What the report is for

An electrical installation condition report (EICR) records whether an existing electrical installation is in a satisfactory condition for continued use. It is assessed against BS 7671, the national standard for electrical installations, and it records damage, deterioration, defects and anything that could give rise to danger.

It is a report on something that already exists. New work, such as a new circuit or a complete rewire, gets an Electrical Installation Certificate instead. The EICR service page covers booking one; this guide explains what it looks at.

The fixed installation, not your appliances

An EICR covers the electrics that are part of the building: the consumer unit, the circuits, sockets, switches and light fittings, the connections that supply fixed equipment such as a shower or cooker, and the earthing and bonding. Kettles, televisions, washing machines and anything else with a plug are portable appliances. Checking those is a separate job, often called PAT testing, and is not part of an EICR.

What is inspected

The inspection is a close look at the parts of the installation that can be seen and safely reached:

The consumer unit: its condition, whether the protective devices suit the circuits they protect, any sign of overheating, and whether circuits are identified.
Earthing and bonding: the main earth connection where the supply comes in, and protective bonding to incoming metal gas and water pipes where it is required.
Wiring: the type of cable, its condition where it is visible, and how it is supported and protected.
Sockets, switches and fittings: damage, scorching, loose fixings and wear.
Protection against electric shock, including whether RCD protection is present where current standards call for it.
Bathrooms, shower rooms and outdoor electrics, which carry extra requirements.
Labels and notices that people working on the installation later will rely on.

What is tested

Testing uses instruments to measure what cannot be seen. The main tests are:

Continuity of protective conductors, to show the earth path to each point is intact.
Insulation resistance, to show whether the insulation between conductors is breaking down, including in cables buried in walls and floors.
Polarity, to confirm switches and protective devices are connected in the line conductor.
Earth fault loop impedance, to check that a fault would make the protective device disconnect quickly enough.
RCD operation, to confirm residual current devices trip as they should.

The results are recorded circuit by circuit in schedules at the back of the report.

Sampling and limitations

An EICR does not dismantle the whole installation. Accessories and connections are normally inspected on a representative sample, and the sample is widened if problems turn up. Cables hidden in walls, under floors or behind fitted units are assessed through testing rather than by sight.

The extent of the inspection, and its limitations, are agreed before the work and written into the report. Typical limitations include rooms that could not be entered, circuits that could not be switched off because they supply something essential, and floor voids that were not opened. A garage, garden room or outbuilding that was not included in the agreed extent is not covered at all.

That section of the report matters: a satisfactory result only speaks for what was actually inspected. The Christchurch inspection page goes into agreeing the scope for properties with outbuildings.

How the findings are recorded

Each observation is given a classification code:

C1: danger present, with a risk of injury.
C2: potentially dangerous.
C3: improvement recommended.
FI: further investigation required without delay.

Any C1, C2 or FI makes the overall assessment unsatisfactory; C3 observations on their own do not. What the codes mean in practice, and what to do next, is covered in What happens if an EICR is unsatisfactory?

What you receive

The report opens with a summary: the overall assessment, the observations and their codes, and a recommended date for the next inspection. Behind that are the details of the supply and earthing arrangements, the agreed extent and limitations, and the test schedules. Circuits are switched off one at a time during testing, so the power is off in different parts of the property at different points during the visit.

When an EICR is worth having

for rented homes in England, at least every five years, which is a legal duty
for homes you own and live in, Electrical Safety First recommends a check at least every ten years
before buying a home that has been lived in, or when selling
before a renovation, extension or consumer unit change, so new work is not connected to an existing problem
when nobody knows the installation’s history

How Firefly carries out an inspection

I agree the extent with you before starting, including any garage, outbuilding or outside circuits, and go through the findings with you afterwards so the codes on the report make sense.

What does an EICR check?