Electrical safety certificate: what it is and what you get
Almost nobody rings up asking for an Electrical Installation Condition Report. They ring asking for an electrical safety certificate, and in nearly every case that is the same document.
Same document, different name
The formal name for the periodic inspection of a property's fixed wiring is an Electrical Installation Condition Report, or EICR. Letting agents, mortgage advisers, insurers and local authorities all use the phrase electrical safety certificate for it, and there is no need to correct anyone. If you are a landlord being asked for a safety certificate for a tenancy, an EICR is what satisfies the request.
Confusion creeps in because there are three other documents in circulation that people also call certificates, and they are not interchangeable. Knowing which one you are being asked for saves paying for the wrong thing.
- EICR: an inspection of an existing installation, ending in satisfactory or unsatisfactory
- Electrical Installation Certificate: issued for new installation work, such as a rewire or a new consumer unit
- Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate: issued for a smaller alteration, such as an added circuit
- PAT record: portable appliance testing, which covers plug-in items and is a separate exercise entirely
What the finished document contains
A proper report is more than a single page with a signature. It records the extent and limitations agreed before testing, an inventory of the circuits, the observations found with their codes, and the schedule of test results with real measured figures for each circuit.
If you are handed one sheet that says satisfactory with no schedule of results behind it, you have not been given a full report. That matters most for landlords, because the copy given to a tenant and to a local authority is expected to stand up on its own.
How long it lasts
For domestic rented property in England and Wales the interval is at least every five years, or sooner if the report itself recommends a shorter period. Owner-occupied homes have no legal interval, and ten years is the usual recommendation, with a report before buying or before major work.
The inspector can recommend a shorter interval than the default where the installation warrants it, and that recommendation appears on the report itself, so always read the next inspection date rather than assuming five years.
Official guidance
This guide is general information. For the final word on your own situation, use the official sources below.
Common questions
Is an electrical safety certificate the same as an EICR?
In everyday use, yes. When someone asks a landlord or homeowner for an electrical safety certificate, an EICR is the document that satisfies the request.
Does a satisfactory report mean nothing needs doing?
It means nothing dangerous or requiring improvement was found. A report can be satisfactory and still carry C3 observations, which are recommendations rather than failures.
Who is allowed to issue one?
A competent electrician with the right test instruments, calibration records and experience of inspection and testing. We are a NICEIC Domestic Installer working to BS 7671 18th Edition Amendment 2.
I have a certificate from when the house was rewired. Is that enough?
That is an Electrical Installation Certificate for the work carried out, not a condition report. For a tenancy you will still need an EICR at the required interval.
How fast can we get one?
Usually within a few days across South Wales, and we work 8am to 9pm seven days a week, so evening and weekend appointments are normal.