The walk-in is a covered appliance now

Which of your appliances the rule covers

The section applies to a refrigerant-containing appliance with a full charge of 15 pounds or more, where the refrigerant is an HFC or a substitute with a GWP above 53 (40 CFR 84.106(a)). A walk-in cooler on R-404A or R-448A is the usual case: the charge sits in the tens of pounds. Reach-ins and under-counter units often hold less than 15 pounds and fall outside on the charge test; a rack of display cases fed by one condensing unit is one appliance, and its charge adds up. The definition of commercial refrigeration names restaurants and other food service establishments directly (84.102).

The first thing the rule asked of you, by 1 January 2026, was to determine the full charge of every covered appliance and keep a record of it, with how it was determined (84.106(l)(1)). The nameplate is one accepted method; a measurement by the contractor is another (84.102, full charge).

What happens on every service visit

Every time refrigerant is added, the owner or operator must calculate the leak rate (84.106(b)). The technician who adds it must hand you a record of the visit: the appliance, the date, the parts, the work, who did it, and the amount and type of refrigerant added (84.106(l)(4)). The leak rate by the annualizing method is the pounds added divided by the full charge, divided by the share of a year since the previous addition. The limit for commercial refrigeration is 20 percent (84.106(c)(2)(i)).

Over the limit, the clock starts on the day of the addition: leaks identified and repaired by a certified technician within 30 days, an initial verification test after the repair and before charging, and a follow-up test within 10 days of a successful initial test (84.106(d), (e)). If you would rather retire the box than repair it, a retrofit or retirement plan within 30 days is the alternative, finished within a year (84.106(h)).

The records you keep, and for how long

Three years, in paper or electronic form (84.106(l)). For each appliance: the full charge record. For each service visit: the record above plus the full charge and the leak rate with the method used (84.106(l)(2)). For each verification test: the date, the leaks tested, the method and the result (84.106(l)(7)). If an appliance leaks 125 percent or more of its full charge in a calendar year, a report is due to the EPA by 1 March of the following year (84.106(j)).

None of this is the contractor's to keep for you. The rule puts the record on the owner or operator and requires the contractor to hand over the paperwork that feeds it. The ledger is where those two obligations meet: the contractor logs the visit, you hold the record, and the leak rate is computed from the entries on the day they are made.

What this page does not say

Whether your appliances are in compliance. That is a question the owner or operator answers, and where it comes to that, the EPA. This page states the criteria and the arithmetic with their sections so you can read them yourself; the calculator does the arithmetic on your numbers and keeps it as a record. It certifies nothing.