Boiler installation certificate or gas safety certificate: what's the difference?
Three different documents all get called "the boiler certificate", and only one of them is usually what a buyer's solicitor means. Getting the right one saves a round of enquiries.
The three documents
| Document | What it is | Needed to sell? |
|---|---|---|
| Building Regulations Compliance Certificate | Issued when a Gas Safe registered engineer installs a boiler, to show the installation complies. It is often just called the installation certificate. | Yes: this is what the TA6 asks for at question 11.4(d) |
| Landlord's gas safety record (CP12) | An annual check of the gas appliances in a let property, by a Gas Safe registered engineer | Not a legal requirement for sale. A buyer who plans to let, or a sale with a tenant in place, will want to see a current one |
| Service record | A record of the boiler's servicing and inspection | The TA6 asks for supporting documents and the most recent inspection report |
The Law Society's notes on the TA6 say a gas-fired boiler or solid fuel appliance installed on or after 1 April 2005 will have required a building control completion certificate or the installer's building regulations compliance certificate. A landlord must obtain a Gas Safe gas safety record at least every 12 months, but this is not a legal requirement for a sale.
Where the installation certificate is held — and how we replace it
Gas Safe registered engineers notify the Gas Safe Register when they install a boiler, and the Register issues the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. The Gas Safe Register for installations since April 2009, historic CORGI archives for older boilers, or local authority building control.
- The catch: Homeowners often confuse an annual service receipt or landlord CP12 with the Building Regulations installation notification, and pre-2009 installations sit in separate historic archives.
- How we handle it: We check the Gas Safe Register and your council's building control records for your address, confirm the exact installation record within 1 working day, and order the official replacement copy.
- Turnaround: First findings within 1 working day; replacement copy ordered for you.
Our Gas Safe certificate search checks the register and your council for your address, emails first findings within 1 working day, and orders the official copy (included in the £79 fee, backed by our no record, no fee guarantee).
If there is no record
Only a Gas Safe registered engineer is authorised to install gas appliances in England and Wales. If the installer was not registered, there will be no entry to find. Under our no record, no fee promise we refund your payment in full, and your solicitor will advise on the options: asking the installer, regularisation with the council, or indemnity insurance. See selling with missing certificates. Ask your solicitor before you contact the council.
For oil-fired or solid fuel boilers, the competent person schemes are different (such as OFTEC and HETAS), though notifications sometimes also appear on council building control registers.
Questions
Is a Gas Safe certificate a legal requirement to sell a house?
No. The Law Society says an annual gas safety certificate is not a legal requirement for the sale of property in England and Wales. The installation certificate for a boiler fitted since April 2005 is a different matter: buyers' solicitors usually ask for it, and the TA6 asks about it.
I only have the boiler service record. Is that enough?
A service record shows the boiler has been looked after, but it is not the certificate that the installation complied with the building regulations. Ask your solicitor whether the buyer's side will accept it. A search of the Gas Safe Register and your council will confirm whether an installation record exists.
I've lost the certificate for my boiler. Can a replacement copy be ordered?
Yes — provided the engineer notified the installation at the time, the central archive holds the record by address even if the original installer has closed or you don't know who fitted the boiler.
Does a boiler installation certificate expire?
The installation certificate does not expire: it records that the work complied when it was done. A landlord's annual gas safety record (CP12) has to be renewed at least every 12 months.
Want us to look for you?
Give us the address and we search every register and your council, then order the official copies. £79 including the register fees for up to 2 copies, and no record means no fee.
Related guides
Official guidance & references
- GOV.UK: Competent person schemes, current schemes and how they are authorised
- The Law Society: TA6 (6th edition) explanatory notes for sellers and buyers
My Certs is an independent service, not part of or endorsed by any scheme, council or regulator named here.