When to Get an EICR: The Complete Electrical Safety Inspection Guide
Your home’s electrical installation ages silently. Insulation degrades, connections loosen, protection devices become sluggish, and the wiring installed under regulations from 1970 may now fail modern safety standards — all without a single visible symptom. An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) is the formal inspection that reveals what is actually happening inside your walls.
This guide explains what an EICR covers, when you legally need one, what the condition codes mean, how to read the report, and what to do if your installation receives a fail.
What Is an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal document produced by a qualified electrician after a thorough inspection and testing of a fixed electrical installation. It assesses the condition of:
- The consumer unit (fuse board) and its protection devices
- All fixed wiring throughout the property
- Earthing and bonding arrangements
- Suitability of the installation against the current edition of BS 7671
- Any visible damage, deterioration, or non-compliant work
An EICR replaces the older term “Periodic Inspection Report” (PIR). The result is a report listing any defects found, each classified by a code indicating its severity, and an overall Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory verdict.
An EICR is not a certificate that work has been done to a property — it is a snapshot of condition at the time of inspection. It does not replace an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), which is issued for new work.
Who Can Carry Out an EICR?
An EICR must be carried out by a competent person — typically a qualified electrician registered with a government-approved competent person scheme:
- NICEIC (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting)
- NAPIT (National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers)
- ELECSA (Electrical Contractors’ Safety and Quality Assurance Scheme)
- SELECT (in Scotland)
You can check whether an electrician is registered at the government’s approved schemes portal. An unregistered person producing an EICR has no formal competence verification — their report may not be accepted by letting agents, mortgage lenders, or insurers.
When Do You Need an EICR?
Landlords — legal requirement
Since 1 July 2020, private landlords in England are legally required to have the electrical installation in their rented properties inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every 5 years. The rules (The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020) require:
- An EICR carried out before a new tenancy begins, or by 1 April 2021 for existing tenancies
- A copy given to tenants within 28 days of the inspection
- Any remedial work completed within 28 days (or less if the report specifies urgency)
- Evidence of the remedial work sent to tenants and the local authority on request
Failure to comply can result in a civil penalty of up to £30,000.
Scotland has had similar requirements under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 since 2015 — private landlords must have an EICR every 5 years and provide a copy to tenants at the start of each tenancy.
Wales introduced equivalent requirements in 2023.
Homeowners — strongly recommended
Homeowners have no legal obligation to obtain an EICR, but the IET Guidance recommends:
| Property type | Recommended interval |
|---|---|
| Owner-occupied domestic property | Every 10 years |
| Property being purchased (before or shortly after purchase) | At change of ownership |
| Property with a new occupant | At change of occupancy |
| Older property (pre-1970 wiring) | Every 5 years |
| Property with a swimming pool | Every 1 year |
The most important time to get an EICR is when buying a property. A standard house survey does not include electrical testing — surveyors comment on visible fittings but do not test circuits. An uninspected electrical installation in a property you are buying is an unknown risk.
Mortgage and insurance
Some mortgage lenders require evidence of a satisfactory EICR before lending on older properties. Some home insurers ask about the age of the consumer unit and wiring — an outdated installation can affect premiums or invalidate a claim after an electrical fire.
What Does an EICR Test?
An EICR inspection covers both a visual inspection and instrument testing of the installation:
Visual inspection
- Consumer unit condition, labelling, and suitability
- Type and rating of protection devices vs circuit requirements
- Presence of RCD protection on socket and bathroom circuits
- Visible cable condition, routing, and fixings
- Earthing and bonding — main and supplementary
- Condition of socket outlets, switches, and accessories
- Any signs of overheating, burning, or damage
Instrument testing
- Earth continuity — low resistance path from all accessible metalwork to MET
- Insulation resistance — confirms no breakdown of insulation between conductors or to earth
- Polarity — live and neutral correctly connected at each outlet
- Earth fault loop impedance (Zs) — ensures MCBs/RCBOs will disconnect fast enough under fault
- RCD operation — all RCDs trip at or below 30 mA within the required time
- Prospective fault current — confirms protection devices are rated for the available fault current
EICR Condition Codes: What C1, C2, C3 Mean
Every observation in an EICR is assigned one of four codes:
C1 — Danger Present
Meaning: Immediate risk of injury. The defect poses a direct danger and the supply to the affected circuit or installation should be disconnected immediately.
Examples:
- Live conductors accessible without tools (missing cover, broken socket face)
- A circuit with no earth whatsoever feeding metal appliances
- Evidence of arcing, burning, or severe overheating at a connection
- Insulation failure with live conductor exposed in a wall
What happens: The electrician should advise you to isolate the affected circuit or the whole installation immediately. A C1 finding is rare but serious — it means something in the installation is actively dangerous right now.
C2 — Potentially Dangerous
Meaning: Not immediately dangerous, but could become dangerous. Remedial action required.
Examples:
- No RCD protection on socket outlet circuits
- Overcurrent protection device rated too high for the cable it protects
- Missing or inadequate earthing of a circuit
- Bathroom wiring that does not comply with Zone requirements
- An old rewirable fuse board with no RCD protection
What happens: The installation receives an Unsatisfactory verdict. Remedial work is required. For landlords, this must be completed within 28 days.
C3 — Improvement Recommended
Meaning: Not dangerous but does not comply with the current edition of BS 7671 (though it may have complied with the edition current when installed). Improvement is recommended but not required for the EICR to pass.
Examples:
- Old-style fuse board with no RCDs (compliant when installed, not compliant now)
- Cables without the correct colour sleeving for current BS 7671
- No supplementary bonding in a bathroom (where RCDs are present, this is C3 not C2)
- Socket outlets without shuttered apertures
What happens: A C3 alone does not make the EICR Unsatisfactory. The installation can still receive a Satisfactory result with C3 observations. However, the recommendations should be acted on when the installation is next worked on or when budget allows.
FI — Further Investigation Required
Meaning: The inspector could not fully assess a particular aspect of the installation and further investigation is needed before a conclusion can be reached.
Examples:
- Wiring concealed in a wall where continuity could not be confirmed
- A circuit whose routing could not be traced
- Evidence of a fault that needs more detailed investigation to diagnose
What happens: The EICR cannot be given a final verdict on that aspect until the investigation is complete. FI items should be resolved before a final Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory decision.
Overall EICR Result
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Satisfactory | No C1 or C2 findings. May have C3 recommendations. Installation is in a satisfactory condition for continued use. |
| Unsatisfactory | One or more C1 or C2 findings. Remedial work is required. A new EICR should be issued after completion of remedial work. |
A Satisfactory EICR is valid for the period recommended by the inspector (up to the maximum intervals above). It does not mean the installation is perfect — it means no currently dangerous conditions were found.
How Much Does an EICR Cost?
EICR costs vary by property size, region, and the number of circuits to be tested:
| Property size | Typical cost (England) |
|---|---|
| 1–2 bedroom flat | £100–£180 |
| 3 bedroom house | £150–£250 |
| 4–5 bedroom house | £200–£350 |
| Large or complex property | £300–£500+ |
These are approximate. Always get at least two quotes from registered electricians. Be wary of very low quotes — a thorough EICR of a 3-bedroom house takes 3–5 hours; a quote for £60 suggests corners are being cut.
What Happens After a Failed EICR?
- Prioritise C1 findings — isolate affected circuits immediately if advised
- Get quotes for remedial work — you can use any Part P-registered electrician, not necessarily the one who did the EICR
- Complete within 28 days (landlords) or as soon as practical (homeowners)
- Obtain an EIC for any new work carried out
- Request a new EICR (or a partial re-inspection if only specific circuits were affected)
Common remedial work following an Unsatisfactory EICR:
- Consumer unit replacement — upgrading an old fuse board to a modern CU with RCDs/RCBOs (very common C2 finding)
- Earth bonding — connecting gas and water pipes to the main earth terminal
- Adding RCD protection — fitting RCBOs to socket and bathroom circuits
- Cable repairs — replacing damaged or deteriorated wiring
- Full rewire — for properties with very old wiring that fails multiple tests
Related: Distribution Board Explained: How a Consumer Unit Is Wired
Related: 5 Common Electrical Wiring Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Understanding Your Installation with ElectraSim
An EICR report can be daunting if you do not understand what the tests are measuring or what the faults mean. ElectraSim lets you build circuits and explore what happens when earth connections are missing, RCDs are absent, or insulation fails — the same faults an EICR is designed to find.
- Build a circuit without an earth and observe that it operates normally until a fault occurs
- Add an RCD and see how it provides protection that an MCB alone cannot
- Apply Fault Simulation Mode to inject the kind of earth faults and open circuits that show up as C1/C2 findings on a real EICR
Understanding the why behind each finding makes the remedial work easier to prioritise and discuss with your electrician.
Key Points
- An EICR inspects and tests the fixed electrical installation — it is the only way to know if hidden wiring is safe
- Landlords must have an EICR every 5 years (England, Scotland, Wales) — legal requirement with up to £30,000 penalty
- Homeowners should get one every 10 years, or at change of ownership
- C1 = immediate danger (isolate now); C2 = potentially dangerous (remedial work required); C3 = improvement recommended (Satisfactory but should be addressed)
- An EICR with only C3 findings is Satisfactory — remedial work is not mandatory but recommended
- Always use a NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA registered electrician
- After remedial work, get a new EICR or partial re-inspection to confirm the installation is now Satisfactory
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