The extent and limitations section of an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) defines what the report does and does not cover, and Regulation 653.2 of BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 requires the extent and any limitations to be agreed with the person ordering the report before the inspection starts and recorded on it. Limitations come in two kinds: agreed limitations settled in advance, and operational limitations found on the day. Sampling is a form of agreed limitation guided by IET Guidance Note 3, which requires the sample to be increased if defects are found. Some things cannot be limited, including the earthing and bonding and the distribution boards, because without them the Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory assessment is meaningless.
- Agree the extent and limitations in writing before the inspection, name who agreed them, and record the reasons on the report.
- Agreed limitations are decided beforehand; operational limitations are discovered on the day. Both go on the report in separate boxes.
- GN3 sampling starts with an agreed sample and increases it, up to 100 per cent, whenever defects are found.
- Never limit the origin, the earthing and bonding, or opening the boards. A report that skips these does not support a Satisfactory verdict.
- The assessment applies only to what was inspected; a limitation that hides a possible danger should be recorded as FI.
Why does the EICR have an extent and limitations section?
An EICR reports on the condition of a fixed electrical installation at the time of inspection, for the parts that were inspected. Chapter 65 of BS 7671 covers periodic inspection and testing, and the model form has boxes for the extent, the agreed limitations including the reasons, the name of the person they were agreed with, and the operational limitations including the reasons. A periodic inspection is done on an installation in use, without dismantling it, so the report has to say what was looked at for the reader to judge what the Satisfactory assessment means. An EICR with a blank limitations box is either dishonest or was done by someone who has not read the form. The report itself is explained in What is an EICR? Electrical Installation Condition Report and How to Do an EICR Step by Step: Inspector's Workflow.
What is the difference between agreed and operational limitations?
| Agreed limitations | Operational limitations | |
|---|---|---|
| When decided | Before the inspection | During the inspection |
| Who decides | Inspector and the person ordering the report, together | Inspector, forced by circumstances |
| Examples | Sampling percentage; excluding an outbuilding or a tenant's demise; no dismantling of fixed equipment; no disconnection of the server circuit | Locked room; loft hatch inaccessible; equipment could not be isolated; tenant refused access |
| Where recorded | "Agreed limitations including the reasons" box, with "agreed with" name | "Operational limitations including the reasons" box |
A client may limit the scope to save money, but cannot agree away the inspector's professional judgement. Operational limitations are simply facts: record them, explain why they arose, and say what should happen about them.
A third category, exclusions, covers systems outside the scope of BS 7671 or covered by other standards: fire alarms (BS 5839), emergency lighting (BS 5266), lightning protection (BS EN 62305) and portable appliances (the IET Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing). These are listed in the extent box as not covered, with a recommendation that the client holds separate certificates for them; see EICR for Commercial Premises: Intervals, Duties and Defects.
How does sampling work under Guidance Note 3?
Sampling is a decision to inspect and test a proportion of the accessories on a circuit rather than all of them. IET Guidance Note 3 (Inspection and Testing) accepts sampling where inspecting everything is impractical, on three conditions:
- The sample is agreed and recorded. State what proportion of what: for example, 20 per cent of socket-outlets and 10 per cent of luminaires on each circuit, including the furthest points.
- The sample is representative. Spread it across circuits, floors and areas, and include older parts and areas where alterations are evident.
- The sample is increased if defects are found. This is the point most often ignored. If the initial sample turns up loose terminations or missing cpc connections, widen the sample on that circuit and similar circuits, and if defects keep appearing go to 100 per cent. The report should say what the initial sample was, whether it was increased and why.
Dead testing at the board is done on every circuit regardless of sampling; sampling applies to the inspection of accessories and to point-of-use tests such as Zs at the furthest point. Ring final circuits still get the r1, rn and r2 tests for every ring (/guides/ring-final-circuit-testing-r1-rn-r2).
In domestic installations sampling is rarely justified: a three-bedroom house has perhaps 40 accessories, and the landlord regulations expect the whole installation to be inspected. Domestic limitations are about access and disturbance: no lifting of floor coverings, no removal of fitted furniture, no inspection inside walls.
What must never be limited?
Guidance Note 3 is clear that the inspector should not accept limitations that prevent them forming a view on the safety of the installation as a whole. The following should be treated as non-negotiable:
| Item | Why it cannot be limited |
|---|---|
| Opening the consumer unit or distribution boards | Terminations, RCD presence and type, thermal damage and device adequacy can only be seen with the cover off |
| Visual inspection of the main earthing conductor and its connection | The whole fault protection strategy depends on it (/guides/earth-fault-loop-impedance-testing) |
| Visual inspection of main protective bonding to water, gas, oil and structural steel | Missing bonding is one of the most common C2 findings |
| Measurement of Ze and prospective fault current at the origin | Confirms the supply earth and the main protective device |
| Zs on a representative selection of circuits | Confirms disconnection times (/guides/maximum-zs-values-bs-7671) |
| Insulation resistance on each circuit (L+N to E where equipment cannot be disconnected) | Insulation deterioration is what periodic inspection exists to find (/guides/insulation-resistance-testing-guide) |
| Test-button operation of every RCD and instrument testing of RCDs providing additional protection | See RCD Testing Explained: Types, Test Currents and Trip Times |
If a client will not allow the boards to be opened or the supply isolated for the origin tests, decline the job or state in the limitations that no assessment of the installation's overall condition could be made. Issuing a Satisfactory EICR in those conditions is the sort of thing that appears in NICEIC and NAPIT disciplinary cases.
How are LIM and N/V recorded on the schedules?
The inspection schedule uses a fixed set of entries: a tick for acceptable, C1, C2, C3 or FI for a defect, N/V for not verified, LIM for limitation, and N/A for not applicable. The last three trip people up.
| Entry | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | The item does not exist in this installation | Supplementary bonding in a flat with no bathroom |
| LIM | The item exists but could not be inspected because of a limitation recorded on the report | Loft wiring, hatch inaccessible |
| N/V | The item was not verified for a reason other than a recorded limitation | Fire barrier where cables pass through a floor, not visible without dismantling |
On the schedule of test results the same logic applies to individual cells. Where a test could not be carried out, write LIM in that cell and explain in the remarks and the limitations box: "IR not tested: circuit supplies server equipment that could not be disconnected; L+N to E test carried out instead". Never leave a cell blank, and never invent a value. The conventions for the schedule are in Schedule of Test Results: How to Fill In Every Column.
How do limitations affect the Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory outcome?
The overall assessment is determined solely by the observations: any C1, C2 or FI makes the report Unsatisfactory; C3 observations alone leave it Satisfactory (/guides/eicr-codes-explained-c1-c2-c3-fi).
Limitations do not change the outcome; they change the scope it applies to. A Satisfactory report with limitations means "the parts we looked at were satisfactory", which is why the limitations must be specific. Three situations need judgement:
- A limitation hides a possible danger. If you could not open a junction box that shows signs of overheating, or could not confirm that structural steel is bonded, do not simply write LIM and move on. Record FI (further investigation required), which makes the report Unsatisfactory until the investigation is done.
- A limitation removes a large part of the installation from scope. Say so in the summary and recommend that the omitted part is inspected. A landlord's EICR that excludes rooms because the tenant refused entry should say the report cannot be relied on for those rooms.
- A limitation is the client's choice. Record it as agreed, with the reason and the client's name in the "agreed with" box. That protects both parties. What happens after an Unsatisfactory report is in Unsatisfactory EICR: What Happens Next (Landlords & Electricians).
For rented property in England, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require the installation to be inspected at least every 5 years; a report whose limitations exclude a substantial part of it may not be accepted by the local authority, and a landlord who relies on one risks a penalty of up to £30,000. See EICR Landlord Requirements 2026: England, Scotland, Wales.
What wording should go in the extent and limitations boxes?
Adapt these examples; do not paste them in unread.
Extent of installation covered
The complete fixed electrical installation of the dwelling, from the origin at the consumer unit in the hallway, including the detached garage supplied from circuit 8. Fire detection, alarm and intruder systems, and portable appliances, are outside the scope of this report.
Agreed limitations including the reasons
Sampling: 20 per cent of socket-outlets and 10 per cent of luminaires per circuit inspected, spread across all floors and including the furthest point on each circuit. Sample increased to 100 per cent on lighting circuits L2 and L5 after defects were found (see observations 4 and 7). Agreed with: J Smith, Facilities Manager, by email on 2 September 2026.
No lifting of fitted floor coverings, no removal of kitchen units or built-in furniture, and no inspection of cables concealed within the building fabric. Insulation resistance on circuits 3 and 6 tested L+N to E only, because fixed equipment (boiler, cooker hood) could not be disconnected. Agreed with: the landlord, Mrs A Patel.
Emergency lighting and fire alarm systems: the fixed wiring supplying them is included; their function against BS 5266-1 and BS 5839-1 is not. The client is recommended to obtain current certificates for both.
Operational limitations including the reasons
Bedroom 3 not inspected: locked, key not available on the day. Circuits serving that room were tested from the consumer unit and at the nearest accessible point. Recommend the room is inspected at the earliest opportunity.
RCD protecting circuits 9 to 12 not instrument tested: it also supplies a refrigeration unit the occupier would not permit to be interrupted. Test button operated satisfactorily. Recommend instrument test at next planned shutdown.
Each of these gives the reader what was not done, why, and what should happen next. That is the whole job of the section.
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.