Would-be heating oil installers must hold a current certificate of assessed competence before they can apply for OFTEC registration. To get a certificate, they must first pass one of the following assesments:

OFT 105 Domestic/Light Commercial Appliance Installation (this includes Domestic Tank Installation).

OFT 105E Domestic/Light Commercial Appliance and Energy Efficiency Installation (this includes Domestic Tank Installation).

OFT 101 Domestic/light Commercial Pressure Jet Appliance Commissioning and Servicing.

OFT 102 Domestic/light Commercial Vaporising Appliance Commissioning and Servicing.

OFT 600A Domestic/Light Commercial/Industrial Tank Installation.

Passing just one of these modules means an oil installer can lawfully work on any type of oil installation detailed above, once registration is completed. While it is unlikely that an applicant with only one module to their name would be accepted, it is not impossible by any means.

Oil Installer Courses:

Costs and duration of courses do vary, but many courses only last one day. Zurich certification would even teach module OFT 600A in half a day.

Almost all of the course providers insist that applicants for these courses require a level of prior experience in the oil industry to successfully complete the course. Importantly though, no pre-requisite qualifications are required to take any of these courses.

Registration with OFTEC:

Following completion of an appropriate OFTEC module at a recognised assessment centre, the following steps are necessary to become fully OFTEC registered. The applicant's company will need to sign a declaration concerning Public Liability insurance cover, minimum 1,000,000. And registration fees - individually 40 per year (200 for 5 years), company 450 for 5 years - must be paid.

Summary:

Passing just one oil installer module could be enough to qualify for OFTEC registration - but importantly, this one passed module allows you to work on all kinds of installations.