Scottish Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Accreditation Scheme: operating requirements

Introduction

EPCs are an important source of information for current and potential building owners and tenants to help them understand the energy performance of their building.

EPCs are established and currently enforced by the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008, which will be revoked and replaced by the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025.

Regulation 12 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 makes provision for the establishment of Accreditation Schemes which are operated by Approved Organisations (appointed under Regulation 11).

An Approved Organisation (AO) is one which is approved by the Scottish Ministers to operate the Scottish EPC Accreditation Scheme on their behalf. This document sets out the minimum requirements of the Scottish EPC Accreditation Scheme that must be met by AOs.

An EPC assessor must be a member of the Scottish EPC Accreditation Scheme and must also be a member of an AO to operate in Scotland.

It is the responsibility of each AO to satisfy itself that all of its EPC assessors in Scotland - i.e. their 'members' - are ‘fit and proper’ persons, and are also suitably qualified and trained. This is set out within Regulation 11(3) of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025:

AOs must ensure that the preparation and issuing of energy performance certificates and property reports:

1. is carried out in a consistent, accurate and independent manner, and

2. by persons who are fit and proper persons and are qualified by their education, training and experience to carry out the preparation and issuing of energy performance certificates and property reports.

Regulation 11 and 12 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 came into force on 1 January 2026. This will ensure new AOs are appointed and ready to exercise their functions on the date when the remainder of the Regulations come into force.

The Scottish Ministers are the keepers of the EPC Register and, through this EPC Register, the Scottish Ministers will also (by default, automatically) maintain a record of all assessors who are members of the Scottish EPC Accreditation Scheme.

AOs have responsibility for ensuring that the Scottish Ministers are able to maintain an accurate record of assessors who are members of the Scottish EPC Accreditation scheme, by ensuring the 'status' of assessors who are members of the AO is reflected accurately.

It is the intention for all EPC assessors in Scotland to be allocated a unique identification number - their EPC Register membership number - which will permit them to enter energy performance data to the EPC Register in order to produce an EPC and Property Report.

This Scottish EPC Accreditation Scheme – Operating Requirements is a living document which will be subject to review periodically and revised to ensure current practices are accurate and relevant. There are a number of areas identified within this document that the Scottish Ministers commit to working with organisations (i.e. those who are appointed as AOs from January 2026 onwards) on, prior to the further Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 in-force date.

Throughout this document, references to ‘the 2025 Regulations’ are references to the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025.

Overview of operating requirements

For the Scottish Ministers to approve an organisation to operate the Scottish EPC Accreditation Scheme, the organisation must demonstrate that the following minimum requirements are met, as set out in Regulation 12 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025:

• provisions in-place to ensure that members carry out consistent and accurate energy assessments in an independent manner
• provisions in-place to ensure that members are ‘fit and proper’ persons who are qualified (by their education, training and experience) to carry out EPC assessments
• provisions in-place requiring members to prepare EPCs and Property Reports using a standard form for each type of document
• provision of a code that is produced and published as regards the conduct required of its members
• provisions in-place for indemnity arrangements in relation to owners and prospective or actual buyers or tenants
• provision of an adequate, consumer-focussed escalation procedure with appropriate levels of independence for facilitating the resolution of complaints against members
• provisions in-place to ensure that energy performance data is sent to the relevant Register by members
• provision of a database for the keeping of a register of the members of the AO, which must be regularly maintained; and
• provision of a quality assurance procedures for ensuring that a specified proportion of EPCs and Property Reports are audited (including - where practicable - by means of an on-site inspection) to assess whether they are prepared in a consistent, accurate and independent manner

Outcomes

Through the Scottish EPC Accreditation Scheme, the Scottish Ministers envisage the following outcomes being realised:

• EPCs and Property Reports being produced to the highest standards of accuracy and quality, so that they can be trusted by consumers
• EPC data being gathered and recorded accurately and reliably
• EPCs and Property Reports, and the ratings and potential improvements within, being understood by assessors and communicated competently to property owners and tenants
• continued professionalisation of EPC assessor industry, ensuring EPC assessors operate to the highest standards of skill, knowledge and qualification, with upskilling opportunities available to all assessors
• ensuring EPCs are carried out to the highest standard by achieving a “right first time” approach with EPC assessments; and
• ensuring home and business owners have accurate results that they can rely on

Contacts

Any queries related to any of the requirements set out within this document should be addressed to the following: EPCAccreditation@gov.scot