Which electrical certificate should you receive?
The difference between an Electrical Installation Certificate, a Minor Works Certificate and a Condition Report — and which one your job should produce.
Three documents get confused, and knowing which your job should produce is the simplest way to check the work was done properly. Two certify work that was carried out; one reports on the condition of an existing installation.
If a job that should produce a certificate produces nothing, that gap will surface later — usually during a sale.
- EIC — new installations, new circuits and consumer unit replacements
- MEIWC — alterations and additions to an existing circuit
- EICR — a report on the condition of an existing installation
- Notifiable work also requires building-regs notification
Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC)
Issued for new installations and new circuits, including consumer unit replacements and rewires. It records the design, construction, inspection and testing, with a full schedule of test results. This is the document a solicitor or insurer will want to see.
Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate
Issued for additions and alterations that do not create a new circuit — an extra socket, a relocated light point, a replacement accessory on an existing circuit. Small job, but it should still produce paperwork.
Condition Report (EICR)
Not a certificate of work but an assessment of an existing installation, with coded findings and a satisfactory or unsatisfactory outcome. This is what landlords need on a five-yearly cycle.
Common questions
What if I never received a certificate?
Ask the contractor first. If it isn't forthcoming, an EICR documents the current condition, which is usually what buyers and insurers need.
Are certificates registered anywhere?
Notifiable work is notified to building control, and registered installers lodge notifications through their scheme.
How long are they valid?
Certificates record work at a point in time. Condition reports carry a recommended re-inspection date.
Get a fixed price
Missing paperwork for past work? An EICR gives you a documented, current position you can hand to anyone who asks.