Electrical Certificate of Compliance NZ: CoC, ESC and Record of Inspection

Start with the risk category: low, general or high

The Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 sort PEW into three categories, and the category decides which certificates you owe. The EWRB’s plain-English summary is that low-risk work covers replacements and repairs on an existing installation, general work covers the rest of the ordinary installation work (new circuits, sub-boards, rewires), and high-risk work includes mains work and PV solar, along with special installations such as medical or hazardous areas. Reading the category correctly at quote stage matters, because a high-risk job needs an independent inspector booked before you can finish and invoice it.

• Low-risk: ESC required; CoC optional; no Record of Inspection.
• General: CoC and ESC required; no Record of Inspection.
• High-risk: CoC, Record of Inspection and ESC all required, and the inspector enters the work on the Electricity and Gas High-risk Database.

The Certificate of Compliance: what it says and who gets it

A CoC is the legal statement that the work was done lawfully and safely and that the information in the certificate is correct. It is required for all general and high-risk PEW, and general work is not treated as complete until it has been issued. Issue it as soon as possible after finishing. The Electricity (Safety) Regulations set the timeframe for supplying copies and the certification rules have been amended in recent years, so check the current wording on legislation.govt.nz or WorkSafe’s guidance. The copy goes to the person who contracted for the work (or the occupier or owner if they cannot be reached). Two details catch people out. First, tick the boxes for manufacturer’s instructions or a supplier declaration of conformity only if you actually attach a copy or a link, because ticking them means you are relying on them. Second, the Authentication Mark must appear on the certificate. You do not buy CoCs from the EWRB any more: you can use an industry template, design your own, or combine the CoC and ESC into one document, as long as the required content is there.

The Electrical Safety Certificate: who signs when you only connect

The CoC says the work is compliant; the ESC says the connected installation is safe to use. It is issued as soon as practicable after connection and no later than 20 working days after the work is connected to supply (WorkSafe’s practitioner guidance), and the customer’s copy must follow promptly; check the current regulations for the exact copy deadline. ‘Connection’ means the last piece of PEW that lets electricity flow into the installation, so inserting a supply fuse is not itself connection. Responsibility follows the person who makes the connection. If you did not do the work you are connecting, WorkSafe says you must verify it is safe to connect, which means sighting the CoC and, for high-risk work, a compliant RoI, before you complete the ESC. A trainee cannot complete an ESC alone: the supervisor must date and sign it and their registration number goes on it. Working days here follow the Interpretation Act 2019 definition, which also excludes the 25 December to 2 January period; regional anniversary days are not excluded.

High-risk work: the Record of Inspection and the database

For high-risk PEW the job is not legally complete until both the CoC and the Record of Inspection exist. The inspector must be a licensed electrical inspector, competent in the type of work, and independent: not associated in any way with the work, so they cannot be the person who did, supervised or certified it. The CoC is attached to the RoI. The inspector lodges the details on the Electricity and Gas High-risk Database within 20 days of issuing the RoI (WorkSafe’s guidance), and you can check the public address search afterwards to see that the entry is there. Solar PV is the most common high-risk job a residential electrician meets; our solar installation certification guide covers the PV-specific points.

Deadlines and record-keeping at a glance

Missing a deadline is not a paperwork nicety. The EWRB can discipline an electrical worker for false or misleading certification, and for certification that is not supplied within the required timeframe. Keep copies of every certificate for at least seven years, on paper or electronically.

• CoC: issue as soon as possible after the work; check the current regulations for the copy deadline.
• ESC: issued as soon as practicable and no later than 20 working days after connection.
• RoI: database lodgement by the inspector within 20 days of issuing the RoI (WorkSafe guidance).
• Records: keep for at least 7 years.

AS/NZS 3000:2018 changeover: what changes on 12 November 2026

The Electricity (Safety) Amendment Regulations 2025, in force from 13 November 2025, cite AS/NZS 3000:2018 (including Amendments 1 to 3) in place of the 2007 edition. WorkSafe’s guidance is that existing installations need not be upgraded, and that if you alter or add to one, only the parts you change need to meet the new edition. For construction, you could choose the new edition from 13 November 2025. Where construction begins after 12 November 2026 the work must comply with the 2018 edition. If you started under the old edition after 13 November 2025, you must finish by 12 November 2026; if the job is unfinished by then, certify what you completed and do the rest to the new edition. Construction includes the design phase, so work can still go to the old edition where the quote or tender was already underway. That makes the standard worth recording on every certificate between now and November.

Doing this paperwork in Toolie

Toolie’s electrician pack has a certificates register for CoC, ESC and RoI records. You pick the certificate type and risk category, record the dates and a circuit-by-circuit test table (earth continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, RCD trip time and earth fault-loop impedance), and the register works out the deadline that applies at that stage: 20 days from completion for the CoC copy, 20 working days for the ESC and for the RoI. It flags a failed circuit, a polarity reading not marked OK, and an RCD recorded as tripping slower than 300 ms at rated current, and it warns if a job is marked as the 2007 edition after the changeover dates. The certificate prints ready to sign, or saves as PDF, with your registration number and the test table attached. You still verify the content against the official or industry form before you issue it, and the high-risk database entry is the inspector’s to make, not Toolie’s.

You can sign the certificate with your finger on the phone, and the register numbers each one automatically (EC-0001 onwards, never reused). The CoC records every item listed in regulation 67 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, and the ESC the items in regulation 74A(3). Email to customer sends the signed certificate as a PDF and stamps the copy-given date, which clears the reminder to give the client their copy. Where the work needs a CoC, it stops the job being marked Completed until it’s issued, or until you record why you are overriding it.

Sources

Official sources this guide relies on. Rules change, so check the current version before relying on a date or threshold.

• EWRB: What paperwork do I need to complete?
• EWRB: Certification documentation for Prescribed Electrical Work (June 2025)
• WorkSafe: Construction and certification (low voltage installations)
• WorkSafe: Changes to the Electricity Safety Regulations for electrical installations (19 December 2025)
• Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 (legislation.govt.nz)
• Interpretation Act 2019, section 13 (working day)

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