Who can issue an electrical COC? Registered persons explained

By the EZ COC team. Published 1 October 2026. 5 min read.

Only a registered person may inspect, test and issue an electrical COC in South Africa. Secondary sources name the registered categories as ETSP, IE and MIE. An estate agent, a handyman or an unregistered electrician cannot lawfully issue one, however competent they are.

The registered person types

A COC has to be issued by a registered person. The categories commonly listed for this role are Electrical Tester for Single Phase (ETSP), Installation Electrician (IE) and Master Installation Electrician (MIE). One construction firm's COC guide sets these out in plain terms.

We do not give a regulation number for this, because we are working from secondary sources and the numbering is quoted inconsistently online. The governing text is the Electrical Installation Regulations 2009 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, which you can read on SAFLII.

Which category is allowed to issue for which type of installation is a detail the regulations spell out. If you are unsure whether a person's category covers your job, ask them to show their registration and check the wording yourself.

Contractor registration versus person registration

Two different things get mixed up. A person can be registered in a category. A company can be registered as an electrical contractor. A certificate is issued by a registered person, and it is normally issued under a contractor's name when the person works for a firm.

For the customer, the practical check is on both: is the individual who inspected and signed registered, and is the company they work for registered as a contractor? If someone says "my company is registered" but cannot say who the registered person is, ask more questions.

How to check registration

Ask the electrician for their registration details and check them with the issuing body. The Electrical Contracting Board runs a CoC register with traceable registration, and ECA(SA) runs an electronic certificate platform for its members.

One limit worth knowing: we found no public database for looking up a certificate by its number. A consumer explainer, how to check an electrician's registration and the validity of your COC, covers the same ground. So the reliable route is to verify the person before the work, then keep the certificate and its records afterwards. Our article on what to do if you lose a COC shows why.

Can an estate agent or a handyman issue one?

No. An estate agent, property owner, general builder or handyman cannot issue a COC unless they are also a registered person, and that registration is separate from their trade.

This matters when someone offers a certificate cheaply "through a friend". If the signature is not from a registered person who actually inspected and tested the installation, the certificate does not do what the buyer, insurer or conveyancer expects. Ask who is signing, what their registration is, and when they will be on site.

Whether you are the seller or the buyer, our article on the COC when selling a house explains who normally arranges it.

What a COC must show

We will not recite the prescribed wording from memory, because the exact form is set out in the regulations and the standard. In general, a certificate identifies the installation and its address, the person who inspected and tested it, their registration details, the date and a declaration that the work was tested against the standard.

Supporting documents often travel with it, such as a test report. The ECB publishes a general test report template that shows the kind of readings recorded.

What SANS 10142-1 covers

SANS 10142-1 is the South African standard for the wiring of premises, and it is the technical yardstick an inspection is made against. Edition 3 introduced a revised two-page certificate, which ECA(SA) flagged to registered contractors. The 2024 version is Edition 3.2, published in July 2024.

If you are the electrician, the paperwork that comes out of each inspection is a lot to keep straight: the certificate, the test report and the photos. EZ COC is a filing tool for that pack. You upload the certificate PDF or image, add photos each with a section and description, and later find it by customer, address or COC number. It is not an issuing body, does not issue or register certificates, and does not replace the ECB or ECA(SA). If you are comparing tools, see electrician COC software in South Africa.

General information, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with the regulations and your registered electrician.