How to read a commercial EPC certificate
Updated 23 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial
A commercial EPC on the GOV.UK register reads from top to bottom: a summary panel, the rating, how similar properties compare, a technical breakdown, a link to the recommendation report, and who produced the certificate and when. The specimen below shows that layout, the sections after it explain each part, and a checklist covers a sale or letting. To run the figures from your own certificate through a validity and MEES check, use the commercial EPC checker.
What does a commercial EPC look like?
This specimen follows the sections of a certificate page on the register. Every value is invented to show the layout. It is not a real certificate and does not describe any real building.
| Section on the register page | Specimen entry (all values invented) |
|---|---|
| Summary panel | Energy rating D; valid until [a date 10 years after lodgement]; certificate number XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX; property type [planning use class]; total floor area 1,250 square metres |
| Energy rating and score | “This property’s energy rating is D” with a score [number] |
| How this property compares to others | If newly built [score]; if typical of the existing stock [score] |
| Breakdown of this property’s energy performance | Main heating fuel: natural gas; building environment: heating and natural ventilation; assessment level: 3; building emission rate [kgCO2/m² per year]; primary energy use [kWh/m² per year] |
| Recommendation report | A link to the separate report |
| Who to contact; About this assessment | Assessor’s name, accreditation scheme and ID; employer; assessor’s declaration; date of assessment; date of certificate |
| Other certificates for this property | Earlier certificate numbers with their valid-until dates |
What does the rating show, and what does it leave out?
The band runs from A+ (best) to G (worst), with a score beside it. The government guide says the energy performance of a non-dwelling is shown as a carbon dioxide based index and that the lower the number, the lower the typical emissions, so on a commercial certificate a lower score is the better one.
The regulations call it an asset rating: an energy performance indicator determined from the amount of energy estimated to meet the different needs associated with a standardised use of a building. GOV.UK’s technical annex says what sits underneath. Despite the “Energy Rating” label, “the underlying metric is a carbon emissions metric”, and the register puts it this way: “The better the rating and score, the lower your property’s carbon emissions are likely to be.”
That has three consequences. The rating is not a forecast of your bills, because it assumes a standard use. It counts only “regulated” energy, which the annex lists as space heating, water heating, space cooling, ventilation and fixed lighting, so cooking and plug-in appliances are left out. And the score is the same whoever occupies the building. How commercial EPC ratings are worked out covers the method.
What do “if newly built” and “if typical of the existing stock” mean?
Under the headline the register shows how similar properties could rate if newly built and if typical of the existing stock. The regulations require a certificate to include a reference value “in order to make it possible to compare and assess the energy performance of the building”. Read the two figures as context: on a scale where lower is better, a score above the typical-stock figure means the building is behind comparable existing buildings. They do not change the legal position, which for a covered letting is still band E.
What is in the technical breakdown?
| Entry | What it records | Worth checking |
|---|---|---|
| Main heating fuel | The fuel the model assumed for the main heating | That it matches the building: the rating uses emission factors for the fuels used |
| Building environment | How the building is conditioned, such as heating with natural ventilation or air conditioning | That the systems shown are the ones installed |
| Assessment level | 3, 4 or 5. Levels 3 and 4 can both be assessed with SBEM; level 5 buildings are assessed with dynamic simulation | That the level suits the building: see SBEM Level 3, 4 and DSM |
| Building emission rate | The carbon dioxide emission rate the model gives the building, shown per square metre per year | That it is consistent with the rating band shown |
| Primary energy use | The energy required for lighting, heating and hot water, including the energy used to produce and deliver the fuel | That you do not read it as metered use: it is modelled |
A target emission rate is a different idea. It belongs to the Building Regulations compliance check, and the NCM site explains that the target rates come from a notional building of the same size, shape and use. You do not need it to read an existing building’s certificate. The floor area is covered in how floor area is measured on a commercial EPC.
What do the dates, certificate number and assessor details tell you?
The valid-until date reflects the 10-year rule in regulation 9: a certificate is valid if it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before it is made available and no later certificate for the building has been entered since. The register lists other certificates for the property, so check that none is newer. The certificate number is what the regulations call the report reference number, and it is how a certificate is looked up on the register.
The assessor’s details matter if something looks wrong. The register says to complain to the assessor who created the certificate first, and to contact the accreditation scheme if that fails. The declaration records any personal or business relationship the assessor has with the person who commissioned it (regulation 23). How to find a commercial EPC on the register covers searching.
Where does the recommendation report fit?
The certificate points to a separate recommendation report, which must be included unless there is no reasonable potential for energy performance improvements compared with the requirements in force. The government guide says it groups measures by payback: short term under 3 years, medium term 3 to 7 years and long term over 7 years. How to read a commercial EPC recommendation report goes through it.
What should you check before a sale or letting?
- Validity. The valid-until date has not passed and no newer certificate is listed.
- Rating against band E. For a covered letting, a property is sub-standard where its valid EPC is below band E. Most fixed lettings of six months or less and leases of 99 years or more are outside the rule. The proposal for EPC B from 2031 for privately rented buildings over 1,000 square metres is not law.
- Floor area. Compare it with the 500 square metre display threshold and, for the proposal, the 1,000 square metre line.
- Extent. The certificate covers the unit being sold or let. A block with a common heating system can use one certificate for the whole building.
- Adverts. Once an EPC exists, the rating has to appear in adverts in commercial media. The EPC graph generator draws the A+ to G scale for listings.
Sources
- Find an energy certificate, GOV.UK, checked 22 October 2026.
- Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/3118): regulations 2, 9, 10 and 23, legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives), checked 22 October 2026.
- Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/962): regulations 20 and 22, legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives), checked 22 October 2026.
- A guide to Energy Performance Certificates for the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK) (11 December 2017), checked 22 October 2026.
- Technical annex for chapter 2: What EPCs measure, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (GOV.UK) (9 March 2026), checked 22 October 2026.
- UK's National Calculation Method for Non Domestic Buildings (NCM and SBEM introduction), uk-ncm.org.uk (BRE, official NCM and SBEM website), checked 22 October 2026.
- NCM and SBEM frequently asked questions, uk-ncm.org.uk (BRE, official NCM and SBEM website), checked 22 October 2026.
- Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in the non-domestic Private Rented Sector: interim response, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (GOV.UK) (18 June 2026), checked 22 October 2026.
Common questions
Is a higher score better on a commercial EPC?
No. The government guide says the lower the number, the lower the typical emissions. The register runs the bands from A+ (best) to G (worst) and says the better the rating and score, the lower the carbon emissions are likely to be.
Does the certificate show my energy bills?
No. It is an asset rating for a standardised use, and the technical annex says the current EPC metrics evaluate only regulated energy uses, which exclude cooking and plug-in appliances.
Does one certificate cover every unit in a building?
Not always. The regulations allow a non-residential building to be certified as a whole where it has a common heating system, and the government guide says that certificate can be used for any part when it is sold or let. Where units have independent heating, each unit needs its own.