Electrical certificate of compliance: who may issue a CoC for a commercial or industrial installation
Headcore
In short
In South Africa, only a registered person may issue an electrical certificate of compliance (CoC). An installation electrician may certify any installation except in explosive atmospheres, the petroleum industry, hazardous and medical locations, which need a master installation electrician; a single-phase tester certifies single-phase supplies only. The user or lessor must hold a valid CoC with its test report.
Who can issue an electrical certificate of compliance?
Only a registered person. Regulation 9(1) of South Africa's Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 reads "No person other than a registered person may issue a certificate of compliance". A registered person is someone the chief inspector has registered as an electrical tester for single phase, an installation electrician or a master installation electrician (regulations 1 and 11(2)).[1]
The firm doing the work must be registered too: "No person may do electrical installation work as an electrical contractor unless that person has been registered as an electrical contractor" (regulation 6(1)). A contractor registers annually, and only if it employs a registered person full-time or is one (regulation 6(2) and (4)).[1]
A registered person must exercise general control (instruction, guidance and supervision) over all installation work (regulation 5(4)), and may certify a new installation only if it "was carried out under his or her general control" (regulation 9(2)(a)). In October 2025 the Department of Employment and Labour warned that a registered contractor issuing a CoC on behalf of an unregistered individual commits a criminal offence and may have its registration revoked.[1][6]
The duty to see that a CoC is issued rests with whoever does the work: a person who undertakes electrical installation work "shall ensure that a valid certificate of compliance is issued for that work" (regulation 9(4)).[1]
Which registered person can sign for a three-phase or industrial installation?
In South Africa, an installation electrician or a master installation electrician can certify a three-phase installation; an electrical tester for single phase cannot. Only a master installation electrician may certify "specialised electrical installations": those in explosive atmospheres, the petroleum industry, hazardous locations and medical locations (regulation 1). The last column is the Department's March 2014 registration criteria as copied on the Electrical Conformance Board's site.[1][8]
| Registration | May certify | May not certify | Department's registration criteria (March 2014) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical tester for single phase (ETSP) | Installations supplied single-phase at the point of control | Three-phase supplies and specialised electrical installations | Unit standards in certifying single-phase domestic installations, and assessed knowledge of the legislation and standards |
| Installation electrician (IE) | Any electrical installation, three-phase included | Specialised electrical installations | A trade test with N3 or Grade 12, an NQF 4 electrical certificate, or an electrical engineering diploma or degree; the subject Installation Rules; unit standards in certifying three-phase industrial and commercial installations |
| Master installation electrician (MIE) | Any electrical installation, specialised ones included | No exclusion in the regulations | Two years as a registered installation electrician; a year's experience in hazardous locations (five years under one of the options); unit standards in certifying hazardous-location installations; the subject Specialized Codes |
When do you need a new electrical CoC?
You need a new CoC when an installation is new, added to or altered, when ownership changes and the CoC is older than two years (subject to section 10(4) of the OHS Act), and when an inspector, an approved inspection authority or the electricity supplier finds a fault and requires one. The text of the Electrical Installation Regulations sets no expiry date for a CoC. The table gives the regulation for each case, including the change of tenant, which needs no new CoC to reconnect the supply.[1][4]
| Event | What the user or lessor needs | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| New installation, before connection to the supply | A CoC from the registered person who inspected and tested it; the electricity supplier may connect it on request for testing | 8(2), 9(2)(a) |
| Addition or alteration to an installation with a CoC | A CoC for at least the addition or alteration | 7(4) |
| Addition or alteration to an installation from before 23 October 1992, with no change of owner since 1 March 1994 | A CoC for the whole installation | 7(3) |
| Change of ownership | A CoC no older than two years, subject to section 10(4) of the OHS Act | 7(5) |
| Fault found by an inspector, an approved inspection authority or the electricity supplier | A new CoC if they require one; if they judge the fault an immediate danger to persons, the supply to that circuit is disconnected | 7(7) |
| Change of tenant, not of owner | No new CoC to reconnect the supply; a written undertaking can transfer responsibility for the installation to the lessee | 8(2), 2(3) |
Who must hold the CoC: owner, tenant or contractor?
The user or lessor of the installation. Regulation 7(1) requires "every user or lessor of an electrical installation" to have a valid CoC in the form of Annexure 1, "accompanied by a test report in the format approved by the chief inspector", and regulation 2(1) makes the user or lessor responsible for "the safety, safe use and maintenance" of the installation.[1]
Where "a written undertaking" between the user or lessor and a lessee transfers that responsibility, the lessee is responsible "as if he or she were the user or lessor" (regulation 2(3)). The Department's notes add that these installations may be on domestic, commercial, industrial or agricultural property.[1][3]
The user or lessor must produce the CoC on request to an inspector, the electricity supplier or an approved inspection authority (regulation 7(2)). Breaching regulation 7, 8 or 9 is an offence carrying a fine or up to 12 months' imprisonment, plus R200 or one day's imprisonment for each day a continuing offence goes on, the extra imprisonment capped at 90 days (regulation 15).[1]
What does an electrical CoC cover, and what is in the test report?
A CoC covers the electrical installation: the machinery on the premises that carries electricity from the point of control to each point of consumption, which is an outlet or the supply terminals of a hard-wired machine (regulation 1). The electricity supplier's equipment, communication, control, television and radio circuits, and installations on vehicles, vessels, trains and aircraft fall outside it.[1]
The CoC is the numbered Annexure 1 form. On it the registered person declares having "personally carried out the inspection and testing", ticks whether it covers a new installation, an existing one or an extension (regulation 9(2)(a), (b) or (c)), deems the installation "reasonably safe when properly used" and enters a registration number and category. The electrical contractor declares the work complies with the OHS Act and its regulations and adds its own registration number. Later work can get a supplementary certificate linked to the initial one.[1]
The test report follows SANS 10142-1, the wiring code the regulations incorporate (edition 3.03, approved on 24 June 2026). In the Electrical Conformance Board's template, the report records the supply and earthing system, describes the part of the installation covered, answers four inspection questions and records 15 tests, among them earth continuity, loop impedance, prospective short-circuit current and earth leakage tripping current.[2][3][5][9]
The template's notes set the report's limits: it "covers only the part of the installation described in Section 3", it "covers the circuits for fixed appliances but not the actual appliances", and medical and hazardous locations need additional test reports.[9]
Above 1 kV, a competent person under the General Machinery Regulations, 1988 or a person registered in a professional category under the Engineering Profession Act, 2000 must approve the design of that part of the installation (regulation 5(5)).[1]
How do you check an electrical CoC and the electrician's registration?
Ask for the registrations before work starts. A registered person must show the certificate of registration to "any person to whom he or she intends to issue a certificate of compliance" (regulation 11(4)); check that its category covers your installation. A contractor registers every year (regulation 6(2)), so ask for its current letter of registration: only the Department of Employment and Labour issues one, and it asks the public to contact it to check that a letter is authentic.[1][7]
On the CoC itself, Annexure 1 says the certificate is "not valid unless all the sections have been completed correctly" with the approved test report attached, and "will be invalid if any corrections have been made". No person may amend a CoC (regulation 9(5)). The registered person also declares having entered the CoC number on the test report, so both should carry it.[1]
If you doubt a CoC, the Department's notes say to contact an approved inspection authority for electrical installations, which may inspect and test at the request of the user or lessor and may not itself work as an electrical contractor (regulation 4).[3][1]
In practice, numbered CoC forms are bought in batches with a registered person's Department registration details. The Electrical Contractors' Association (South Africa) has reported CoCs issued in a registered person's name for installations that person never visited, so check that the person named on the CoC is the one who tested. The Electrical Conformance Board also lets an owner register a paper CoC.[10][11]
What to put in your request
- The site address, building and part of the installation to be certified, with the distribution boards it includes.[1][9]
- Whether the work is a new installation, an addition or alteration (give the existing CoC number), or an existing installation to be certified as it stands.[1]
- The supply: single-phase or three-phase, voltage, main switch rating, and any generator, UPS or other alternative supply.[9]
- Any explosive atmosphere, petroleum industry installation, hazardous or medical location (a master installation electrician and additional test reports), and any part above 1 kV.[1][9]
- The registration category you require, and copies of the registered person's certificate of registration and the contractor's current letter of registration before work starts.[1][7]
- A CoC on the Annexure 1 form with the full test report and its annex pages for the circuits, the CoC number on the report, and no corrections.[1][9]
- Wiring diagrams and photographs (at least of the distribution board), which the test report template says should ideally accompany it.[9]
- For a new supply or more capacity: who sends the Annexure 4 notice, with the estimated kVA, to the electricity supplier before work starts.[1]
- How defects found during testing will be quoted and approved, since the registered person must refuse the CoC until they are put right.[1]
Questions buyers ask
How much does an electrical CoC cost?
The text of the Electrical Installation Regulations sets no price for a CoC: its fees (regulation 14) are for applications for approval or registration and for duplicate certificates of registration. Ask for a quote that itemises the inspection and testing, the test report and its annex pages, and any remedial work, which must be done before the CoC is issued (regulation 9(3)).[1][9]
Can an electrician issue a CoC for work someone else did?
For new work, only if it was done under that registered person's general control (regulation 9(2)(a)). For an installation that existed before the current edition of the wiring code, the registered person must be satisfied by inspection and test that it meets the code's general safety principles (regulation 9(2)(b)). The Department warned in 2025 that issuing a CoC on behalf of an unregistered person is a criminal offence.[1][6]
Do we need a new CoC when we buy or sell a building?
Yes, if the CoC is over two years old: regulation 7(5), subject to section 10(4) of the OHS Act, bars the user or lessor from allowing "a change of ownership". Section 10(4) relieves the duty of an article's seller or supplier "to such an extent as may be reasonable" if the recipient "undertakes in writing to take specified steps". The Department's 2025 warning: a valid CoC must precede any sale or transfer; the property's seller answers for later defects.[1][4][6]
Sources
- Department of Labour (Government Gazette 31975), Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 (GN R.242), with Annexures 1 to 6, 6 March 2009.
- Department of Labour (Government Gazette 31975), Incorporation of safety standards into the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 (GN R.243), 6 March 2009.
- Department of Labour (Government Gazette 35180), Explanatory notes on the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 (General Notice 258 of 2012), 26 March 2012.
- Government Gazette 14918, Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, 2 July 1993.
- SABS, SANS 10142-1:2026 (Ed. 3.03), The wiring of premises Part 1: Low-voltage installations, 24 June 2026.
- Department of Employment and Labour (gov.za), Employment and Labour on electrical installation laws and Certificate of Compliance (CoC) requirements, 22 October 2025.
- Department of Employment and Labour (gov.za), Employment and Labour warns public of fake electrical contractors, 26 July 2021.
- Department of Labour (copy hosted by the Electrical Conformance Board), Registration as a registered person: registration criteria (OHS 3/1/5/7/9), March 2014.
- Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa, Test report for all general electrical installations to SANS 10142-1 (template), undated, read November 2026.
- Electrical Contractors' Association (South Africa), Don't get caught up in Certificate of Compliance fraud, 17 April 2018.
- Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa, Register your CoC (home page), undated, read November 2026.