Northern Ireland requires an EPC when a building is built, sold or rented, valid for 10 years, produced by an accredited assessor nidirect. Certificates are searchable through the same Find an Energy Certificate service that covers England and Wales GOV.UK register, so checking an NI property is the familiar postcode-in, certificate-out routine.
The headline difference: no MEES
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards are an England-and-Wales instrument GOV.UK MEES. In Northern Ireland there is currently no minimum EPC band for letting: an F or G rated home can be lawfully let in NI in circumstances that would be a £5,000 problem in Leeds. Landlords with property either side of the Irish Sea should not assume one rulebook.
The same applies forward: the confirmed band C by 2030 rules bind England and Wales. NI policy on minimum standards is its own devolved conversation; when Stormont legislates, the reform tracker will carry it with a source.
Getting an assessment in NI
nidirect maintains the official guidance and the route to accredited domestic energy assessors nidirect. As everywhere on these islands: check the register before paying, because a valid certificate may already exist GOV.UK register.
Reading across the nations
The full three-way table, register by register and rule by rule, is on England vs Scotland vs Northern Ireland. Scotland's separate register and display duty are on the Scotland page; the certificate itself is anatomised on the main explainer.