The One-Page Document That Can Hold Up Your House Sale
Picture this: you've found a buyer for your Nelson home, the open homes are done, and settlement is weeks away. Then your buyer's lawyer asks a simple question — "Where's the Certificate of Compliance for the wiring work done in 2019?" If you can't produce it, you could be looking at a price renegotiation, a delayed settlement, or a buyer who walks. It happens more often than you'd think, and it's almost always avoidable.
A Certificate of Compliance, or CoC, is the paper trail that proves your home's electrical work was done safely and legally. It sounds like a small thing until the day you need it and can't find it.
Key Takeaways
A CoC is a legal document proving electrical work was tested and meets NZ safety standards.
Only an EWRB-registered electrical worker can legally issue one.
You need a CoC for most fixed wiring work, not routine maintenance like swapping a light fitting.
Selling a house with unconsented or uncertified electrical work is the most common way homeowners get caught out.
A CoC differs from an Electrical Safety Certificate and a Record of Inspection, though higher-risk jobs may involve all three.
Missing your CoC? The original electrician should have a copy, or a licensed electrician can re-inspect and re-certify the work.
Always check an electrician's EWRB licence before work begins — it's the only way you'll get a valid CoC afterwards.
What You're About To Learn
A Certificate of Compliance (CoC) is a legal document a registered electrical worker must give you after most fixed wiring work in New Zealand. It proves the job was tested and meets the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010. You need one for anything beyond basic maintenance, such as new circuits, switchboard upgrades, or wiring for a heat pump or EV charger. Keep it safe — insurers, councils, and future buyers can all ask to see it, and homeowners selling a house with unconsented or uncertified electrical work are the group who most often get caught out.
Here's what this guide covers: what a CoC actually is and who's allowed to issue one, a real field-by-field look at what's written on a completed certificate, the exact scenario that trips up homeowners selling their house, how a CoC differs from similar-sounding documents, and what to do if you can't find yours. By the end, you'll know precisely what to ask for, what to check, and when to call in a licensed electrician.
This guide is written for homeowners in Nelson and Tasman, though the rules apply right across New Zealand.
What Is a Certificate of Compliance and When Do I Need One?
A Certificate of Compliance is a signed statement from a registered electrical worker confirming that a piece of electrical work has been completed safely, tested, and carried out in line with New Zealand's wiring standards — specifically AS/NZS 3000, known as the Wiring Rules, and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010. WorkSafe New Zealand administers the law behind this requirement, and only electricians registered with the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) are legally allowed to sign one off.
You need a CoC for any "prescribed electrical work" beyond simple maintenance. In plain terms, that covers jobs like adding new power points, running new circuits, installing a switchboard, wiring a hot water cylinder, fitting an EV charger, or connecting a heat pump. It does not usually apply to like-for-like replacements, such as swapping a broken light fitting for an identical one, provided nothing about the wiring itself changes.
The scenario homeowners get wrong most often is selling a house. If electrical work was done on your property without the right paperwork, it's treated as unconsented, uncertified work — and that's a red flag for buyers, valuers, and insurers alike. A missing CoC can delay a sale, trigger a retention on the sale price, or force you to pay for a retrospective inspection before settlement can go ahead. If you're planning to sell in the next year or two, now is the time to track down every CoC for work done on your property, not the week before it goes on the market. It's worth reading our guide on the importance of electrical inspections before buying a home in Nelson too, since the same paperwork gaps that trip up sellers are exactly what a buyer's inspection is designed to catch.
Who Is Allowed to Issue a Certificate of Compliance in NZ?
Only a person registered and licensed with the EWRB can legally sign a Certificate of Compliance. This includes registered electricians, electrical service technicians, and line mechanics, depending on the type of work involved. If someone offers to do wiring work without holding a current practising licence, they cannot legally issue you a CoC — and that alone should be a dealbreaker. Our article on the role of a master electrician in home safety and compliance explains how these certification and inspection standards fit together in practice.
Before you hire anyone for electrical work, ask to see their current practising licence and check it hasn't expired. A properly licensed electrician like the team at Mako Electrical will show you this without hesitation, because it's standard practice, not a special request. If you're weighing up a cheaper, unlicensed quote against a registered electrician, our guide on cheap versus licensed electricians in Nelson walks through exactly what you're risking by cutting corners here.
It's also worth understanding the difference between an electrician and an electrical contractor, since both terms get used loosely. We've broken that down in our piece on electricians versus electrical contractors in NZ, which is useful reading if you're comparing quotes from different types of tradespeople. And if you've ever wondered exactly where DIY ends and licensed work begins, our guide on the legal limit between an electrician and a handyman in NZ sets out the line clearly.
Inside a Real CoC: A Field-by-Field Walkthrough
Most guides stop at defining a CoC. We think it's more useful to actually show you one. Below is a redacted, sample layout based on a typical residential switchboard upgrade — the kind of job Mako Electrical completes regularly across Nelson and Tasman. Personal and property details have been removed or replaced with placeholders, but the structure and field names match what a genuine certificate contains.
Two things stand out when you see a real certificate rather than just a definition. First, it's tied to a named, licensed individual — not just a company — which is exactly why checking a licence before work starts matters so much. Second, the testing results section is where the real value sits: it's proof the wiring was actually checked, not just installed and left. If you want to see what that testing step looks like on its own, our page on electrical testing services in Nelson covers what's included and why it matters.
Certificate of Compliance vs Other NZ Electrical Documents
It's easy to mix up a CoC with a couple of similarly named documents, so here's the short version of how they differ.
An Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC) confirms a completed installation, or part of one, is safe to connect to the power supply — it's often combined with a CoC into a single "CoC-ESC" document for straightforward residential jobs. A Record of Inspection (RoI), on the other hand, is a separate check carried out by an independent inspector for higher-risk work, such as a full switchboard replacement, and it references the original CoC rather than replacing it. If your project involved higher-risk work, you should expect to receive both documents, not just the one.
What to Do If You Can't Find Your Certificate of Compliance
If you've searched every drawer and folder and still can't find a CoC for past work, don't panic, but don't ignore it either. Start by contacting the electrician or company who did the original job, since they're required to keep their own copy. If that's not possible — the business may have closed, for example — a licensed electrician can carry out a fresh inspection of the existing work and issue new certification where the wiring can be confirmed as safe. This isn't as fast or as cheap as simply locating the original paperwork, so it pays to ask for and store your CoC properly the first time. Our article on what happens during a professional electrical inspection in NZ homes explains what that kind of retrospective check involves.
Key Benefits of Getting Your Certificate of Compliance Sorted Properly
Beyond ticking a legal box, a correctly issued CoC genuinely works in your favour. It gives you documented proof that protects you if something goes wrong later and an insurance claim is questioned. It reassures buyers and their lawyers during a property sale, which can be the difference between a smooth settlement and a stressful one. It also protects your household day to day, because the testing behind a CoC is designed to catch faults — like poor earthing or incorrect polarity — before they become a fire risk or a shock hazard. None of this costs you anything extra beyond hiring a properly licensed electrician in the first place; you're simply making sure you actually receive the paperwork you're already entitled to.
Book Your Compliant Electrical Work With Mako Electrical
If you're planning any wiring work — a switchboard upgrade, a new circuit for a heat pump, or getting your home ready for sale — Mako Electrical will handle the job and the paperwork properly, every time. We're registered with the EWRB, we test everything we install, and we hand you your Certificate of Compliance without you needing to chase it up. Get in touch with Mako Electrical to book an assessment, or read more about what a residential electrical installation includes from start to finish if you're planning a bigger project. Not sure how the booking process works? Our step-by-step guide on booking a residential electrician in Nelson Tasman walks you through it from first enquiry to completed job.
Peace of Mind, Signed and Sealed
A Certificate of Compliance isn't paperwork for paperwork's sake — it's the difference between knowing your home's wiring is genuinely safe and simply hoping it is. Whether you're upgrading a switchboard, adding an EV charger, or getting ready to sell, ask for your CoC, check it matches the work done, and keep it somewhere you'll actually find it again. If you're not sure whether past work on your property was properly certified, Mako Electrical can check it for you and put things right.
Frequently Asked Questions
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You get a CoC from the registered electrician who carries out your wiring work. They must test the job and issue the certificate within 20 working days of finishing. You can't buy or apply for one separately — it's tied to the actual work being done and signed off by a licensed professional.
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This usually refers to a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) issued by your local council after building consent work is completed and inspected. It's different from an electrical CoC, though electrical work covered by building consent may need both documents before the job is considered fully signed off.
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Any registered electrical company with EWRB-licensed staff can issue a CoC as part of their work, including Mako Electrical in Nelson and Tasman. There's no separate "CoC-only" service — the certificate comes from whoever actually performs and tests your electrical work.
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Only individuals registered and currently licensed with the Electrical Workers Registration Board can issue a CoC. This includes registered electricians and certain other licensed roles, but never an unlicensed handyman or DIY installer, regardless of how confident they seem.
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You get one directly from the licensed electrician who completed the wiring, not from a separate supplier or online service. If the work is already finished and you're missing the certificate, contact the original tradesperson or arrange a re-inspection with a currently licensed electrician.
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Hot water cylinder work often involves both plumbing and electrical trades. The electrical connection needs its own CoC from a licensed electrician, while any gas fitting or plumbing compliance follows separate rules under WorkSafe's gas and plumbing frameworks, so check which parts of the job apply to your installation.
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There's no separate fee just for the certificate — it's included in the cost of the electrical work itself, since testing and certification are part of the job. Costs vary by job size and complexity, so it's best to ask for a written quote that confirms certification is included. Our Nelson electrician pricing guide gives a general sense of what different job types typically run to.
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Gas fitting work has its own CoC process, separate from electrical work, administered under WorkSafe's gas safety rules. It must be issued by a certifying gasfitter and confirms the installation meets the relevant gas safety standards, so don't assume an electrical CoC covers any gas appliances connected to a job.
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Authorisation depends on the trade: EWRB-registered electricians for electrical work, certifying gasfitters for gas fitting, and licensed building practitioners or council inspectors for certain building compliance documents. Always match the right licensed professional to the specific type of work you've had done.
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Producer statement templates are typically available through your local council's building consent department or from professional bodies like Engineering New Zealand, depending on the type of work. A producer statement is a separate document from a CoC and applies to design or construction review rather than electrical safety testing.
