How to check an industrial unit's or warehouse's EPC

Where can I look up a commercial EPC?

There are two free routes. The government's Find an energy certificate service searches the register one building at a time, by postcode or certificate number, and shows the certificate itself. Sortd Industrial's checker searches the industrial and warehouse certificates on the same register and shows where each building stands under MEES.

How do I check with Sortd Industrial?

Search by full postcode (M17 1EG), postcode district (M17) or part of an address. The most exposed buildings come first. A postcode district is the first half of a postcode, such as B6 or M17. The checker is free and needs no account.

Each result shows the EPC band, the floor area in m² and sq ft, where the building stands against today's E minimum and the EPC B standard proposed for 2031, and the estimated expiry of its EPC.

What should I read on the result?

• The band and asset rating. The number behind the band: lower is better. A+ is below 0, A is 0 to 25, B 26 to 50, C 51 to 75, D 76 to 100, E 101 to 125, F 126 to 150 and G over 150.
• The floor area. As declared on the EPC, in m² with sq ft alongside. The proposed EPC B standard would cover buildings over 1,000 m² (10,764 sq ft).
• The lodgement date and estimated expiry. An EPC lasts 10 years; if it has lapsed, a new one will be needed for the next sale or letting.
• Why it was lodged. Why the EPC was lodged, from the register: to let, for sale (marketed or not), a new building, or another reason such as a voluntary EPC.
• Its MEES position. Where the building stands under MEES: below today's E minimum (F or G); over 1,000 m² and rated C to E, below the 2031 line (the EPC B standard the government proposes, which still needs legislation); over 1,000 m² and B or better; or under 1,000 m², where only the E minimum applies.
• The assessor's recommendations, on the certificate's recommendation report: the starting point for costing improvements.

How do I know if an EPC is still valid?

A non-domestic EPC is valid for 10 years from lodgement, or until a newer certificate is lodged for the same building. Only the most recent certificate counts, so check there isn't a later one under a slightly different address. If the latest has lapsed, the building will need a new EPC before it's next sold or let.

An EPC lasts 10 years. The register's data download has no expiry date, so we estimate it as the lodgement date plus 10 years. Lapsed means that date has passed.

What if a building has no EPC?

• It may never have needed one. EPCs are needed when a building is sold, let or built, so one that hasn't changed hands in years may have none.
• It may be exempt. Industrial sites and workshops that don't use much energy, including warehouses where the air isn't fully heated or cooled, and small stand-alone buildings under 50 m², don't need one.
• It may be covered by another EPC. On an estate, one certificate can cover several units, or the whole building.
• It may be lodged under a different address. The register shows the address the assessor entered, so try the postcode district as well as the full postcode.
• It may have been withdrawn. Owners can opt out of the register's public data, and those certificates aren't published.

Our data covers non-domestic certificates published since 2012. Buildings not built, sold or let since then may be missing, so the figures on this site are a floor, not a count of every building.

How do I check whether an exemption is registered?

Search the government's PRS Exemptions Register. It shows exempt properties and penalties issued to landlords. A building rated F or G with no registered exemption can't lawfully be let unless it's outside the regulations. More in MEES exemptions.

What should I check before a letting or a purchase?

• That the EPC is the latest for the space and less than 10 years old. If not, a new one is needed for the sale or letting.
• That it covers the right space: the unit's own EPC where there is one, otherwise the whole building's. See multi-let estates.
• The rating against today's E minimum. F or G needs an improvement or a registered exemption before a letting, and a seller's exemption doesn't pass to a buyer.
• For buildings over 1,000 m² (10,764 sq ft), the rating against the EPC B standard proposed for 2031, which still needs legislation.
• The recommendation report: what the assessor suggested, and the payback group of each measure.
• The lease: who pays for improvements, and whose consent the works would need. See EPCs and lease events.

What do new EPCs say about the market?

Because a building needs a valid EPC to be sold or let, new certificates show what's coming to market. In the 12 months to 30 Sep 2026, 13,850 industrial and warehouse buildings had their latest EPC lodged; 11,172 of those were for a letting or a marketed sale, about 931 a month.

Checking many buildings at once

For a client's portfolio or a whole area, checking one address at a time is slow. The paid plans match a list of addresses, UPRNs or certificate numbers in one upload and screen whole local authorities: see portfolio upload and area screens. The free MEES map has every local authority's figures.

Start with the authorities with the most floorspace rated C to E: Birmingham, West Northamptonshire, Leeds, Sandwell, North Northamptonshire, Bradford, County Durham, Kirklees, Wakefield, Milton Keynes.