- What You're Reviewing: Identity and Exam Format
- The Numbers Grid: Fees, Timing and Scoring
- Where the 150 Questions Land
- Domain-by-Domain Flash Review
- Eligibility and Application Mechanics
- Test-Day Logistics Checklist
- Retests, Expiry and Renewal
- Facts to Confirm Before You Pay
- Sequencing Your Review by Domain
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The exam has 150 multiple-choice questions in three hours; 10 are unscored pilots, so 140 count toward your result.
- Passing requires 70%, and Safety (24 questions) plus Compressors (16) together make up over a quarter of the exam.
- Eligibility needs an active CARO or CIRO credential, or four years of progressively responsible refrigeration experience.
- Only RETA-supplied onscreen references are allowed; bring two IDs and a simple, nonprogrammable calculator with memory cleared.
What You're Reviewing: Identity and Exam Format
This cheat sheet covers the Certified Refrigeration Service Technician (CRST) credential issued by the Refrigerating Engineers & Technicians Association (RETA). It is an industrial refrigeration service and troubleshooting credential. It is not the Canadian safety-technician certification that happens to share the same four letters, so ignore any material that mentions safety-technician testing bodies or fee schedules from other programs. If you need the full definition first, start with What Is CRST Certification? and come back here for the quick-reference version.
The exam facts that anchor everything else in this review come from the RETA 2026 CRST Exam Information Handbook (Revision 09, valid January 1 through December 31, 2026):
- Delivery: computer-based, in English.
- Length: 150 multiple-choice questions.
- Time limit: three hours.
- Passing requirement: 70%.
- Pilot items: 10 unscored questions, leaving 140 scored items.
- Navigation: you may flag questions and revisit them before finishing.
Because pilot items are not identified, treat every question as if it counts. For a deeper look at how the cut score works, see CRST Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The Numbers Grid: Fees, Timing and Scoring
Here is the one-glance table. Fees are drawn from the 2026 handbook; see the "Facts to Confirm" section below for the one price discrepancy you should verify before paying.
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Questions | 150 multiple choice (140 scored, 10 unscored pilots) |
| Time limit | 3 hours |
| Passing requirement | 70% |
| Initial fee (handbook) | $770 member / $1,065 nonmember |
| First discounted retest (within one year of failing) | $515 member / $710 nonmember; new application and payment required |
| Retest timing | Minimum two-week interval; complete within 90 days after approval and payment |
| Official practice attempt | One included with the initial application; additional attempts $59 each |
| Application eligibility window | One year from payment; a 90-day extension must be requested before it expires |
| Certification term | Three years |
For a full breakdown of what the credential costs across application, practice and retest scenarios, read CRST Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Where the 150 Questions Land
RETA publishes question counts per content area, not percentage weights. The counts below follow the official Domain 1 through 16 order and total 150. Pilot items are not broken out by area, so do not treat these as scored-only allocations, and do not convert them into official percentages.
| Domain | Questions |
|---|---|
| 1. Safety | 24 |
| 2. Compressors | 16 |
| 3. Oil Analysis | 7 |
| 4. Condensers & Cooling Towers | 11 |
| 5. Vessels, Piping, Valves & Controls | 10 |
| 6. Insulation | 6 |
| 7. Evaporators & Heat Exchangers | 7 |
| 8. Pumps & Transfer Systems | 7 |
| 9. Purges | 4 |
| 10. Electric Service Motors, etc. | 13 |
| 11. Controls Maintenance | 8 |
| 12. Shaft & Bearing Maintenance | 7 |
| 13. Leak Monitoring & Detection | 8 |
| 14. Trouble Systems Operations | 7 |
| 15. Ammonia Refrigeration Compliance | 10 |
| 16. CO2 Systems | 5 |
Domain-by-Domain Flash Review
Use these blocks as a recall prompt. They name what each area covers at the level of topic, so you can test yourself on the details from your reference material and field experience. Heading names, including the unusual "Electric Service Motors, etc." and "Trouble Systems Operations," match the handbook's wording.
Domain 1: Safety (24 questions)
The largest single area. Expect scenario-style questions where the right answer protects people first and equipment second.
- Be ready for ammonia-system hazards, personal protective equipment and emergency response thinking.
- Know lockout and isolation logic before opening any part of a system.
- Practice reading a described situation and identifying the safest next action, not just a technically valid one.
Domain 2: Compressors (16 questions)
The second-largest area and the core of most service work.
- Understand how compressor types differ in operation and what that means for troubleshooting.
- Link symptoms (noise, temperature, pressure, amperage) to likely mechanical or operating causes.
- Review lubrication, capacity control and protection devices as they relate to compressor health.
Domains 3 and 12: Oil Analysis and Shaft & Bearing Maintenance (7 each)
These two reward a maintenance mindset: reading condition indicators before failure.
- Know what oil condition tells you about the compressor and the system it serves.
- Review bearing and shaft alignment, wear patterns and corrective practices.
Domains 4, 5 and 7: Condensers & Cooling Towers, Vessels/Piping/Valves/Controls, Evaporators & Heat Exchangers (11, 10, 7)
The heat-rejection and heat-absorption side of the plant, plus the pressure boundary that connects it.
- Trace how heat moves through condensers, towers and evaporators, and what degrades that transfer.
- Know the roles of vessels, valves and piping components and how a failure in one shows up elsewhere.
Domains 6, 8 and 9: Insulation, Pumps & Transfer Systems, Purges (6, 7, 4)
Smaller counts, but the questions tend to be practical and answerable with field knowledge.
- Understand why insulation condition affects efficiency and surface conditions.
- Review how pumps and transfer systems move liquid refrigerant and what upsets that flow.
- Know the purpose of purging and the problems it addresses.
Domains 10 and 11: Electric Service Motors, etc. and Controls Maintenance (13 and 8)
Together these 21 questions reward comfort with the electrical and control side of refrigeration service.
- Review motor operation, protection and common failure indicators.
- Know how control devices are maintained, checked and calibrated, and what drift or failure looks like.
Domains 13 and 14: Leak Monitoring & Detection and Trouble Systems Operations (8 and 7)
Applied diagnosis. These areas test whether you can reason from evidence.
- Understand detection methods and what a monitoring alarm does and does not tell you.
- Practice working from symptoms to cause across the whole system, not one component at a time.
Domains 15 and 16: Ammonia Refrigeration Compliance and CO2 Systems (10 and 5)
Regulatory and system-specific knowledge. Compliance questions are about what must be done and documented; CO2 questions are about how those systems differ in operation.
- Review the compliance obligations tied to ammonia systems and the documentation they imply.
- Know the distinguishing operating characteristics of CO2 systems relative to ammonia ones.
Eligibility and Application Mechanics
Who qualifies
Candidates qualify one of two ways:
- An active CARO or CIRO credential, or
- Documentation of at least four years of progressively responsible refrigeration experience.
Either route also requires compliance with the RETA Code of Conduct. If you use the experience route, a separate Verification of Experience form is required before your application can be processed. Submit that early, since an unprocessed application can't move to scheduling. The full qualification picture is in CRST Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
The one-year clock
Application eligibility lasts one year from payment. If life or work gets in the way, a 90-day extension is available, but it must be requested before the one-year period expires. Missing that window means starting over and paying again. Scheduling specifics are covered in CRST Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Test-Day Logistics Checklist
- Testing venue: the Kryterion Testing Network or RETA Network Testing Centers. Appointments are arranged through RETA staff.
- Identification: bring two forms of ID.
- Calculator: a simple, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator with its memory cleared.
- References: RETA supplies the permitted onscreen references. Personal books, notes and study-guide copies are not permitted, so practice looking things up in the references you will actually have rather than relying on a marked-up book.
- Pacing: three hours for 150 questions works out to a little over a minute per question. Flag anything that stalls you and return to it.
Key Takeaway
Since personal materials are off the table, build your study around recall and reasoning rather than looking things up. Reserve the flag feature for genuinely hard items, and aim to finish a first pass with time left to revisit them.
Retests, Expiry and Renewal
If you don't pass
A first retest after failure within one year is discounted ($515 member / $710 nonmember) but requires a new application and payment. There is a minimum two-week interval before retaking, and the retest must be completed within 90 days after approval and payment. Treat the gap as structured remediation: use your score feedback to target the weakest domains rather than re-reading everything. For perspective on difficulty and outcomes, see How Hard Is the CRST Exam? and CRST Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Staying certified
Certification lasts three years. The 2026 handbook is explicit that holders whose certification has expired must retest rather than submit late professional development hours. Renewal on time avoids that outcome entirely.
Previously reviewed renewal details, which you should reconfirm with RETA before relying on them, describe the renewal scope as follows:
- 24 relevant Professional Development Hours (2.4 CEUs).
- Hours documented in the RETA Certification Database.
- An online renewal application with payment before expiration.
- HAZWOPER training excluded from qualifying renewal PDH.
Start logging qualifying training early in your three-year cycle rather than scrambling in the final months. For the career value of keeping the credential current, see Is the CRST Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026.
Facts to Confirm Before You Pay
A cheat sheet is only useful if it is honest about what it can't pin down. Several details have conflicting or unverified sources, and the safest approach is to confirm them directly with RETA rather than assume.
| Item | What the sources say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Nonmember initial fee | The 2026 handbook lists $1,065; RETA's program and application pages were previously recorded at $1,060 (member price $770 in both). | Confirm the amount on your invoice before paying. The $5 difference is unresolved. |
| Practice product size | RETA's practice page was previously recorded as describing 75 questions; the store description as 50. | Check the current product listing. Neither figure changes the 150-question certification exam. |
| Renewal price | Previously recorded as $235 member / $835 nonmember. | Reconfirm with RETA before budgeting. |
| Renewal PDH eligibility rules | 24 PDH, with HAZWOPER excluded, reflects previously reviewed information. | Verify that a specific course qualifies before enrolling. |
Sequencing Your Review by Domain
If you are building a schedule, let the question counts and the nature of each area decide the order. This is a sample arrangement, not a required plan; compress or stretch it to match your time before the exam. For a fuller plan, see the CRST Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Safety first
- Work through Domain 1 (24 questions) and Domain 15, Ammonia Refrigeration Compliance (10), since the two reinforce each other.
- Take the included official practice attempt only after you've reviewed the major areas.
Compressors and condition monitoring
- Cover Domain 2 (16), then Oil Analysis (7) and Shaft & Bearing Maintenance (7), which feed directly into compressor diagnosis.
Heat transfer and the pressure boundary
- Review Condensers & Cooling Towers (11), Vessels, Piping, Valves & Controls (10), Evaporators & Heat Exchangers (7), Pumps (7), Insulation (6) and Purges (4).
Electrical, controls and diagnosis
- Cover Electric Service Motors, etc. (13), Controls Maintenance (8), Leak Monitoring & Detection (8), Trouble Systems Operations (7) and CO2 Systems (5).
- Finish with timed mixed-domain sets from the practice test site.
This ordering front-loads the heaviest areas while your focus is highest, and saves the diagnostic domains for last, when they can draw on everything you've reviewed. If you work with ammonia systems daily, shift time toward your weakest areas rather than following the order mechanically.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam has 150 multiple-choice questions. Ten of them are unscored pilot items, so 140 are scored, but pilot questions are not identified, so answer every question carefully.
The passing requirement is 70%. The time limit is three hours, and you can flag questions and return to them before submitting.
Safety is the largest area with 24 questions, followed by Compressors with 16. Electric Service Motors, etc. has 13, and Condensers & Cooling Towers has 11. RETA publishes counts rather than percentage weights.
No. Personal books, notes and study-guide copies are not permitted. RETA supplies the permitted onscreen references. You may bring two forms of ID and a simple, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator with its memory cleared.
Certification lasts three years, and the 2026 handbook requires holders with an expired credential to retest rather than submit late professional development hours. Confirm current renewal details and pricing with RETA well before your expiration date.