ServiceM8 form
ServiceM8 COES form for prescribed and non prescribed work
This ServiceM8 Form collects what Energy Safe Victoria's Certificate of Electrical Safety asks for, with a first question that switches between prescribed and non prescribed work. The electrician fills it in on site, the certificate is completed in ESVConnect, and the COES number goes back on the job. The customer's copy is due within 30 days.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
Free form ยท Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic)
COES capture form for electrical
A one page ESVConnect summary PDF in the job diary, with the description of work ready to paste and the COES number recorded against the job.
The form: 23 questions
| Section | Question | Type | Req. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch | COES type | Choice Non prescribed / Prescribed | Yes | Drives which questions show. Prescribed work cannot be energised before inspection. |
| Switch | Failed a previous inspection or audit | Choice No / Yes | Yes | |
| Switch | Original COES number of the failed work | Text | Skipped unless the previous answer is Yes. ESV requires it on the new certificate. | |
| Customer | Customer name who engaged you | Text | Yes | The person or business that engaged you, which may be a builder, not the owner. |
| Customer | Customer daily contact phone | Text | Yes | |
| Customer | Customer email for automatic COES delivery | Text | Entered in ESVConnect's Customer email field, the COES is sent when it is generated. | |
| Customer | Address where the work was done | Text | Yes | ESVConnect validates the address, so match the street name exactly. |
| Work | Type of electrical installation work | Multiple choice New installation / Alteration / Addition / Repair / Replacement / Solar or battery / Switchboard / Other | Yes | One or more must be selected. |
| Work | New work or repair and replacement | Choice New / Repair or replacement | Yes | |
| Work | Items installed and how many | Text (Multi-line) | Yes | For example: 6 LED downlights, 2 double GPOs, 1 20 A circuit. |
| Work | Where each item was installed | Text (Multi-line) | Yes | |
| Work | Load ratings of equipment installed in kW | Text | Required for appliances such as cooktops, heat pumps and chargers. | |
| Work | Maximum demand in amps | Text | Yes | Write As Before if the work did not add load. |
| Work | Consumers mains capacity | Text | Yes | For a fixed setting main switch you may write, for example, 63A limited. |
| Tests | Tests completed | Multiple choice Visual inspection / Earth continuity / Insulation resistance / Polarity / Correct circuit connections / Earth fault loop impedance / RCD operation | Yes | |
| Tests | Test date | Date | Yes | |
| Tests | Photo of completed work | Photo | Yes | Upload to the certificate in ESVConnect with the test results. |
| Inspection | Licensed Electrical Inspector or inspection company | Text | Prescribed only. Skipped for non prescribed. | |
| Inspection | Inspection booked for | Date | Prescribed only. The installation stays off until inspected. | |
| Inspection | Inspection outcome | Choice Passed / Defects listed, rectification needed / Not yet inspected | Prescribed only. | |
| Certificate | COES number | Text | Filled in once ESVConnect generates the certificate. | |
| Certificate | Date COES issued to customer | Date | Must be within 30 calendar days of completing the work. | |
| Sign off | Electrician signature | Signature | Yes | Internal record. The legal declaration is the one ticked in ESVConnect. |
Set it up in ServiceM8
- Go to Settings > Forms > Add Form and name it COES capture VIC.
- Add the questions above in order and tick Mandatory where required is Yes.
- Set Skip Question If on each Inspection question so it is skipped when COES type equals Non prescribed.
- Set Skip Question If on Original COES number so it is skipped when Failed a previous inspection or audit equals No.
- In the Word template, join Work type, items, where installed and load ratings into one paragraph so it can be pasted into ESVConnect's description of work in one go.
- Add a badge called COES to issue and a job queue for prescribed jobs waiting on inspection, so work that must stay off is visible to the office.
- Run one prescribed and one non prescribed test job and lodge both in ESVConnect before rolling out.
The certificate lives in ESVConnect, the data lives in the job
In Victoria you cannot print your own certificate. A COES is bought from Energy Safe Victoria, either electronically in ESVConnect or as a paper form from an electrical wholesaler, and completed on that form. From 1 July 2026 an electronic COES costs $39.70 for prescribed work and $9.00 for non prescribed work; paper forms cost $43.20 and $10.00.
So a ServiceM8 form here is a capture sheet, not the certificate. Its job is to get every answer ESVConnect will ask for out of the electrician's head while they are standing in front of the board, and then to hold the COES number so anyone opening the job can find the certificate. Once an electronic certificate is final with its N or P number, ESV says it cannot be amended, which is the best reason to get the answers right on site.
Prescribed or non prescribed decides half the form
Prescribed work covers the high risk parts of an installation: consumers mains, main earthing systems and the fire related parts of main switchboards, sub mains to individual occupiers, hazardous areas, high voltage, standby and co generation control gear, battery energy storage systems, security electric fences, larger remote area supplies, patient areas of medical practices and fire and lift control gear. It needs a Licensed Electrical Inspector to inspect it and complete the Certificate of Inspection part of the COES. ESV's consumer guidance says prescribed work cannot be turned on until it has been inspected.
Everything else is non prescribed and needs only the electrician's Certificate of Compliance. Repairing or maintaining a single component, or swapping it for an equivalent part in the same spot, is not prescribed work.
The form's first question is that switch. Answer non prescribed and the inspector questions are skipped. Answer prescribed and the form asks who is inspecting and when, so the Responsible Person can allocate the certificate to the right inspector in ESVConnect straight away.
What ESV wants in the description of work
ESV's COES fundamentals guide asks the description to say whether the work is new or a repair or replacement, how many of each item, what type, where each was installed, and the kW load rating of equipment. ESVConnect gives you up to 2,000 characters for it. The form splits that into separate questions so none of the five parts is forgotten, and the template joins them back into one paragraph you can paste.
Maximum demand is required when the work adds load; for repairs ESV accepts As Before. For consumers mains capacity, a fixed setting main switch can be written as, for example, 63A limited.
Timeframes to build the job around
ESV's FAQ says a certificate must be issued within 30 calendar days of completing the work. With paper certificates the Responsible Person must lodge the Certificate of Compliance details by phone within 2 days of certification, and the inspector lodges within 4 days of inspection. With ESVConnect, lodgement is complete when the certificate is generated, and entering the customer's email sends them their copy automatically.
What this form will not do
- The form does not create or lodge the certificate. The COES is completed and certified in ESVConnect or on ESV's paper form.
- ServiceM8 cannot read the COES number back from ESV; someone types it in.
- The work type options are a practical starting list. Match them to the tick boxes on the COES you actually buy.
- Checking whether a job is prescribed is the Responsible Person's call. The switch only records the answer.
Sources
- Electronic COES fees from 1 July 2026: $39.70 for prescribed work and $9.00 for non prescribed work; paper forms $43.20 and $10.00; periodic non prescribed paper COES $984.40. Energy Safe Victoria, COES fees 2026-27, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- A certificate must be provided for all electrical installation work and issued within 30 calendar days of the completion of that work. Energy Safe Victoria, Certificates of Electrical Safety FAQ, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Prescribed electrical installation work must be inspected by a Licensed Electrical Inspector and cannot be turned on or left turned on until it has been inspected. Energy Safe Victoria, Certificates of Electrical Safety for the community, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Prescribed work includes consumers mains, main earthing systems and fire related parts of main switchboards, hazardous areas, high voltage installations, standby and co generation control and battery energy storage systems, security electric fences, and body or cardiac protected areas; repair or like for like replacement of a single component is not prescribed. Energy Safe Victoria, COES Fundamentals (January 2024), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- The description of work should state if the work is new or a repair or replacement, how many items, the type, where each was installed and load ratings in kW; maximum demand may be 'As Before' where load does not increase; a fixed 63 A main switch may be written '63A limited'; paper COES compliance details are lodged within 2 days of certification and inspections within 4 days. Energy Safe Victoria, COES Fundamentals (January 2024), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- In ESVConnect the description of work holds 2,000 characters, test results, photos and files can be added, and final electronic certificates with an N or P number cannot be amended. Energy Safe Victoria, ESVConnect COES FAQ, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 Forms can skip a question based on the answer to a previous question using Skip Question If conditions such as Equal to or Contains. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.