RGIE accredited body · BELAC ISO 17020
Mandatory electrical inspection in Belgium
Full inspection of your electrical installation — required for property sale, rental, meter activation or periodic compliance. Appointment within 24 to 48 hours, report within 48 hours on average.
An electrical inspection guarantees the safety of your installation and its compliance with the RGIE (the Belgian Electrical Installations Regulation). Atlas Contrôle is approved by the FPS Economy for electrical installations and accredited by BELAC (ISO/IEC 17020) under number 663-INSP — one of the accredited inspection bodies in Belgium. Our inspectors operate quickly across Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders for residential and commercial installations alike.
Depending on your situation, the inspection is required before opening a meter with the grid operator (Sibelga, ORES, RESA, Fluvius), at the time of a property sale, every 25 years for residential, or every 5 years for non-residential. For short-term rentals (Airbnb), Brussels and Wallonia require a report less than 2 years old.
ⓘ Language of the report: as required by Belgian law, the official PV is issued in French (Brussels & Wallonia) or Dutch (Flanders). We provide an English summary and explanations on request, free of charge.
Property sale
The inspection visit at sale (RGIE, Book 1, section 8.4.2) is required when selling a dwelling whose electrical installation dates from before 1 October 1981 and has never undergone a full conformity examination, including when it has since been modified or extended, if the part dating from before 1981 was not inspected. For an unmodified installation, a new visit is required at every sale, even after a compliant report, including after the 18-month period of a previous sale has expired.
The seller has the visit carried out by an approved body and has the date of the report, and its handover to the buyer, stated in the deed. If the buyer demolishes the building or fully renews the installation, the parties' agreement is stated in the deed and replaces the visit.
If the report finds infringements, the sale can still go ahead: on a first sale, the buyer has an approved body of their choice check that they have been remedied, within 18 months of the deed. On resale, after that period has expired, the seller has a new inspection visit carried out and, if it finds infringements, the body that carried it out returns within a year of that inspection.
For a more recent installation, the RGIE does not require a specific visit at sale: the installation remains subject to the periodic inspection visit, every 25 years for a residential installation. Infringements found during a visit are corrected within the year. Failing that, the approved body informs the FPS Economy.
From 1 December 2026, the FPS Economy no longer accepts requests to extend the 18-month period.
Meter activation
Required to activate a meter with Sibelga, ORES, RESA or Fluvius. The report is delivered to you for forwarding to your grid operator.
Periodic inspection
Mandatory every 25 years for residential, every 5 years for non-residential. Required for some regional grants and to insure your property.
Works or major modification
Replacing the distribution board, adding circuits, an extension, a heavy renovation: any major modification to the installation requires a new inspection, even if the last report is less than 25 years old. The inspection covers the modified part and how it integrates with the existing installation.
Connection upgrade
Moving from single-phase to three-phase, increasing the connection rating, adding an EV charger or solar panels: the grid operator requires an inspection of the installation before approving the new connection capacity.
Rental and Airbnb
Airbnb, Booking: for accommodation of fewer than ten guests, Brussels and Wallonia issue a simplified inspection certificate, valid for 5 years, based on compliance certificates less than 2 years old. Our report is one of them.
Non-residential & tertiary
Offices, retail, workshops, multi-unit buildings: 5-year inspection required, including discrimination, selectivity and compliant single-line diagrams (RGIE).
Compliance work
After a non-compliant report, your electrician or you carry out the corrections. We then perform the official re-inspection that records compliance — we never carry out the work ourselves.
Who is allowed to carry out an electrical inspection?
Only a body approved by the FPS Economy may carry out the inspection and issue a valid official report. An electrician, however qualified, does not hold that approval: they carry out the work, not the inspection.
Our BELAC ISO 17020 accreditation imposes the reverse on us: Atlas Contrôle reports, but never repairs. We neither carry out the remedial work nor quote for it — that is your guarantee that our report has nothing to gain from what it finds. Once your electrician has done the work, we come back for the re-inspection.
How your electrical inspection works
Five steps, from booking to the official report. You know in advance exactly what will happen at your property.
- 01
Booking
By phone, WhatsApp or through our contact form. We offer a slot within 24 to 48 hours, anywhere in Belgium — in English.
- 02
Preparation
You gather the EAN code and, if you have them, the single-line diagram and the layout plan. Details below and in our preparation guide.
- 03
On-site inspection
30 to 60 minutes. Our inspector measures earth resistance and insulation, tests the residual current devices, and checks the board, the circuits, the earthing and the bathroom protection zones.
- 04
Official report within 48 hours on average
For a residential installation, you receive the official report within 48 hours on average (24 to 48 hours for a non-residential one): conclusion, any non-conformities found and their severity.
- 05
What happens next
Compliant report: you are done — valid 25 years for a residential installation. Non-compliant: your electrician carries out the work, then we perform the official re-inspection that records compliance.
What to prepare for our visit
What you need depends on your goal. Many owners delay their inspection because they fear they lack the paperwork — for a property sale, that is not necessary.
🎯 Goal: obtain a compliant report
For an inspection to end in a compliant report, these documents are essential:
- ▸The single-line diagram, dated and signed
- ▸The layout plan, dated and signed
- ▸Access to the board and to every room
Don't have them? Our ISO 17020 accreditation forbids us from drawing up the documents we inspect — their absence is recorded as a non-conformity in the report. Generate them free with our single-line diagram generator (available in French and Dutch) or have your electrician draw them up.
🏠 Goal: sell your property
Here the rule is different, and it is widely misunderstood:
- ▸Missing diagrams do not block the sale.
- ▸The report will simply be non-compliant, and you can sign at the notary.
- ▸The buyer will have a legal deadline to bring the installation into compliance.
What matters for the deed is having the official report — not that it is positive.
🔢 EAN code
The 18 digits identifying your connection. You will find it on your electricity bill.
🔑 Access required
The distribution board, but also cellar, attic, garage and outbuildings: the inspection covers the whole installation.
⏱️ Duration
30 to 60 minutes for a standard home, up to 90 minutes for a large house.
Compliant or non-compliant: what it changes
At the end of the inspection you receive an official report. Here is what each conclusion means — and above all, how much time you then have.
✅ Compliant report
- ▸Valid for 25 years for a residential installation (5 years non-residential), except on the sale of an old installation dating from before 1981.
- ▸Sale possible without restriction — the report goes to your notary.
- ▸Sufficient for meter activation with your grid operator.
⚠️ Non-compliant report
- ▸The sale can still go ahead: the deed states the date of the report, its handover to the buyer and the buyer's obligation to make themselves known to the body that carried out the visit.
- ▸How long you have depends on why the inspection took place, not on how old the installation is (details below).
- ▸Mandatory re-inspection after the work to record compliance.
How long do you have after a negative report?
This is the most common question after a negative report, and a lot of half-truths circulate about it. The RGIE sets out two regimes, depending on why the inspection took place — not on how old the installation is.
First sale of a home with an old electrical installation
- ▸The deadline runs from the day of the notarial deed.
- ▸The buyer is free to choose the body for the new inspection.
- ▸This regime covers installations dating from before 1 October 1981 that never underwent a full conformity examination (RGIE 8.4.2). On resale after that period has expired, the seller has a new inspection visit carried out and, if it finds infringements, the body that carried it out returns within a year.
Periodic inspection, meter activation, every other case
- ▸Outside a sale, the work must be carried out without delay — the RGIE grants no period to start it.
- ▸The new inspection that establishes clearance is carried out by the same body, at the end of a one-year period (RGIE 6.5.7.2) — with us, the same inspector comes back.
- ▸If non-conformities remain at that second visit, the body sends a copy of the report to the Directorate-General for Energy at the FPS Economy (RGIE 9.1.3.2).
The “12 months”: a re-inspection deadline, not a work period
You will often read that a negative report “gives you twelve months to put things right”. The text is more precise. Outside a sale, the work must be done without delay; what the RGIE sets “at the end of a one-year period” is the re-inspection by the same body, which establishes that the non-conformities are gone (Book 1, 6.5.7.2). If any remain at that point, the body informs the Directorate-General for Energy at the FPS Economy. The one-year re-inspection is a hard deadline — not an invitation to wait twelve months before starting the work.
Where a sale ends with a non-compliant report, the notarial deed must state the buyer's obligation to notify, in writing, the accredited body that carried out the inspection of their identity and of the date of the deed (RGIE Book 1, sub-section 8.4.2.2). It is the seller who must have that statement included in the deed.
Transparent pricing
Prices include VAT, no surprises. Personalised quote within 24h.
Re-inspection: this rate applies within one month of our inspection. After that, the new visit is a full inspection at the full rate.
💡 Selling? Combine EPC + electrical inspection
Both documents are mandatory for the deed of sale. Ordering them together means a single appointment, one visit, and a combined rate cheaper than two separate orders.
✅ What's included
- ▸ Earth resistance measurement and continuity of protective conductors
- ▸ Distribution board, discrimination and selectivity check
- ▸ Functional test of residual current devices
- ▸ Insulation check of the installation
- ▸ Verification of single-line and layout diagrams
- ▸ Official report within 48 hours on average (residential installation)
- ▸ Electronic report ready for forwarding to grid operator or notary
⚖️ Legal framework
- ▸ RGIE — Belgian Electrical Installations Regulation (Books 1 to 3)
- ▸ Royal Decree of 8 September 2019 (RGIE revision)
- ▸ FPS Economy approval of inspection bodies (electrical installations)
- ▸ BELAC ISO 17020 accreditation — No. 663-INSP
Atlas Contrôle ASBL is accredited by BELAC under No. 663-INSP (ISO/IEC 17020) and approved by the FPS Economy for electrical installation inspections.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an electrical inspection take? ▾
What happens if my installation is not compliant? ▾
Do I need to prepare anything before the visit? ▾
How long is the inspection valid? ▾
How quickly can you come? ▾
In what language is the report issued? ▾
Still have a question?
Our team answers in English, French and Dutch — Monday to Friday.
Ready to schedule your inspection?
Free quote within 24h. Fast callouts anywhere in Belgium.
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