What is an EICR, do I need one and what does it cost?

An EICR is not a quick look round. It is a defined process: visual inspection of every accessory and the consumer unit, then dead testing of continuity, insulation resistance and polarity on every circuit, then live testing of earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation. The output is a document with measured numbers, and that is what makes it worth having.

Step by step

1. Understand what gets tested.Continuity of protective conductors and, on ring circuits, ring continuity. Insulation resistance between conductors. Polarity. Earth fault loop impedance. RCD trip times and currents. Plus a visual inspection of the board, the bonding, the accessories and a sample of the fixed wiring.
2. Expect the power to be off for part of it.Dead testing requires the installation isolated, circuit by circuit or as a whole. On a typical house the whole job is two to four hours, with power off for a substantial part. Plan around anything that matters — freezers, home working, medical equipment.
3. Learn the observation codes.C1 means danger present, immediate action required. C2 means potentially dangerous, urgent remedial action required. C3 means improvement recommended, and does not on its own make a report unsatisfactory. FI means further investigation required, and it does make a report unsatisfactory.
4. Understand the verdict.A report is unsatisfactory if there is any C1, C2 or FI. It is satisfactory if there are only C3 observations or none. C3 items are worth reading — they are usually where the installation is behind current standards rather than unsafe.
5. Know when you actually need one.Landlords in England must have a satisfactory EICR every five years and provide it to tenants, and similar requirements exist in Scotland and Wales. Owner-occupiers have no legal requirement, but it is genuinely worth it when buying, before or after major work, when a house has unexplained faults, or where there is no RCD protection.
6. Budget for the report, then separately for the remedials.A typical two- or three-bedroom house is commonly £150 to £300 for the report itself. Remedial work is quoted separately. Be wary of very cheap EICRs offered by firms whose business model is the remedial work that follows.
7. Read the schedule of test results, not just the summary.The measured values — insulation resistance in megohms, loop impedance in ohms, RCD trip times in milliseconds — are the actual condition of your installation. A report without them is not a report.
8. Get quotes for remedials from someone other than the inspector if you want.There is nothing wrong with the inspector doing the work, and often it is efficient. But an unsatisfactory report with a large remedial quote attached is worth a second opinion, particularly if the coded items are ones you can look up and understand.

Tips

• Clear access to the consumer unit, the loft hatch and a sample of sockets before the electrician arrives. Access is what makes an EICR take four hours instead of two.
• Ask specifically for the ring continuity results if the house has had DIY socket work. That is the test that finds a broken ring.
• Keep the report. The next one will refer back to it, and it is a useful document at sale.

Common mistakes

• Treating C3 observations as failures — C3 means improvement recommended, typically where an older installation does not meet a current standard that was not in force when it was built. A report can be entirely satisfactory with several C3 items.
• Choosing the cheapest EICR without checking registration — The value is in the competence of the inspector and the completeness of the test results. Check the scheme registration on the public register before booking.
• Ignoring an FI code — Further Investigation means the inspector found something they could not resolve within the scope of the inspection. It makes the report unsatisfactory and it needs following up, not filing.

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