The rules at a glance
Sources: NSW Government, BCNSW eCert portal (updated 1 July 2026), Electrical compliance requirements, and Advisory note 2/2026, When to submit a CCEW (updated 2 September 2026). All read 19 October 2026.
What a certificate of compliance for electrical work is
It's your proof to the state that the job was tested and is safe. Building Commission NSW puts it this way, “Electricians are required to provide Building Commission NSW with a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) to show that the work has been tested and complies with the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Regulation 2018, relevant Australian Standards and the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017 legislation.” The standard behind most of it is AS/NZS 3000, the Wiring Rules.
It's for your customer too. “A CCEW can assist a customer for warranty purposes for the electrical article that has been installed.” Put their email on the certificate and eCert sends them a copy the moment it's lodged.
Source: NSW Government, Electrical compliance requirements, last updated 19 October 2026, read 25 October 2026.
Looking for the NSW CCEW form? There are two doors now
There isn't a form to download any more. The paper book and the PDF Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work went on 1 July 2026, “Handwritten CCEW forms and PDF CCEW forms are no longer accepted from this date.” The CCEW online means one of two doors, and the fields behind both are the same ones you know, installation, work, equipment, tests, test date, customer and site. Where you answer them has changed.
The free CCEW generators went with the PDF. ccew.com.au, the one still showing up when you search for the CCEW online, says so on its own closure page: “PDF CCEW forms, including those generated by CCEW.com.au, are no longer accepted as valid compliance documents.” Its Create CCEW page makes nothing now. If you have one of its PDFs for work finished since 1 July 2026, that work is not lodged, so put it through the portal today, the seven days are counting.
Sources: NSW Government, BCNSW eCert portal (updated 1 July 2026) and the former CCEW form page, and ccew.com.au's closure notice (dated 1 July 2026), all read 19 October 2026.
Seven days. About a minute, from the job.
Every CCEW on this page is a few taps in Yamate. Open the finished job, tick the work and the tests, check it, send. Your licence, the customer and the site are already in, and Building Commission NSW issues the certificate, same as the portal.
No portal, no code, no retyping. The certificate is the last tap on the job.
- Every paid plan from $19/mo (founder price, until 30 Nov). No certificates add-on.
- The seven-day clock shows on the job from the day you finish, so the oven swap on Tuesday never becomes a fine on Wednesday week.
- Quotes, invoices, payments and the CCEW in one app, built in NSW, connected to Building Commission NSW's eCert API since 8 October 2026.
Recorded 19 October 2026 in the app on a sample business, stopped before Send. Rectification and metering CCEWs go through the portal, the app tells you. The send, field by field.
Do I need a CCEW for this job?
When is a CCEW required in NSW? Tap the job.
Advisory note 2/2026, updated 2 September 2026.
Advisory note 2/2026, updated 2 September 2026.
NSW Government, BCNSW eCert portal page, updated 1 July 2026; Energy NSW, NSW CER Installer Portal, updated 20 October 2026, read 25 October 2026.
NSW Government, Smart meter safety and installation requirements, updated 1 July 2026.
NSW Government, Using work management software integrated with BCNSW eCert, updated 29 June 2026.
When is it due?
Seven calendar days from the day you finished the safety and compliance test. No weekend or public holiday extension is written anywhere.
Regulation s37A, quoted in the advisory note: “no later than 7 days after completing the test”. The date stays on your device, this page sends nothing anywhere.
How to lodge a CCEW in NSW: the portal in five stages
This is how to submit a CCEW online by hand. The software route skips the typing but ends at the same place, a certificate issued by Building Commission NSW.
- Log in with your individual licence. Licence number with no spaces or dashes, password, then the 6-digit code emailed to you. Company and partnership licences cannot register. The login page and every fix.
- Pick the electrical work tile, then new work or rectification. Rectification needs the written direction notice. “Some questions in the form may not apply to your work. You should only complete the sections that apply.”
NSW Government, Creating a new CCEW, updated 2 September 2026.
- Installation, equipment, customer and site. Installation type, the work, exactly where on the site, each piece of equipment with its rating and count, then the customer and the street address (type it slowly, the search misses fast typing). Save and continue after every screen, “If you close or refresh your browser before selecting this button, your entries will be lost.”
NSW Government, Installation details, Equipment details, Customer and site details, all updated 2 September 2026.
- Tests, the test date, NMI and network. Earthing continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, circuit connections, and every RCD you installed or replaced, those are the regulation's own list. If someone else tested it, they must hold a current licence and be registered in eCert, and they get 30 days to finish their part.
NSW Government, Test details, updated 2 September 2026; regulation s36 as quoted in Advisory note 2/2026.
- Declaration, privacy notice, submit. Tick that the work complies, accept the privacy collection notice, review, submit. The PDF certificate is emailed to you, to the customer if you gave their email, and recorded by Building Commission NSW. After that it can be viewed but not edited.
NSW Government, Reviewing declarations and submitting, updated 2 September 2026; Viewing and downloading submitted certificates, updated 31 August 2026.
Before you open the form, 13 things
Tick them off on the job. Nothing is saved, so a shared laptop keeps no history. Print it for the ute if you like.
Four jobs, what goes on the certificate
Made-up jobs, real field names. No test readings, because the CCEW doesn't ask for readings, it asks which tests you did.
- Work
- Like-for-like replacement of a fixed appliance
- Installation
- Residential
- Where
- Kitchen, oven cavity
- Equipment
- 1 oven, hard wired
- Tests
- Earthing continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, circuit connections
- Tester
- You
- Work
- Additions or alterations to a switchboard
- Installation
- Residential
- Where
- Meter box, garage wall
- Equipment
- 1 switchboard 63 A, RCDs as fitted
- Tests
- Earthing continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, circuit connections, RCD operation on every device
- Network
- Your distributor (Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy)
- Work
- Solar PV and battery installation
- Installation
- Residential
- Where
- Roof array, inverter on the garage wall, battery beside it
- Equipment
- Inverter, battery, isolators as fitted
- Tests
- Earthing continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, circuit connections, RCD operation
- Network
- Your distributor, NMI from the bill
- Work
- Metering work
- Installation
- Residential
- Where
- Meter box
- Equipment
- Smart meter as fitted
- Tests
- As the metering form asks
- Network
- Your distributor, NMI
Who gets the certificate
- Building Commission NSW records it. The portal is the system of record, whichever way it was sent.
- You get the PDF by email, to the address registered on your portal account.
- The customer gets a copy if their email was on the form.
- Your employer, if you said yes to sharing a copy, and the distributor where supply is involved.
NSW Government, Creating a new CCEW and BCNSW eCert API for the electrical industry (“Certificates are emailed to the electrician and distributed to the employer, customer, and distributor (if applicable).”), read 19 October 2026.
The six things that go wrong
I lost everything I typed
“Your form is only saved when you select Save and continue. If you close or refresh your browser before selecting this button, your entries will be lost.” Save after every screen, especially on a phone that sleeps.
NSW Government, Creating a new CCEW, updated 2 September 2026.
The tester I assigned can't see the job
The other electrician “must hold a current electrician's licence and be registered in BCNSW eCert”. Not registered, no job. Their notification comes from donotreply_BCNSW@customerservice.nsw.gov.au, so check junk.
NSW Government, Test details, updated 2 September 2026.
The assigned certificate vanished
“If there is no activity on the certificate for 30 days, it will be automatically removed from BCNSW eCert. Once removed, it cannot be recovered and the installing electrician will need to create a new certificate.” The tester has 30 days, and so does the certificate.
NSW Government, Accessing your assigned jobs, updated 2 September 2026.
I need to fix a submitted certificate
“Once submitted, a certificate can be viewed but cannot be edited.” Check the review screen like it is the last time you will see it, because it is. A wrong certificate means a conversation with Building Commission NSW, not an edit button.
NSW Government, Viewing and downloading submitted certificates, updated 31 August 2026.
The customer didn't get their copy
Their email has to be on the form. For a certificate sent by software, the electrician's copy goes to the email registered on the portal account, not the one the software has, if they differ.
NSW Government, Creating a new CCEW; Using work management software integrated with BCNSW eCert, updated 29 June 2026.
My software won't send a rectification CCEW
Correct, none can. “Rectification CCEWs cannot be submitted on your behalf through an integrated business or software system.” Portal, rectification of work, written direction notice in hand. The seven days still count.
NSW Government, Using work management software integrated with BCNSW eCert, updated 29 June 2026.
Send it from the job
Everything above, done from the finished job in about a minute, on every paid plan. The recording is at the top, the field-by-field version is on the software page.
Try Yamate free for 30 days, no card →Questions
Does a like-for-like replacement need a CCEW?
Yes. The September 2026 advisory names water heaters, ovens, stove tops and electrical accessories.
When does the seven days start?
When you finish the safety and compliance test, not when you invoice. Calendar days.
Can I still use the paper book or the PDF form?
No, not since 1 July 2026. Portal or an approved software connection.
Is ccew.com.au still working?
No. It closed on 1 July 2026 and its own notice says its PDFs are no longer accepted. The site is still online, so it still shows in search.
Who lodges it, me or my boss?
The tester, in their own name, under s37A. The employer can get a copy. If software sends it, the regulator says “you remain legally responsible for the CCEW”.
Does a solar job need a CCEW through eCert?
Yes since 1 July 2026, until the NSW CER Installer Portal takes over for new and upgraded rooftop solar and batteries up to 200 kW. Energy NSW says it “also covers the Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW)” for those systems, starting with connection applications approved from 2 November 2026 (Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy) and 23 November 2026 (Ausgrid). “If a job also includes electrical work that is not covered by the NSW CER Installer Portal requirements, you still need to submit a separate CCEW through BCNSW eCert for that work.”
Source: Energy NSW, NSW CER Installer Portal, updated 20 October 2026, read 25 October 2026.
Do I need a portal account if my software sends it?
Not to send. Register with your individual licence to see and download your certificates, they are stored there either way.
What does a late CCEW cost?
Regulation s37A carries 20 penalty units for an individual, 40 otherwise. Giving false information is a Crimes Act offence on top.
Can I edit a certificate after submitting?
No. Viewed, not edited. Get it right on the review screen.
Every rule above is Building Commission NSW's, quoted from the page linked beside it and read 19 October 2026. The regulator's page wins if this one falls behind. Yamate is independent of Building Commission NSW and not endorsed by it. No licensed electrician has reviewed the job examples yet, when one does, their name goes here.