An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) certifies new work: a new installation, a new circuit or a replacement consumer unit. A Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC) certifies an addition or alteration that stops short of a new circuit, one certificate per circuit. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) certifies nothing. It reports the condition of an installation that already exists. All three are model forms in Appendix 6 of BS 7671, and the Amendment 4 versions are dated 15 April 2026. Choose by what you did, not by how big the job felt: two metres of cable on a new circuit needs an EIC, while a day spent replacing socket fronts does not.
- EIC: a new installation, any addition or alteration that introduces one or more new circuits, or the replacement of a consumer unit or distribution board.
- MEIWC: an addition or alteration with no new circuit. Regulation 644.4.201 ties it to a single circuit, so two circuits altered means two certificates or one EIC.
- EICR: the Chapter 65 report on an existing installation. Note 1 on the model form says it is not to be used for a consumer unit replacement, and it cannot certify any other new work either.
- Location does not pick the form. An extra lighting point in a bathroom is still a MEIWC. What changes is that the job becomes notifiable in England.
- On the Amendment 4 EICR, C3 and FI are advisory. Only a C1 or C2 makes the report Unsatisfactory.
- Every EIC and MEIWC looks backwards as well. Regulation 132.16 makes you confirm the existing earthing and bonding are adequate, and Regulation 644.1.2 makes you record defects you find in the existing installation.
- A2:2022 is withdrawn on 15 October 2026. NICEIC's guidance is that work designed before that date can still be completed to the previous standard.
What is the difference between an EICR, an EIC and a Minor Works certificate?
The difference is what the signature stands behind. On an EIC and a MEIWC you certify that work you were responsible for complies with BS 7671. On an EICR you report what you found in someone else's work, within an extent and a set of limitations agreed beforehand, and say whether it is fit for continued service.
| EIC | MEIWC (Minor Works) | EICR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certificate of new work | Certificate of a small change to one circuit | Report on an existing installation |
| BS 7671 basis | Chapter 64, initial verification (Regulation 644.1) | Chapter 64 (Regulation 644.4.201) | Chapter 65, periodic inspection and testing (Regulation 653.1) |
| Use it for | New installation, new circuit, consumer unit or distribution board replacement, or several small jobs on one certificate | Addition or alteration with no new circuit; replacing accessories or luminaires | Periodic inspection for a landlord, sale, insurer, licence or change of occupancy |
| Never use it for | Periodic inspection | A new circuit; replacing a consumer unit or distribution board | Certifying new work of any kind |
| Covers | The work described, plus comments on the existing installation | The circuit altered or extended | The installation within the agreed extent and limitations |
| Outcome | Issued when the work complies | Issued when the work complies | Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, with coded observations |
| Schedules | Schedule of inspections, circuit details and test results | Circuit details and test results on the certificate itself | Schedule of inspections, circuit details and test results |
| Declarations | Design, construction, inspection and testing | One | Inspected and tested by; report authorised for issue by |
| Next inspection | First interval recommended by the designer | Not recorded | Recommended by the inspector (Regulation 653.4) |
| Part P (England) | Usually notifiable in a dwelling | Notifiable only in a special location | Not building work, so never notifiable |
The glossary entries for what an EICR is, what an EIC is and what a Minor Works certificate is give the one-paragraph versions for customers.
When does a job need an EIC?
The notes printed with the Amendment 4 model EIC list four uses. The certificate is for the initial certification of a new installation; for an addition or alteration to an existing installation where one or more new circuits have been introduced; for the replacement of a consumer unit or distribution board; and for certifying multiple additions, alterations or remedial works that do not extend to new circuits, as an alternative to issuing several Minor Works certificates. The same notes say it is not to be used for periodic inspection and testing.
That makes these EIC jobs every time:
- A rewire, full or partial, where new circuits are installed.
- A consumer unit or distribution board change. The whole board is new, and every circuit reconnected to it has to be tested. See consumer unit replacement: which certificate and what to check.
- A new circuit of any length: a cooker, an electric shower, an EV charger under Section 722, solar PV under Section 712, or a supply to an outbuilding.
- A new build, an extension or a loft conversion with its own circuits.
The EIC carries three separate declarations: design, construction, and inspection and testing. Each one certifies compliance with BS 7671:2018 "amended to" a date that you write in, so the form itself records which amendment the job was designed to. It has boxes for departures (Regulations 120.3, 133.1.2, 133.1.3 and 133.5) and for permitted exceptions under Regulation 411.3.3, with the risk assessment attached. The designer also recommends the interval to the first periodic inspection, and the notes say that interval must be inserted. The notes add that the certificate is valid only if the schedule of inspections has been completed. The EIC explained goes through the form section by section.
When is a Minor Works certificate enough?
The model form's own guidance sets the limit. The MEIWC is intended for additions and alterations to an installation that do not extend to the provision of a new circuit, and it gives the examples of adding socket-outlets or lighting points to an existing circuit and relocating a light switch. It may also be used for the replacement of equipment such as accessories or luminaires, but not for the replacement of consumer units, distribution boards or similar items.
Regulation 644.4.201 adds the second limit: one certificate for each circuit altered or extended. Add a socket to the ring and a light to the upstairs lighting circuit on the same visit and you owe the customer two MEIWCs, or one EIC covering both.
Typical MEIWC jobs:
- A spur or extra socket on an existing ring or radial.
- An extra lighting point, or a switch moved.
- A socket, switch or luminaire replaced.
- One protective device replaced in an existing board, such as an MCB swapped for an RCBO of the same rating. RCBO vs RCD split-load boards covers when that swap makes sense.
- Main protective bonding installed or upgraded. See what main protective bonding is.
- A damaged length of cable replaced on one circuit.
Three points catch people out.
A bathroom does not turn it into an EIC. The form is chosen by whether a new circuit was created, not by where the work is. An extra downlight on the existing lighting circuit above a bath is a MEIWC. It is also notifiable in England, because it is an alteration in a special location, and the Section 701 requirements still apply. Bathroom zones under Section 701 covers those.
Changing a device rating or type is design work. Swapping a B32 for a B20, or a Type AC RCD for a Type A, alters one circuit and creates no new one, so a MEIWC can carry it. You still have to check Ib, In and Iz, the maximum Zs for the new device and the disconnection time before you sign that the work was designed to BS 7671.
Small work still gets tested. The guidance on the form says appropriate inspection and testing should always be carried out irrespective of the extent of the work. Section D of the Amendment 4 MEIWC asks for continuity (R1+R2 or R2), ring continuity where relevant, insulation resistance, polarity, maximum measured Zs, RCD disconnection time and test button operation.
If you are unsure, an EIC is always acceptable for small work. A MEIWC for work that includes a new circuit never is. Minor Works certificate: when to use it has more worked examples.
What is an EICR for, and what can it not do?
An EICR is the report that follows periodic inspection and testing under Chapter 65. Regulation 653.1 requires one to be provided when the inspection is complete. You agree the extent and limitations with the person ordering the report, inspect and test within them, record observations against the current edition of BS 7671 and give one overall assessment of suitability for continued service. How to do an EICR step by step covers the sequence, and EICR sampling and limitations covers Section D.
Observations are coded C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous), C3 (improvement recommended) or FI (further investigation). How those codes drive the outcome depends on which form you are working to:
| A2:2022 model form | A4:2026 model form | |
|---|---|---|
| C1 or C2 recorded | Unsatisfactory | Unsatisfactory |
| FI recorded | Treated as Unsatisfactory (IET Guidance Note 3, Electrical Safety First Best Practice Guide 4) | Advisory; does not affect the overall assessment |
| C3 only | Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
The Amendment 4 form says any observation classified C3 or FI "is advisory and does not affect the overall assessment but should be given due consideration". Its notes say FI is for a potential issue where the inspector cannot determine a classification code until further investigation has taken place. Landlord law has not caught up: the 2020 regulations for England still treat further investigation as something to be done within 28 days, so write FI on a rented property with care. EICR observation codes sets out both versions.
What an EICR cannot do is stand in for a certificate. It does not say who designed or installed anything, it carries no design or construction declaration, and it does not satisfy the Building Regulations. If a customer has had a kitchen rewired by someone who left no paperwork, your EICR can tell them the condition of what is there now. It does not certify that work, and in England and Wales building control may still want it regularised.
Which certificate fits which job?
| Job | Certificate | Notifiable in England? |
|---|---|---|
| Full rewire | EIC | Yes |
| Consumer unit replaced in a house | EIC | Yes |
| New cooker, shower or EV charger circuit | EIC | Yes |
| New circuit to a garage or garden office fed from the house | EIC | Yes |
| Solar PV or battery storage on a new circuit | EIC | Yes |
| Distribution board replaced in a shop | EIC | Part P does not apply; it is not a dwelling |
| Socket added to an existing ring in a bedroom or kitchen | MEIWC | No (in Wales a kitchen addition is notifiable) |
| Extra downlight on the existing lighting circuit above a bath | MEIWC | Yes, special location |
| Socket, switch or luminaire replaced | MEIWC | No |
| One MCB swapped for an RCBO of the same rating | MEIWC | No |
| Protective device rating or type changed on one circuit | MEIWC, after a design check | No |
| Main bonding installed or upgraded | MEIWC | No |
| Additions to three circuits on one visit | Three MEIWCs, or one EIC | Depends on location |
| Several C2 items put right on different circuits after an EICR | One EIC, or a MEIWC per circuit | Depends on the work |
| Five-yearly inspection for a landlord | EICR | Not applicable |
| Inspection before a sale or for an insurer | EICR | Not applicable |
| Earlier work by others with no certificate | EICR reports the condition only | Regularisation is a building control matter |
Wales kept the older and longer notifiable list, so check Part P notification before quoting there.
Which certificate covers remedial work after an unsatisfactory EICR?
Remedial work is new work, so it gets a certificate of its own. The original EICR is a record of the installation on the day you inspected it and should not be edited to show a better result. If you created a new circuit or changed the board, issue an EIC. If you altered existing circuits, issue a MEIWC for each, or one EIC for the lot. In the description of the work, quote the EICR's reference number and the observation item numbers you have dealt with, so that anyone reading the two documents together can see what was closed out.
For rented homes in England the landlord must obtain written confirmation from a qualified person that the work has been done, and send it with the original report to the tenant and the council within 28 days of the work being completed. The GOV.UK guidance accepts an EIC, a Minor Works certificate or a new satisfactory EICR as that confirmation. A new EICR is not required after remedials, but some letting agents ask for one, and it is the tidier option when most of the installation has been reworked. Unsatisfactory EICR: what happens next and landlord EICR regulations in England cover the deadlines.
A recent EIC can also stand in for an EICR in one case. The GOV.UK guidance says that a newly built or completely rewired property with an EIC does not need an EICR for five years from the date of the certificate. Scotland and Wales have their own rules.
Who signs each form?
BS 7671 does not license anyone. Part 6 requires certificates and reports to be compiled and signed, or otherwise authenticated, by skilled persons competent to verify that the requirements have been met. The forms then divide up the responsibility.
| Form | Declarations | Who normally signs |
|---|---|---|
| EIC | Design (with space for two designers), construction, inspection and testing | One electrician for all three on a domestic job; consultant, contractor and commissioning engineer on a larger one |
| MEIWC | One declaration covering design, construction, inspection and testing | The electrician who did the work |
| EICR | "Inspected and tested by" and "Report authorised for issue by" | The inspector, and the qualified supervisor or principal for the business |
Each EIC declaration ends with the statement that the signatory's liability is limited to the work described on the certificate. That only protects you if the description and extent are specific: "replacement of consumer unit, all existing circuits reconnected and tested" is a far better entry than "CU change".
On an EICR the second signature is a review, not a formality. The person authorising the report is confirming that the codes, limitations and outcome make sense. Qualified supervisor sign-off covers what that review should involve. Clients and agents usually expect the inspector to hold a Level 3 inspection and testing qualification such as City & Guilds 2391-52 and a current 18th Edition certificate, and the GOV.UK landlord guidance suggests at least two years' experience of periodic inspection.
What do you have to record about the existing installation?
An EIC or MEIWC for an alteration is not only about your new cable. Three regulations pull the existing installation in.
- Regulation 132.16. Before you add to or alter an installation, the rating and condition of the existing equipment, including the distributor's, must be adequate for the altered circumstances, and the earthing and bonding arrangements must be adequate too. Section B of the Amendment 4 MEIWC exists to record this: the earthing arrangement, Zdb at the board supplying the circuit, and the presence of an adequate earthing conductor and main protective bonding.
- Regulation 641.5. You verify that the addition or alteration complies with BS 7671 and does not impair the safety of the existing installation. The MEIWC declaration uses those words.
- Regulation 644.1.2. Defects found in the existing installation are to be recorded on the EIC or MEIWC. The Amendment 4 EIC gives this its own section, Section I, and the MEIWC has a line for it in Section A.
In practice this splits what you find into two groups. Anything your work depends on has to be put right before you can certify: no main bonding to the gas, an undersized earthing conductor, a Ze that will not give you the disconnection time. Anything unrelated gets written down and reported to the customer: no RCD protection on a circuit you did not touch, a cracked socket in another room, a borrowed neutral on the landing lights. Leaving the comments box blank reads as though you did not look. Write "none observed" if that is the truth.
How does Part P notification fit with the certificate?
They are separate documents. The BS 7671 certificate goes to the person who ordered the work for every job. The Building Regulations compliance certificate is issued only for notifiable work in dwellings in England and Wales, through your competent person scheme, within 30 days of completion.
| England | Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| New circuit | Notifiable | Notifiable |
| Consumer unit replacement | Notifiable | Notifiable |
| Addition or alteration in a special location | Notifiable | Notifiable |
| Addition or alteration in a kitchen | Not notifiable | Notifiable |
| Outdoor lighting and power added to an existing circuit | Not notifiable | Notifiable |
| Replacing accessories anywhere | Not notifiable | Not notifiable |
England has used the shorter list in regulation 12(6A) since 6 April 2013. In Approved Document P for England, a special location is a room containing a swimming pool or sauna heater, or the space around a bath or shower: 0.6 m horizontally from the edge of the bath or shower tray and up to 2.25 m above the floor. The rule of thumb that a MEIWC means the job is not notifiable is wrong in both directions. A bathroom lighting point is a MEIWC and notifiable. A new circuit in a detached workshop on its own supply is an EIC and outside Part P altogether.
What did Amendment 4 change on the three forms?
BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 was published on 15 April 2026, and the IET's Amendment 4 model forms carry that date. The purpose of each form is unchanged. The details are not.
| Item | A2:2022 model forms | A4:2026 model forms |
|---|---|---|
| EICR observations | One list with a code against each item | Two blocks: C1 and C2, then C3 and FI |
| EICR outcome | FI treated as Unsatisfactory | C3 and FI stated to be advisory |
| Earthing arrangement on the EIC and EICR | TN-C-S as a single option | TN-C-S (PME) and TN-C-S (PNB) listed separately |
| MEIWC layout | Parts 1 to 5 | Sections A to E |
| MEIWC earthing arrangement | TN-S, TN-C-S, TT | TN-S, TN-C-S (PME), TN-C-S (PNB), TT, TN-C, IT |
| Form set | EIC, MEIWC, EICR | Adds a generic schedule of supplementary protective equipotential bonding inspection and test results |
Protective neutral bonding (PNB) is explained in earthing arrangements: TN-S, TN-C-S and TT.
The A2:2022 edition, as amended by A3:2024, is withdrawn on 15 October 2026. NICEIC's Amendment 4 guidance is that Amendment 4 certificates are to be issued for newly designed work from that date, and that work designed earlier can be completed to the previous standard even if it finishes afterwards. Match the form to the edition written in the declaration. If you use pads, check the edition on the cover; if you use software, check which edition the PDF cites. Digital vs paper electrical certificates covers the changeover in more detail.
What are the common wrong-form mistakes?
| Mistake | Why it is wrong | What to issue |
|---|---|---|
| MEIWC for a consumer unit change | The form's guidance excludes consumer units and distribution boards | EIC with every reconnected circuit tested |
| MEIWC for "only a short" new circuit | Length is irrelevant; a new circuit is a new circuit | EIC |
| One MEIWC covering two circuits | Regulation 644.4.201 allows one per circuit | A MEIWC each, or one EIC |
| EICR issued for your own new work | Note 1 on the model EICR rules it out, and the report has no design or construction declaration | EIC or MEIWC |
| EICR reissued as Satisfactory after remedials | The report records the condition on the inspection date | EIC or MEIWC for the remedials, or a new inspection and report |
| Comments on the existing installation left blank | Regulation 644.1.2 requires defects to be recorded | The defects found, or "none observed" |
| No first-inspection interval on the EIC | The notes say the interval must be inserted | The designer's recommended interval; see how often an EICR is required |
| Declaration cites the wrong amendment date | The certificate then claims compliance with an edition the design did not follow | The amendment the work was designed to |
Scheme assessors sample the certificates a business has issued, and whether the right form was used for the work is one of the things they check. How to become NICEIC registered describes what is checked on the day. Whichever form it is, the schedule has to be complete: how to fill in a schedule of test results goes through it column by column.
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 £4.99 a month.