F-Gas Training Course

F-Gas Courses in Scotland at the Dalkeith F-Gas Training Centre

M&M Compliance Training

M&M Compliance Training Services runs BESA certificated F-Gas courses from our own F-Gas training centre at Hardengreen Industrial Estate in Dalkeith, Midlothian, a short drive from Edinburgh. We built the centre to give engineers across the East of Scotland a local route to F-Gas certification without a week away in Glasgow or the north of England. Courses are taught by practising engineers, with theory and practical assessment carried out on the centre's live rigs.

Which F-Gas course do you need?

The F-Gas Regulation sets out four certificate categories for work on stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment. We run the two that matter most to engineers and estates teams: Category 1, which covers all activities on any size of system, and Category 4, which covers leak checking where you do not break into the refrigerant circuit.

If you install, service, maintain, recover refrigerant from or decommission systems of any charge size, Category 1 covers all of these activities. If your job is leak checking only, Category 4 is enough and has no entry requirements. Managers responsible for compliance rather than hands-on work should look at the two-day F-Gas Compliance course.

There's a persistent myth that you need a refrigeration or air conditioning qualification before you can sit Category 1. The F-Gas Regulation doesn't set a prerequisite qualification. Certification comes down to passing a theory paper and a practical assessment: building a leak-tight system, pressure testing, evacuating, charging and recovering refrigerant safely. A large proportion of the engineers we certify come from electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation or healthcare estates backgrounds, and with proper training they pass. What matters is the competence you can demonstrate on the day, not the trade you started in.

- F-Gas Trainer David Askins

Course

Duration

Certification

F-Gas Category 1

5 days

BESA certificated F-Gas Category 1

F-Gas Category 4

2 days

BESA certificated F-Gas Category 4

F-Gas Compliance

2 days

CPD certified

F-Gas Category 1: five days, BESA certified

Our Category 1 course runs over five days and leads to BESA certificated F-Gas Category 1. It gives you the knowledge, confidence and practical skills to install, service, maintain, recover and leak check stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment on any charge size.

The theory covers refrigeration principles and the thermodynamics of vapour compression systems, the causes and effects of global warming and ozone depletion, identification of air conditioning and heat pump components and their leakage risks, hazards, safe working practices, risk assessments and method statements, and the construction and examination of pipework. The practical work covers refrigerant and oil recovery and preparation for disposal, pressure and tightness testing, evacuation, refrigerant charging, leak checking, record completion, and fabricating mechanical and brazed joints.

It suits refrigeration and air conditioning engineers, and engineers from electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation or estates backgrounds who maintain chillers, comfort cooling and heat pumps. The next Dalkeith dates are 30 November 2026, 8 March 2027 and 11 October 2027, and you can book online.

F-Gas is no longer a tick-box certificate. The industry is moving to lower GWP and flammable refrigerants, and heat pumps are putting refrigerant circuits into buildings that never had them before. Category 1 gives an engineer the full scope to install, service, leak test and recover on any charge size, and it's the foundation for the flammable refrigerant training that follows. If your team is touching refrigerant, this is the qualification that keeps them legal and keeps them safe.

- F-Gas Trainer David Askins

F-Gas Category 4: two days, leak checking without breaking into the circuit

Category 4 is a two-day course for people who carry out leak checks on stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment but never open the circuit: FM technicians, maintenance staff and compliance inspectors. It leads to BESA certificated F-Gas Category 4 and has no entry requirements.

The course covers direct and indirect leak testing methods, refrigeration principles, the environmental impact of refrigerants and the regulations that follow from it, identification of components and where they leak, and hazards and safe working practices, with a practical element in refrigerant leak checking and record keeping. Dates and prices are on enquiry.

F-Gas Compliance: two days for managers and responsible persons

The F-Gas Compliance course is designed for people responsible for managing F-Gas compliance rather than carrying out hands-on refrigerant work. It suits anyone directly or indirectly involved in managing refrigeration and air conditioning systems that contain F-Gases or ozone depleting substances, and the statutory and mandatory documentation that goes with them. Over two days it covers your legal obligations under the F-Gas Regulations, basic refrigeration physics and the refrigeration cycle, key refrigeration components, the environmental issues around the gases, refrigerant types, identification and hazards, and the compliance records you must hold, including the F-Gas register, logbook and waste transfer consignment notes. It is CPD certified, not a hands-on qualification, and costs £495 plus VAT.

Why train at the Dalkeith F-Gas training centre

Practical assessment on live rigs. The centre has live-working booths for assembly, evacuation, charging, recovery, pressure testing and fault finding, brazing stations with local exhaust ventilation for hot work, set-ups for low GWP A2L refrigerants, and assessment rigs for leak checking, evacuation, recovery and record keeping.

Trainers who do the job. Our F-Gas courses are led by practising engineers, and MMCTS is also an Authorising Engineer consultancy, so the course reflects current practice and the questions auditors ask.

Training on your own site. The F-Gas Compliance course can be delivered at your premises. Category 1 and Category 4 include a practical assessment on the Dalkeith rigs, so those normally run at the centre; talk to us about group bookings.

One firm for training and compliance. MMCTS also delivers Authorising Engineer services, healthcare ventilation validation and PSSR site surveys, and Authorised Person and Competent Person training in ventilation, pressure systems, electrical low voltage and water hygiene, so an estates team can plan its whole competence programme with one provider.

Who we train

Our F-Gas courses attract refrigeration and air conditioning engineers, heat pump installers, NHS and university estates staff, FM contractors and maintenance teams from across the UK. Training is currently delivered at our Dalkeith Training Centre, with F-Gas courses at our Castle Donington centre in England also in development.

Dates, prices and how to book

Each course page lists the next dates at Dalkeith and the Category 1 course can be booked online. Prices are per person and exclude VAT. For group bookings or on-site delivery, call our office or use the enquiry form at mmcts.co.uk/contact-us.

Frequently asked questions

Is a BESA F-Gas certificate valid across the UK?

Yes. GOV.UK lists BESA among the organisations that award the qualifications needed to work on stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment, so a BESA certificated Category 1 or Category 4 certificate is recognised in England, Scotland and Wales.

Is F-Gas an SCQF credit-rated qualification?

No. F-Gas Category 1 and Category 4 are certificated through BESA and the Compliance course is CPD certified. Our Authorised Person courses are SCQF Level 7 and our Competent Person courses are SCQF Level 5; F-Gas certification sits alongside them as an industry certificate.

Can you deliver F-Gas training at our site?

Yes for the F-Gas Compliance course, which has no practical assessment. Category 1 and Category 4 include practical assessment on working rigs, so those are normally run at the centre. However, if your site has the appropriate equipment, we can discuss an on-site course with you.