Legalising an electrical installation with no boletín in Seville, Spain

When an installation needs legalising

An electrical installation is legal when it has its installation certificate (boletín or CIE) issued by a registered electrical contractor and registered with the Junta de Andalucía, the regional government. Many expats know the problem from the forums: “without a current valid boletín you will not be able to change the contract into your name”. Legalising is needed when:

• The installation never had a boletín: very old homes, self-built villas or warehouses that were wired with no paperwork.
• Extensions were added without certification: a garage, an annex, a pool or a porch wired independently.
• The existing boletín no longer serves what you need: installations over 20 years old that are to be connected again, or that have changed use.
• There is an irregular connection that you want to turn into a legal supply.
• Business premises are about to open and need their paperwork for the licence and the electricity contract.

If your installation is recent and you only lack the certificate for a new connection or a power change, what you need is the electrical certificate (boletín). If the installation is old but has never been certified, see also old installation certificate.

How we legalise your installation

1. Full inspection. We go through the installation, the fuse board and the circuits and measure insulation, earthing and RCDs.
2. Upgrading report. We tell you what does not comply with the Spanish Low Voltage Electrotechnical Regulation and what needs correcting: protections, cable sizes, earthing, fuse board or conduits.
3. Upgrading. We make the necessary corrections. If the installation is badly deteriorated, rewiring the apartment may pay off more than patching it.
4. Technical paperwork. We write the technical design report on the official Junta de Andalucía form or, if the installation requires it because of its power or use, we coordinate the project with a qualified engineer (ITC-BT-04). See electrical design report and project.
5. Inspection where applicable. Some installations need an initial inspection by an authorised inspection body before being put into service. We explain it on OCA inspection.
6. Certificate and registration. We issue the CIE and register it with the Junta, after which you can contract the supply with the distributor.

Only a registered installer (instalador habilitado) entered in the Junta’s register can sign a boletín. A British, Irish or German electrician, however qualified at home, cannot sign one in Spain.

Regularising a connection or a fraud situation

Turning an irregular connection into a legal supply is the safest thing for whoever lives in the house and for the neighbours, because those connections are usually made with no protections. Our job is to leave the installation safe and compliant and to prepare the paperwork so you can request a legal contract from the distributor, which in Seville is e-distribución. Any amounts the company may claim for past consumption do not depend on us: they are settled between the account holder and the distributor.

Legalising shops and businesses

For business premises, legalisation usually goes hand in hand with opening: the installation certificate is needed for the electricity contract and is commonly requested along with the activity paperwork. If the premises receive the public (bar, restaurant, shop, academy), they count as premises open to the public and have specific requirements, such as emergency lighting and, depending on the case, periodic inspections. We go into detail on shops and offices and business opening licence.

Common legalisations in Seville

In the shared courtyard houses of the city centre and Triana, many homes and ground-floor shops have been through several extensions over the years without anyone updating the paperwork. In the province’s towns, such as Utrera, Carmona or Los Alcores, a frequent case is the self-built villa or country house with a pool or a storeroom that was wired later and never certified. A typical example: the owner wants to sell or put the supply in their name and discovers the installation has no valid boletín. We inspect, upgrade what is needed and register the certificate so they can go ahead.

Guide price

The general range is the market reference; the final cost depends on the upgrading needed and on whether a technical design report is enough or a project is required. You get a fixed quote after the inspection. More work on the electrical installations page.