What is a VAT declaration certificate for energy and where do I get one?
It is a short form — usually one page — in which you tell your energy supplier which qualifying route applies to your site and what percentage of the supply qualifies. You get it from the supplier, not from HMRC. It is what actually moves the account to 5% VAT and removes the Climate Change Levy.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026 by Utilities Made Simple · independent, whole-of-market, supplier-paid — how we are paid
Where to get it
Search your supplier's website for "VAT declaration" or ask their business team. Every supplier has its own version; they all ask the same things. If you have more than one site, you need one per supply, not one per organisation.
What it asks for
- Your business name, account number and the site address.
- The MPAN or MPRN for the supply — see what is an MPAN?
- Which route you qualify under: low usage, charitable non-business use, or domestic use.
- The percentage of the supply that qualifies. At 60% or above the whole supply goes to 5%; below that, the qualifying proportion does.
- The date the qualifying use started — this is what supports a backdated claim of up to four years.
How often to renew it
There is no fixed expiry, but the declaration describes your circumstances, so it stops being accurate when they change: a change of use, a change of occupier, a new supplier, or a shift in the domestic-to-business ratio. Re-declare after any of those. A declaration that has quietly gone stale is a common reason for a bill jumping back to 20%.
Getting the percentage right
Be able to justify it. Bedrooms against total floor area, hours of non-business use against total hours, or metered sub-supplies are all defensible bases. Write down how you arrived at the figure and keep it with the copy of the declaration.
Ask an energy specialist
If your question is not answered above, send it to us. A specialist answers personally, normally within one working day. No sales call, no obligation — and if the answer is "your deal is fine", that is what you will get.
Want this checked against your own bill?
Email a recent bill to info@utilitiesms.co.uk and a specialist will check your rates, VAT, levies and contract end date against the live market — free, usually the same working day. If your deal is already good, we will tell you to keep it.