The invention relates to a monitoring device for a surge arrester comprising a means 6 for detecting a total leakage current that is flowing between the surge arrester 3 and earth, a field sensor 9 for detecting an electrical field in the vicinity of the surge arrester 3 and a communication unit 13 for the contactless transmission of data to an external device 2, the communication unit 13 being a near- field communication unit for the contactless exchange of data by means of near-field communication (NFC).
