EICR explained: the rules, the codes and the certificate

An EICR is the five-yearly health check on a building's wiring. This guide sets out who needs one, how the inspection works, what it costs and how the rules differ in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We checked every rule against GOV.UK, the Scottish and Welsh governments, NICEIC, NAPIT and the IET on 12 October 2026.

What are the EICR rules in 2026?

An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) records the condition of the fixed wiring in a building: the consumer unit (fuse box), circuits, sockets, switches, light fittings and fixed appliances such as electric showers. The inspector checks it against BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, and gives each fault a code. The report ends with an overall result: satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Social landlords in England were brought into the rules from 1 November 2025 for tenancies starting from 1 December 2025. Existing social tenancies are covered from 1 May 2026, with first inspections due before 1 November 2026. Social landlords must also check any electrical equipment they provide at least every 5 years.

Who needs an EICR?

Landlords

Private landlords in all four UK nations need one. In England the rule covers most assured shorthold tenancies, licences to occupy and HMOs. It does not cover lodgers who share with the landlord or their family, long leases of 7 years or more, student halls, hostels and refuges, care homes, hospitals and hospices, or mobile homes, caravans and boats (GOV.UK guidance).

Homeowners

There is no legal duty for owner-occupiers. NICEIC recommends an inspection at least every 10 years, and Shelter Cymru gives the same 10-year advice in Wales. It is also worth getting one when you buy an older home, before major building work, or after a flood or fire.

Businesses

No law sets a fixed EICR interval for shops, offices or workshops. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be kept safe, and NICEIC recommends an EICR at least every 5 years for business premises. Insurers often ask for one too.

Electricians

If you carry out EICRs, the person signing the report must be competent to inspect and test. England's regulations call this a "qualified person" and do not name a qualification. Scotland's statutory guidance is more specific: a skilled person employed by, or a member of, a scheme run by SELECT, NICEIC or NAPIT, or someone who meets its competence checklist.

Letting agents and HMO landlords

If an agent manages the property, the legal duty still sits with the landlord, so check the management contract says who books the EICR and who sends the copies. HMOs are covered by the same 5-year rule in England, and councils that license HMOs usually ask for the latest EICR with the licence application. Because HMOs often have fire alarm and emergency lighting systems as well, see our guide to fire alarm and emergency lighting certificates for the extra paperwork.

What does the report actually contain?

A full EICR runs to several pages. Expect the details of the person who ordered it, the reason for the report, the extent and limitations, a summary of the condition, the overall assessment, a list of observations with codes, a schedule of inspections (a long tick list) and a schedule of circuit test results. A one-page "certificate" with no test results is not a proper EICR, so ask for the full report.

How does an EICR work, step by step?

1. Book a registered electrician. Check they are on a competent person register, for example with NICEIC or NAPIT. Ask whether the quote covers the number of consumer units and circuits you have.
2. Agree the extent and limitations. The inspector records what will and will not be inspected, for example a loft they cannot reach. Limitations must be written on the report.
3. Visual inspection. The inspector looks for damage, signs of overheating or burning, old consumer units, missing covers, poor labelling and DIY work.
4. Testing. Power is switched off circuit by circuit for continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance and RCD tests. Expect the power to be off for part of the visit.
5. Coding. Each fault gets a code: C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous), C3 (improvement recommended) or FI (further investigation). Our guide to EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI explains each one.
6. The result. Any C1 or C2 makes the report unsatisfactory. Under the new A4:2026 forms, an FI on its own no longer does (see below).
7. Remedial work and confirmation. After repairs, the electrician issues an Electrical Installation Certificate or a Minor Works Certificate for the work. Landlords send that, or a new satisfactory EICR, to the tenant and council.
8. Diary the next one. The report gives a next inspection date. For rented homes that is 5 years at most.

What changed with Amendment 4?

BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 was published on 15 April 2026, and the previous edition is withdrawn on 15 October 2026. From that date, NICEIC says EICRs should be issued to A4. The biggest change for landlords: on A4 forms, an FI observation no longer makes the installation unsatisfactory, and the wording has softened from "further investigation required without delay" to "further investigation is advised" (IET Wiring Matters, July 2026). The GOV.UK landlord guidance we checked still says FI items must be investigated within 28 days, so landlords in England should keep treating FI as a deadline. Our guide to BS 7671 Amendment 4 covers the rest of the changes.

How much does an EICR cost and what are the deadlines?

Published cost guides put a typical domestic EICR at roughly £120 to £400 outside London, depending on size. The Fantastic Services cost guide (updated 24 September 2026) gives these ranges:

Remedial work is charged separately. For the full breakdown, including what pushes the price up, see our EICR cost guide.

The key deadlines for landlords in England, from the GOV.UK guidance:

• 5 years: the maximum gap between inspections (or the earlier date on the report).
• 28 days: to give existing tenants a copy, and to finish remedial or investigative work.
• 28 days: to send written confirmation of completed work to the tenant and council.
• 7 days: to give the council a copy when it asks.
• Before move-in: new tenants must have a copy.

Councils can serve a remedial notice and impose financial penalties of up to £40,000, the maximum set by the 2025 amendment regulations (SI 2025/1043) that also brought in social landlords. The original 2020 regulations capped each penalty at £30,000 but allowed repeat penalties for a continuing failure.

Worked example: a landlord's EICR from booking to sign-off

Priya lets a 3-bed house in Leeds. Her last EICR is dated 3 November 2021, so the next one is due by 3 November 2026.

1. She books an electrician for 20 October 2026. Using the Fantastic Services range for a 3-bed house outside London, she budgets £180 to £280.
2. The report comes back unsatisfactory: one C2 (no main protective bonding to the gas pipe), two C3s (sockets without RCD protection) and one FI (a circuit the inspector could not trace).
3. Deadlines: the tenant must have a copy by 17 November 2026 (28 days), and the C2 and FI work must be done by the same date.
4. The electrician fixes the bonding and traces the circuit on 4 November and issues a Minor Works Certificate. Priya sends it to the tenant and the council by 2 December 2026 (28 days after the work).
5. If the FI had turned up an old consumer unit that needed replacing, Home Checkup's cost guide puts a consumer unit upgrade at £350 to £600, so Priya keeps that as a contingency.

The C3s are recommendations. Priya does not have to act on them, but RCD protection on sockets is a sensible upgrade the next time work is done.

The electrician's side: if that electrician does 20 EICRs a month on Tradecert (from £18 a month), the software costs about 90p per report. On iCertifi's 12-month unlimited plan (£125.99 including VAT), 200 reports a year works out at about 63p each.

What are the most common EICR mistakes?

• Treating it as a pass or fail certificate. It is a report. A "satisfactory" EICR with a list of C3s is normal for older homes.
• Missing the 28-day clock. The clock starts on the inspection date, not the date you receive the PDF.
• Forgetting the council confirmation. Landlords in England must send proof of completed remedial work to the council as well as the tenant.
• Ignoring FI because of Amendment 4. A4 says FI does not make a report unsatisfactory, but the GOV.UK landlord guidance still sets 28 days for investigative work.
• Accepting heavy limitations. A report that tested only a sample of circuits, with no reason given, may not satisfy a council. Ask why anything was left out.
• Using the wrong form. From 15 October 2026, EICRs should be on A4:2026 forms. Electricians should check their certificate software is updated.
• Assuming Scottish rules match England. Scottish landlords also need PAT testing of supplied appliances, and must keep reports for six years.

What software do electricians use for EICRs?

Most electricians now fill in EICRs on a tablet or phone, with test results typed straight into the schedule and the PDF emailed from site. The main choices we compared:

Tradecert held a Trustpilot score of 4.9 from 197 reviews and iCertifi an App Store score of 4.6 from 6.9k ratings (both checked 12 Oct 2026). For the full comparison, read our electrical certificate software guide. If you also need scheduling, quotes and invoicing, see our best software for electricians.