What's on the EPA 608 Exam? A Section-by-Section Breakdown

Exactly what the EPA 608 exam covers across Core, Type I, Type II, and Type III, and how the Universal certification fits together.

The EPA 608 exam is four separate tests under one roof. Each section is 25 questions, and what each one covers is different enough that studying them as a single block is how people lose points. Here is what sits on each section.

Core

Core is the foundation, and it is mandatory. You cannot earn any type without passing it. Core covers the material that applies to every technician: the Clean Air Act and ozone basics, refrigerant recovery and recycling concepts, the venting prohibition, recordkeeping, safety, and the broad rules on refrigerant handling and substitutes. Roughly a quarter of the whole exam is Core, so it carries real weight toward your Universal.

Type I: small appliances

Type I covers small appliances, meaning factory-sealed units charged with five pounds or less, such as household refrigerators, window air conditioners, and dehumidifiers. The questions focus on recovery requirements for sealed systems, the difference between a working and a non-working compressor, recovery percentages, and the technique for accessing and recovering from these units.

Type II: high-pressure

Type II covers high-pressure and very high-pressure appliances, such as residential air conditioning, heat pumps, and supermarket racks. Expect questions on evacuation levels, leak rates and repair timelines for larger systems, recovery into the correct equipment, and the pressure-related rules that separate high-pressure work from the other types.

Type III: low-pressure

Type III covers low-pressure appliances, primarily chillers that use low-pressure refrigerants. This section leans on the rules unique to low-pressure systems: the recovery and evacuation methods, leak testing, and the safety thresholds that do not appear in Type I or Type II. The numbers here are the ones most likely to get crossed with Type II.

How the Universal certification works

Universal is not a separate exam. You earn it by passing all four sections, Core plus Type I, II, and III, which is 100 questions total. One trap: an open book Core does not count toward Universal, so if you take Core open book you have to retake it closed book to bank the credential.

Section content and administration can vary by testing organization, so verify current requirements with the EPA and your proctor before you sit the exam.