If you search for “CER fee for STCs” you are looking at two different charges: the cost of opening a registry account, and the cost of creating certificates. Both are small, but they add up for a self-registering installer.
Account fees
At the time of writing the CER publishes these REC Registry account fees:
| Account | One-off fee |
|---|---|
| General account | None |
| Registered person | about $20 |
| Registered agent | about $230 |
A general account can hold and transfer certificates but cannot create them. To create STCs yourself you need a registered person account; to create them on behalf of others you need to be a registered agent.
Creation fees
Creating certificates attracts a fee per certificate:
- Small generation units (rooftop solar): about 47 cents per STC.
- Solar water heaters: about 8 cents per STC.
- Free allowance: the first 250 certificates a system owner creates are free; above that, fees apply to all certificates created, as the CER describes it.
On a 6.6 kW zone 3 system that creates 45 STCs in 2026, the creation fee is about $21 if the allowance has been used. At roughly $38 to $40 an STC, that is a small bite out of $1,700 to $1,800, but it is a cost the buyer prices in somewhere.
Who actually pays
If a trader or agent creates the certificates, the registry fee is theirs on paper, and they cover it in the rate they offer or charge you a processing fee. This is why “fees” is a real comparison point. Our guide to trader fees explains the usual line items.
What this means for installers
Ask a buyer: do you charge a processing fee, an admin fee, or a registry pass-through, and is the posted rate before or after it? Energy Merchants charges none of these, so the rate on pricing is what you receive. If you self-register, factor the fees into your margin as in is it worth registering STCs yourself.
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