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Do you have to display a commercial EPC?

Updated 19 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial

Only if three conditions are all met. The building must have a total useful floor area over 500 square metres, it must be frequently visited by the public, and an EPC must already have been produced for its sale, letting or construction. When all three apply, the valid EPC has to be displayed in a prominent place that visitors can clearly see. If any one is missing, there is no display duty.

Which buildings must display an EPC?

Gov.uk says you must display an EPC by fixing it to your commercial building if all of these apply:

  • the total useful floor area is over 500 square metres;
  • the building is frequently visited by the public;
  • an EPC has already been produced for the building's sale, rental or construction.

The legal source is regulation 10 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, which applies only to buildings other than dwellings. It requires the certificate to be valid and displayed in a prominent place clearly visible to members of the public who visit the building. The requirement has applied since 9 January 2013.

The regulations treat a building unit as a building, so a large unit with its own certificate can meet the test on its own floor area. Multi-let retail raises its own questions, covered in our guide to EPCs for shopping centres and multi-let retail.

What does "frequently visited by the public" mean?

Government guidance describes it as a non-domestic building that the public has an implied or express licence to enter, and which is regularly visited by members of the public on a daily or near daily basis. Its examples help:

  • Implied licence: a shop, restaurant or other building the public can assume they have a general right to enter.
  • Express licence: buildings with no implied right of entry, such as office blocks, factories and other commercial buildings, where the public are let in.

So a hypothetical 1,200 square metre supermarket open every day, with an EPC from its last letting, meets all three tests. A 600 square metre office that only staff and the odd booked visitor enter is unlikely to meet the daily or near daily test. A large office with a busy public reception may. Our retail and shop EPC page covers shops and other retail premises. The same three tests decide whether hotels and pubs must display an EPC.

Do you need to get an EPC just to display it?

No. Enforcement guidance says there is no need to obtain an EPC specifically for this purpose, but if the property has one, it must be displayed. The trigger is a certificate produced on sale, construction or letting since 9 January 2013. If your building has never needed one for those reasons, the display rule does not apply, although the sale and letting rules will when that time comes, as explained in our guide to whether you need a commercial EPC.

The displayed certificate must be valid. An EPC is valid only if it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before it is made available, and only the most recent certificate for a building counts. You can check what is lodged for your building using the government's find an energy certificate service.

Who is responsible for displaying it?

In a rented building, government guidance says this is the responsibility of the building occupier. That can surprise tenants who never commissioned the certificate, but the landlord must give the incoming tenant a valid EPC, so the occupier should already have a copy to put up.

What is the penalty for not displaying it?

A breach of the display duty carries a fixed penalty charge of £500, according to the enforcement guidance published for local weights and measures authorities. That is separate from the penalty of £500 to £5,000, based on rateable value, for not making an EPC available to a prospective buyer or tenant, and from the duty to state the rating in sale or letting adverts.

Enforcement is by local weights and measures authorities, usually trading standards. A penalty charge notice cannot be given more than six months after the breach, or the last day of a continuing breach. If a review of the notice fails, an appeal to the county court must be made within 28 days of the confirmed penalty.

How does this differ from a DEC?

Public buildings follow a separate rule. Buildings occupied by public authorities and frequently visited by the public need a Display Energy Certificate, and enforcement guidance notes that displaying an EPC does not remove the need for a DEC. See our guide to Display Energy Certificates for the thresholds. If a sale, letting or building work means you need a new EPC, check the triggers and request quotes from accredited assessors through the form on this site.

Sources

Common questions

Does an office building have to display its EPC?

Only if it is over 500 square metres, already has an EPC from a sale, letting or construction, and is frequently visited by the public. Guidance describes that as regular visits by members of the public on a daily or near daily basis, which many offices do not have.

Our EPC has expired. Do we have to replace it to keep displaying one?

Regulation 10 requires the displayed certificate to be valid, while government guidance says there is no requirement to commission an EPC for display alone. If your building is in that position, ask your local trading standards service how it applies, and remember a new EPC will be needed at the next sale or letting anyway.

Is showing the rating in our property adverts enough?

No. Stating the rating in sale or letting adverts in commercial media is a separate duty. The display rule requires the certificate itself to be shown in a prominent place in the building.

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