The boletín explained: Spain’s electrical certificate

What exactly is the boletín?

Boletín eléctrico is the everyday name for the certificado de instalación eléctrica, or CIE. According to the CNMC, Spain’s national markets and competition regulator, it is a mandatory document for homes, new or second-hand, which certifies that the electrical installation is in good condition and meets the technical requirements. It records, among other data, the installed power and the maximum power the installation can support, together with a diagram of the installation.

The technical rules that the installation must meet are set by the low-voltage electrical regulation, the Reglamento Electrotécnico para Baja Tensión (REBT), approved by Royal Decree 842/2002.

Who issues it, and who registers it?

The certificate is signed and issued by an authorised electrical installer. On the renovations we coordinate, this is always an authorised partner installer: we do not issue electrical certificates ourselves. Spain’s Ministry of Industry describes the installer as the party principally responsible for the installation, and states plainly that someone who is not an authorised installer cannot carry out and certify one. That is the reason we work with a partner installer.

The CNMC explains that the installer submits the certificate to the energy department of the autonomous community, which registers it and assigns a file number identifying the installation. In Andalusia, the Junta registers low-voltage installations through two online platforms, known as PUES and TECI. Which one is used depends, among other things, on whether the work needed a technical project.

When do you need a boletín?

According to the CNMC, the certificate is typically needed in these situations:

• A new supply, for example when a property is connected for the first time.
• Increasing contracted power beyond the maximum shown on the existing certificate. Up to that maximum, no new certificate is needed.
• Technical changes such as moving from single-phase to three-phase supply.
• Contract changes on older installations: where the certificate is more than 20 years old, a new one may be required when the contract changes, even if nothing has been modified.
• Buying a second-hand home: the CNMC states that the seller should provide it.

Whether your distribution company will ask for a new certificate in a specific case is something your partner installer or the distributor can confirm (to be verified for each supply).

Does the boletín expire?

No. The CNMC is explicit that the certificate does not expire and does not have to be renewed simply because time has passed. What it does say is that, for installations whose certificate is more than 20 years old, a new certificate may be issued to certify the existing installation when a contract change requires it. If the installation is modified, the certificate must be updated.

In practice, many owners of older Costa del Sol flats find out about this when they put the electricity contract in their own name after buying or inheriting. If the installation is old, that can be the moment to decide whether to certify it as it is or to renew it first.

What happens when you renovate the electrics?

The Junta de Andalucía’s guidance for installers explains that when an existing low-voltage installation is modified, extended or repaired, the current regulation applies to the part that is modified, extended or repaired. Modifications and extensions are registered through the Junta’s platforms; simple repairs are not registered, but they must still be carried out by an installer company, which issues a certificate signed by a low-voltage installer.

For a typical apartment renovation with new circuits or a full rewire, the partner installer designs the work, carries it out, performs the required checks and issues the certificate where the scope requires it. Whether your particular job needs a technical design report or a project is decided by the installer according to the regulation (to be verified for each job). See our rewiring page for how we coordinate this within a renovation.

Are there periodic inspections for homes?

Spain’s low-voltage regulation includes a technical instruction on verifications and inspections, and the Ministry of Industry notes that initial inspections by an inspection body are required only for certain installations listed in that instruction. Whether, and how often, an ordinary apartment is subject to periodic inspection is a point we have not been able to confirm from official sources for Andalusia, so treat it as to be verified with an authorised partner installer. Communal installations in apartment buildings may have their own requirements, which the community’s administrator should know.

What should you keep and where?

Keep a copy of the certificate with the property documents, together with the installer’s details and the registration number if there is one. Keep the itemised quote and invoices for the electrical work too. These documents are useful when you change the supply contract, increase contracted power, let the property or sell it. If you are buying, ask for them early; our guide to buying a flat to renovate lists other documents worth requesting.

How do we handle the electrical side of a renovation?

We plan routes, open and close chases, adapt ceilings and walls and fit the electrical work into the schedule. The design, the installation, the checks and the certificate are the responsibility of the authorised partner installer. You deal with one contact for the renovation, and you receive the documentation for the installation at handover. Changing the supply contract itself remains with the contract holder.

Official sources

• CNMC – El boletín eléctrico: qué es y para qué sirve
• Junta de Andalucía – Preguntas frecuentes PUES/TECI (instalaciones eléctricas)
• Ministerio de Industria – Baja tensión, preguntas frecuentes
• Real Decreto 842/2002, REBT (BOE, consolidated text)