California Air Resources Board

Air Conditioning (AC) and Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) manufacturers are subject to Section 95376, “Refrigerant Recovery, Reclaim, and Reuse Requirements,” or R4 Program.  The R4 Program requires AC and VRF manufacturers to use a specified minimum amount of reclaimed R-410A refrigerant in new equipment or in the servicing of existing equipment.

“Certified Reclaimed Refrigerant” means used (recovered) refrigerant that has been reclaimed by a U.S. EPA-certified refrigerant reclaimer from a previously operational appliance and meets all of the following conditions:

1. Meets all specifications in 40 C.F.R. Part 82, Subpart F, Appendix A(Specifications for Refrigerants) (January 1, 2017), which is incorporated herein  by reference;
2. Must have results of the analysis conducted to verify that reclaimed  refrigerant meets the necessary specifications as required in (1) above; and
3. Contains no greater than fifteen percent (15%) new (virgin) refrigerant by  weight to meet the specifications in 40 C.F.R., Part 82, Subpart F, Appendix A(Specifications for Refrigerants) (January 1, 2017). The certified reclaimer must  have documentation that supports it has not exceeded the maximum allowable  virgin refrigerant content.

AC manufacturers are subject to a 10 percent refrigerant reclaim use requirement annually, for 2023 and 2024. VRF manufacturers are subject to a 15 percent refrigerant reclaim use requirement annually, for 2023 and 2024 and a 25 percent refrigerant reclaim requirement for 2025. The annual reclaim use requirement is calculated using the number of units of equipment that entered into California in 2018 and 2019 as a baseline. If no equipment was entered into California then projected values can be used instead. Manufacturers of AC and VRF equipment are subject to annual reporting requirements and the Initial Baseline report shall be submitted by July 1, 2023. Please open this document for an example calculation of the Initial Baseline Report. Annual reports are due by July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025 for AC manufacturers and July 1, 2024, July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026 for VRF manufacturers. 

Below you can find templates that can be used to submit the reports. The templates are provided as a courtesy and are not required to be used. 

Reports are to be submitted to: HFCReduction@arb.ca.gov.