Lost electrical COC: what you can actually do
If you have lost an electrical COC, start by asking the electrician who issued it, because they should hold a copy. Then check whether it was registered with the ECB. We found no official duplicate process for installation certificates, so a new inspection may be the fallback.
Ask the issuing electrician first
The person who inspected the installation and signed the certificate is your best source. A responsible electrician keeps a copy of every certificate and its test report, and many keep photos of the work too.
Have the details ready: the property address, the approximate date, the name on the original job and, if you have it, the COC number. If the number was written on the distribution board, as the ECB recommends, you can read it straight from the board.
Be prepared for a fee for the time spent finding and sending the file. Whether they charge, and how much, is up to them.
Check the ECB register
The Electrical Contracting Board runs a CoC register that provides traceable registration, takes the CoC and the test report, accepts certificates from all organisations and keeps a history for each property. If the electrician registered your certificate there, the record may exist.
That only helps if the certificate was actually registered. Many were not. Contact the ECB with the address and ask what they hold and how they release it. We do not know their process for handing copies to owners, so ask them rather than assuming.
There is also no public lookup by COC number that we could find. One consumer explainer, how to check an electrician's registration and the validity of your COC, makes the same point.
When a new inspection is needed
If the electrician cannot be found, has closed, or has no record, and the ECB has nothing, the practical route is a new inspection by a registered person. They test the installation as it is today and issue a new certificate if it passes.
This is not a replacement of the lost document. It is a fresh certificate based on a fresh inspection, so any defects that have developed since will need fixing first. If you need it for a sale, our article on the COC when selling a house covers who normally pays and what a failed inspection means.
Before booking, check what the person asking for the certificate really needs. If a copy of the original is enough, you may not need an inspection at all.
What has no official process
This is the honest part. The regulation about lost certificates that we found deals with the registration certificates of registered persons and contractors, not with COCs for installations. We found no official procedure for requesting a duplicate installation COC.
That means anyone offering a "replacement COC" should be asked exactly what it is and who is signing it. A certificate has to come from a registered person who has inspected and tested the installation. You can read the regulations on SAFLII and check them yourself. See also who can issue an electrical COC.
Why electricians should keep copies
If you are the electrician, calls about lost certificates are predictable. Customers lose paper, and the buyer's conveyancer wants it next week. If your records are in a shoebox, a phone gallery or a WhatsApp chat from 2023, finding it costs you time you did not bill for.
Keep the certificate, test report and photos together under the customer and address. Our guide to how to store electrical COCs lays out a naming scheme that makes old certificates searchable.
Preventing it next time
For homeowners: when you receive a certificate, photograph every page, save the PDF in two places and write the COC number somewhere you will find it. Tell your electrician you would like a digital copy.
For electricians: file every certificate the day it is issued. EZ COC lets you store the certificate PDF or image, site photos each with a section and description, and the address, then find the job later by customer, address or COC number and generate one page-numbered PDF to resend. It does not issue or register certificates, so it is a filing tool for the paperwork you already produce.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a duplicate of a lost electrical COC?
We found no official duplicate process for installation certificates. Ask the electrician who issued it, since they should hold a copy. If that fails, a new inspection may be needed.
Does the ECB hold my certificate?
Only if the certificate was registered with the ECB. Its register accepts CoCs and keeps property CoC history, so check with the ECB whether yours is on file.
Is a photo of my COC acceptable?
We found no source that says. Ask whoever needs it, such as your conveyancer or insurer, whether a photo or scan is enough or whether they want the full certificate.
General information, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with the regulations and your registered electrician.
Make sure your customers never have to ask twice.
File each certificate with its photos and address so you can resend it in seconds.
Try the live demo