What is required?
- A. Nothing, if the leak was repaired
- B. Report it to EPA by March 1 of the following year
- C. Retire the appliance immediately
- D. Notify the wholesaler in writing
Answer: B.
A chronic leaker — 125 percent or more of full charge lost in a calendar year — gets reported to EPA by March 1 of the following year.
The math is the tell: losing more than your full charge means it was refilled and kept leaking.
73. The 40 CFR 82.157 leak-repair thresholds apply to which refrigerants?
- A. All refrigerants equally
- B. Ozone-depleting class I and II refrigerants only, since April 10, 2020
- C. HFCs only
- D. A2L refrigerants only
Answer: B.
Since April 10, 2020, the section covers only ozone-depleting refrigerants — appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of class I or class II refrigerant.
Applying those thresholds to an HFC system is a modern trap answer.
74. An HFC-only appliance with 40 lb of refrigerant is leaking heavily. Under 40 CFR 82.157:
- A. Repair within 30 days
- B. The 82.157 thresholds do not apply — EPA's 2020 rule removed them for appliances using only substitute refrigerants such as HFCs
- C. Report the leak to EPA by March 1
- D. Evacuate to 10 in. Hg
Answer: B.
EPA's 2020 rule removed the 82.157 leak-repair requirements for substitute-refrigerant appliances while keeping certification, the sales restriction, evacuation, and safe-disposal rules for them.
HFC leak repair came back later under a different rule entirely.
75. Since January 1, 2026, HFC leak repair comes from the AIM Act's Emissions Reduction and Reclamation rule, which re-imposed it on appliances with:
- A. 15+ lb of HFC or substitute refrigerant above a GWP of 53 — excluding residential and light-commercial AC and heat pumps
- B. Any amount of refrigerant
- C. 50 lb or more only
- D. 5 lb or more, with no exclusions
Answer: A.
The AIM Act rule set its own trigger — 15 lb or more, GWP above 53 — and its own exclusion: residential and light-commercial air conditioning and heat pumps are out.
Different rule, different numbers from the 82.157 table.
Part 4: Type III — questions 76 to 100
76. Type III certification covers:
- A. Low-pressure appliances
- B. Small appliances
- C. High-pressure appliances
- D. Motor vehicle air conditioning
Answer: A.
Type III is the low-pressure certification.
In practice that means the chiller room: EPA's definition names appliances running R-11, R-123, R-113, and R-245fa.
77. Which refrigerants does EPA name as low-pressure?
- A. R-11, R-123, R-113, and R-245fa
- B. R-22 and R-410A
- C. R-407C and R-502
- D. R-32 and R-454B
Answer: A.
R-11, R-123, R-113, and R-245fa are the low-pressure names in EPA's definition.
Know that list cold — the wrong-answer options are all high-pressure refrigerants from Type II.
78. The everyday example of a low-pressure appliance is:
- A. A window unit
- B. A chiller
- C. A walk-in cooler
- D. A PTAC
Answer: B.
Chillers — big machines running R-11 or R-123 — are the appliances the low-pressure class exists for.
Walk-in coolers are commercial refrigeration at high pressure.
79. An R-123 centrifugal chiller needs servicing. Certification required:
- A. Type I
- B. Type II
- C. Type III
- D. Section 609
Answer: C.
R-123 is a named low-pressure refrigerant, so its chiller is Type III work.
Servicing it on a Type II card only is not certified.
80. Before removing oil from a low-pressure chiller, EPA's topic list says to:
- A. Heat the oil to 130 °F
- B. Chill the oil first
- C. Purge the oil with nitrogen
- D. Filter-dry it first
Answer: A.
Heat the oil to 130 °F before removing it — a straight recall item off the published Type III topics.
It separates people who studied the topic list from people who skimmed it.
81. When recharging a low-pressure system, you introduce:
- A. Liquid first, to save time
- B. Vapor first
- C. Nitrogen first
- D. Either order — it makes no difference
Answer: B.
Vapor first, and the topic list gives the reason in the same breath.
Order of charge is a procedure question, not a preference question.
82. Why vapor before liquid on a low-pressure recharge?
- A. To avoid freezing water in the tubes
- B. To save charge
- C. To protect the purge unit
- D. To warm the oil
Answer: A.
Introducing vapor before liquid avoids freezing water in the tubes — the published reason.
Type III questions tend to pair the procedure with its why, so learn both halves.
83. ASHRAE 15 requires what in the equipment room of an R-123 chiller?
- A. Refrigerant sensors
- B. A backup condenser
- C. Double-wall piping
- D. A full-time operator
Answer: A.
ASHRAE 15 equipment-room refrigerant sensors are required for R-123 — a named Type III topic.
The requirement is about the room the chiller sits in, not the chiller itself.
84. Required evacuation level for a low-pressure appliance, using recovery equipment made on or after November 15, 1993:
- A. 0 in. Hg
- B. 10 in. Hg
- C. 15 in. Hg
- D. 25 mm Hg absolute
Answer: D.
Low-pressure appliances evacuate to 25 mm Hg absolute — the odd answer in the table, measured in millimeters of mercury absolute.
Every inches-of-mercury option is from another row.
85. The low-pressure evacuation requirement is measured in:
- A. Inches of mercury
- B. Millimeters of mercury, absolute
- C. Pounds per square inch
- D. Percent of charge
Answer: B.
The low-pressure row switches units to mm Hg absolute — the only one that does.
That unit switch is why this row is worth drilling on its own.
86. With recovery equipment made BEFORE November 15, 1993, a low-pressure appliance still evacuates to:
- A. 0 in. Hg
- B. 4 in. Hg
- C. 15 in. Hg
- D. 25 mm Hg absolute
Answer: D.
Table 1 of 40 CFR 82.156(a) reads 25 mm Hg absolute for low-pressure appliances in both equipment columns — this is the row the 1993 line does not change.
The pre-1993 column rewrites the inches-of-mercury rows, not this one.
87. How many questions does the Type III section contribute at minimum?
- A. 10
- B. 25
- C. 50
- D. 75
Answer: B.
At least 25, like every type section — the rule pairs each type's questions with at least 25 Core questions on every exam.
88. The passing score on the closed-book Type III test is:
- A. 60 percent
- B. 70 percent
- C. 84 percent
- D. 90 percent
Answer: B.
The standard 70 percent closed-book bar.
The 84 percent figure belongs to mail-in Type I only — Type III has no mail-in option.
89. The Type III test is given:
- A. Closed-book and proctored in a secure environment
- B. Open book
- C. By mail
- D. Orally by default
Answer: A.
Type II, Type III, and Universal are closed-book, proctored tests in a secure environment.
Oral testing exists — but only when requested in writing ahead of time.
90. A Type III pass combines with Type I and Type II passes to earn:
- A. A journeyman licence
- B. Universal certification
- C. Section 609
- D. A NATE credential
Answer: B.
Passing scores on separate proctored type tests combine into Universal.
A state journeyman licence is a separate layer entirely — the 608 program is federal.
91. An appliance charged with 100 lb of an ozone-depleting refrigerant loses 130 percent of its full charge in a calendar year. Report it to EPA:
- A. By March 1 of the following year
- B. Within 30 days of the finding
- C. Never — reporting is voluntary
- D. Only when the appliance is disposed of
Answer: A.
Appliances of 50 or more pounds that lose 125 percent or more of full charge in a calendar year get reported to EPA by March 1 of the following year.
A 100-lb chiller is squarely inside that 50-lb applicability.
92. Buying R-123 to charge a chiller requires:
- A. A business licence
- B. EPA 608 certification — only certified technicians may buy, with limited exceptions
- C. A state card
- D. Nothing — R-123 is unrestricted
Answer: B.
The sales restriction covers ozone-depleting and substitute refrigerants alike: certified technicians buy, and an employer buys only with written evidence it employs at least one certified technician.
93. Breaking the Subpart F rules can cost a technician up to:
- A. $124,426 per violation under Clean Air Act Section 113(b), for penalties assessed on or after January 8, 2025
- B. $100 per incident
- C. Nothing — penalties apply to companies only
- D. A written warning only
Answer: A.
EPA's inflation-adjusted maximum civil penalty is $124,426 per violation.
And the card itself is on the line too — EPA may suspend or revoke a certificate for breaking Subpart F.
94. EPA may suspend or revoke a technician's certificate if the technician:
- A. Fails to demonstrate proper recovery and recycling at their place of business, or breaks Subpart F
- B. Changes employers
- C. Lets a state licence lapse
- D. Misses a renewal — none exists
Answer: A.
EPA can require a technician to show, at their place of business, that they can properly recover and recycle refrigerant — and suspend or revoke the certificate for failing or for violating Subpart F.
The certification is conditional on doing the work right.
95. A certifying program must report your Type III results and issue your card within:
- A. 30 days of the test — the legal maximum for both
- B. 24 hours
- C. 6 months
- D. There is no deadline
Answer: A.
Results within 30 days, wallet-sized card within 30 days.
Treat both as ceilings — the rule guarantees the 30-day maximum, and actual turnaround varies by organization.
96. Is there a national EPA-run lookup for 608-certified technicians?
- A. Yes, on EPA's website
- B. No — each certifying program publishes its own online list of technicians it certified on or after January 1, 2017, updated at least annually
- C. Yes, run by OSHA
- D. Only for Universal cardholders
Answer: B.
EPA keeps no national registry.
Since January 1, 2018, each certifying program publishes its own list — technicians certified on or after January 1, 2017, who have not opted out.
97. A test-taker wants an oral exam. The program must provide one if the request is:
- A. In writing, at least 30 days before the exam
- B. Made verbally on test day
- C. Made after failing the written test
- D. Oral tests are not offered
Answer: A.
Programs must give an oral test to anyone who requests it in writing at least 30 days before the exam.
Programs may also offer other languages or allow a translator.
98. Which statement about taking the test remotely is right?
- A. EPA's approved-program list marks several programs as offering remote testing, and some are online-testing only — check the current list before booking
- B. All 608 tests are paper-only
- C. Remote testing is banned
- D. Only Type I can ever be taken online
Answer: A.
EPA's list flags remote-testing programs and a few online-testing-only ones, and the list changes.
Wherever you sit it, the closed-book sections stay proctored — remote is a venue, not an exemption.
99. Which claim about study prep is FALSE?
- A. Practice questions help you drill EPA's published topics
- B. EPA has approved certain study courses for the exam
- C. EPA publishes topic lists for the sections
- D. Reading the rule itself helps
Answer: B.
EPA does not review or approve training or preparatory programs or materials — only the certifying programs that give the tests are approved.
Any "EPA-approved study course" claim fails on that fact alone.
100. An ad promises an "EPA-certified prep course that guarantees a pass." The problem with the phrase:
- A. Nothing — that is how prep works
- B. EPA approves only certifying (testing) programs; it reviews no prep courses and no one can guarantee a pass
- C. Prep courses are illegal
- D. EPA issues the guarantees itself
Answer: B.
The approval runs to the organizations that administer the exams, full stop.
Prep material can be useful — this page is prep material — but EPA approves no prep course, so "EPA-certified prep" is a false claim.
Which sections do most people fail?
Nobody can answer that with a number.
EPA does not publish pass rates by section, and our research found no pass-rate data from any source — so any page naming "the section most people fail" as a statistic is making it up.
What the exam's published structure can tell you is where candidates arrive least prepared, and which wrong answers the rule itself documents.
Type III is the block that asks for the most new reading unless chillers are your day job.
Its published topics — heating oil to 130 °F before removing it, vapor-before-liquid recharging, ASHRAE 15 equipment-room sensors, the mm-Hg-absolute evacuation row — are chiller-room procedures that residential and light-commercial techs may never have performed once.
That is an observation about the syllabus, not a pass rate; your mock score is the data that matters for you.
The rest of the mock's misses cluster on documented traps, not hard content.
R-410A is high-pressure, not "very high pressure" — a mistake many prep sources make, against EPA's own definition.
The pass bar is 70 percent as a percentage, never a fixed miss budget.
The evacuation table switches units to mm Hg absolute on the low-pressure row.
The 82.157 leak thresholds stop at ozone-depleting refrigerants, so they do not reach HFC systems.
And the two myths that cost people real money: there is no 2-year apprentice limit in the rule, and EPA does not issue your card — the certifying organization does.
The cheapest way to fail Universal with a passing score is format: a mail-in Type I pass and an open-book Core pass both exist, and neither counts toward Universal.
Every section you want banked goes through a proctor, closed-book.
Score the four parts above, and let the lowest one pick your study plan.
If the whole credential is what you are after, our guide to epa hvac universal certification covers whether Universal is worth it and how employers read it — and a 608 card in your wallet is exactly what refrigerant-call shops screen for: our HVAC technician jobs board shows who is hiring.
This page is career information, not legal advice. Confirm current certification requirements with EPA's Section 608 program and your chosen certifying organization before you act on them.