Do I need a licensed electrician in NZ?
Short answer
Yes — virtually all electrical work in NZ has to be done by a person registered with the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB). The exemption for homeowners is narrow (changing a light bulb, replacing a faulty wall socket faceplate). Anything more involves licensed work. After any installation, the electrician must issue a Certificate of Compliance — keep it for insurance and resale.
Source: Electricity Act 1992. Updated May 2026.
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Check a builderKey facts
- EWRB licence required for almost all installation work
- Verify licence at ewrb.govt.nz
- Categories: Electrician, Electrical Inspector, Line Mechanic, Electrical Service Technician, etc
- Certificate of Compliance (CoC) required after each job
- Owner exemption is tiny — replace bulbs and broken faceplates only
Verifying the licence
EWRB has an online register. Type the name or registration number. Confirm the category covers the work you need — an 'Electrical Service Technician' is allowed to do appliance servicing but not necessarily wiring.
If they're not on the register or the licence has lapsed, that's a no-go. Insurance won't cover unlicensed work.
Certificate of Compliance
Every prescribed electrical job ends with the electrician issuing a CoC, signed and dated, identifying the work. It's a legal requirement, not a courtesy.
Keep the CoC. You'll need it for insurance claims, EQC events, and on resale. Selling a house without records of electrical work over the last 20 years is a friction point with buyers' lawyers.
Knowing the rules is half the job. The other half is knowing who you're hiring. Check any NZ builder against the public record: company status, licensing and insolvency notices, from the official NZ sources.
Related questions
Sources: Electricity Act 1992; EWRB — ewrb.govt.nz; Electrical (Safety) Regulations 2010. General information for NZ homeowners, not legal advice. Building rules change and vary by council, so confirm critical details on the official source before acting. Last updated 2026-05.