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Certificates of Compliance (CoC) Explained: The Paperwork That Protects Your Auckland Home

  • 1 hour ago
  • 2 min read

A Certificate of Compliance (CoC) is the document a licensed electrical worker must issue for most installation work in New Zealand — it certifies the work was done lawfully and safely. For higher-risk work you also get an Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC). No CoC where one is required means non-compliant work: an insurance question, a sale-time problem, and a safety unknown. Here is how the paperwork actually works.

Missing paperwork for past work? Call 021 889 770 — an inspection can document what's actually there.

Which work needs a CoC?

Prescribed electrical work — broadly, installation work: new circuits, switchboard changes, rewiring, hardwired appliances (ovens, heat pumps, EV chargers, hot water), new fittings on new wiring. Simple like-for-like repairs and some maintenance sit outside the requirement. The practical rule: if an electrician installed or altered fixed wiring, expect a certificate; if they say you don't need one for installation work, that's a red flag from our choosing-an-electrician checklist.

CoC vs ESC — the two documents

  • Certificate of Compliance — issued by the electrician who did or supervised the work, certifying it complies with the regulations.

  • Electrical Safety Certificate — confirms the completed installation is safe to use; issued for work where connection to supply is involved.

  • High-risk work — mains work and similar also requires independent inspection before livening. Your electrician arranges it; you keep the records.

Why the folder matters

Insurers ask about electrical work after a claim; buyers' lawyers and builder's reports ask before settlement; council occasionally asks during consents. A dated folder of CoCs answers everyone in thirty seconds. Keep them digital and physical, filed with the property — and if you're mid-renovation, chase each certificate at each stage rather than trusting they'll all appear at the end.

Frequently asked questions

Old work has no CoC — am I in trouble?

Not automatically — the requirement applies from when the work was done, and older work predates the current regime. What matters now is whether the installation is safe: an inspection with a written report documents current condition, which is what insurers and buyers actually want.

Can I get a copy of a lost CoC?

The issuing electrician keeps records — ask them first. ECD reissues copies of our own certificates on request, no drama.

Does DIY electrical work get certified?

The narrow homeowner-permitted work can't be self-certified the same way — and anything beyond that narrow list done DIY is both illegal and uninsurable. If in doubt, it wasn't permitted.

Paperwork done properly

EWRB-registered electricians · Certificate of Compliance on every eligible job · Based in Remuera, working Auckland-wide

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