Unregistered STC

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

An unregistered STC is a certificate that exists in the REC Registry as a submitted creation but has not cleared the Clean Energy Regulator’s checks. It is a claim for certificates, not yet a tradeable certificate.

What puts an STC in this state

When an installer or registered agent lodges a creation, the details of the system, owner, installation date and evidence go into the registry. The regulator validates the creation. Until that finishes, the STCs sit as unregistered or pending, and registry wording may vary slightly, so go by what your own account shows.

In practice

You cannot sell an unregistered STC for settlement, because there is nothing yet for the buyer to receive. A trader paying on settlement will wait for registration. A trader who pays earlier is taking the validation risk and will price for it.

The delay is usually short when the creation is clean. It stretches when data is missing or when the claim is selected for further checks. See pending audit.

Worked example

You lodge 120 STCs on Monday. On Monday night the registry shows 120 unregistered. Validation passes on Wednesday and they move to registered. Settlement can then follow, which is why a first claim with a new trader is quoted at 48 to 72 hours.

Common confusion

Unregistered does not mean rejected. It also does not mean the system is non-compliant. It means the process is incomplete. A failed creation is a different status. See failed STC.

Next steps are covered in how it works and the glossary.