In short. A French heating maintenance description should specify the equipment and power range, maintenance interval, operations and certificate supplied.
Definition: A French heating maintenance service description should identify the equipment covered, the maintenance interval, the operations performed and the maintenance certificate supplied. The checklist below translates official maintenance duties into service-page content.
Key facts
- As of 17 October 2026, the ministry's heating maintenance guidance specifies annual maintenance for gas, oil, biomass and multi-fuel boilers with a nominal output between 4 and 400 kilowatts.
- Service Public's boiler maintenance guidance specifies a maintenance certificate within 15 days of the visit, retained for at least two years.
- ADEME's boiler maintenance guide includes temperature-control checks covering water temperature, temperature sensors, thermostatic valves and heating schedules.
Which boiler operations belong in the description?
The ministry's guidance lists boiler verification, cleaning and adjustment where applicable, energy and environmental performance assessment, carbon monoxide detection and professional advice. The advice covers correct use, possible improvements to the heating installation and the potential value of replacement.
Service Public's operation list also covers heat distribution and regulation equipment. It includes assessment of efficiency, meaning how effectively the boiler converts fuel energy, and the heat generator's sizing against heating needs. The sizing assessment is unnecessary when the heating system and heating needs remain unchanged since the previous maintenance.
The same guidance includes checking an existing thermostat's operation and the insulation of heating or cooling networks. These are specific operations that can appear in the service scope alongside boiler cleaning.
How does the scope change for heat pumps and air conditioning?
The ministry's equipment-specific guidance describes maintenance every two years for heat-pump and air-conditioning systems with a nominal output between 4 and 70 kilowatts. Systems used solely to produce hot water for a single dwelling are excluded from that obligation.
The described work includes checking the system, cleaning and adjustment where necessary, detecting refrigerant leaks and providing advice. The ministry also specifies a detailed maintenance certificate. Its guidance treats systems above 70 kilowatts under a separate inspection regime, so the equipment's power range determines the applicable service scope.
What certificate should the description mention?
The maintenance certificate, or attestation d'entretien, records the work and findings. ADEME's certificate summary includes operations performed, defects corrected, measured carbon monoxide, estimated energy and environmental performance, and advice on using the boiler and heating installation. An editable checklist based on that summary is:
Operations performed:
Defects corrected:
Carbon monoxide measurement, where applicable:
Estimated boiler efficiency:
Estimated atmospheric pollutant emissions:
Advice on boiler and heating installation use:
Service Public's delivery requirements allow the boiler certificate to be supplied electronically, including by email. Advice is written on the certificate or attached to it.
Related terms
- Which boiler installations does Chauffage+ cover?
- Which QualiPAC qualification covers a heat pump or thermodynamic water heater?
- When may an installer display a Qualit'EnR qualification logo on a website?
FAQ
Do you need an annual maintenance contract?
ADEME's guide allows you to arrange a professional visit each year or take out a maintenance contract. A contract can include additional services such as breakdown assistance.
Who arranges boiler maintenance in rented housing?
The ministry's guidance assigns individual-boiler maintenance to the occupant unless the lease provides otherwise. For collective boilers, the owner or co-owners' association arranges it.
Sources
- Ministry for Ecological Transition, "Entretien et inspection des systèmes de chauffage et de climatisation", updated 14 December 2022
- Service Public, "Entretien annuel de la chaudière : quelles règles pour le locataire ?", verified 19 May 2025
- ADEME, "L'entretien des chaudières", October 2023
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