How long is a boletín (electrical certificate) valid in Spain?

The short answer

The boletín (officially the CIE, Certificado de Instalación Eléctrica) is the certificate a registered installation company signs to state that your installation meets Spain’s low voltage regulations. The law does not give it an expiry date: it describes the installation as it was when it was issued. But distributors and industry guides work with a practical validity of 20 years. After that, when you need to do something with the electricity company, expect to be asked for a new one.

If you know the UK system, it is not the same as an EICR: nobody comes round every few years, and the boletín matters mainly when you deal with the utility.

When you need a new one before 20 years

• You extend or renovate the installation: new circuits, a new kitchen, a fuse board (consumer unit) replacement with extra circuits.
• You increase your potencia contratada (contracted power) above what your boletín allows.
• You change from single-phase to three-phase.
• You install an EV charging point.

What happens with a boletín older than 20 years

As long as you change nothing, you can keep using the installation. The problem comes with paperwork: changing the account holder, increasing power or reconnecting after a long disconnection. Then an electrician checks the installation, makes the minimum upgrades and issues a new boletín. As a rough guide, it costs 100 to 300 euros depending on what needs upgrading. A very old installation may need major changes before anyone can sign it.

A boletín is not a periodic inspection

The boletín is issued once, when an installation or a change is finished. Periodic inspection by an OCA (accredited inspection body) is different and only applies to certain installations under ITC-BT-05: premises open to the public every 5 years, common installations of residential buildings over 100 kW every 10 years, or garages with more than 25 spaces and forced ventilation, among others. An ordinary flat (apartment) has no periodic inspection.

Keep it safe

File it with the deeds and the property documents. You will be asked for it when you increase power, sell or rent, and having it at hand saves time.

If yours is over 20 years old and you have paperwork ahead, we issue new certificates in Seville, Spain: see electrical certificate (boletín), and for a condition report first, certificates and reports.