How to check a Victorian electrician's licence and electrical paperwork
Short answer
Before electrical installation work begins in Victoria, check who is contracting for the job and who will do the work. A registered electrical contractor (REC) business and an individual electrician's licence are different credentials. Ask which Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES) you should receive when the work is completed.
1. Check the business and worker
Ask for the registered electrical contractor's details, where REC registration is required, and the name and licence of the person doing the work. Use Energy Safe Victoria's public register to check the business and individual authorisations. Don't rely on a website badge alone.
2. Ask which certificate applies
A Certificate of Electrical Safety records the electrical installation work performed under the applicable rules. It isn't the same as an inspection report about the whole property. Ask the electrician whether the proposed job is prescribed or non-prescribed work and whether an independent Licensed Electrical Inspector must inspect it.
The distinction affects independent inspection requirements. Some work on components can be classified differently from broader installation work, so the electrician needs to explain the rule for the actual tasks—not just call everything a 'switchboard upgrade'.
3. Get the required paperwork
Confirm in writing who will issue the COES, whether any independent inspection fee is included and when the paperwork will be provided. If the job changes, ask whether that changes the certificate or inspection requirements.
Once you receive the Certificate of Electrical Safety, check that the property address, electrician's details and description of work match the work done. Energy Safe Victoria's public COES search can find a number for electronic certificates raised from July 2019; the search result is not the certificate copy itself.
If you have not received a certificate, first ask the electrician or registered electrical contractor for a copy. If someone engaged the contractor on your behalf, you may also ask that customer, such as a rental provider. Energy Safe Victoria offers a COES search application for eligible owners, occupants, customers and authorised agents, with evidence of your connection to the property. Submit any identity or property documents only to Energy Safe Victoria through its official process, not to Services Explained. If a required COES is refused or not issued, ESV explains how to report a safety or compliance concern; that process does not handle billing or contractual disputes.
A short set of questions
Replace bracketed placeholders before sending.
What are the REC and worker licence details? Does this work require a prescribed or non-prescribed COES and an independent inspection? Who will give me the certificate and what fees are included?
For comparing switchboard work, see Understanding a switchboard-work quotation in Victoria. For shocks, tingling or an immediate electrical hazard, follow the safety advice in Electrician call-out and fault-finding charges in Melbourne before a routine appointment.
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