EWRB Certificate of Compliance (CoC) — explained

A Certificate of Compliance (CoC) is a legal record that prescribed electrical work has been carried out safely and complies with AS/NZS 3000:2018 (the New Zealand Wiring Rules). It's required under regulations 6A and 73 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010.

The CoC names the worker who did the job, declares the work is compliant, and lists the standards followed. It's the formal handover from the electrician to the customer (and to any future electrician inspecting the installation).

Any electrical worker registered with the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) and holding a current practising licence can issue a CoC — for work within the scope of their licence class. The worker's registration number, licence class and expiry date must appear on every CoC.

You can check anyone's EWRB registration at the public EWRB Public Register — useful for customers verifying their electrician or for companies onboarding new staff.

CoC — Certificate of Compliance

Required for all prescribed electrical work — new installations, additions and alterations. Issued by the worker who did the job. Within 20 working days of completion.

ESC — Energy Safety Certificate

Additionally required when the work involves connection to the public mains supply — new service connections, increased capacity, or main switchboard work. The ESC is what the distributor accepts before energising.

RoI — Record of Inspection

Required for high-risk work — generally hospitals, mass-gathering venues, hazardous areas. An independent licensed inspector (not the worker who did the job) issues the RoI after physical inspection.

CoV — Certificate of Verification

Required for work on the distributor's network — typically lines work, substations, distribution-asset modifications. Issued by a verifier authorised by the network company.

Regulation 73 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 sets the minimum content. Every CoC must include:

• •Client name and contact details
• •Job site address
• •Description of the work carried out
• •List of standards complied with (AS/NZS 3000 as a minimum; AS/NZS 3008 for cable selection; AS/NZS 5033 for PV systems; etc.)
• •Declaration of compliance — a statement that the work meets the cited standards
• •Worker details — EWRB registration number, licence class, expiry date
• •Signature of the worker who did the job
• •Date issued (within 20 working days of completing the work)

WireWrite enforces every required field at issue time — the certificate cannot be signed and issued until each one is filled in. No missing-field surprises during an audit.

The Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 are format-neutral — a CoC can be issued in either physical or electronic form, provided it contains all required information and the electrician's authenticated signature. Digital CoCs are accepted by EWRB inspectors and by every electrical distributor in New Zealand.

The advantages of digital are practical: no lost paper, instant client delivery via email, searchable archive, no transcribing test results from a clipboard, and the worker's signature is locked to the file (it can't be retroactively edited without leaving a trail).

WireWrite is built specifically for NZ EWRB-compliant certificates. The wizard walks you through every required field for CoC, ESC, RoI and CoV — auto-fills your worker details from your profile, applies your digital signature on issue, and produces a PDF that's email-delivered to the client and stored in your dashboard for the legal retention period.

1. 1Sign up and verify your EWRB registration (30-day free trial, no card required).
2. 2Set up your digital signature (draw on screen or upload) and a 4-digit signing PIN.
3. 3Create a new CoC, fill in the wizard, sign at the end, email to client. Total time: 3–5 minutes once you know the form.