Coating resistance or conductance values are critical input parameters for the accurate modelling and design of AC mitigation and cathodic protection (CP) systems for pipelines. However, there are relatively few sources for real-world coating resistance values in the literature. To attempt to fill this gap, data from coating quality tests performed on thousands of trenchless pipeline installations was used to characterize the coating resistance of new, primarily fusion bonded epoxy (FBE)-coated pipelines. The tests assess damage incurred as part of the trenchless installations and cover the full range from pristine coating to significant scratches with bare metal. This allows the dataset to provide insight into both a baseline for open-trench coating quality and a range of practical coating qualities for trenchless installations. It was found that specific coating resistance values varied from less than 100 O·m2 to >1 MO·m2 but that there was no specific threshold that could be associated with pristine FBE coating. However, the data clearly validated the ‘300 mV shift’ design guideline for CP systems, which also demonstrates the link between CP current requirement and coating quality. Considering this, the implication of requiring a certain current density irrespective of coating quality is illustrated.