Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/625 of 28 March 2025 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements for certificates of natural and legal persons and the conditions for the mutual recognition of such certificates as regards stationary fire protection equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases or relevant alternatives and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 304/2008
Date: 2025-03-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, fire protection, fluorine, greenhouse gas, legal person, maintenance, natural person, professional qualifications, recognition of vocational training qualifications, vocational training




L_202500625EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/625


31.3.2025







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2025/625
of 28 March 2025
         
establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements for certificates of natural and legal persons and the conditions for the mutual recognition of such certificates as regards stationary fire protection equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases or relevant alternatives and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 304/2008
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2024 on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 (1), and in particular Article 10(8) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Regulation (EU) 2024/573 includes obligations concerning the certification of natural and legal persons to carry out certain activities involving fluorinated greenhouse gases or relevant alternatives.












(2)


Regulation (EU) 2024/573 introduced new rules regarding certification obligations for stationary fire protection equipment. These new rules cover an extended list of substances contained in stationary fire protection equipment, including the relevant alternatives, namely, perfluoro(2-methyl-3-pentanone), trifluoroiodomethane (trifluoromethyl iodide), and 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-en (2-BTP).












(3)


Requirements for the content of the certification programmes should ensure safe handling and prevention of discharge and leakage from the equipment.












(4)


It is therefore necessary, pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573, to update the minimum requirements for the certification of natural and legal persons with regards to the skills and knowledge to be covered in relation to stationary fire protection equipment and to specify the rules for the certification and the conditions for mutual recognition of certificates.












(5)


Regulation (EU) 2024/573 replaced Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2). Commission Regulation (EC) No 304/2008 (3) should therefore be repealed.












(6)


The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on fluorinated greenhouse gases, established by Article 34(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573,





HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:



Article 1

Scope


1.   This Regulation shall apply to natural persons carrying out the following activities:






(a)


installation, repair, maintenance or servicing as well as decommissioning of the stationary fire protection equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and Section 1 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2024/573, or the relevant alternative substances perfluoro(2-methyl-3-pentanone), trifluoroiodomethane (trifluoromethyl iodide), and 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-en (2-BTP);










(b)


leak checks of the stationary fire protection equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and Section 1 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2024/573;










(c)


recovery of fluorinated greenhouse gases from the stationary fire protection equipment.






2.   This Regulation shall also apply to legal persons carrying out for third parties the installation, repair, maintenance, servicing or decommissioning of stationary fire protection equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and Section 1 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and the alternative substances perfluoro(2-methyl-3-pentanone), trifluoroiodomethane (trifluoromethyl iodide), and 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-en (2-BTP).


3.   This Regulation shall not apply to any manufacturing activity undertaken at the site of the manufacturer of stationary fire protection equipment.



Article 2

Certificates for natural persons


1.   Natural persons carrying out the activities referred to in Article 1(1) shall hold a certificate as referred to in Article 3.


2.   Natural persons undertaking one of the activities referred to in Article 1(1) shall not be subject to the requirement laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article provided they meet the following conditions:






(a)


they are enrolled in a training course for the purpose of obtaining a certificate covering the relevant activity; and










(b)


they carry out the activity under the supervision of a person holding a certificate covering that activity who is fully responsible for the correct execution of the activity.




The derogation provided for in the first subparagraph shall apply for the duration of periods spent carrying out the activities referred to in Article 1(1) not exceeding 24 months in total.



Article 3

Certification of natural persons


1.   A certification body as referred to in Article 6 shall issue a certificate to natural persons who have passed a theoretical and practical examination organised by an evaluation body as referred to in Article 7, covering the minimum skills and knowledge set out in Annex I.


2.   The certificate shall contain at least the following:






(a)


the name of the certification body, the full name of its holder, a certificate number, and the date of expiry if any;










(b)


the activities which the holder of the certificate is entitled to perform;










(c)


the issuing date and issuer’s signature.






3.   Member States may allow certification bodies to exempt applicants from the requirement of passing the examination referred to in paragraph 1, where the applicant previously acquired qualifications skills and knowledge equivalent to those listed in Annex I.
Member States may allow certification bodies to require applicants only to pass a supplementary examination, where the applicant’s previously acquired skills and knowledge are partly covered under those listed in Annex I.



Article 4

Certificates for legal persons

Legal persons carrying out the activities referred to in Article 1(2) shall hold a certificate as referred to in Article 5.


Article 5

Certification of legal persons


1.   A certification body as referred to in Article 6 shall issue a certificate to a legal person for the activities referred to in Article 1(2) provided that it fulfils the following requirements:






(a)


employment of natural persons certified in accordance with Article 3, for the activities requiring certification, in a sufficient number to cover the expected volume of activities;










(b)


proof that the necessary tools and procedures are available to the personnel engaged in activities for which certification is required.






2.   The certificate shall contain at least the following:






(a)


the name of the certification body, the full name of its holder, a certificate number, and the date of expiry, if any;










(b)


the activities which the holder of the certificate is entitled to perform;










(c)


the issuing date and issuer’s signature.







Article 6

Certification body


1.   Member States shall specify in national law or designate the authority or authorities competent to designate a certification body authorised to issue certificates to natural or legal persons involved in one or more of the activities referred to in Article 1.
The certification body shall be independent and impartial in carrying out its activities.


2.   The certification body shall establish and apply procedures for the issuance, suspending and withdrawing of certificates.


3.   The certification body shall maintain records that allow verifying the status of a certified natural or legal person. The records shall demonstrate that the certification process has been effectively fulfilled. Records shall be kept for a minimum period of 5 years.



Article 7

Evaluation body


1.   An evaluation body designated in each Member State shall organise examinations for the natural persons referred to in Article 1(1). A certification body as referred to in Article 6 may also qualify as an evaluation body. The evaluation body shall be independent and impartial in carrying out its activities.


2.   Examinations shall be planned and structured in a manner which ensures that the minimum skills and knowledge set out in Annex I are covered. The evaluation body shall provide the place of examinations that ensure safety of the applicants.


3.   The evaluation body shall adopt reporting procedures and keep records to enable the documentation of the individual and overall results of the evaluation.


4.   The evaluation body shall ensure that examiners assigned to an examination have due knowledge of the relevant examination methods and examination documents as well as an appropriate competence in the field to be examined. It shall also ensure that the necessary equipment, tools and materials are available for the practical examinations.



Article 8

Conditions for mutual recognition


1.   Mutual recognition of certificates between Member States shall only apply to certificates issued in accordance with Article 3 for natural persons and Article 5 for legal persons, for the activities specified in these certificates.


2.   Member States shall not impose any evaluation or other type of assessment procedures or disproportionate administrative requirements on holders of certificates issued by another Member State for the purpose of the recognition of those certificates or for allowing access to employment to the holders of those certificates for the activities specified therein.


3.   Member States may require holders of certificates issued in another Member State to provide a translation of the certificate into another official language of the Union.



Article 9

Existing certificates, refresher training courses or evaluation processes


1.   Member States shall ensure that the refresher training courses or evaluation processes as required under Article 10(9) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 provide proof of the certified natural persons’ practical and theoretical knowledge and skills specified in Annex I.


2.   Pursuant to Article 10(9) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573, Member States shall ensure that holders of existing certificates under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 304/2008 are only allowed to continue using those certificates if they update their knowledge and skills to the level of the knowledge and skills required for the certificate as referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation and specified in Annex I thereto.



Article 10

Repeal


1.   Regulation (EC) No 304/2008 is repealed.


2.   References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex II.



Article 11

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 28 March 2025.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L, 2024/573, 20.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/573/oj.

(2)  Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases and repealing Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 (OJ L 150, 20.5.2014, p. 195, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/517/oj).

(3)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 304/2008 of 2 April 2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification of companies and personnel as regards stationary fire protection systems and fire extinguishers containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (OJ L 92, 3.4.2008, p. 12, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2008/304/oj).




ANNEX I
Minimum requirements as to the skills and knowledge to be covered by the evaluation bodies
The examination referred to in Article 7 shall comprise the following:






(a)


a theoretical test with one or more questions testing that skill or knowledge, as indicated in the column ‘Test type’ by (T);










(b)


a practical test where the applicant shall perform the corresponding task with the relevant material, tools and equipment, as indicated in the column ‘Test type’ by (P).







No


Minimum knowledge and skills


Test type




1.


Basic understanding of the applicable EU and national legislation, in particular the F-gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and Regulation (EU) 2024/590 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) (the Ozone Regulation). Basic knowledge of relevant environmental issues (climate change, EU climate objectives, the Paris Agreement, Kigali amendment of the Montreal Protocol, global warming potential of fluorinated greenhouse gases, impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS))


T




2.


Basic knowledge of relevant technical standards


T




3.


Basic knowledge of relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and of the relevant implementing acts


T




4.


Good knowledge of the different types of stationary fire protection equipment in the Union market (existing and new equipment) containing fluorinated greenhouse gases or their alternatives as well as of their environmental impacts


T




5.


Good knowledge of types of valves, actuation mechanisms, safe handling, prevention of discharge and leakage


T




6.


Good knowledge of equipment and tools required for safe handling and work practices


T




7.


Ability to install stationary fire protection system containers designed to contain fluorinated greenhouse gases or their alternatives


P




8.


Knowledge of correct practices to move pressurised containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases or their alternatives


T




9.


Ability to check system records prior to a check for leakage and identify the relevant information on any repeating issues or problem areas


T




10.


Ability to make a visual and manual checking of the equipment for leakage. With regard to systems, checking shall be made in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1497/2007 (2)



P




11.


Knowledge of environmentally friendly practices for the recovery of fluorinated greenhouse gases from and charging of the stationary fire protection equipment.


T










(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/590 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2024 on substances that deplete the ozone layer, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 (OJ L, 2024/590, 20.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/590/oj).

(2)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 1497/2007 of 18 December 2007 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006, standard leakage checking requirements for stationary fire protection systems containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (OJ L 333, 19.12.2007, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2007/1497/oj).





ANNEX II
Correlation table






Regulation (EC) No 304/2008


This Regulation




Article 1


Article 1




Article 2(1)


Article 2(1)




Article 2(2)


Article 2(2)




Article 2(3)


Article 2(3)




Article 3(1)


—




Article 3(2)


—




Article 4(1)


Article 3




Article 4(2)


—




Article 4(3)


—




Article 5(1)


Article 4




Article 5(2)


Article 4(2)




Article 5(3)


—




Article 5(4)


Article 4(3)




Article 6(1)


—




Article 6(2)


—




Article 6(3)


—




Article 7(1)


Article 5




Article 7(2)


—




Article 8(1)


Article 6(1)




Article 8(2)


Article 6(2)




Article 9(1)


—




Article 9(2)


—




Article 9(3)


—




Article 10(1)


Article 7(1)




Article 10(2)


Article 7(2)




Article 10(3)


Article 7(3)




Article 11(1)


Article 8(1)




Article 11(2)


Article 8(2)




Article 11(3)


Article 8(3)




Article 11(4)


Article 8(4)




Article 12(1)


—




Article 12(2)


—




Article 12(3)


—




Article 12(4)


—




Article 13(1)


Article 9(1)




Article 13(2)


Article 9(3)




Article 14


Article 12







ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/625/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)