What kinds of issues can an EICR identify?

The subject is the fixed electrical installation. Portable appliances are outside that subject, and a portable-appliance defect is not treated here as an EICR finding.

When the question is about plug-in appliances, use the EICR and PAT comparison rather than this page.

These are examples of what an inspection of the fixed installation can look at. They are not a list of what is most often found.

• Earthing and bonding

  Earthing or bonding concerns can be recorded when the inspection looks at those paths. A description of the property is not that inspection.

• Protective devices

  Protective-device and RCD arrangements can be recorded against the installation that was actually inspected.

• Distribution board

  The condition of a distribution board or consumer unit can be recorded. A brand, an age or a photograph is not a substitute for the inspection.

• Accessories

  Damaged or deteriorated accessories that form part of the fixed installation can be recorded when they are within the agreed extent.

• Continuity and connections

  Circuit continuity and the condition of connections can be recorded from the inspection and the tests.

• Bathrooms and surroundings

  The surroundings can matter, including whether equipment in a bathroom is suitable for that location.

• Overheating and deterioration

  Signs of overheating or deterioration can be recorded when they are seen or measured on the installation.

• Labels and identification

  Missing or unclear labels and circuit identification can be recorded. A label does not by itself describe the condition of the circuit.

• Further investigation

  Where the inspection cannot establish the condition, the report can record that further investigation is needed.

Before any inspection, a reader can understand the kinds of condition an EICR may identify. The reader cannot know which categories apply to one property.

Nothing on this page is a rate, a prediction, or a statement of what most landlords have.

An item becomes a finding on a report only after inspection and testing of the agreed extent.

A category named here is not a result for any address.

Once a report exists, read the observations written on it. The codes page explains a classification that is already on a report, the scenarios page shows what an unsatisfactory result can involve, and the remedial page is for follow-on work the report already names.

If you do not yet have a report, the next step is the inspection. If you already have a report, read that report before you decide on follow-on work.

• EICR testing
• Classification codes
• Unsatisfactory scenarios
• Remedial work
• EICR or PAT