Check a BER by Eircode
Type the Eircode. The report finds the certificate and the advisory report on the SEAI register for that address, states the rating on the 2026 scale, and puts it beside flood, radon and planning for the same house. Free snapshot first, and it says straight away whether a certificate exists; the full report is €19.99, once.
Have the BER number or the MPRN already? The SEAI register takes either; the three steps below show how.
Step 1: find the BER number
Every house advertised for sale in Ireland must show its BER, and the owner is responsible for having one. The listing shows the letter. The BER number is nine digits, printed on the certificate and on the advisory report. The agent has it, because it has to be on the advertisement, so a one-line email does the job: what is the BER number for the property. If they send only the letter, ask again for the number. The other key that works is the MPRN, the eleven-digit electricity meter number at the top of the house’s electricity bill.
Step 2: search the SEAI National BER Register
Open the SEAI National BER Register (the public search page) and type the BER number or the MPRN. It does not search by address. If the house has a BER, the register shows the certificate, the advisory report and the expiry date.
Step 3: read the rating
The scale runs from A0 to G, eight ratings since 24 May 2026. A0 is the most energy efficient and does not use fossil fuels: a house with a gas boiler cannot get A0. G is the least efficient, usually an older house with little insulation that is expensive to heat. A certificate issued before 24 May 2026 uses the older scale of fifteen bands with sub-grades such as B1 or C2. It stays valid for ten years from issue, so both scales are on the market now. The letter says how cold the house is. The advisory report, below, says why.
The advisory report
This is the useful page. The assessor lists what they saw (walls, roof, floor, windows, heating, ventilation) and what each upgrade would do to the rating. There is a date cut-off on the register: where the BER was published on or after 6 July 2021, you can open the advisory report with the BER number. Where it was published before that date, the register needs the MPRN to release it, and if you do not have the MPRN the SEAI says to ask the owner or their agent for a copy. Either way the seller has the document, and asking for it costs nothing.
What changed on 24 May 2026
Ireland moved to the EU-style scale of A0 to G, eight ratings, on 24 May 2026. Before that, certificates used fifteen bands with sub-grades such as B1 and C2. Certificates are valid for ten years, so a house on the market today can carry either scale, and an older certificate on the old scale remains valid until its expiry. Check the issue date on the certificate. Certificates issued from 24 May 2026 also carry a QR code linking to upgrade information for that house.
A certificate stops being valid early if the owner makes structural changes or changes the heating system. A 2019 certificate on a house that got a heat pump in 2024 describes a house that no longer exists. Ask when the last works were done.
When there is no BER
Some buildings are BER exempt when sold: protected structures (a Georgian house, for instance), stand-alone buildings under 50 square metres, national monuments, places of worship and some others. A protected structure can still be assessed if the owner wants. If the house is not exempt and has no certificate, the seller has to get one; Citizens Information puts the cost at about €150 for an apartment and €200 to €300 for a standard house, with three quotes recommended. What the seller has to do, and how long the certificate lasts, is in BER certificate Ireland: cost, validity, how to get one.
Reading it as a buyer
Two questions. First, is the letter the whole story: an F because of one 1990 boiler is a different purchase from an F because of solid walls and single glazing, and only the advisory report tells you which. Second, is a green mortgage rate in reach: lenders set a minimum BER for those rates, so ask your lender for the threshold and see whether the advisory report puts the house within one cheap upgrade of it.
The report on this site pulls the certificate and the advisory report from the SEAI register for the Eircode, states the rating on the 2026 scale beside the original, and flags the age-related risks that go with the build year. It is the same document the register gives you, found without the MPRN, with the flood, radon and planning checks on the same page. Area figures first: BER ratings by county and town.