Energy performance certificate in Estonia (energiamärgis): when you need one, classes and how to check it

What is an energiamärgis?

The energiamärgis is Estonia’s energy performance certificate for buildings. Under § 66(1) of the Building Code (Ehitusseadustik, EhS; see the official English translation), it certifies that a building meets the minimum energy performance requirements and gives information on its designed energy need or its actual energy consumption. It also comes with recommendations for improvement, unless there is no reasonable way to improve (§ 66(2)).

There are two kinds, as the Ministry of Climate (Kliimaministeerium) explains:

• ETA (energiatõhususarv, energy performance indicator): calculated, for new buildings and major renovations.
• KEK (kaalutud energiaerikasutus, weighted specific energy use): based on actual consumption, for existing buildings.

Both are expressed in kilowatt-hours per square metre of heated floor area per year, kWh/(m²·a). “Weighted” means each energy source is multiplied by a factor. Under the minimum requirements regulation (§ 9(1), in Estonian), electricity counts 2.0, natural gas 1.0, district heating 0.9, and efficient district heating and wood 0.65. The heat source matters as much as the insulation.

When is an energy performance certificate required in Estonia?

• New buildings and major renovation. The building must meet the minimum requirements (§ 65(1) EhS), and the certificate, where required, goes with the notice or application for use (§ 48(3)(5) and § 52(2)(8)).
• Sale and letting. Section 67 does not say “order a certificate”; it sets two duties. The advert must contain the certificate’s particulars, and anyone interested in buying or renting must be able to see it. On signing, the certificate or a copy is handed over — a requirement that is met if the certificate can be viewed in the building register (ehitisregister).
• Public buildings. It must be displayed where visitors can easily see it in buildings over 500 m² of closed net area frequently visited by the public, and in those where public authorities occupy over 250 m² (§ 68(1)).

The Ministry of Climate sums it up on its building energy performance page (in Estonian): the certificate is mandatory for new buildings and major renovations, and anyone interested in buying or renting must be able to see it, so the property advert must include the energy class.

Buildings that are exempt

The energy performance chapter of the EhS, advert rule included, does not apply to (§ 62(2)):

• protected buildings (valuable milieu areas, monuments, heritage conservation areas or the UNESCO list), but only where meeting the requirements would significantly change their character or appearance;
• buildings used mainly as places of worship or for religious activities;
• temporary buildings with a service life of up to two years, industrial sites, workshops and low-energy agricultural buildings without dwellings;
• dwellings used for less than four months a year, or with limited annual use and expected consumption below 25% of year-round use;
• buildings with a closed net area of up to 50 m².

The ministry’s examples are a summer house used for less than four months a year and a sauna of up to 50 m². But not every summer house or old-town building is exempt: it depends on meeting those conditions.

What a sale or rental advert must show

Section 67(1) EhS is precise. In the official English translation, the advert for selling or letting a building or a separately used part of it “must include the particulars of the energy certificate, including the energy performance indicator or the weighted specific energy use and the corresponding class”. The TTJA (Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority) repeats the same wording on its Estonian page.

In practice, the advert shows the figure (ETA or KEK, in kWh/(m²·a)) and the letter. The letter alone is not enough.

If you are buying or renting in Estonia and an advert shows no energy figure or class, ask for it: the seller or landlord must let you see the certificate, and it may already be in the building register.

One certificate for the building or for each flat?

In an apartment building the certificate normally covers the whole building. Section 66(4) EhS allows a separate certificate for a separately used part, such as a flat, only where the building has no common heating system.

According to the TTJA, the building owner orders it; in an apartment building, the board or manager of the apartment association (korteriühistu), who must tell members when the certificate is in the register. So when a flat in a block with shared heating is sold, the figure in the advert is the building’s.

Energy classes: A to G since 1 June 2025

Until May 2025 Estonia used an A–H scale. The Ministry of Climate announced that, with the regulations in force from 1 June 2025, it was replaced by an A–G scale, and that certificate scales are being updated across the European Union. The TTJA’s Estonian page already uses A to G. (Its English and Russian pages still mention A–H; they are older.)

The class depends on the ETA or KEK value and on the building’s use, each type having its own thresholds. For an apartment building (korterelamu), Annex 3 of the current certificate regulation sets, in kWh/(m²·a):

• A: up to 110
• B: 111 to 130
• C: 131 to 150
• D: 151 to 180
• E: 181 to 220
• F: 221 to 260
• G: over 260

Small houses (väikeelamu) have three scales by heated area: under 120 m², 120 to 220 m² (and terraced houses), and over 220 m². For those under 120 m², A goes up to 135 and G starts above 350.

If an existing building has less than one full year of consumption data, the regulation requires it to be given the highest-consumption class, G (§ 14(2)). For a consumption-based certificate, data preferably cover the last three years and at least one full year (§ 10(1)(4)).

Does the certificate say “H”? It was issued before 1 June 2025 and stays valid until it expires. But the same letter does not mean the same thing on both scales: on the old one, for an apartment building, A went up to 105 and H started at 341. Always compare the figure, not just the letter.

How long is an energiamärgis valid?

• A certificate based on actual consumption (KEK) is valid for ten years (§ 66(3) EhS).
• One based on designed energy need (ETA) is valid for two years from the building’s completion; the ministry counts from the date of the use permit.
• A later certificate cancels the earlier one for the same building or part.

The TTJA points out that the first certificates were issued in 2008 and 2009, so they have already expired and a new one has to be ordered. It stresses this for apartment buildings, where property deals are frequent.

Who issues it, and how to check it in the building register

It is issued by a competent person holding the relevant professional qualification (§ 66(5) EhS), who enters the data into the building register; under the regulation, certificates are issued only through the register (§ 3(7)). The TTJA adds that since 1 January 2018 only holders of the matching professional certificate (energy efficiency specialist, energy auditor or certificate issuer) may do it, and qualifications can be checked in the Kutsekoda professions register under “Ehitiste energiatõhusus”.

To see a building’s certificate, go to the building register (EHR). Certificate data are part of the register (§ 60(1)(12) EhS), which is published online, and the TTJA describes the register as freely available to everyone. In May 2025, the Maa- ja Ruumiamet (Land and Spatial Development Board) announced that the register had moved to the new e-construction platform (e-ehituse platvorm); the platform’s user guide says buildings can be searched by address, cadastral code (katastritunnus) or register code. You can find the cadastral code on the official map, as explained in our katastrikaart guide. For help, the TTJA lists the register’s support line: 665 0600, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 15:00.

Note that the building register is not the land register. Ownership and encumbrances are in the kinnistusraamat, covered in our land register guide.

What if there is no certificate? Supervision and the EU directive

The EhS has no specific fine for lacking a certificate or leaving it out of an advert. What exists is supervision: the TTJA checks compliance with energy performance and certificate requirements (§ 130(3)(5)) and each year checks a random sample of the certificates issued (§ 130(4)). If it issues a precept (ettekirjutus) that is not complied with, it can impose a penalty payment (sunniraha) of up to €6,400 for a natural person and €450,000 for a legal person (§ 133). That is the ceiling for enforcing a precept, not a fine for having no certificate.

At EU level, Directive (EU) 2024/1275 on the energy performance of buildings requires certificates to use a closed A–G scale, with A for zero-emission buildings (Art. 19(2)); validity of no more than ten years (Art. 19(13)); and sale or rental adverts, online and offline, including property portals, to state the indicator and class (Art. 20(4)). Member States had to bring the necessary laws into force by 29 May 2026 (Art. 35(1)). For an advert in Estonia, what binds you is the Estonian law quoted above.

For agencies: get the certificate before you advertise

Since the advert must show the figure and the class, the certificate comes first, before the photos. Check in the building register whether the building has a valid one, which type it is (ETA or KEK) and which scale it uses. If it is an old A–H certificate, explain to buyers that its letter is not comparable with the new scale. If it has expired, in an apartment block the new one is ordered by the association, so warn the owner early.

In Domuspace, the property selection is a web page for your client with up to 15 properties, in 10 languages, with a link and QR code valid for 7 days; each property’s features include the energy certificate and the year built. Domuspace does not issue or check certificates: the official data are in the building register. How to put together a strong presentation is in property brochures that sell, and what the seller pays on a sale is in tax on selling property in Estonia. More on this market: Domuspace in Estonia.

This article is for information only and is not a substitute for legal advice or advice from an energy efficiency specialist. The details were checked on 29 September 2026 against the official sources linked above; the EhS version in force from 1 October 2026 does not change its energy performance chapter.