Half the people commissioning EICRs do not really know what they are paying for. They know an insurer has asked for one, or a council compliance officer keeps mentioning it, but the document itself, what it tests, and what its findings actually oblige them to do, tends to live in a vague middle ground. This guide is a plain-English read-through.
What an EICR Actually Is
An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a documented inspection and test of the fixed-wiring electrical installation in a property. The wording matters. It is the wiring that is being tested, not the appliances. It is a condition report, not a certificate of perfection. And it is a snapshot of the installation at the date of the test, not a forward-looking guarantee.
For commercial properties the inspection is carried out to BS 7671, the UK wiring regulations. The tester checks the integrity of the consumer units and distribution boards, sub-mains and final circuits, earthing arrangements, RCD operation, polarity, insulation resistance, earth-loop impedance, and the general state of the installation against current standards.
Who Genuinely Needs One
- Commercial landlords: there is no single UK-wide statutory interval for commercial EICRs the way there is for domestic privately-rented properties in Scotland and England. But insurers, councils and lenders will routinely ask for one before renewing cover, granting a licence, or approving a transaction. In practice that makes them effectively mandatory.
- Letting and managing agents: if you manage a portfolio of HMOs, mixed-use buildings or commercial lets, your duty of care extends to the safety of those installations. An up-to-date EICR is the single best piece of paper to demonstrate you have discharged it.
- Facilities managers: in larger buildings the EICR is the document that turns electrical safety into something auditable. Without it your compliance evidence has a gap.
- Anyone buying or selling commercial property: a current EICR removes a major area of negotiation friction and is usually a condition of insurance bind-down.
Need a Commercial EICR?
Call 07776 040 412 or email hello@knowire.co.uk. We cover Glasgow, Edinburgh and the wider Central Scotland corridor with NICEIC-approved inspections and insurer-ready reports.
Email KnowireWhat the Codes Mean
Every finding in an EICR is given a code. Three of them are observations, one is a recommendation, and one is a deferred decision. Understanding what they mean is the difference between thinking the report is a disaster and understanding it is doing exactly what it should.
- C1, danger present: the installation is unsafe right now. Action is needed immediately. A good tester will make this safe on the spot wherever they can.
- C2, potentially dangerous: the installation is not currently dangerous, but a fault or particular use could make it so. Remedial work is required.
- C3, improvement recommended: the installation is safe but does not meet a current best-practice standard. No action is legally required.
- FI, further investigation required: the tester could not finish assessing something during the visit, usually because it would have required isolating a live process. Comes with a recommended next step.
The summary line that matters is "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory". A report can have C3 observations and still be Satisfactory; if it has any C1, C2 or FI items, it is Unsatisfactory until those are addressed.
How Often You Should Test
BS 7671 sets recommended intervals depending on the type of installation. Most commercial properties fall into a five-year cycle. HMOs and serviced accommodation are usually tested annually or every two to five years depending on the property's role. The retest interval is one of the things the EICR itself recommends, so the report tells you when you should next be calling someone like us.
Choosing the Right Contractor
A few practical filters when you are picking who to commission:
- NICEIC approval or equivalent. NICEIC is the most widely recognised third-party assessment body in the UK; equivalent bodies exist, but a contractor with no third-party approval at all should be a hard no for commercial work.
- Conservative coding philosophy. A contractor that turns every C3 into a C2 to win remedial work is a problem for you. Their reports will trigger insurer queries, council follow-ups, and unhappy tenants. Ask how they code borderline findings.
- Clear separation of EICR and remedials. The EICR price should be a fixed price for the inspection and the report. Remedials should be quoted separately so you can decide on the scope and the contractor independently.
- Plain-English reporting. If the report only makes sense to other electricians, it is not doing its job. You should be able to skim the summary in 60 seconds and brief your insurer or compliance team off it.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no single UK-wide statute that mandates a five-year EICR on every commercial building, but the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be maintained so far as is reasonably practicable to prevent danger. In practice, an EICR is how landlords and operators discharge that duty and most insurers and councils will not engage without one.
The report lists the C1, C2 or FI items that need addressing, and the recommended priority. You commission remedial works to bring the installation up to BS 7671. Once the works are complete the contractor issues a confirmation that the original Unsatisfactory observations have been resolved.
No. The EICR is independent of the remedial. You can commission the remedial work with a different contractor entirely, or have your in-house team carry it out under their own competency. Most clients keep both with the same contractor for continuity, but it is your call.
For a small commercial unit, a single day is usually enough. Larger sites with multiple distribution boards and many sub-circuits run to two to four days. Multi-site portfolios are planned across a programme. The PDF report typically lands in your inbox within 48 to 72 hours of the on-site visit.
Parts of the testing require individual circuits to be isolated for short windows; total building shutdowns are rare. For operating businesses we plan the test around your trading hours, including evening and weekend slots where the access pattern of the building demands it.
