13 October 2026
The periodic inspection of electrical installations is the owner's duty: the grid operator asks for the safety certificate (SiNa), an independent inspection body measures and checks, defects are remedied, then the SiNa is submitted. The process, change of ownership, the defect list and the trade association's guide prices.
An electrical inspection — in Swiss German, the Elektrokontrolle — is the check of a building's electrical installation by an independent inspection body. It becomes compulsory when the installation's inspection period runs out, when the property changes hands and after a renovation. The owner is always responsible: they commission the inspection body, have the defects found remedied and submit the safety certificate (SiNa) to the grid operator. For a flat or a detached house, the trade association VSEK gives guide prices of a few hundred francs; remedying the defects comes on top.
The everyday word is not the one the ordinance uses. The Low-Voltage Installation Ordinance (NIV) speaks of the periodic inspection, which ends with the safety certificate. The meaning is the same: somebody who did not build the installation measures it through and confirms in writing that it is safe.
Three events trigger it:
The safety certificate is issued by an independent inspection body or an accredited inspection agency. Independent means: whoever planned, built, altered or repaired the installation may not inspect it. That is how the grid operators put it in their information sheets for owners, BKW among them.
Whether a firm holds an inspection licence is shown in the public register of the Federal Inspectorate for Heavy Current Installations (ESTI) on esti.admin.ch. How to choose the inspection body and when to commission it is covered in «Commissioning an inspection body or agency».
If the certificate has still not been submitted after two reminders, the grid operator hands enforcement to the ESTI (Art. 36 para. 3 NIV). What happens then and how a deadline extension works is covered in «Electrical safety certificate: deadline passed» and «Renovation: when the ESTI extends the deadline».
The NIV sets no price. The regular inspection is a contract between the owner and the inspection body, and the price is in the latter's quote.
The trade association VSEK gives a reference point with its «guide prices for electrical inspections», expressly a non-binding price recommendation, excluding VAT, as of 2021:
| Property | Guide price (CHF, excl. VAT) |
|---|---|
| Detached house, insulation measurement included | 440 |
| Very large detached house | 1,200 |
| Owner-occupied flat, single order | 350 |
| Owner-occupied flat, group order, per flat | 172 |
| Rented flat, single order | 265 |
| Rented flat, group order, per flat | 145 |
| Apartment building, common parts | 345 |
| Inspection on change of ownership | by time spent |
| Commercial (office, shop, workshop) | by time spent |
The VSEK itself says actual costs can differ widely by region, age, condition and number of connections, and recommends getting several quotes. The table is five years old; it shows the order of magnitude, not today's price.
Not included is remedying the defects. That is a separate order to an electrical contractor and, in an older building, often the larger item. If the grid operator or the ESTI orders a spot-check inspection, a separate cost rule applies: the owner pays only if defects are found (Art. 39 para. 2 NIV). More in «Defect list, follow-up inspection: who pays?».
The NIV obliges the owner to obtain the safety certificate. It does not say how the cost is split between seller and buyer — that is a matter for the purchase contract. A seller does well to settle the question before the notary appointment: if the last inspection is more than five years old, it will be raised anyway, and the defect list that comes with it is information the buyer will want.
A firm that looks after a property may not inspect it itself — but it knows when the next inspection is due, and it is the first one the owner calls after the defect list. A firm that tracks the inspection period per installation rather than per customer sees the request coming before the letter arrives. For firms that inspect themselves, elektro.box keeps the period per installation, produces the measurement report from the readings taken on site and blocks the signature where the firm built or altered the installation itself.
What is checked in an electrical inspection? The fixed installation: distribution boards, cables, sockets, lighting and permanently connected appliances such as an oven or a hob. For each final circuit, the insulation, the short-circuit current and the residual-current devices are measured. Plugged-in appliances are not part of it.
What is a periodic electrical inspection? The inspection the NIV requires at a fixed interval — every 1, 3, 5, 10 or 20 years depending on the kind of installation. It ends with the safety certificate the owner submits to the grid operator.
What is the SiNa? SiNa is the usual short form of Sicherheitsnachweis, the safety certificate — the inspection body's confirmation that the installation meets the NIV's requirements at the time it is issued.
Who pays for the electrical inspection on a change of ownership? The NIV obliges the owner; how the cost is split between seller and buyer is set by the purchase contract.
How long does an electrical inspection take? The NIV says nothing about duration. It depends on the size and condition of the installation; the inspection body states it in its quote.
May my electrician do the inspection? Only if they neither planned, built, altered nor repaired the installation and hold an inspection licence from the ESTI. Remedying the defects they may do in any case.
Sources: Ordinance on Low-Voltage Electrical Installations (NIV, SR 734.27), Art. 36 and 39 and point 3 of the annex, fedlex.admin.ch; ESTI, information sheet «Periodische Kontrolle der elektrischen Installationen», October 2017; Art. 14 of the DETEC ordinance on low-voltage electrical installations for the content of the measurement and test report; BKW, «Hausinstallationskontrolle», bkw.ch, retrieved 13 October 2026, for the owner bearing the cost and for independence; EKS, «Wie läuft eine Elektrokontrolle ab?», eks.swiss, retrieved 13 October 2026, for the procedure on site; VSEK, «2021 – VSEK Richtpreise für Elektrokontrollen (unverbindliche Preisempfehlung)», vsek.ch, for the guide prices. This article is not legal advice; in case of doubt the responsible grid operator or the ESTI decides. As of 13 October 2026.
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