Price an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) by estimating the time it will take, not by matching the cheapest figure on a comparison site. Time is driven by the number of circuits and distribution boards, the age of the installation and access, and a properly conducted periodic inspection under Chapter 65 of BS 7671 has a floor below which the job cannot be done. Quote one figure per property with a stated circuit allowance, quote remedial work separately, and put the scope in writing. Prices vary widely by region and customer type, so this guide gives a method rather than a market rate.
- Estimate hours first (circuits, boards, access, age, report writing), then multiply by a rate that covers your costs and margin.
- Quote per property with a circuit allowance rather than a raw per-circuit rate.
- Keep the report and the remedials separate. Include only trivial on-the-day repairs, and record them.
- A low lead-generation price is recovered on remedial work or by cutting the inspection short. The liability stays with the person who signs.
- Agent volume deals work when the discount is traded for grouped bookings, guaranteed access and prompt payment.
What drives the time an EICR takes?
An EICR under Regulation 651.2 of BS 7671 has to include inspection of the accessible parts of the installation and enough testing to establish its condition. The pricing question is therefore how long that will take, and five things decide it.
| Factor | Effect on time | What to ask before quoting |
|---|---|---|
| Number of circuits | The largest single driver. Each circuit needs continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, Zs and RCD tests plus its inspection items | How many ways on the board? Ask for a photo of the consumer unit |
| Number of distribution boards | Each board adds Zdb, Ipf, a schedule page and the sub-main to trace | How many boards, and where are they? |
| Age of the installation | Older boards have no circuit chart, rewireable fuses, mixed cable colours and undocumented alterations; every circuit has to be identified from scratch | Roughly when was it wired or last rewired? |
| Access | Occupied property, furniture over sockets, locked rooms, loft hatches, tenants who need notice | Is it occupied? Who gives access? Can furniture be moved? |
| Type of premises | Commercial and HMO work adds three-phase boards, fire alarm supplies and sampling decisions | Domestic, HMO, shop, office, industrial? |
For a one-board domestic installation with eight to twelve circuits and reasonable access, two to four hours on site plus report writing is realistic for a full inspection following How to Do an EICR Step by Step: Inspector's Workflow. Each additional circuit adds fifteen to thirty minutes and each extra board adds its own set-up time. An unlabelled 1970s board with rewireable fuses and an uncertificated loft conversion can double the estimate.
The parts of the job people forget to price
Site time is only one part. Add travel; report writing and checking, which on a poor installation takes longer than the testing (see How to Write EICR Observations That Stand Up); customer communication and follow-up, including the written confirmation the landlord needs under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020; and calibration, scheme membership, insurance and software apportioned across the reports you do each year. A quote that only covers the hours on site is a quote for a loss.
Should I price per circuit or per property?
| Structure | How it works | Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per circuit | A base fee for the visit and the origin tests, plus a rate for each circuit | Transparent; scales with the work; easy for commercial customers to compare | Customers argue about what counts (a spur? a disconnected circuit?); hard to quote without seeing the board |
| Per property with a circuit allowance | One figure for a standard one-board property up to, say, twelve circuits; extra circuits and boards priced as add-ons | Simple to sell; landlords and agents like a single number; you control the scope | Needs a clear cap and a stated add-on rate, or a big property swallows your margin |
The method that works for most small contractors is to estimate by time, then present a per-property figure with a stated allowance: "based on one consumer unit and up to twelve circuits; additional circuits and boards charged at [your rate]". You then have a written basis for adjusting it when the "twelve circuits" turns out to be two boards and twenty-two ways.
A worked pricing method
- Get the facts: a photo of the consumer unit, the approximate age, the property type and whether it is occupied.
- Estimate site hours from the table above: lower end for a labelled twelve-way board with the owner present, upper end for an unlabelled board in a tenanted flat.
- Add report and admin time: under an hour on a sound installation, two on one with fifteen observations.
- Add travel.
- Multiply the total hours by your hourly rate, which is your annual costs (scheme fees, calibration, insurance, vehicle, software and your own pay) divided by the billable hours you actually achieve.
- Add a margin for the risk you carry: an EICR is a professional opinion you sign, and a missed C1 is your liability.
- Round to a figure that is easy to say, with the allowance stated.
Do the calculation once and you have a rate card. Do not look up "the going rate" and copy it: regional variation is real, overheads differ enormously between a sole trader and a firm with an office, and a figure that lets someone else break even may not let you.
What should the price include and exclude?
Write the scope down. A customer who thinks they bought "an electrical certificate" needs to understand what that does and does not involve.
Include: inspection and testing from the origin to the accessible final circuits following Chapter 65 and IET Guidance Note 3; the completed EICR with schedule of inspections, schedule of test results and numbered observations; and a short explanation of the outcome and what needs doing by when.
Exclude, and say so:
- Remedial work. Every C1, C2 and FI item is quoted separately once the report is written. Combining the two invites the accusation that you found defects to sell work, and makes your price impossible to compare fairly.
- Making safe beyond the immediate. A C1 must be made safe or reported in writing on the day, but re-terminating a burnt shower isolator is remedial work.
- Access problems. Areas that cannot be reached are recorded as limitations, and a return visit is chargeable.
- Certificates for other systems: fire alarm, emergency lighting, PAT, gas.
Minor repairs on the day
Some jobs take less time to do than to write up: a loose faceplate, a missing blank. Fix them on the day as goodwill or for a token charge, record them on the report as work done at the time of inspection, and issue a Minor Works Certificate where the work qualifies under Minor Works Certificate: When to Use It (and When Not To).
Why is cheap lead-generation pricing a trap?
Comparison sites and national booking platforms publish EICR prices below the time cost of a compliant inspection. The model is one of three things: the platform takes a fee and the electrician makes it back on remedial work; the inspection is shortened to a sample of circuits and a look at the board; or the electrician does not yet know what the job costs. The first two produce reports a scheme assessor or council enforcement officer would not accept, and the inspector who signed remains liable for the opinion given.
A full inspection at a price below your hourly cost is paid for by every other customer, or by cutting corners. Decline the lead-gen work, publish your own scope clearly and let the customer compare like with like. A landlord who has had one report rejected by a council for missing test results is a receptive audience.
How should I price landlord and letting agent volume work?
Agents and portfolio landlords have been the largest buyers of EICRs in England since the 2020 Regulations made the five-yearly report mandatory. They want a rate card, predictable invoices and no surprises.
| What the agent wants | What to offer | What to ask in return |
|---|---|---|
| One price for "a standard EICR" | A base price for one board up to a stated number of circuits | A defined add-on rate for extra circuits and boards |
| A discount for volume | A modest reduction on the base price | Grouped bookings in one area on one day; a minimum number of properties per month |
| Fast turnaround | Report delivered same day or next day | Guaranteed access arranged by the agent with the tenant, and a call-out charge for no access |
| Remedials handled | A separate remedial rate card and a fast quote | Authority to proceed up to an agreed value without a further sign-off |
A volume discount is worth giving only when the volume reduces your cost. Four flats in one block on one morning save three journeys; four flats spread across a month and forty miles do not. Write the conditions down, including what happens when a tenant does not answer the door. When describing the value, three points land: the report satisfies the 2020 Regulations, the council and the insurer; it protects the landlord from a penalty of up to £30,000 per breach (see EICR Landlord Requirements 2026: England, Scotland, Wales); and a cheap report that codes everything C3 to avoid an unsatisfactory result does not discharge the duty.
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.