What does a Display Energy Certificate cost?
Updated 23 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial
Is there a standard price for a DEC?
No. GOV.UK's page on getting a new energy certificate lists a display energy certificate (DEC) among the assessments you can arrange, and says: "The cost of an assessment varies by assessor and the size of the property." There is no official price list, so a figure only comes from a quote for your building. This page explains what drives the fee and does not quote prices. The wider picture for EPCs is in the commercial EPC cost guide.
Which buildings need a DEC?
A DEC is the occupier's duty, not the owner's. It applies to buildings occupied by public authorities and frequently visited by the public. The size test is a total useful floor area above 250 square metres. Private organisations do not need one. Display Energy Certificates: which buildings need a DEC? sets out the tests, and EPCs for schools, colleges and nurseries covers one common group. The rest of this page assumes the duty applies.
What drives the fee for a DEC?
A DEC rates actual energy use over 12 months rather than a model of the building, so the work is mostly about gathering, checking and processing data. These are the drivers the guidance points to.
| Driver | Why it changes the work |
|---|---|
| Floor area | GOV.UK says the cost of an assessment varies with the size of the property. Floor area also sets how often a DEC is renewed, covered below. |
| Metered data | The occupier and assessor need actual meter readings or consignment notes for all fuels used. The guide says the information can come from a number of sources, including meters on site, the landlord or its representative and the supplier, so more sources mean more to collect. |
| Fuels and meters | The guide lists gas, oil, solid fuels, district heating and cooling, grid electricity and electricity generated on site or supplied by private distribution. District heating and on-site generation also need an average carbon factor for the accounting period. |
| Hours and unusual uses | The methodology allows adjustments for longer hours of occupation and for weather, and allows activities that are not typical of the building type to be separated. Each adjustment needs supporting information. |
| Buildings and sites | The duty applies to each building affected. A team can gather information under the direction of an accredited assessor, and the assessor may reuse earlier data if satisfied it was properly collected. |
| First or repeat year | The first DEC and advisory report need a site visit. Later ones can rely on previous knowledge of the building if the same assessor produces them and the occupier declares that nothing has changed. |
| Advisory report due | A DEC must be accompanied by an advisory report, which has its own validity period. A year in which both are due is more work than one in which only the DEC is renewed. |
How does the renewal cycle change what you pay over time?
Regulation 14 sets two cycles. For a building with a total useful floor area over 1,000 square metres the DEC is valid for 12 months from its nominated date. For any other building it is valid for 10 years. The advisory report runs on its own clock: the DEC guide gives 7 years for the larger buildings. A large building therefore needs a new DEC every year and a new advisory report at longer intervals, while a smaller building's DEC lasts a decade.
As a hypothetical illustration, a council running a 2,500 square metre library and a 400 square metre customer centre would renew the library's DEC every year, while the customer centre's DEC would last 10 years. The two buildings need separate certificates, so the work is counted per building.
Check the rules before relying on them, because the government has said the validity periods are under review. Its partial response to the consultation on reforming the Energy Performance of Buildings regime says a further response covering DEC validity periods will be published in 2026, and the consultation page, last updated on 9 March 2026, still says the remaining parts will be published in 2026. On 22 October 2026 legislation.gov.uk listed no outstanding effects on the 2012 Regulations, so regulation 14 applies as described.
What should you have ready before asking for quotes?
Having the data to hand lets an assessor quote for the real job. Based on what the DEC guide says the assessor needs:
- Floor areas. The total useful floor area of each building. How floor area is measured on a commercial EPC explains the measure.
- Meter readings. Actual readings or consignment notes for every fuel, ideally covering the same one-year period.
- A list of meters and fuels. Gas, oil, solid fuel, district heating or cooling, grid electricity and any on-site generation, and which parts of the building each meter serves.
- Occupancy hours. Normal opening hours and any periods of longer occupation, since the methodology allows an adjustment for longer hours.
- Atypical activities. Anything the assessor may be asked to separate out because it is not typical of the building type.
- Earlier certificates. The last DEC and advisory report, and a note of anything that has changed.
- Landlord data. Where the landlord holds the readings, the guide says a completed landlord's energy statement would be an appropriate way for it to provide them.
When quotes arrive, check that they cover the same job. Ask whether the price includes the advisory report, how many buildings and meters are covered, who collects the readings, and whether repeat annual certificates are part of the offer or priced separately. Quotes that differ on those points are not like for like. When you have your data together you can send an enquiry through the site's quote form.
How do penalties relate to the fee?
The fee is separate from the penalties for non-compliance. The government's DEC guide says a local authority can issue a penalty charge notice of £500 for failing to display a DEC and £1,000 for failing to have a valid advisory report, and that the documents must still be commissioned afterwards or further offences are committed. Those amounts are not a price for a DEC. What a DEC costs depends on the drivers above, and the cost guide shows how fees are built up for EPCs.
Sources
- A guide to display energy certificates and advisory reports for public buildings, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK), updated 10 August 2015, checked 22 October 2026
- Get a new energy certificate, GOV.UK, checked 22 October 2026
- The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, regulations 14 and 16, and the table of contents, legislation.gov.uk, checked 22 October 2026
- Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime: partial government response, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (GOV.UK), updated 9 March 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime: consultation outcome, GOV.UK, updated 9 March 2026, checked 22 October 2026
Common questions
Can one DEC cover several buildings?
Each qualifying building needs its own DEC and advisory report, because the guide says the occupier's duty must be met for each of the buildings affected. Gathering data for a group of buildings can be done by a team working under one accredited assessor. Whether that changes the fee is for the assessor to say.
What if we have been in the building for less than 12 months?
Regulation 16 relaxes the operational rating requirement for an occupier who has been in the building for less than 15 months. The guide adds that the legislation allows the calculation to be made over the period of occupation. Tell the assessor your move-in date so they can confirm what data they need.
Who can quote for a DEC?
Only an energy assessor accredited to produce DECs can produce a DEC and advisory report. GOV.UK says to contact assessors directly and check that they are part of an accredited scheme. Because the cost varies by assessor, comparing quotes is worthwhile.
Could the DEC validity periods change?
The government has said a further response covering DEC validity periods will be published in 2026, so they could. Until regulations change, regulation 14 applies: 12 months for buildings over 1,000 square metres and 10 years for others.