How to tell whether a 2021 EICR is still current

• 1. Inspection date

  Note the day the installation was actually inspected. A 2021 date only tells you when that visit happened.

• 2. Next inspection date

  Use the date the report recommends. Do not add five years of your own.

• 3. The tenancy

  Ask whether this is a specified tenancy in England. An owner-occupier is a different question.

• 4. The maximum interval

  Where the rented-housing duty applies, the interval is no more than five years, or sooner if the report says so.

• 5. An earlier recommendation

  If the report brought the next inspection forward, that earlier date is the one to follow.

• 6. Changes since

  New circuits, a new board, or damage since 2021 can mean the old file no longer describes the installation.

For help reading the report dates, see how EICR validity and renewal are assessed; a calendar year alone does not establish validity.

For a specified tenancy in England, arrange inspection and testing by a qualified person at least every five years, or by an earlier date stated in the report. Provide the required report before a new tenant moves in. Government guidance explains when an existing valid report can be used on re-letting; check its findings, next-inspection date and any changes to the installation rather than assuming that every new tenancy needs a new EICR.

An old satisfactory result does not extend itself. A report from 2021 can still be the current report in 2026 if its own next-inspection date has not passed and the installation it describes is still the one in the property. It can equally be out of date in 2024 if the report itself asked for an earlier return.

Parliamentary approval of the draft 2026 electrical-safety amendment was completed on 20 October 2026. Approval, formally making the instrument and its coming into force are separate events. The published draft specifies commencement on 30 November 2026; it is not a duty already in force today. Check the final made legislation and its saving provisions before changing a compliance process.

• The next date is still ahead, and the installation matches the report

  A report from 2021 can still be the current report in 2026. Keep the file. Do not invent an earlier expiry because the inspection year looks old.

• The printed next date has passed

  Arrange the inspection. An old satisfactory result does not extend itself. Do not add five years of your own to a 2021 date.

• The report brought the date forward

  Follow that earlier date. The maximum interval, where the rented duty applies, is a ceiling. It is not permission to ignore a sooner recommendation.

• The board or the circuits have changed

  The old file may no longer describe the installation. Tell the next inspector what was altered, and do not treat the 2021 extent as if it still covers the new work.

• The 2021 report was unsatisfactory

  The calendar and the observations are different problems. Read whether further investigative or remedial work was required. A date in 2026 does not close observations that were never dealt with.

• You cannot find the PDF

  A missing copy is not proof that no inspection happened. Ask the contractor who did the 2021 visit, then treat a blank file as a blank file.

A missing copy is not proof that no inspection happened, and an out-of-date report is not the same problem as a failed observation. The expired-or-missing guide is the checklist for a file you cannot find or a date that has passed. This page is only the worked example of a report that carries a 2021 inspection date.

If the 2021 report is unsatisfactory, the observations are a separate problem from the calendar. For a specified tenancy in England, regulation 3(4) applies where the report indicates the landlord is or may be in breach of the duty to keep the electrical safety standards met, and the report requires further investigative or remedial work. A qualified person then carries out that work within 28 days, or any shorter period the report states, from the inspection and test. An unsatisfactory label or a code letter does not by itself start that period.

The broader checklist is the expired or missing EICR guide. A new tenancy is whether a new tenant needs a new report. Arrange the next inspection through the landlord EICR service.