Recognition as a gaseous fuel technician or a liquid fuel technician

To be recognised as a liquid fuel or gaseous fuel technician, you must fulfil:

• general recognition conditions(opens in new window) that apply to all recognitions relating to the environment
  • in the 3 years that precede the application for the Flemish recognition certificate, the applicant has not been convicted of a criminal offence in a member state of the European Economic Area, for infringements of the environmental legislation concerning the use of the recognition.
  • in the 2 years that precede the application for the Flemish recognition certificate, no recognition with the same object was revoked due to infringement of the obligations associated with that recognition.
• have a certificate of competence concerning liquid fuel or gaseous fuelt. The certificate must have been awarded by a recognised training centre.

Validity period and obligations

The recognition is valid for an indefinite period. As a recognised technician, you must meet the following obligations among others to retain your recognition:

• correctly perform the inspection before first use, periodic maintenance, and in doing so apply the standards and codes of good practice as stated in Chapter 4 of ‘het Stooktoestellenbesluit’.
• every 5 years, follow a refresher training at a recognised training centre. Download the overview list of recognised training centres for:
  • gaseous fuel technicians (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window) or liquid fuel technicians (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window)
  • The latest date for following a refresher training can be found:
    • on your certificate of competence
    • or in the overview lists of gaseous fuel technicians (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window) or liquid fuel technicians (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window).
• correctly and fully complete reports, sign them and retain them for at least 1 year
• hold insurance for third-party liability, including professional liability, in connection with the use of the recognition
• report every change of identification data (such as address, e-mail address)
• pay the annual fee (in Dutch) for the supervision of the recognition. The first payment is to be made in the year following the year in which you obtained the Flemish recognition certificate. Failure to pay the annual fee will lead to automatic suspension of the recognition following a formal notice of default. If the fee is still not paid within 30 days of the suspension, the recognition will automatically lapse.

More info on the obligations for recognised technicians (in Dutch) (in Dutch).

There are two possible recognitions as a technician:

• recognition as ‘liquid fuel technician’
• recognition as ‘gaseous fuel technician’
  • basis module GI (gas boiler with non-premix burner or premix burner) for most private houses or apartments
  • expansion module GII (gas boiler with a separate ventilator burner): only after obtaining GI, for buildings where higher capacity is required.

You have to follow a training course and pass an exam to receive your recognition:

• Apply with a recognised training centre free of choice. Download the overview list of recognised training centres for gaseous fuel technicians (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window) or liquid fuel technician (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window)s.
• After the training course you must pass the associated exam.

If you pass, you will receive a certificate with a personal recognition number. That number begins with the letters:

• TV, followed by 5 figures for liquid fuel (e.g. TV12459)
• GV, followed by 5 figures for gaseous fuel (e.g. GV00234)

As a gaseous fuel technician or liquid fuel technician, you must pay an annual fee (in Dutch) for the supervision over your recognition. You will receive an invoice for this by post at the start of the calendar year in your name at your official address.

• For 2025 the annual fee amounts to EUR 35.
• That amount is index-adjusted every year.
• The gaseous fuel technician does not need to pay an additional annual fee for recognition of the extension module GII.

Flemish regulation on environmental recognitions (VLAREL).