STC transfer list

Written and checked by the Energy Merchants desk · Reviewed 3 October 2026

An STC transfer list is the selection of certificates that is moved from one registry account to another in a sale. In practice, a registered agent picks the certificates to be sold, identified by their serial numbers, and sends them to the buyer through the REC Registry. When the buyer accepts and the transfer completes, ownership has changed.

The term is used loosely in the trade, and the exact screens and labels are set by the Clean Energy Regulator. Treat this page as the idea, and check the registry’s help pages for the steps.

What a list contains

• The certificate type, STC in this case, and the serial range or individual serials.
• The quantity, which must match what you agreed to sell.
• The receiving account, which must be the right buyer.
• Often the year and the creation date of the certificates.

In practice

For installers who assign their STCs to a registered agent, the transfer list is invisible. The agent creates the certificates and handles the movement. For agents, the list is where mistakes cost money. Sending the wrong quantity or the wrong account leads to disputes, and a transfer to a buyer who then surrenders the certificates cannot be undone.

A tidy process helps. Reconcile the list against the jobs you intend to settle, check that every certificate is valid and eligible to be traded, and confirm the buyer’s details before you send. A trader that has pre-checked its claims builds the list from clean jobs. See STC pre-approval.

Payment normally follows the transfer, or the other way around under the contract. Under a clearing-house sale, the Government’s price of $40 applies. See STC clearing house.

Common confusion

A transfer is not a surrender. A transferred certificate stays in circulation and can be sold again. A surrendered one is retired. See certificate surrender.

It is also not the same as creating certificates. Creation is the first step. Transfer is a later one.

See how it works, STC trading and the glossary.