An EICR is usually six to ten pages, and the answer a landlord needs is on the first two: the overall assessment (Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory) and the list of observations with their C1, C2, C3 or FI codes. In England, C1, C2 and FI items must be dealt with within 28 days under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020; C3 items need not be. The rest of the report, particularly the schedule of test results, is what proves the inspection was done properly. This guide walks through the BS 7671 model form page by page so you know what you are looking at and what you have to act on.
- The overall assessment box is the pass/fail. Satisfactory means no C1, C2 or FI codes were recorded.
- C1 and C2 mean danger or potential danger and require remedial work within 28 days in England. FI means investigation is needed first. C3 is advice.
- The "Extent and limitations" section tells you what was not inspected. Read it before you trust the assessment.
- The schedule of test results should have figures on every circuit. Blank or repeated figures are a red flag.
- Keep the report for the tenant, the next tenant, the local authority and your own records.
What does the first page of an EICR tell you?
The BS 7671:2018 model form (Appendix 6) begins with the administrative details: the client, the address of the installation, the purpose of the report, and the date. Check three things here.
First, the purpose of the report. For a rental it should say something like "periodic inspection to comply with the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020" or "landlord periodic inspection". Second, the date of the inspection, because that is when the five-year clock starts, not the date the PDF was emailed. Third, the details of the installation: the estimated age, evidence of alterations, and the date of the previous inspection if known. An inspector who has recorded "previous inspection: not known, no records available" has done the right thing if you did not provide the last report.
Where is the pass or fail?
The section headed Summary of the condition of the installation contains a box marked "Overall assessment of the installation" with the words Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The rule is fixed by the form itself: if any observation is coded C1, C2 or FI, the assessment must be Unsatisfactory. If all observations are C3, or there are none, it is Satisfactory.
Below the box the inspector writes a short general comment on the condition. It is worth reading because it gives context that the codes alone do not: "installation is in generally good condition, original wiring circa 1985 with consumer unit replaced 2019" tells you a great deal about what to expect in five years' time.
How do you read the observations?
The observations section is the list of defects. Each entry has a description, a code, and usually the location and circuit reference. The codes are set out in BS 7671 and expanded in Electrical Safety First's Best Practice Guide 4:
| Code | Meaning | Landlord's duty (England) |
|---|---|---|
| C1 | Danger present; risk of injury; immediate action required | Should have been made safe on the day; complete remedial work within 28 days |
| C2 | Potentially dangerous; urgent remedial action required | Remedial work within 28 days |
| FI | Further investigation required without delay | Investigation within 28 days; then act on what it finds |
| C3 | Improvement recommended | No statutory duty; consider at next opportunity |
Some examples of how typical items are coded, following Best Practice Guide 4:
| Observation | Usual code |
|---|---|
| Exposed live conductor at a broken socket | C1 |
| No RCD protection for a socket circuit likely to supply outdoor equipment | C2 |
| No RCD protection for a general indoor socket circuit in an older installation | C3 |
| Absence of main protective bonding to gas or water | C2 |
| Consumer unit with a plastic enclosure under a wooden staircase | C3 |
| Inadequate earthing arrangement (no earth at the origin) | C1 or C2 depending on circumstances |
| Circuit with no identification labels | C3 |
The same defect can attract different codes in different situations, and that is the inspector's professional judgement. If you think a C2 should have been a C3, ask the inspector to explain the reasoning by reference to the guide. Our full explainer is at EICR observation codes explained: C1, C2, C3 and FI, and How to Write EICR Observations That Stand Up shows what a clearly written observation should look like.
What does "Extent and limitations" mean?
This section is easy to skip and important not to. It records what the inspection covered and what it did not. The extent is normally "the whole of the fixed electrical installation". The limitations are the exceptions, with reasons, and BS 7671 requires that they are agreed with the person ordering the report before the work starts.
Common, reasonable limitations include no access to a locked cupboard or tenant's storage, sockets behind heavy furniture that were not moved, cables concealed within the building fabric, and the supplier's cut-out and meter, which the inspector cannot open. Limitations that should worry you include "no testing carried out on lighting circuits" with no reason, "insulation resistance not tested" across the board, or a loft or cellar excluded when it contains wiring.
Sampling also lives here. IET Guidance Note 3 allows the inspector to sample accessories rather than open every one, and the percentage should be recorded. See EICR Sampling and Limitations Explained: Extent, LIM and N/V.
How do you read the schedule of inspections?
The schedule of inspections is a tick list of items the inspector examined visually: the intake, earthing and bonding, consumer unit, circuits, and special locations such as bathrooms. Each is marked as acceptable, unacceptable (with a reference to an observation), improvement recommended, not verified, limitation, or not applicable. A landlord does not need to understand every line, but the pattern matters. A column of ticks with nothing "not verified" on an installation full of limitations is inconsistent.
How do you read the schedule of test results?
This is the evidence that the electrician tested rather than glanced. There is one row per circuit, and each row records the circuit description, the type and rating of the protective device, the cable size, and the test readings. The main columns and what a sensible figure looks like:
| Column | What it is | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| R1+R2 or R2 | Continuity of the earth path | A small figure in ohms, typically under 2 Ω |
| Insulation resistance | Resistance between conductors and to earth | ≥1 MΩ minimum; usually shown as >200 or >999 MΩ |
| Polarity | Line and neutral the right way round | A tick |
| Zs | Earth fault loop impedance | A figure in ohms below the maximum for that breaker |
| RCD trip time | How fast the RCD operates | Usually under 40 ms at 5× rated current; under 300 ms at 1× |
The supply characteristics section gives the earthing arrangement (TN-S, TN-C-S or TT), the external loop impedance Ze and the prospective fault current. Landlords do not need to interpret these, but they should be filled in.
Red flags: every insulation resistance reading is identical, Zs values are missing, RCD trip times are blank on circuits shown as RCD-protected, or the whole schedule contains three lines for a house with twelve circuits. What is a schedule of test results? Explained explains the columns in more depth.
Who signed it?
The final section carries the inspector's name, signature, company, scheme registration number where applicable, and, if the report was reviewed by someone else, the reviewer's details. Check the name matches the person who attended. Some firms have a qualified supervisor review and sign off reports, which is normal and explained in Qualified Supervisor (QS) Sign-Off Explained. The recommended date of the next inspection is also here. Under the 2020 Regulations this cannot be later than five years from the inspection, and the inspector may recommend sooner.
What do you have to do with the report?
For a property in England:
- Give a copy to the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection.
- Give a copy to any new tenant before they occupy, and to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a request.
- Give a copy to the local authority within 7 days of a written request.
- If the report is Unsatisfactory, have C1, C2 and FI items dealt with within 28 days (or sooner if the report says so), and obtain written confirmation from a qualified person that the work is done and the installation now meets the standard. Give that confirmation to the tenant and the local authority within 28 days of the work.
- Keep the report and confirmation until the next inspection, and give both to the next inspector.
Local authorities can serve a remedial notice and fine up to £30,000 for non-compliance. The written confirmation for remedial work is usually a Minor Works Certificate or an Electrical Installation Certificate depending on the scope; a scribbled invoice is not enough. Unsatisfactory EICR: What Happens Next (Landlords & Electricians) covers the process. Scotland and Wales have similar duties with different timescales, set out in EICR Landlord Requirements in Scotland and Wales (vs England).
What an EICR is not
An EICR is a report on the condition of the fixed installation on the day of the inspection. It is not a guarantee that the installation meets current regulations, and an older installation can be Satisfactory without RCDs on every circuit or a metal consumer unit. It does not cover portable appliances (that is PAT testing, see PAT Testing Guide UK: Intervals, Tests and Records), gas, smoke alarms beyond their electrical connection, or anything the tenant plugs in. And it is not a certificate for new work; that is an EIC or Minor Works Certificate, explained in EICR vs EIC: What's the Difference? (and Minor Works).
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.