Guide, checked 5 November 2026

The REC Registry explained

Every STC is created, held, transferred and surrendered in the REC Registry. This guide covers what it is, which account you need, what it costs, which pages anyone can read, and what the statuses mean.

What it is, and what this site is not

The regulator describes the registry as an online system that creates, registers, transfers and surrenders certificates, tracks their ownership and status, gives access to the STC clearing house and keeps the public registers the Act requires. Every certificate must be created there before it can be bought, sold, traded or surrendered. It records each one from creation, through any transfers, to its surrender.

The registry is run by the regulator at rec-registry.gov.au. It is not run by us, and we are not the regulator. Use the regulator's address for your login, and be wary of anything that asks for your registry details on another domain.

Applying for an account starts in the regulator's Online Services. You register there, prove your identity and choose the account type. The regulator says the registry has moved to single sign-on, so one login reaches all your accounts.

The account types

The regulator lists eight account types and says it is your job to set up the right one. You do not need an account at all if you assign the right to create STCs to an agent. What a registered agent is.

Account	What it is for	Fee
General	Transfer and voluntarily surrender certificates that already exist.	None
Registered person	Create certificates for your own systems, and transfer and surrender them.	$20 one-off
Registered agent	Create certificates for other people's systems, and transfer and surrender them.	$230 one-off
STC clearing house	Buy, sell and transfer STCs in the clearing house. It needs a general account, identity checks, your GST status and your bank details.	None
Liable entity	Transfer and surrender certificates to meet a legal obligation. You contact the regulator to apply.	None
Power station	Seek accreditation as a power station, to create large-scale certificates. You contact the regulator to apply.	None stated
Supplier, and verification service provider	Supply solar panel serial number data for the approved ledgers and the Solar Panel Validation initiative.	None

To create certificates you must be an Australian entity with an ABN or ACN and a physical address in Australia. An account should carry the name of a legal person, such as a company or an individual, and for a trading name the regulator wants the legal name first, for example "Solar Works Pty Ltd trading as Gecko Solar".

What you can do in it

Create STCs. Within 12 months of installation. You pick the system type, complete the application and upload the documents where the form takes them, then wait for the assessment. Approved certificates are credited to your account. You can bulk upload claims.
Pay fees. You create a payment advice from the fees menu and pay by one of the methods it lists.
Transfer. Send certificates to another account. The other side must accept, and you can withdraw the transfer until they do.
Sell in the clearing house. Offer registered STCs at the fixed price, or withdraw an offer. The clearing house.
Surrender. Make or cancel a voluntary surrender offer. Liable entities surrender to meet their obligations.
Manage the account. The account administrator adds users and sets their permissions, and is the only person who can update the bank details. Users should subscribe to the event emails, because that is how the registry tells you a claim has failed.

Keep your bank and GST details current before you sell. The regulator cannot adjust a completed transaction if GST was applied incorrectly.

How a certificate moves through its statuses

A claim goes in, is audited, is registered, may be traded, and ends when it is surrendered. A failed claim stops at the audit. These are the statuses the regulator's public register uses.

Status	What it means
Pending audit	The regulator is auditing the certificates.
Pending creation fee payment	Approved, but an agent has to pay the fee before they are registered. The creation guidance calls this stage "pending registration".
Registered	Approved and registered, ready to trade or surrender.
Pending transfer	The holder has sent them to another account and is waiting for the other side to accept.
Pending STC clearing house sale	Offered to the clearing house and waiting for a buyer, which happens when the clearing house is in surplus.
STC clearing house pending transfer	A place in the clearing house queue is being handed to someone else, and stays pending until they accept.
Pending surrender	Surrendered to meet a legal obligation. Until the surrender period closes, the holder can change or withdraw the number.
Invalid due to surrender	Surrendered for a legal obligation and accepted. This is the end for a certificate bought by an electricity retailer.
Pending and invalid due to voluntary surrender	Surrendered voluntarily, first waiting for assessment, then accepted.
Invalid due to audit	The regulator failed the claim, and the certificates were not registered.
Invalid due to STC clearing house deficit	Regulator-created STCs were offset against STCs offered to the clearing house while it was in deficit.

"Invalid" on the register does not always mean a problem. It also describes a certificate that has been used up by surrender. Two more statuses apply only to large-scale certificates surrendered for a refund. A certificate withdrawn from the clearing house returns to registered.

The public pages

These pages open without a login, on the regulator's domain. We link them so you can check things yourself.

Register of small-scale technology certificates. Easiest to search with the accreditation code, or by creation year, status and similar filters.
Register of registered persons. Search by account name or registration number, to check an agent.
Clearing house transfer list. The current status, the number of STCs waiting and when it last updated. The regulator says the queue is first in, first served.
Summary holdings. Snapshots of certificate holdings by generation and creation year.
Large-scale certificate register and register of accredited power stations.
The registry's own glossary. Ours is the STC glossary.

The regulator's STC calculators

The regulator offers three. The small generation unit calculator covers solar panels, batteries, wind and hydro: you give the system type, the install date, the kilowatts or usable kilowatt-hours, the period to claim over and the postcode. The solar water heater calculator asks for brand, model, install date and postcode. A separate mid-scale solar calculator covers 100 kW to 1 MW.

The regulator says each is an approximate guide only. It does not take in every variable that can change a result, its data changes over time, and for an exact number you consult the Act and the regulations.

Our STC calculator works from the same published zones and battery factors. It differs in what it adds and what it leaves out. It puts panels and a battery on one screen, and shows a dollar figure at the price we pay. It does not take a brand or model, so for a heat pump or solar water heater use the regulator's calculator, or read our guide. Neither calculator decides what a claim receives. The regulator does.

Fees

Account fees: $20 for a registered person, $230 for a registered agent, once. The regulator's accounts page lists no fee for the others.
Creation fee: $0.47 per small generation unit STC, such as solar panels, and $0.08 per solar water heater STC. The first 250 certificates you create are free, but past 250 the fee applies to all of them.
Surrender fee: $0.08 per certificate surrendered for a legal obligation, with none for voluntary surrenders.

If you assign the right to us, none of these come off your price. How trading works.

Sources

Checked on 5 November 2026. Rules and market prices change. General information only, not tax, legal or financial advice: check your own position with your accountant.

FAQ

Common questions

Is stctrader.com.au the REC Registry?

No. This is the website of GetSolar Pty Ltd, a private business. The REC Registry is run by the Clean Energy Regulator on rec-registry.gov.au. We cannot see your account, reset your login or change anything in it. We link to the regulator's pages here so you can reach the real ones.

Where do I log in to the REC Registry?

Start at the registry's home page on the regulator's own domain, rec-registry.gov.au, and use its Login link. The regulator says the registry now uses single sign-on, so one login reaches all your REC Registry accounts. If a page asking for your login is not on a gov.au address, do not use it.

Do I need a REC Registry account to sell STCs to a trader?

Not if the trader or its agent creates the certificates. The regulator says you do not need an account if you assign the right to create STCs to an agent. You need one to create certificates yourself or for others, or to hold and transfer certificates that already exist.

How long do certificates stay in 'pending audit'?

The regulator says validation usually takes 4 to 6 weeks, and longer if documents are incomplete or it finds a compliance issue. Its registry guidance says an application can take up to 6 weeks to assess.

Does the REC Registry pay me when I sell STCs?

No. The regulator says certificate purchases are negotiated and paid outside the registry, and the registry then records the transfer. The exception is the clearing house, where buyers pay into the seller's nominated bank account through the clearing house.

Related guides

How STC trading works
From the system owner's assignment to the sale, and the three ways to get paid.
STC registered agents
What an agent does, the regulator's duties and fit and proper test, the course and fees, and whether to become one or use a trader.
The STC clearing house
The $40 price, the transfer list, the surplus, and when selling there makes sense.
STC glossary
Plain definitions of the terms used in STC trading, each with its source and a link to the guide that goes further.

Keep the registry work off your desk

$38.64 + GST per STC, paid in 1 business day. We create and register the certificates for you.

Open a trader account Call 0435 166 168