BRL 9500 company certification for energy performance advisors

A company that issues energy labels must be certified under BRL 9500 itself. A certification body issues that certificate, such as Kiwa . Only a certified company may register energy performance reports in EP-Online. The requirements are set out in the assessment guideline BRL 9500-W from InstallQ (the Dutch certification body). You will find an overview on the requirements under BRL 9500.

The company certificate sits alongside the personal certificate of the advisor. The personal certificate is the professional competence, and InstallQ issues it. You can read how that exam works on the EP advisor exam page. This page covers the company: what it must arrange and how admission works.

The company certificate and the personal certificate side by side

An advisor can be good at the job and still not be allowed to register, if the company is not certified. The reverse also applies. The company and the advisor each need their own proof.

	Company certificate	Advisor’s professional competence
For whom	The company	The individual EP advisor
What it proves	That the company has a working quality system	That the advisor masters the assessment and calculation
Who issues it	A certification body (CB)	InstallQ, under BRL 9500
How long it is valid	The validity period is stated on the certificate	Remains valid with annual further training

An example makes this clear. The fictional company Haagsma Energieadvies BV employs two advisors. The company receives the certificate, and each advisor also holds their own proof of professional competence. If one advisor leaves, the company must still meet the requirement of at least one competent advisor.

Which certificates exist?

BRL 9500 has two main parts: dwellings (BRL 9500-W) and non-residential buildings (BRL 9500-U). For each part, you can certify two levels: basic assessment and detailed assessment. The company therefore chooses, per part and per level, what it wants to be certified for.

There is also a separate BRL for bespoke advice (BRL 9500-MWA). Ask your CB which conditions apply to offering certified bespoke advice. The CBs that certify under BRL 9500 include SKG-IKOB, VINK Certificering, Kiwa, EPG Certificering and ALPHA Certificering. According to RVO (the Netherlands Enterprise Agency) , a competent advisor must be certified under BRL 9500, or join an umbrella organisation that does so.

What must the company arrange?

The guideline sets requirements for the organisation, not only for the advisor. These are the main elements. Some requirements apply to every company, others only if you also offer bespoke advice.

Item	What the company must have	Guideline
Registration	Registration with the Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel)	5.1
Staff	At least one competent EP advisor, employed or engaged under a cooperation agreement	5.3
Tools	The guideline, NTA 8800, ISSO publication 82.1, measuring instruments and software certified under BRL 9501	5.4
Quality manual	A written description of all procedures	6.2
Quality policy	A policy signed by the management	6.3
Responsibilities	Recorded tasks and powers per role	6.4
Complaints	A procedure for handling complaints	6.7.5
Project file	A file per assessment with the data the inspection needs	6.7.4
Internal audits	At least one internal audit per year	6.1

The quality manual is the heart of the system. It describes how the company organises the assessment, the calculation and the registration. A CB checks whether the company actually follows the manual. If a mandatory element is missing from it, or is not applied, that is a critical deviation.

A company cannot transfer its responsibilities through a licence or cooperation agreement. The company remains responsible itself. If you delegate a task to a non-certified company or person, that counts as a critical deviation.

Responsibility of the management

The management stays responsible, even when an advisor carries out the assessment. The company’s quality policy contains a statement from the management. With it, the management stands behind the policy.

The guideline also requires the company to record who holds which task. Who manages the registration must therefore be set out in writing in the manual. If that division is missing, it is a deviation that the CB can record.

The audit process: from admission to annual check

You obtain the certificate in two stages. First the admission, then the follow-up checks.

Admission assessment

The CB reviews the quality manual and the company itself. The auditor also checks projects, both on file and on site. If the result is positive, the CB issues the certificate.

First follow-up after six months

Six months after the admission assessment, the first follow-up takes place. It focuses on the organisation. The CB also checks a number of projects.

Annual follow-up

Every year there is a follow-up, with an organisation audit and project checks. If InstallQ amends the assessment guideline, InstallQ decides whether an extra assessment is needed before a new certificate is issued.

You can read how the checks work in detail, including the sampling and the sanctions, on internal and external inspections under BRL 9500.

An example from the first years

Haagsma Energieadvies BV wants to certify for dwellings at basic and detailed assessment level in 2027. The company first writes the quality manual. Then it schedules the admission audit. During the audit, it turns out that the complaints procedure is missing. The company adds it and has the audit repeated on that point. This is what good preparation looks like: you find the gaps before the auditor does.

What does it cost?

The guideline does not mention prices. Ask each CB for a quote. We discuss the costs of the process on costs and timeline. When you receive a quote, check what is and is not included. The admission, the annual follow-up and the project checks can be requested separately.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a company certificate as an advisor too?

Not personally. You work under the certificate of a company. The company must hold that certificate, and you must be competent. See the EP advisor exam for the requirements for your own competence.

What happens if my only advisor leaves?

The company must always have at least one competent advisor, either employed or engaged under an agreement. If the only advisor leaves, the company no longer meets that requirement. Contact your CB straight away to find out what this means for the time until you have a new advisor.

How long is the company certificate valid?

The validity period is stated on the certificate itself. The guideline says that InstallQ decides whether an extra assessment is needed if the assessment guideline changes. Also watch the transition to the new version BRL 9500-W:2026. Certificates of the version dated 1 July 2024 lose their validity one year after the new version is officially designated. See the BRL 9500 overview page for the current position.