Getting your MPG endorsement: a step-by-step guide for electricians

Most sparkies now know the Mains Parallel Generation (MPG) endorsement exists — we covered the what and why in an earlier article. What's less clear is the bit that actually matters when you're staring down a licence renewal: how do you get it, what do you need to have ready, and how long does the whole thing take? Here's the process in plain language, straight off the EWRB's own pages, plus a worked example so you can see how it plays out for a real sparky.

Quick recap: what it is and who it's for

The EWRB runs five endorsed registration classes for specialist, high-risk work: Mining Operations, Medical Cardiac Protected Areas, Hazardous Areas, Mains Parallel Generation Systems (grid-connected generation — this is the one solar and battery work sits under), and Supervision of more than two people at once. MPG is the one that matters to you if you're connecting solar or batteries to the grid.

If you're a standard Electrician, Electrical Appliance Serviceperson, Electrical Service Technician or Electrical Installer, the EWRB's own rule is that you must hold the endorsed registration class before you first apply to renew your practising licence on or after 1 September 2026. (Electrical Inspectors, Engineers and line/cable-jointing classes hit the same requirement two years earlier, from 1 September 2024 — a separate, already-passed deadline.) Two sparkies in the same van can be on different clocks, because it's tied to each person's own renewal date, not a single calendar date for everyone.

Step 1 — Check you clear the two-year bar

You need to have held your base Electrician registration for at least two years before you can apply for the MPG endorsement. If you're well past that, you can apply any time — you don't have to wait for your renewal to roll around, and there's a real case for sorting it early rather than scrambling in the weeks before your licence expires.

If you're newly qualified and haven't hit two years yet, you're not stuck. Work experience gained during your apprenticeship can count as supporting evidence, and the Board can grant exemptions that reduce how long you need to hold the base class, or how many practical hours you need, if you can show you already picked up solid skills and experience as a trainee. Keep a record of the grid-tied jobs you worked on as an apprentice — it's exactly the kind of evidence that makes this easier later.

Step 2 — Build your evidence file

This is the part people leave too late. The EWRB accepts a combination of the following, and being deliberate about collecting it now beats scrambling for it later:

• An employer or supervisor reference letter — on company letterhead, signed and dated by whoever supervised you (or your Board-approved supervisor if you're on a Limited Certificate), detailing the solar/battery PEW you've done, the hours or dates involved, and their contact details.
• A statutory declaration if you're self-employed — sole traders and partnerships can't really issue themselves a reference — instead, you provide a statutory declaration covering the PEW you've carried out, plus separate proof of self-employment from Inland Revenue or the Companies Register. If you're a director taking a salary or wages as an employee of your own company, it's worth getting another director to sign your reference instead.
• Three or more entries from the Energy Safety high-risk database showing solar or battery PEW you've carried out — a handy secondary check if your paper trail is thin.
• A Board-approved qualification or micro-credential — for MPG specifically, that's either of the two NZQA Level 4 micro-credentials (Grid-connected PV Systems, Design and Install; and Grid-connected Battery Storage Systems, Design and Install), or an equivalent. This is genuinely optional — plenty of experienced installers qualify on work history alone.

One catch worth knowing: database entries or a qualification on their own aren't treated as enough. Whichever mix you use, it needs to add up to genuine, documented practical experience in grid-connected work — not just a certificate on a wall.

Practical tip: put everything into a single PDF, organised to match what's being asked for. A tidy, complete submission is far less likely to bounce back for more information — which just adds weeks to the clock.

Step 3 — Apply online, and it's one fee either way

Applications go through the EWRB's online portal — postal applications aren't accepted any more. You can apply for the MPG endorsement on its own, or bundle it with any other endorsed class you're going for in the same application, because it's a single fee (currently $304.35 + GST) no matter how many endorsed classes you're applying for at once. Upload your evidence, pay the fee, submit, and the licensing team reviews it and comes back to you with an outcome.

Step 4 — What it means for your licence and your paperwork afterwards

Once you're granted the MPG endorsement, you'll get a registration number tied to that endorsed class. From then on, that's the number that belongs on the Certificate of Compliance for any grid-connected solar or battery job — not your general Electrician number. It's a habit worth building into your paperwork from day one, because using the wrong number on a CoC for endorsed work is exactly the kind of thing that comes back to bite you later, not something to sort out after the fact.

Worked example: Jamie's timeline

Jamie's a registered Electrician who's been doing grid-tied solar installs for three years, but has never needed a separate endorsement because it simply wasn't required when he last renewed. His next licence renewal falls in March 2027 — after the 1 September 2026 cut-off — so from that renewal on, he needs the MPG endorsement to keep signing off solar and battery jobs solo. Here's roughly how it plays out if he starts early rather than leaving it to the wire:

Because Jamie already clears the two-year hold, he didn't need to wait for his renewal notice to start the process — he just needed a decent evidence file. That's the whole trick: treat it as a paperwork job to knock over this quarter, not a deadline to meet next year.

A few common trip-ups

• "My licence has lapsed — does that reset everything?" Your EW number is yours for life, but a lapsed practicing licence and a lost registration class are different things. If you've let a class lapse and need to regain it, you'll get a new registration number for that class — plan around that if you're timing an MPG application.
• "Can I do inspections to build up database entries?" If you're a trainee inspector working under supervision, yes — that supervised PEW can be entered into the high-risk database under your name and counted as evidence later.
• "What if I decide I don't want the endorsement any more?" Talk to the EWRB and they'll remove it. Do this before your next competency refresher, though — turning up to a refresher for an endorsement you no longer want to hold just creates a delay in your licence renewal.

The takeaway

The MPG endorsement isn't complicated once you break it down — it's a two-year hold, an evidence file, an online application and a fee. The sparkies who get caught out are the ones who leave it until their renewal notice lands. Start the evidence file now, even if your renewal's a year away, and this becomes a non-event.

This is a general guide, not a substitute for checking your own situation with the EWRB — registration and endorsement rules can change, and your circumstances (self-employed, newly qualified, lapsed licence) may shift what applies to you.

Sources

• Endorsed classes of registration — EWRB
• Applying for an endorsed registration class (streamlined process) — EWRB
• Endorsed Mains Parallel Generation Systems — EWRB
• Check if you need to hold an endorsed registration class — EWRB
• Next phase of registration changes commences 1 September 2026 — EWRB