Digital electrical certificates are accepted by NICEIC, NAPIT and the other competent person schemes, and by BS 7671 itself. Appendix 6 of BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 provides the model forms for the Electrical Installation Certificate, the Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate and the Electrical Installation Condition Report, and states that forms based on those models may be used; there is no requirement for paper or a wet-ink signature. What matters is that the certificate contains everything the model form contains, is authenticated by the people responsible, and reaches the client and is retained. Paper remains valid, but its failure modes, missing pages, illegible readings and lost copies, are the ones assessors see most often.
- BS 7671 Appendix 6 model forms define the content of a certificate, not the medium. Electronic forms with the same content are compliant.
- NICEIC, NAPIT and other schemes accept electronic certificates, including third-party software output, and assess them in the same way.
- Typed names and e-signatures are acceptable; the certificate must identify who took responsibility for each part.
- Keep copies until at least the next inspection and, sensibly, for six years. Landlords in England must retain the EICR until the next one.
- Deliver a PDF the client can open without an account, and back up the source data somewhere you can export from.
What does BS 7671 require a certificate to be?
An electrical certificate is the document by which the people responsible for the design, construction, inspection and testing of an installation, or for a periodic inspection of it, declare that the work or the installation is as described. Chapter 64 requires an Electrical Installation Certificate with its schedules of inspections and test results for new work and alterations, or a Minor Works certificate for small additions to a single circuit; Chapter 65 requires an EICR for a periodic inspection.
Appendix 6 provides the model forms and their guidance notes. It says that forms based on the models may be used and that the schedules of inspections and test results form part of the certificate and must be attached. The intent is that whoever picks up the document later, an assessor, a landlord, the next electrician, a court, finds the same information in the same places. A printed pad and a PDF from an app satisfy that equally, as long as the app follows the model forms and does not drop fields; the difference between an EICR and an EIC is preserved in any competent software.
The model forms changed with Amendment 2 in 2022, notably the schedule of circuit details, and Amendment 4, published 15 April 2026, brings further updates, with A2 withdrawn on 15 October 2026. A certificate on a superseded form is not automatically invalid, but an assessor will expect forms that reflect the edition in force.
What do NICEIC, NAPIT and the other schemes accept?
The competent person schemes, NICEIC, NAPIT and the others operating under Part P, accept electronic certificates. Both NICEIC and NAPIT offer their own online certification systems and both accept certificates produced in third-party software, provided the output matches the BS 7671 model forms and is issued under the registered business. Assessors look at content, not format: the annual assessment samples issued certificates, checks they are complete, that readings are plausible and observations correctly coded, and that the test instruments are calibrated.
Where format does matter is branding and numbering. Scheme-branded pads carry a serial number and logo governed by the scheme's terms; a certificate from third-party software is issued under the contractor's own business details and registration number, without a scheme logo unless the scheme permits it. Neither variety is "more valid"; both are the contractor's certificate.
| Question | Paper (scheme pad or printed model form) | Digital (scheme system or third-party app) |
|---|---|---|
| Compliant with Appendix 6 | Yes, if the pad is the current edition | Yes, if the form follows the current model |
| Accepted by NICEIC and NAPIT at assessment | Yes | Yes |
| Serial numbering | Pre-printed by the scheme | Generated by the software |
| Signatures | Wet ink | Typed, drawn or login-authenticated |
| Copy for the client | Carbon copy or scan | PDF by email or link |
| Copy for the contractor | Physical file | Cloud storage and export |
| Risk of missing schedule pages | High if pages are separated | Low; schedules are part of the file |
| Validation of blank fields | None | Depends on the software |
| Legibility of readings | Depends on handwriting | Consistent |
| Notification to building control | Manual entry into scheme portal | Manual or assisted, depending on integration |
Part P notification is a separate step done through the scheme's portal; the certificate, in whatever form, is the evidence behind it. The Part P notification guide covers that process.
Are typed or electronic signatures acceptable?
BS 7671 requires each part of a certificate to be signed or otherwise authenticated by the responsible person: designer, constructor and inspector on an EIC, and the inspector plus the person authorising the report on an EICR. "Otherwise authenticated" is the phrase that admits electronic methods. A typed name, a signature drawn on a phone screen, or a name applied by a user who has logged in with their own credentials all serve, provided the certificate shows the name, the position and the date.
Schemes take the same view, with one practical expectation: the person named as inspector is a registered qualified supervisor or works under one. Drawing a signature on the screen reassures clients but is not required. What assessors object to is a blank signature box, a signature that cannot be matched to a person in the business, or a report authorised by someone who plainly did not review it. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require an EICR to be by a "qualified person" and to state the next inspection date; they do not specify the form of the report or the signature.
How long must certificates be kept?
There is no single statutory retention period for electrical certificates, so the sensible periods come from the surrounding law.
| Who | What to keep | How long | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contractor | Copies of every EIC, MEIWC and EICR issued | At least until the next inspection is due; six years is the usual working rule | Scheme assessment sampling; six-year limitation period for contract claims |
| Landlord (England) | Current EICR | Until the next inspection is due, and supply to the next inspector | PRS Regulations 2020 |
| Landlord or agent | Evidence of remedial work following C1, C2 or FI | With the EICR it relates to | PRS Regulations 2020 require written confirmation within 28 days |
| Homeowner | EIC and building control compliance certificate for notifiable work | Life of the installation; needed on sale | Part P; conveyancing enquiries |
| Employer or duty holder | EICRs for the premises | Until superseded, and as part of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 maintenance record | EAWR 1989 Regulation 4 |
For a contractor, six years covers the period in which a client could bring a claim over the work. A paper archive of six years is a filing cabinet or two; a digital archive is a search box, provided it is backed up.
What goes wrong with paper certificates?
Scheme assessors see the same failures repeatedly. None is unique to paper, but paper offers no defence against them.
- Missing pages. The schedule of test results is a separate sheet, and it is the sheet that gets lost. A certificate without its schedules is incomplete under Appendix 6.
- Illegible readings. A 0.35 that reads as 0.85 can turn a compliant circuit into a query at assessment or in a dispute.
- Blank boxes. Every box should contain a value, a tick, "N/A" or "LIM" with a corresponding limitation.
- Arithmetic. R1+R2 from ring readings, Zs from Ze and R1+R2, the 1.2 correction; each is a place to slip.
- Codes without locations. "Socket damaged, C2" with no room or circuit is unactionable; the guide to writing EICR observations sets out what each entry needs.
- Overall assessment contradicting the codes. A C2 recorded and "Satisfactory" ticked is the error a landlord will rely on and an assessor will not forgive.
- Lost copies. A client rings four years later for a house sale and the carbon copy is faded or gone.
Digital forms remove the transcription step and can check the arithmetic and the blanks, but only if built to. An app that lets the inspector leave the RCD column empty and still generate the PDF has replicated the paper problem on a screen.
How should certificates be delivered to clients?
The client needs a copy they can keep, forward and produce on demand. A PDF attached to an email, or a download link that does not expire or require an account, is what letting agents and facilities managers can work with; an EICR locked inside a portal is a support call every time the agent changes staff. The PDF should be the complete certificate, all schedules in one file, with the overall assessment on the first page.
For landlords the deadline is real: 28 days from the inspection to give a copy to the tenant, and seven days to supply it to the local authority if requested. A PDF issued from site meets that on the same day. The landlord requirements guide sets out the full set of duties.
How should certificate data be backed up?
A certificate you cannot retrieve is a certificate you did not keep. Paper needs scanning, and the scans need storing somewhere other than the office computer. Digital certificates are usually stored by the software provider, which is convenient until the provider changes its terms or closes. The safeguards are the same as for any business record:
- Export. The software should let you download all your certificates as PDFs, and ideally the underlying data.
- A second copy. Export periodically to your own cloud storage or a drive; quarterly is enough for most sole traders.
- Client data. Certificates contain names and addresses, and under the UK GDPR you are the data controller, so know where they are held.
- Calibration records. Keep the calibration certificates for your test instruments alongside the electrical certificates; an assessor asks for both.
What should you look for in certificate software?
The guide on choosing electrical certification software goes into detail; the short list for the digital-versus-paper decision is below.
| Requirement | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Forms follow the current BS 7671 model forms and are being updated for Amendment 4 | Assessors expect the current schedules, including the A2 changes to circuit details |
| Validation before issue | Blank required fields, codes without an overall assessment, C1 or C2 with "Satisfactory" |
| Fast on-site data entry | Transcribing from a notebook is where errors and the extra hour come from |
| Complete PDF output | All schedules in one file the client can open without an account |
| Export and backup | Your certificates should not be hostage to a subscription |
| Works offline | Basements, plant rooms and rural sites |
How Certio helps
Certio produces the EICR, EIC, Minor Works certificate and PAT records on the BS 7671 model forms and turns them into branded PDFs. Photograph the consumer unit and the circuit schedule drafts itself; point the phone camera at a Megger MFT-X1 and the reading goes straight into the schedule of test results, or dictate it while your hands stay on the probes. Suggested observation wording with the regulation reference is there for you to check and confirm. The judgement stays yours; the typing goes. Starter is free for 7 days, then £5 a month.