The chronically-leaking appliance report

Separate from the repair clock, the 2026 rule creates a reporting obligation for appliances that bleed refrigerant year after year. This is the one that puts your shop's name in an EPA filing — here's how to see it coming.

The trigger: 125% in a calendar year

If an appliance with 15+ pounds of refrigerant leaks 125% or more of its full charge within a single calendar year, the owner/operator must file a report with the EPA. §84.106(j)

The calculator shows each event's rate; LeakClock also tracks the running calendar-year total against this 125% line automatically.

The deadline: March 1

The report is due by March 1 of the year after the calendar year in which the appliance crossed 125%. Since the rule took effect January 1, 2026, the first reports are due March 1, 2027 (covering 2026). §84.106(j)

What the report must contain

Submitted electronically through the EPA's reporting platform, the report includes: §84.106(m)(4)

• Owner/operator, facility name, and the address where the appliance is located
• Appliance type (comfort cooling/other, industrial process, or commercial refrigeration), refrigerant type, and full charge
• Annual percent refrigerant loss
• Dates and amounts of every refrigerant addition
• Date of the last successful follow-up verification test
• Explanation of the cause of the losses and the repair actions taken
• Whether a retrofit or retirement plan exists, and its anticipated date
• A signed statement from an authorized company official

Why this one is easy to miss

The 30-day repair clock is loud — a single bad calculation starts it. The chronic-leaker trigger is quiet: it accumulates across many small top-offs over twelve months, and the deadline lands two months into the next year. Without a running per-appliance, per-year tally, a shop can trip it without noticing until an auditor does the addition for them.

Related: the repair deadlines → · the 15-lb rule overview →