Exam guides / 313A Refrigeration
The national exam has 125 multiple-choice questions and a 70% pass mark. You get four hours. Provinces schedule it, set the fee, and issue the certificate. In Ontario the trade is compulsory.
Red Seal endorsement for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic. Ontario uses the name Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic, trade code 313A.
Exam facts
Red Seal exam questions are multiple choice with four options and one correct answer. The Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic breakdown on red-seal.ca totals 125 questions. The national preparation guide says the pass mark is 70% and the writing time is four hours. Practice on this site is built around that published 313A exam format. These are not exam questions.
125. Major work activity weights: common occupational skills 13, routine trade activities 19, plans installation 18, performs installation 26, commissioning 21, maintenance and service 28.
Knowledge and recall about 20 to 30%. Procedural and application about 50 to 60%. Critical thinking about 10 to 20%.
Four hours. 70%, which is 88 correct answers out of 125 if every question is worth one mark. The Red Seal pages describe one correct answer per question.
An exam booklet, a diagram booklet if required, an acronym list, math formulas, code-book information if required, a pencil and eraser, a calculator if needed, and a bubble sheet. The formula list for this trade is published on the exam information page and is also provided at the sitting.
The Red Seal program does not publish one national fee. Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia each publish their own.
Certifying exam, no waiver
Skilled Trades Ontario lists the exam fee as $150 + HST. A failed attempt has a 30-day wait, and the fee is paid again before rescheduling.
HST is extra on the published amount.
Completed Ontario apprentice, first-attempt waiver
Apprentices who complete an Ontario program on or after 1 January 2025 get a fee waiver on the first written certifying exam. Later attempts are $150 + HST. The waiver does not cover practical exams. Apprentices who completed before 1 January 2025 are not eligible.
HST is extra on the published amount.
After you are certified
$60.00
313A is compulsory in Ontario. Skilled Trades Ontario says journeypersons in compulsory trades pay an annual fee of $60 plus HST.
HST is extra on the published amount.
Trade qualifier
$235.00
The Trade Equivalency Assessment that a trade qualifier must pass before challenging the certifying exam costs $235 + HST. A reassessment costs $100 + HST.
HST is extra on the published amount.
Trade qualifier
$100.00
A reassessment costs $100 + HST.
HST is extra on the published amount.
Apprenticeship certification exam
SkilledTradesBC's apprenticeship table lists no fee for the 1st or 2nd certification-exam attempt. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th attempts are $100 and have extra conditions (a study plan, then proof of upgrading, then contact from the completions team). Rewrites have a 30-day wait.
Trade qualifier challenge
The challenge table lists $120 for the 1st attempt, no fee for the 2nd, and $100 for the 3rd and 4th. From 1 December 2023, trade qualifiers are limited to four writes. The 3rd attempt needs advisor approval. The 4th needs proof of upgrading.
Missed or late-cancelled sitting
$100.00
A separate $100 exam rescheduling fee applies if you miss a scheduled exam or cancel within 30 days.
Apprentice in a Red Seal trade
No dollar total
Alberta does not publish a separate Red Seal or C of Q exam fee for apprentices. Apprentices in Red Seal trades write the Red Seal exam at their school after they pass the final period exam, so the exam is part of classroom instruction. The Apprenticeship Education Program application fee is $150.
Alberta Tradesecrets apply online
TO-CONFIRM. Alberta does not publish a separate Red Seal or C of Q exam fee for apprentices. Apprentices in Red Seal trades write the Red Seal exam at their school after they pass the final period exam, so the exam is part of classroom instruction. The Apprenticeship Education Program application fee is $150.
Trades Qualifier
No dollar total
Trades Qualifier program application fee runs $150 to $450 depending on the program. The first attempt at the theory exam is included in that application fee. Alberta says a new exam rewrite fee is required for a Trades Qualifier second attempt but does not publish the amount on the page. Practical exam fees vary by trade and must be paid before the exam is scheduled. Trades Qualifier candidates get three theory exam attempts. Failing the third attempt cancels the application; to continue you must file a new application with fees and a Training Plan.
Alberta trades qualifier exams
TO-CONFIRM. Alberta says a new exam rewrite fee is required for a Trades Qualifier second attempt but does not publish the amount on the page. Practical exam fees vary by trade and must be paid before the exam is scheduled.
TO-CONFIRM. Trades Qualifier candidates get three theory exam attempts. Failing the third attempt cancels the application; to continue you must file a new application with fees and a Training Plan.
Already certified, writing the Red Seal later
$150.00
Alberta lists the Interprovincial Red Seal Application at $150 for certified journeypersons and qualification certificate holders who apply later to write the Red Seal exam. After two unsuccessful attempts at the same eligible exam with a mark of at least 60% on one attempt, you must complete and get approval for an AIT Training Plan before an extra attempt is allowed. For the Red Seal exam written later by a certified journeyperson, two or more prior Red Seal attempts means you must provide at least 40 hours of additional study or upgrading with your application. An unsuccessful Red Seal exam cancels the application and a new application with fee is required.
Open the fee and rewrite calculator
Red Seal fees and rewrite rules for Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia
The usual routes are completing an apprenticeship or being approved as an experienced worker. The fine print is provincial.
TO-CONFIRM. Alberta does not publish a separate Red Seal or C of Q exam fee for apprentices. Apprentices in Red Seal trades write the Red Seal exam at their school after they pass the final period exam, so the exam is part of classroom instruction. The Apprenticeship Education Program application fee is $150.
The national preparation guide says the sitting supplies the booklet, any diagram booklet, the acronym list, the math formulas, code-book information if the trade needs it, a pencil, an eraser, a calculator if needed, and a bubble sheet. You do not bring your own code extract unless your provincial office tells you otherwise. Ask that office. This guide does not copy the formula sheet.
Names of the public syllabus sections, so you can follow the official PDF. This is not a copy of the syllabus.
Study plan
Both plans were written here. They are not issued by SOPEEC, Red Seal, or a provincial regulator. Ticks stay in this tab only. Put them on a calendar.
Four weeks biased toward the heaviest blocks. A TradeExamPractice schedule, not a Red Seal plan.
Eight weeks, with two weeks on maintenance and service because that block is the largest.
04 / Sample questions
Pending review
Written for this site and pending review by a qualified person. Not past exam items, not copied from a code book, and not an official or certified exam bank. The interactive quiz needs JavaScript. The questions and answers are also in the page.
In a basic vapour-compression system, which order describes the four main components the refrigerant passes through?
A. Compressor, condenser, expansion device, evaporator
The compressor raises refrigerant pressure and moves vapour to the condenser. The condenser rejects heat and produces liquid. The expansion device drops the pressure. The evaporator absorbs heat. Real plants add oil management, controls, and safeties around that loop. This is an original study question, not a Red Seal item.
What is the condenser's job in that cycle?
B. To reject heat so refrigerant vapour becomes liquid
The condenser rejects heat. The evaporator absorbs it. The expansion device meters refrigerant. A recovery cylinder is service equipment, not the condenser.
How many questions are on this trade's Red Seal exam, according to red-seal.ca?
C. 125
The exam information page says 125 questions and prints a breakdown that adds to 125. The page also says the counts come from people in the trade across Canada and can be revisited. Check the page again before you sit.
The national preparation guide sets the Red Seal pass mark and writing time at:
B. 70% and 4 hours
The Red Seal exam preparation guide says the pass mark is 70% and the writing time is four hours.
Which block has the most questions on the published 313A breakdown?
D. Maintenance and service, 28
Maintenance and service is 28 questions. Installation is next at 26. A study plan that skips service to reread safety is fighting the published weights.
The math formulas for this Red Seal exam are:
B. Published on the exam information page and provided at the sitting
The Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic exam page says the formulas may be needed and will be provided at the sitting. The preparation guide says the same about formula sheets generally.
In Ontario, 313A is:
B. Compulsory, and the certificate must be renewed
Skilled Trades Ontario says the trade is compulsory and that a certificate of qualification in this trade must be renewed. The annual fee published for compulsory trades is $60 plus HST.
An Ontario apprentice who completed the program on 2 March 2025 and is booking a first written certifying exam should expect:
B. A fee waiver on that first written attempt, then $150 + HST if they need another try
The waiver applies to the first written certifying exam when completion is on or after 1 January 2025. It does not cover later attempts. Someone who completed before that date does not get the waiver.
A British Columbia apprentice's first certification-exam attempt is listed by SkilledTradesBC as:
C. No fee, after technical training is complete
The apprenticeship table lists no fee for the 1st or 2nd attempt. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th certification attempts are $100 and have extra conditions. The challenge pathway is different: the first attempt there is $120.
Before opening a system, the safe habit this kind of exam is trying to see is:
B. Lock out and tag the energy sources, and follow the recovery rules your province requires
Isolation, and legal recovery instead of venting, are the practices the occupational standard is built around. The Red Seal guide also says slang is not the language of the exam. This question is not a code quotation and not an official item.
FAQ
No. 4th Class and 3rd Class power engineer papers include refrigeration topics inside a SOPEEC syllabus. 313A is the Red Seal refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic exam, 125 questions, 70%, four hours. SteamTicket covers both, in separate banks.
The formulas on the Red Seal exam information page are provided at the sitting. You still need to know which formula fits the question. The preparation guide says you are given the sheet.
No. Ontario publishes $150 + HST, with a first-attempt waiver for eligible apprentices. SkilledTradesBC publishes a different table, including free early attempts for apprentices. Tradesecrets lists a $150 Red Seal application, and it is not confirmed that Alberta apprentices pay that during class.
No. Red Seal publishes a few style examples on its own site. The ten questions here were written for TradeExamPractice and are not those examples.
Last checked 15 October 2026.
TO-CONFIRM. Alberta does not publish a separate Red Seal or C of Q exam fee for apprentices. Apprentices in Red Seal trades write the Red Seal exam at their school after they pass the final period exam, so the exam is part of classroom instruction. The Apprenticeship Education Program application fee is $150.
TO-CONFIRM. Alberta says a new exam rewrite fee is required for a Trades Qualifier second attempt but does not publish the amount on the page. Practical exam fees vary by trade and must be paid before the exam is scheduled.
TO-CONFIRM. Trades Qualifier candidates get three theory exam attempts. Failing the third attempt cancels the application; to continue you must file a new application with fees and a Training Plan.