EICR vs PAT Testing: What's the Difference?

If you have ever been quoted for “electrical testing” and left the conversation unsure what you actually paid for, you are not alone. Two terms get used almost interchangeably in Billericay and across Essex — EICR and PAT testing — and they are not the same thing at all. The simplest way to hold the difference in your head is this: an EICR inspects the building’s fixed wiring, while PAT testing checks the appliances you plug into it. One is about the sockets in the wall; the other is about the kettle, the computer and the extension lead. This guide sets out exactly what each covers, when you need it, what it costs, and how to decide which applies to you.

EICR vs PAT testing at a glance

	EICR	PAT Testing
What it is	Inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation	Visual inspection and electronic test of portable, plug-in equipment
What it covers	Consumer unit, circuits, sockets, switches, wiring, earthing and bonding, RCD protection	Kettles, computers, power tools, chargers, extension leads
When you need it	Rented homes every 5 years; owner-occupied every 10 years; commercial on a risk basis (~5 years for offices)	On a risk basis only — office IT roughly every 2–4 years, site tools more often
Typical cost	£150–£300 for a domestic property	£1–£3 per item, plus a minimum charge
Legal requirement?	Yes for rented homes (Electrical Safety Standards 2020)	No law mandates it or sets an interval

What an EICR actually is

An EICR — an Electrical Installation Condition Report — is a formal inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation in a property. That means everything wired into the fabric of the building: the consumer unit (the fuse board), the circuits running through the walls, the sockets and switches, the cabling itself, the earthing and bonding, and the RCD protection that trips a circuit before it can hurt someone. It is a health check for the parts of your electrics you never see.

During the inspection, a qualified electrician looks for anything that could cause a shock or a fire — deterioration, damage, overloading, or wiring that no longer meets the current safety standard. Every issue found is given a classification code:

• C1 — danger present, a real risk of injury that needs putting right immediately
• C2 — potentially dangerous, requiring remedial work
• C3 — improvement recommended, not a failure but worth acting on
• FI — further investigation needed

The report as a whole is then judged Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. A report comes back Unsatisfactory if it contains any C1, C2 or FI findings; a C3 on its own does not fail it, because those are recommendations rather than faults. That single word — Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory — is what a council, a mortgage lender or a tenant is looking for.

How often you need an EICR depends on who you are. For rented homes, it is a legal requirement at least every 5 years under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. For an owner-occupied home, there is no legal interval but an EICR is recommended every 10 years, or at change of ownership. For commercial premises, the duty is risk-based under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, with a typical office landing on roughly a 5-year cycle.

A domestic EICR usually costs between £150 and £300, depending on the size of the property and the number of circuits.

What PAT testing actually is

PAT testing — Portable Appliance Testing — works the other way round. Instead of the building’s wiring, it checks the portable, plug-in equipment that sits on top of the installation: kettles, computers, power tools, phone chargers, extension leads, and anything else with a plug on the end of a lead. If you can unplug it and carry it to another room, it falls under PAT rather than the EICR.

A PAT check has two parts. First a visual inspection — looking for a cracked casing, a frayed lead, a bent pin, scorch marks or a badly wired plug, which is where most faults are actually spotted. Then an electronic test using a PAT tester to confirm the earth connection, insulation and, where relevant, the fuse are all sound. Items that pass are usually labelled and logged so you have a record.

Here is the part that surprises people: no law mandates PAT testing, and no law sets a fixed interval for it. What the law actually requires — again under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 — is that you keep electrical equipment in a safe condition. PAT testing is simply the most common and practical way of proving you have done that. The Health and Safety Executive is clear that the frequency should be risk-based: low-risk office IT equipment might only need checking every 2 to 4 years, whereas power tools on a busy site take far more punishment and should be checked much more often.

Cost is charged per item, typically £1 to £3 each, usually with a minimum charge to make a small visit worthwhile. A handful of appliances in a home office costs very little; a full commercial premises with hundreds of items is priced on volume.

Which do you need in Billericay?

The right answer depends entirely on your situation.

Homeowners

If you own and live in your home, you are not legally required to have either test — but an EICR every 10 years (or when you buy a property) is sensible peace of mind, especially in an older Billericay home where the wiring may predate current standards. If an EICR flags an ageing fuse board, a consumer unit upgrade is a common next step. PAT testing is rarely necessary for your own household appliances; a careful visual check of leads and plugs does most of the job.

Landlords

If you let out a property, the EICR is the one that matters legally. Since April 2021, every rented home in England must have a satisfactory EICR at least every 5 years, and you must give your tenants a copy. PAT testing is not a legal requirement for landlords, but it is widely regarded as good practice — particularly if you let furnished, because any appliances you supply (a kettle, a microwave, a washing machine) are your responsibility to keep safe. Many landlords bundle both when the electrician is already on site. We cover the whole obligation under our landlord electrical services.

Businesses

For a shop, office or workshop, both usually apply on a risk-based footing. The fixed installation typically needs an EICR every five years or so, while portable equipment — from the office kettle to the workshop tools — is PAT tested on a frequency that matches how hard each item is worked. A quick way to remember it: the EICR keeps the building safe, PAT keeps the kit safe, and together they cover your duty of care to staff and visitors.

The one-sentence summary

An EICR inspects your wiring; PAT testing inspects your appliances. If you are a landlord, the EICR is the legal must-have and PAT is the sensible extra. If you are a homeowner, an occasional EICR is worth having and PAT is largely optional. If you run a business, you almost certainly want both, timed to the risk. You can see how each is priced on our cost guide, and if you would rather talk it through with an electrician in Billericay who will tell you plainly which you actually need, we are happy to help.

Get a written quote

Whether you need an EICR, PAT testing, or both, we are a NICEIC-registered, Part P approved firm carrying out inspections certified to BS 7671 across Billericay and the surrounding Essex villages. There is no pressure and no obligation — just a clear, honest assessment of what your property needs. Get a free written quote and we will help you get the right test booked in.