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How long is a commercial EPC valid?

Updated 19 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial

When does the 10 years start?

The clock starts when the EPC is lodged on the register, not when the assessor visits or when a sale or lease completes. GOV.UK says all EPCs are valid for 10 years, and the regulations set the test precisely. For a sale or letting, an EPC is valid only if it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before the date it is made available to the buyer or tenant, and no newer EPC for the building has been entered since (regulation 9(2) of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012).

Lodgement is what makes a certificate count. Government guidance says the EPC and recommendation report are only valid once they have been lodged, and lodging generates the certificate reference number that every valid EPC must carry. The recommendation report runs on the same clock as the certificate: it stops being valid ten years from the date of the EPC (regulation 4(4)(a)).

What does "valid" mean for MEES?

MEES uses its own version of the same test. Under regulation 22 of the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/962), an EPC is "valid" where:

  1. it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before the date on which it is relied on for the purposes of those regulations; and
  2. no other EPC for the property has been entered on the register since.

The difference is the reference point. The EPC rules test validity on the date the certificate is made available; MEES tests it on the date it is relied on. A let property is sub-standard, and cannot lawfully be let without an exemption, where its valid EPC rates it below band E. If an enforcement authority investigates, a compliance notice can ask for the EPC that was valid at the time the property was let. The MEES compliance guide covers the rest of the rules.

Can a newer EPC replace one that is still in date?

Yes. Under both sets of regulations, lodging a newer EPC for the same building ends the older one's validity, even if it had years left to run. Government guidance puts it plainly: where more than one is produced, the most recent EPC is the valid one. An owner, landlord or tenant can commission a further EPC within the 10 years, and once lodged it becomes the current one for the property.

That cuts both ways. A new EPC with a better rating replaces an old F or G. A new EPC with a worse rating replaces an old E just as completely. Government guidance warns that the methodologies behind EPC calculations are updated periodically, so a band can change even when nothing has been done to the building, and it suggests landlords may wish to take advice on the likely rating before deciding what to do.

When do you need a new EPC before the 10 years are up?

An in-date EPC can be reused. Government guidance says a new one is not needed each time there is a change of tenancy or a sale, provided it is no more than 10 years old, and an EPC stays with the building when the owner changes. The main reasons to get a new one early are these.

  • The building has been split or combined. An EPC is required when a building is modified to have more or fewer parts than it originally had and the work includes providing or extending fixed heating, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation. The person carrying out the work provides the EPC on completion. See refurbishment, extensions and new EPCs.
  • Improvement works should lift the rating. There is no automatic requirement to produce a new EPC after energy efficiency works. For MEES, though, government guidance recommends a fresh post-installation EPC, because the old certificate keeps recording the old rating until something replaces it.
  • The existing EPC covers a different space. Where the let property is a discrete space within a building, and there is an EPC for that space as well as one for the whole building, guidance says the relevant EPC for MEES is the one for the discrete space.
  • The building is new. A newly constructed building needs its own EPC, and building control will not issue a completion certificate until it has been given to the owner.

What happens if the EPC expires during a lease?

Nothing happens automatically. The government's non-domestic landlord guidance (February 2017) says that once an EPC reaches the ten-year point and expires, there is no automatic requirement to produce a new one. A further EPC is only needed the next time a trigger point is reached, when the property is next sold, let or modified.

The guidance works through what that means for MEES. In one example, a property let on a 20-year lease with an F-rated EPC from 2012 was not caught by the continuing-letting rule on 1 April 2023, because the EPC had expired in 2022 and there was no legal requirement to get a new one while the tenancy was ongoing. The landlord would need a new EPC, and would then have to meet the MEES minimum, if they re-let at the end of the lease (to the same tenant or a new one), or if the landlord or tenant modified the property in a way that requires a new EPC. In a follow-on example, a tenant who decides to sublet becomes a sub-landlord and needs an EPC to market the space.

Two cautions. This is guidance, and the department says it cannot give a definitive interpretation of the law, which is a matter for the courts. And the outcome turns on whether an EPC is legally required: the guidance says that where there is any doubt about that, or about whether an EPC was required or voluntary, expert advice should be sought.

How do you check when an EPC runs out?

Look the building up on the government's register, where each certificate is listed with the date it is valid until. The steps are in how to find a commercial EPC on the register. Check that the certificate covers the right building or unit, and that nothing newer has been lodged. Then enter the lodgement date and rating in the commercial EPC checker to see when it runs out and where it stands on MEES.

If the EPC has expired, or will have expired by the time you market the property, plan for a new one: the regulations require an EPC to be commissioned before a building is put on the market. You can request quotes from accredited assessors through the form on this page.

Scotland is different. Under the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025, an EPC there will stop being valid 5 years after it is issued. Regulation 1 says those rules come fully into force on 31 October 2026, but a draft amendment before the Scottish Parliament would move that to 30 April 2028. See commercial EPCs in Scotland.

Sources

Common questions

Does a commercial EPC have to be renewed every 10 years?

No. There is no periodic renewal. Government guidance says that when an EPC expires there is no automatic requirement to produce a new one; a new EPC is needed the next time the property is sold, let or modified in a way that requires one.

Does an EPC stay valid when the building is sold?

Yes. Government guidance says EPCs relate to the property rather than the owner or occupier, so an EPC obtained by a previous owner remains valid after a sale as long as it is less than ten years old and no newer EPC has been lodged.

What if the EPC runs out while the property is on the market?

The EPC rules test validity on the date the certificate is made available, and the person who ultimately buys or rents must be given a valid EPC. If the current certificate will pass its 10 years before the deal completes, getting a new one before marketing avoids a gap.

Can a tenant commission a new EPC?

Yes. Government guidance says an owner, landlord or tenant can commission a further EPC within the ten-year period if they choose. Once it is lodged it becomes the current EPC for the property and replaces the previous one, whatever its rating.

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