An electrical installation condition report, known as an EICR, must cover:

  • Installations for the supply of electricity,
  • Electrical fittings, including –
  1. The consumer unit and all switches
  2. Socket outlets
  3. Light fittings, and
  4. Any visible wiring.
  • Fixed electrical equipment, including –
  1. Fixed electrical heating equipment e.g. storage or panel heaters,
  2. Boilers and other heat producing equipment, and
  3. Hard-wired smoke and fire detectors.

The person carrying out the inspection must complete the EICR which must be legible and clearly set out –

  • The date of the inspection
  • The full address of the house inspected
  • The name and address of the landlord or their agent
  • The name and address of the person carrying out the inspection
  • Evidence that person completing the inspection report is a suitably competent person (see Annex A)
  • A description of each installation, fixture, fitting and appliance inspected, and its location in the house, and
  • Any defect identified

Any electrical installation, fixtures, fittings or equipment which fails to pass electrical safety inspection must be replaced or repaired immediately to comply with the updated repairing standard.

Any element of the electrical installations, fixtures, fittings or equipment which is classified in an EICR under code C1 (danger present) or C2 (potentially dangerous) must be rectified to comply with the repairing standard.

A C1 code in an EICR means that anyone using the installation is at risk and remedial work should be carried out by a competent person immediately.  If it is practical to do so, the competent person should make the installation safe on discovery of the dangerous condition. Wherever practicable, items classified as C1 should be made safe on discovery. Where this is not practical the owner or user should be given written notification as a matter of urgency.

Where an item is classified as C2 this is a potentially dangerous situation and urgent remedial action is required.

Any element of the electrical installation classified in an Electrical Installation Condition Report as FI (further investigation required) should be investigated as soon as practically possible as such investigation may reveal a dangerous or potentially dangerous condition.

An EICR will recommend any remedial action required in order to ensure that the electrical installation is in a satisfactory condition for continued service, but any work which is undertaken must be recorded separately.  This can be done by recording the work completed on a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate and providing a copy of that to the person ordering the work, which is recommended for all actions to remedy a defect. If remedial work includes replacement of a fuse box (known in the electrical industry as a consumer unit) an Electrical Installation Certificate should be provided.

For more information about electrical installation testing and the classification codes, call us at our office on 0131 258 2750 or email: info@ies-edinburgh.co.uk.

This article was originally published on April 3rd 2015. Updated July 2024.