The basics
An EICR assesses the fixed wiring against BS 7671
Electrical Installation Condition Report. If you are asking what an EICR certificate is, this is it: an electrician inspects and tests the fixed electrical installation of a property and reports its condition against the current standard. The purpose of an EICR is to record that condition, not to certify new work. It was called a periodic inspection report until 2011, which is why older guidance uses that name.
Arrange an EICR
Three questions and a postcode. We match you to a qualified local electrician.
An electrical condition report, not a certificate
The distinction matters, and almost everybody gets it wrong including electricians in casual conversation. A certificate is issued for new work, by the person who carried it out, saying it complies. A condition report is an assessment of an existing installation, usually by someone who did not install it.
You will see EICR certificate everywhere, including in search results. It is a report.
What the acronym covers
- The circuits and the cabling that is part of the building
- The consumer unit and its protective devices
- Sockets, switches, light fittings and other accessories, sampled rather than all removed
- Fixed appliances such as a cooker, a shower or an immersion heater
What it does not cover
Anything you plug in. Portable appliance testing is a separate exercise answering a separate question, and in England a private landlord has no duty to have it done at all.
It is also not a survey of the property. A homebuyer survey looks at the building as a whole and normally recommends a separate electrical inspection rather than replacing one.
Why the acronym rather than the words
Because that is what people say and what people search for. The long form appears once on each of our pages for clarity and then gets out of the way.
What you get
A report records circuits, codes and limitations
The verdict is the least useful part. What matters is the schedule of test results behind it, the coded observations, and an honest record of anything the inspection could not reach.
A ticked box and nothing else is a verdict with no working shown. Worth knowing before you accept one, whoever arranged it.
Standards
The standards every inspection is carried out to
An EICR is only as good as the person signing it. Every inspection here is carried out to these standards, and each one is checked against the issuing body's own register rather than taken on trust.
Qualified to inspect, not just to install
Inspecting an existing installation is a separate qualification from wiring a new one. A good installer is not automatically the right person to sign a report.
Registered with a competent person scheme
Checked on the scheme's own public register, not a badge on a website.
Public liability insurance, in date
We check the certificate and the expiry date, not just that one exists. A lapsed policy is the most common reason to turn someone away.
You get the test results
Not just a pass or fail. The report lists each circuit and the readings taken, which is the part worth checking.
Working to the current standard
BS 7671 as amended in 2026. That amendment changed which findings make a report unsatisfactory, and not everyone has caught up.
Reviews you can read
Not a star rating with no detail behind it. We publish no figure of our own, because we have none to publish yet.
Scheme registration and insurance details come with your quote, so you can check them against the public register yourself. How we choose electricians sets out every check, including what gets someone turned away.
Next step
Send your postcode and get a real quote
If your current report has months left, that is what you will be told.
Questions
What is an EICR questions
Is an EICR the same as a landlord safety certificate?
People use that phrase to mean an EICR, and there is no separate document called a landlord electrical safety certificate. What the regulations require a landlord to obtain is a report of the inspection and test.
Who can carry one out?
A qualified and competent person. Inspection and testing carries its own qualification, separate from installation.
How long does one take?
It depends on the number of circuits and how reachable they are, not on the size of the property. Anyone quoting a duration before seeing it is guessing.
Get a quote
Arrange an EICR
Five fields. We reply with either a fixed price or the one thing we still need to know.
- No cost, and no obligation to book anything
- We come back with a date or a question, not a sales call
- A fixed price for the work described, in writing
Would rather talk it through? Leave a number in the form and say so in the details, and we will ring you rather than emailing back.