ARCtick Licence common mistakes
ARCtick Licence · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating the Refrigerant Trading Authorisation as a personal licence and quoting one's own RHL number on invoices for bulk refrigerant supply, instead of holding and quoting the business entity's RTA number.
The two authorisations are studied together and both carry a five-year term, so candidates conflate the individual competency licence with the business-level authorisation to acquire, store and dispose of refrigerant.
What to do instead
Memorise the split: the RHL attaches to a person and permits handling; the RTA attaches to a business and permits buying, storing and selling refrigerant. Build a one-page comparison table (holder, scope, term, obligations) and self-test on which number appears on a cylinder supply docket versus a service job sheet.
Recording recovered refrigerant quantities as an estimate or a rounded cylinder count on the recovery record, rather than weighing the recovery cylinder before and after and recording the actual mass recovered.
Candidates focus on the mechanical recovery procedure and treat the paperwork as an afterthought, so they default to the nominal cylinder size or a visual guess.
What to do instead
Practise the full sequence as one routine: weigh empty cylinder, recover, weigh again, subtract tare, log the difference with the date, equipment and destination. Write the subtraction step into a checklist so the arithmetic, not an estimate, produces the recorded figure.
Selecting a recovery cylinder or machine for a refrigerant without checking its pressure rating and compatibility, then using whatever cylinder is at hand for a high-pressure or A2L/A3 refrigerant.
Candidates learn one generic recovery setup and do not link refrigerant classification and saturation pressure to equipment selection under exam time pressure.
What to do instead
Learn to read a pressure-temperature chart for the specific refrigerant first, then match cylinder working pressure and hose rating to that value. Drill with three or four contrasting refrigerants (a high-pressure HFC, a low-pressure HCFC, a flammable HFC) and state the cylinder and machine choice for each.
Describing decommissioning or retirement of equipment without stating the evacuation target and the verification method, offering only 'recover the refrigerant and remove the system'.
The recovery step feels obvious, so candidates compress it and omit the measurable endpoint and the leak-check or vacuum confirmation that the assessor is listening for.
What to do instead
Use a fixed sentence pattern for every decommissioning answer: recover to the specified vacuum or residual pressure, hold and verify, record the mass, then isolate and remove. Rehearse the pattern aloud until the endpoint and verification are automatic.
Answering leak-check and record-keeping questions with a single generic interval instead of the interval that applies to the specific equipment type and refrigerant charge.
Candidates memorise one number during study and apply it universally, missing that requirements scale with charge size and system category.
What to do instead
Build a matrix of equipment category against charge threshold against leak-check frequency, and practise classifying short scenarios into a matrix cell before answering. If a scenario lacks the detail needed to classify it, state the assumption explicitly rather than guessing a default interval.
Assuming that holding or completing refrigerant handling training automatically confers the licence, and advising a customer or employer that work may proceed on that basis.
Training and licensing are taught in the same block, and candidates who have just finished a course naturally over-attribute authority to the certificate they received.
What to do instead
Separate the three concepts in notes: training produces competency evidence, the licence is granted by the regulator after application, and the RTA is a separate business authorisation. For any 'may this person do X' question, ask which of the three instruments the person actually holds.
Treating refrigerant handler training as a one-off requirement and ignoring the obligation to keep knowledge current when standards, refrigerants or equipment change.
Candidates picture training as a box ticked before licensing, so refresher and continuing-competency obligations do not surface when scenario questions probe ongoing duties.
What to do instead
Link training to the duty of care: a handler must be able to demonstrate current competence, which means updating when new refrigerant classes or procedures enter use. Practise answering scenario questions by naming the competency gap and the training action, not just the compliance breach.
Giving a general answer about 'keeping records' instead of naming which record, who must keep it, how long it is retained, and who may inspect it.
Information duties are diffuse and candidates summarise them at a high level, which reads as knowledge of the principle but not of the specific obligation.
What to do instead
For each record type (recovery, disposal, equipment charge, leak history, staff competency) write four fields: content, responsible party, retention period, access. Answer information questions by walking those four fields in order.
Releasing recovered refrigerant to atmosphere, or transferring it to an unqualified third party, while believing the transaction has been properly documented because a docket exists.
Candidates equate documentation with lawful disposal and do not trace the downstream requirement that the receiving party be authorised and the destination legitimate.
What to do instead
Before any transfer, apply a three-part check: is the receiver authorised, is the refrigerant identified and quantified, is the destination recorded. Rehearse refusal scenarios where a buyer cannot show authorisation, and state the lawful alternative rather than completing the sale.
Answering information and records questions by describing what was done on site without stating how the customer or next technician would know the system's refrigerant charge, type and service history.
Candidates think of records as an internal compliance artefact and overlook the labelling and handover purpose that the information domain tests.
What to do instead
Adopt a handover mindset: for every job, ask what the next person needs to see on the unit and in the paperwork to work safely. Practise writing a short handover note from a scenario, then check it names refrigerant type, charge, work performed and any outstanding defect.