Working it out · New York City
Which license do you actually need?
Three separate sets of rules apply here: a federal one covering refrigerant, the FDNY licenses for taking charge of a plant, and 36 Certificates of Fitness tied to particular equipment. Which of them apply to you depends on the work you do.
Start from the job
What the work requires
Most people arrive knowing the plant they run, not the code the city files it under.
You handle refrigerant, anywhere in the country: EPA 608
Federal, not local. The Clean Air Act requires it of anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of appliances containing regulated refrigerants. It is the usual first credential in this trade because no experience is needed to sit it.
You work on systems using the newer A2L refrigerants: A2L training
The mildly flammable refrigerants now replacing R-410A in new equipment. Handled separately from the EPA 608, and included in the Q-01 course rather than sold twice to the same person.
You take charge of a refrigeration system in a New York City building: Q-01, or Q-99 while you qualify
The FDNY Certificate of Qualification behind the job titles that carry a machine room here: watch engineer, stationary engineer, custodian engineer and building superintendent in most large residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Certification to touch the refrigerant is not permission to run the plant.
You staff the fire command center of a high-rise: F-89
The Fire and Life Safety Director certificate. It asks for three years of full-time experience, or 18 months including six months continuous at one location, and holding a Q-01 while working as a building engineer is qualifying time, which makes it the natural next step rather than a fresh start.
Your building has a specific system or hazard: A Certificate of Fitness
The FDNY issues 36 of them, tied to particular equipment: sprinkler and standpipe systems, fire alarms, gases, oil burners, air compressors, construction sites. You take the ones your building actually has, and nobody needs all of them.
What the city charges
Exam fees, which no course price includes
Paid to the FDNY when you apply and when you sit, per attempt, and separate from the course price.
- Q-01 written exam (Z-51)
- $60 per attempt
- Q-01 practical exam (Z-52)
- $225 per attempt
- F-89 computer exams
- $25 each, two of them
- F-89 on-site exam
- $750
- Certificate of Fitness application
- $25, all 36
- Pass mark
- 70%
Exams are held at FDNY Headquarters, 9 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn.
Questions people actually ask
The ones that decide what you buy
Do I need the EPA 608 or the NYC Q-01?
They answer different questions, and plenty of people in New York City need both. The EPA 608 is federal and covers handling refrigerant: the Clean Air Act requires it of anyone who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of appliances containing regulated refrigerants, anywhere in the country. The Q-01 is a New York City license from the FDNY, and it covers taking charge of a refrigeration system in a building here. Certification to touch the refrigerant is not permission to run the plant.
What license do I need to run a chiller plant in New York City?
The FDNY Certificate of Qualification for a Refrigerating System Operating Engineer, the Q-01, with the Q-99 as the temporary certificate issued while you gather the experience the Q-01 needs. It is the license behind the job titles that carry a machine room here: watch engineer, stationary engineer, custodian engineer and building superintendent in most large residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
What certifications does a building engineer in NYC usually hold?
It depends on the plant, and the honest answer is that nobody needs all of them. A refrigeration machine room means the Q-01 or Q-99. Handling refrigerant means the EPA 608, and the newer A2L refrigerants have their own training. A high-rise office building with a fire command center means the F-89 Fire and Life Safety Director. Beyond those, the FDNY issues 36 Certificates of Fitness tied to specific equipment and hazards, from sprinkler and standpipe systems to gas, oil burners and air compressors, and you take the ones your building actually has.
How do I start as an HVAC technician in New York City?
The EPA 608 is the usual first credential, because it is federal, it is required before you legally handle refrigerant, and no experience is needed to sit it. From there the NYC licenses follow the work: the Q-01 if you are heading for a machine room, Certificates of Fitness for the specific systems in your building.
What do the FDNY exams cost on top of the course?
The Q-01 written exam (Z-51) is $60 and the practical (Z-52) is $225. Certificates of Fitness carry a $25 application fee. The F-89 has two computer exams at $25 each plus a $750 on-site exam. These go to the FDNY when you apply and when you sit, per attempt, and they are separate from the course price here. The pass mark is 70% and the exams are held at FDNY Headquarters, 9 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn.
Still not sure which one is yours?
Describe your plant and we will tell you what it needs, including when the answer is that you already qualify. Tauris Tech has been FDNY-approved to give this instruction since 2018, and the approval letters are published in full.