EPC rating A: what it means
An EPC rating A is the top band on an energy performance certificate, and a home needs 92 points or more to get it. Only a small share of homes in England and Wales manage that.
Check your home's EPC ratingOur EPC checker opens the free GOV.UK register search for any postcode.
- SAP points needed for band A
- 92+
- of 2025 EPCs in England and Wales
- 2.7%
- can be let today and after the 2030 rule
- Yes
Your band A certificate and its points
Each EPC scores a home with a number of points, often known as its SAP score, to show how efficient the home is. The scale normally goes from 1 to 100, and the higher the number, the better the home performs.
Band A begins at 92 points. So an A on your certificate means your home scored 92 or above, which is the very best result you can get.
How common is band A?
Not common at all. Once an assessor finishes an EPC, the certificate is lodged, which just means it goes onto the official register. England and Wales lodged 1,743,117 home certificates in 2025, and 47,428 of those were band A. That works out at about 2.7%.
But it's rising fast. In 2024 there were 28,134 band A certificates, so 2025 added roughly two thirds on top of that.
Across every year since 2008, band A has stayed a small slice of the register: 165,814 certificates out of almost 30 million.
| Time covered | Band A home certificates |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 28,134 |
| 2025 | 47,428 |
| 2008 until 30 June 2026 | 165,814 |
Scores of new and modern homes
Plenty of new homes don't reach an A either. The median is the score in the middle once every score is arranged in order. For homes built after 2012, the median came out at 84 points, which sits in band B.
Whole areas miss it too. No local area in England had a median above 85 points, and 7 areas shared that top figure. So a home with an A beats the typical home even in the most efficient parts of the country.
What an A rating means when you sell
Selling a home takes a valid EPC, and each one is good for 10 years. If your A rating hasn't expired yet, you can keep using it instead of paying for a fresh assessment.
A strong rating might also lift the price. One study the government cites found that A or B homes went for 14% more per square metre than comparable G rated homes. That study covered English sales from 1995 to 2011, so treat it as a rough guide to today's market, not a guarantee.
Does an A rating matter for letting?
An A rated home clears the current letting rules easily. Since 1 April 2020, landlords have had to stop renting out most homes that score under E, unless they hold a valid exemption.
The next rule is set. From 1 October 2030, every private tenancy in England and Wales, new or existing, has to reach band C, and no landlord has to spend more than £10,000 per home to get there. An A sits comfortably clear of that threshold.
A separate point covers older certificates. Homes rated C or better before 1 October 2029 will still count as compliant until that certificate runs out or gets replaced. Our EPC for landlords guide sets out each rule and the exemptions.
New ways to work out the bands
The maths behind the ratings is on the move. Going forward, bands will be calculated with the Home Energy Model, which is a fresh government approach to measuring the energy a home uses.
You'll notice this most when your certificate expires or you order a fresh one. In the meantime, your current certificate keeps its A for the rest of its 10 years.