The EPC Register: lodgement, finding your certificate and fixing errors

Searching for an existing certificate

Anyone can search the Register without needing to prove ownership or any connection to the property, since certificates are public documents by design. The two reliable ways in are the property address and the unique report reference number, which appears on any copy of the certificate itself. Searching by address is more prone to returning no result or the wrong result because of formatting differences.

• Search by report reference number where you have a copy of the certificate — this is the most reliable method.
• If searching by address, try the postcode combined with just the house number or name, rather than a full formatted address.
• Check for a hyphenated or unhyphenated house name, or a flat number recorded differently to how you would type it.
• Where a property has been renamed, renumbered or is newly built, search under both the old and new address details.
• Certificates for demolished or since-redeveloped properties may still appear as historic records under the old address.

Why a certificate sometimes cannot be found

A failed search does not automatically mean no certificate exists. Recently lodged certificates can take a short time to be fully indexed and searchable, and address mismatches are extremely common, particularly for flats, properties with both a house name and number, or new developments still using a plot number rather than a finished postal address. It is also entirely possible that no valid certificate currently exists, either because one was never obtained or because the previous one has expired.

Correcting an error on a lodged certificate

Because the Register holds the certificate as lodged, correcting a genuine factual error is not a matter of asking the Register operator to edit the record directly. The correction route runs through the assessor who produced it, and where necessary their accreditation scheme, since the assessor is the party responsible for the accuracy of the data submitted.

• Contact the original assessor first with specific details of what you believe is incorrect and any supporting evidence.
• Minor recording errors can sometimes be corrected and relodged directly by the assessor without a new site visit.
• Substantive errors affecting the rating, such as a missed insulation upgrade, typically require a new assessment.
• If the original assessor is unavailable or unresponsive, their accreditation scheme can be contacted to progress a complaint.
• A superseding, corrected certificate becomes the current valid record; the original remains visible as a historic entry.

Who actually uses Register data, and why it matters

Beyond individual buyers and tenants checking a specific property, the Register's data is used more widely than most owners realise, which is part of why accuracy matters beyond just the individual certificate. Local authorities use it for MEES enforcement, lenders reference it during mortgage underwriting on efficiency-linked products, and government uses aggregated Register data to track progress on housing stock efficiency at a national level.

• Local authorities use Register data to identify and enforce against non-compliant commercial and residential lettings.
• Some mortgage lenders reference EPC band data as part of green mortgage or lending criteria.
• Estate and letting agents are legally required to reference a property's current EPC in marketing material.
• Government policy analysis on housing stock efficiency draws on aggregated, anonymised Register data.