>No, you don't need a licence for R-134a.  I don't have one and I bought a
>bunch last summer.  You do need one for R-12.
>Ken Wilford
>Van-Again
>John 3:16

Right. However, if you need to get R-12, it's not difficult to get a
license. Not that I'm recommending just anyone do this. Refrigerant is
quite dangerous, and requires special equipment to handle properly. At a
minimum, you need the following items to properly charge an ac system with
refrigerant:

1.) Gauge set appropriate to the refrigerant being used: ~$150
2.) Can tap, if using cans ~$15
3.) Vacuum pump suitable for AC use ~$300 - if you start with an empty or
near empty system.

Optional (but very nice to have)

4.) Electronic leak detector (only the best ones from tif, etc work worth a
darn) ~$200 up.
5.) Refrigerant scale (this is handy for R-134a, because you can't just
charge until the sight glass clears) ~$150-$450.

So, unless you're a complete automotive geek, or you do ALL ac repairs on
several vehicles (not just charging), it's not worth it to own all this
junk.

Joshua Van Tol -- jjvantol@uswest.net