Surrender (certificates)

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

To surrender a certificate is to give it up to the Clean Energy Regulator in order to meet a legal obligation. It is the last event in a certificate’s life. Once surrendered, an STC or LGC is retired and cannot be sold again.

Who surrenders and when

Liable entities, mostly electricity retailers, do the surrendering. STCs are surrendered quarterly, and LGCs annually. The regulator checks the surrendered quantity against the entity’s obligation, which is calculated from the electricity it acquired and the STP for STCs or the large-scale percentage for LGCs. If the quantity falls short, the shortfall charge applies.

In practice

Installers do not surrender anything. They create STCs, and the STCs are bought, usually via a trader, and eventually surrendered by a retailer. This is the step that gives the whole market its reason to exist: the retailer must hand in the certificates or pay the penalty.

Surrender timing shapes the market. Demand is lumpy around the deadlines, and spot prices can firm as retailers cover their obligation. For STCs, the clearing house keeps that demand cushioned.

Worked example

You create 100 STCs for a job and sell them. A trader sells them on to a retailer. The retailer surrenders them in its next quarterly return, and the regulator retires them. From creation to retirement, the same certificate may pass through three or four owners.

Common confusion

Surrender is not cancellation of a claim and is not the same as a failed or rejected STC. A failed STC never becomes a valid certificate. See failed STC. Surrender also differs from transfer, which just moves ownership between accounts.

See STC trading, how it works and the glossary.