Solar installation certification NZ: CoC, inspection and grid approval

A solar job in New Zealand has two separate approval tracks that run side by side. One is electrical safety: certification of high-risk prescribed electrical work, including an independent inspection. The other is the network: the lines company has to approve the generation before it is switched on. Mixing them up, or leaving either until the roof work is done, is how a finished system ends up sitting dead on the wall. This guide walks through both tracks, in the order you meet them.

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Why PV counts as high-risk work

Under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, installing a solar PV system is high-risk prescribed electrical work, and the EWRB lists ‘PV solar’ next to mains work in its high-risk examples. WorkSafe’s PV guidance breaks the system down by voltage. A low-voltage mains inverter connected in parallel to the grid is high-risk work needing certification and a Record of Inspection. So is the low-voltage DC side of the array. Extra-low-voltage DC wiring is not prescribed electrical work at all, but the low-voltage AC side, including the inverter, still is, and an inverter is classed as a fitting rather than an appliance. An independent supply whose inverter is not paralleled to the mains does not require an inspection. Most residential grid-tied systems land squarely in the high-risk bucket.

The three electrical certificates on a grid-tied job

A high-risk job is not legally complete until the Certificate of Compliance and the Record of Inspection are both issued. The CoC comes from the electrical worker who did or supervised the work. The Record of Inspection comes from a licensed electrical inspector who is independent of the job: they cannot be the person who did, supervised or certified it, and the CoC is attached to their RoI. The Electrical Safety Certificate comes last, from whoever makes the final connection, who must first sight the CoC and a compliant RoI if they did not do the work themselves. WorkSafe’s advice for installers who connect their own work is to arrange the inspection and check the RoI before connecting, then complete the ESC. For the general rules on these three documents and their deadlines, including 20 working days for the ESC and for the inspector’s database entry, see our electrical certificate of compliance guide.

Putting the steps in the right order

The sequence matters because the inspection has to happen before connection and the network approval has to be in hand before the system exports.

Quote and confirm the export arrangement the distributor will accept.
Lodge the distributed generation application with the lines company.
Install the system and test it.
Issue the CoC for the work you did.
Book the independent inspector, who issues the Record of Inspection.
Connect once approval and the RoI are in hand, then issue the ESC.
Give the customer their copies and keep your records for seven years.

The lines company application: Part 6 of the Code

Connecting generation to a distribution network is governed by Part 6 and Schedule 6.1 of the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010. Until 30 November 2026, the Schedule has Part 1 for generation of 10 kW or less in total (with a simplified Part 1A for certain systems up to 10 kW) and Part 2 for anything bigger. Under Part 1 the distributor must tell you within 5 business days whether your application is complete, then decide within 30 business days of receiving the completed application. Under Part 1A the final-approval notice is due within 10 business days of submission, and you then owe the distributor a copy of the Certificate of Compliance and the ICP within 10 business days of approval. From 1 December 2026 the Network Connections amendment replaces these with four processes set by maximum export power: Process 1 and 1A up to 10 kW, Process 2 above 10 kW and below 300 kW, and Process 3 at 300 kW and above. We found no transitional rule for applications lodged before that date, so confirm with the distributor which process it is running if a job straddles 1 December. Your distributor may also impose export limits as a condition of approval, so read conditions before you commission the inverter.

Standards: wiring rules, PV and inverter

The Electricity (Safety) Amendment Regulations 2025, in force from 13 November 2025, cite new versions of AS/NZS 3000, AS/NZS 5033 (PV arrays) and AS/NZS 4777.1 (for low-voltage mains-parallel systems connected to the grid). WorkSafe’s transition guidance is written for AS/NZS 3000: you may use the 2018 edition now, and construction that begins after 12 November 2026 must comply with it. For the PV and inverter standards, check the amendment regulations for the editions and any transition that apply to your job rather than assuming they match. The WorkSafe PV page predates the amendment, so read it for the voltage categories, not for edition numbers.

Service visits, setting changes and the low-risk exceptions

Not every visit to a PV system is a high-risk job. Regulation 6A treats maintenance or replacement of a fitting as low-risk work, so a clean-and-check visit does not need a Record of Inspection or a new network application. The same regulation lists the installation of a PV system, and adjusting the settings of one, as high-risk. That means changing export limits or protection settings on an inverter can bring the high-risk rules into play. Whatever the category, an ESC is needed once the work is complete and reconnected. If you are unsure which category a service call falls into, ask the inspector or the EWRB before the visit rather than after.

Keeping both tracks in Toolie

Toolie’s solar pack has a certificates register shared with the electrician pack, so the CoC, Record of Inspection and ESC for a job sit in one place with their deadlines. A separate grid-connections register records each lines-company application: distributor, ICP, process, nameplate and export power, the dates of each stage, and any approval conditions. It shows the next Code deadline for the stage (completeness notice, decision, the 10 business days owed after Part 1A approval) and warns if the system has been recorded as livened with no approval date. It also notes that the process options change on 1 December 2026, and counts business days without regional anniversary days, so check yours. A systems-installed register keeps panel, inverter and battery warranty end dates and a yearly check. The certificates print ready to sign, but you still check them against the official or industry form, and the inspector, not Toolie, enters the database record.

Sources

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

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Common questions

Does a solar installation need an electrical inspection in NZ?

Yes for grid-connected systems. Installing a solar PV system is high-risk prescribed electrical work, so it needs a Certificate of Compliance and a Record of Inspection from an independent licensed electrical inspector. The exception is an independent supply whose inverter is not paralleled to the mains.

Who can issue the Record of Inspection for a solar system?

A licensed electrical inspector who is independent of the work. They cannot be the person who carried out, supervised or certified it. The Certificate of Compliance is attached to the Record of Inspection, and the inspector lodges the work on the high-risk database.

Do I need lines company approval before switching on solar?

Yes. Connecting distributed generation to a network requires an application to the distributor under Part 6 of the Electricity Industry Participation Code, and the distributor’s approval comes before connection. The process is set by system size, and it changes on 1 December 2026.

How long does the lines company have to approve a solar application?

Under the current Part 1 process for systems of 10 kW or less in total, the distributor must say within 5 business days whether the application is complete, then decide within 30 business days of the completed application. Larger systems follow different timeframes, and the processes change on 1 December 2026.

Is cleaning or servicing a solar system high-risk electrical work?

Maintenance or replacement of a fitting is low-risk work, so a routine clean-and-check generally is not. Installing a PV system, or adjusting its settings, is high-risk. An ESC is required once the work is complete and reconnected.

Can Toolie remind a customer their solar system check is due?

Yes. A system's yearly check shows under Services due when it is coming up. Remind customer emails or texts them, and Book job creates the visit; completing that job logs the check and sets the next due date. You press the button each time, it does not send on its own.

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