PAT Testing Guide UK 2026: Law, Intervals, Limits and Records

PAT testing, properly called in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment, is the routine inspection and electrical testing of plug-in and other equipment to confirm it is safe for continued use. No UK law names PAT testing or sets an interval. The duty comes from Regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which requires systems to be maintained so as to prevent danger; the IET Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, 5th Edition (2020), is the accepted way of meeting it. The 5th Edition removed the old frequency table altogether, so intervals come from a risk assessment, and since 1 November 2025 social landlords in England have a statutory five-yearly duty to have the equipment they supply inspected and tested.

What is PAT testing, and why did the IET stop calling it that?

The term "portable appliance testing" survives on vans and labels, but the IET's 5th Edition removed "portable" and "appliance" from everything except the preface. The reason is scope. The Code's definition of electrical equipment now takes in hard-wired items such as air-conditioning units and access-control systems, which used to fall between the EICR and the PAT regime, as well as the kettles, drills and extension leads everyone expects. The old categories of hand-held, portable, movable, stationary and fixed were removed too; the question is simply whether the item is safe for continued use.

The process still has three levels. User checks are a look for damage before use, with nothing recorded unless a fault is found. A formal visual inspection is a competent person's examination of the case, flex, plug, fuse, cable grip and any signs of overheating, recorded against the item. A combined inspection and test adds electrical tests with a PAT instrument. The 5th Edition includes a flowchart for choosing the tests, and it makes clear that some Class II equipment may only ever need a visual inspection.

One terminology change that catches people out on the 2377-77 exam: product safety classes for IT and audio-visual kit are now "energy source classes" (ES1, ES2, ES3) under BS EN 62368-1, and the Code adds a Class II FE category for double-insulated equipment with a functional earth, such as many laptop power supplies. SELV is no longer treated as a protective measure for an item of equipment in the Code, although it remains valid for an installation under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026.

Is PAT testing a legal requirement?

Not by name. Three pieces of legislation create the duty. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a general duty on employers and the self-employed. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Regulation 4(2), require all systems to be maintained so far as is reasonably practicable to prevent danger, and "system" includes the equipment connected to it. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 require work equipment to be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.

None of them say what must be done, by whom or how often. HSE's PAT FAQ answers "is there a legal requirement to test appliances every year?" with a flat no, and goes further: the Regulations "don't make inspection or testing of electrical appliances a legal requirement, nor do they make it a legal requirement to undertake this annually". HSE's leaflet INDG236 (REV3, 2013, still current) calls annual testing of everything in a low-risk environment a myth. HSE's own offices stopped testing some equipment after five years of annual results showed nothing, and rely on user checks and trained-staff visual inspections for it.

The duty holder is whoever controls the equipment: the employer, the facilities manager, the landlord of a furnished let, or a self-employed electrician for the tools in the van. Hiring you to test does not transfer that duty; it only discharges it. The fixed wiring is a separate matter, covered by an EICR under Chapter 65 of BS 7671 (see how often an EICR is required); a commercial client needs both, and the IET's broadening of "equipment" means the two regimes now overlap on hard-wired items.

How often should PAT testing be done under the 5th Edition?

The 4th Edition's Table 7.1 gave suggested initial frequencies by environment. The 5th Edition removed it and did not replace it. IET Wiring Matters (Issue 84, March 2021) explains why: the Code cannot state an interval suitable for every workplace, so the duty holder sets one through a documented risk assessment, and the article says the answer is "unlikely to be annually in many cases". Example risk assessments sit in the Code's appendices.

The Code lists eight factors. Environment: an office drill suffers less than a site drill. Users: unreported abuse or ignored damage means shorter intervals. Construction: Class I depends on an earth connection that can fail; Class II does not. Type: hand-held equipment is handled and dropped more than a fixed unit. Frequency of use. Installation method: where the isolator is, how the cable is managed, what protects the circuit. Previous records: a run of clean results justifies a longer interval, a failure shortens it. Functional service life: internal batteries and software obsolescence can make equipment unsafe before the next test.

Electricians still need a starting point for a client with no history, and HSE's INDG236 provides one for low-risk environments such as offices, shops and parts of hotels. These are HSE's suggested initial intervals, not statutory figures, and they should be adjusted once results exist.

Outside the low-risk category, the old 4th Edition starting points are still what most duty holders use: three months for 110 V site tools and leads, six to twelve months for Class I hand-held equipment in industrial premises and commercial kitchens, six months for equipment used by the public, and up to 48 months for office IT. Treat those as a first guess to be written into the risk assessment, not as a rule you can quote.

What tests apply to Class I and Class II equipment?

Class I equipment relies on its earth connection: exposed metalwork is connected to the protective conductor so a fault is cleared by the fuse. Class II has double or reinforced insulation, no earth and the double-square symbol. Class II FE has a functional earth that does nothing for shock protection. Class III runs on separated extra-low voltage and generally needs a visual inspection only.

Three points from the 5th Edition change day-to-day practice. First, the high-current earth bond test (10 A or 25 A) is no longer the default; the Code now prefers a low-current test, typically 200 mA, because the high current was found to stress connections more than first thought. Second, the insulation test voltage was revised for modern equipment: 500 V d.c. remains the standard, but 250 V d.c. is used for IT equipment and anything with surge protection, since the varistors in an SPD conduct near 500 V and give a false low reading. Third, the old class-by-class leakage table (0.75 mA hand-held Class I, 3.5 mA other Class I, 0.25 mA Class II) was replaced by a single 5 mA limit for protective conductor current and touch current, as test-meter.co.uk and the main PAT training providers summarise it. If your instrument still carries 4th Edition presets, update them.

Earth continuity is the one where arithmetic matters. The limit is 0.1 Ω for the appliance plus the resistance of the flex, and the Code's Table V1.1 gives the per-metre figures: 0.039 Ω/m for 0.5 mm², 0.026 Ω/m for 0.75 mm², 0.0195 Ω/m for 1.0 mm², 0.0156 Ω/m for 1.25 mm², 0.0133 Ω/m for 1.5 mm² and 0.008 Ω/m for 2.5 mm². A 10 m extension lead in 1.0 mm² therefore has a limit of 0.1 + 0.195 = 0.295 Ω, and a 2 m kettle lead in 0.75 mm² a limit of 0.152 Ω. A reading inside the instrument's stated accuracy band (commonly ±5% plus two digits) is not automatically a fail, and a reading that creeps up year on year on the same drill is a flex on its way out even while it passes.

BS EN 50699:2021, Recurrent testing of electrical equipment, first published in the UK in March 2021, is an alternative to the IET Code with looser earth continuity limits (0.3 Ω for leads up to 5 m, 1 Ω maximum) and tighter leakage limits (3.5 mA protective conductor current, 0.5 mA touch current). Both are guidance, not statute; pick one, write it on the record and apply it consistently.

Do landlords have to PAT test appliances?

It depends on the nation and the tenure, and the answer changed in England in 2025.

The social-sector change is the one worth telling clients about. GOV.UK names the 5th Edition of the IET Code of Practice as the standard, describes the record as including equipment description and serial number, the condition of the item, flex, plug and the socket or accessory it is connected to, a note on the suitability of the environment and the results, and expects the record to pass to whoever does the next check. A housing association with 2,000 tenancies granted before 1 December 2025 has until 1 November 2026 to get every landlord-supplied cooker, fridge and microwave checked; that is a volume market for anyone already doing their EICRs (see EICR landlord requirements in England).

Who can carry out PAT testing, and what qualification is current?

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that no person is engaged in work requiring technical knowledge or experience to avoid danger unless they have it or are supervised. HSE's FAQ says an electrician is not necessarily needed: in a low-risk environment a sensible, trained member of staff can do visual inspections, while combined inspection and testing needs more knowledge, suitable equipment, the ability to use it properly and the ability to interpret the results. The 5th Edition adds a section on the competencies of those doing the work.

The qualification the trade recognises is the City & Guilds 2377-77 Level 3 Award in the In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, which replaced 2377-22 and 2377-32. It is assessed against the latest edition of the IET Code of Practice through a written paper and a practical assignment, and City & Guilds currently lists a last registration date of 31 August 2028. Holders of the older 2377 awards are not required to requalify. A competent person needs to recognise classes and energy-source classes, choose the tests from the flowchart, operate the instrument within its limitations, judge marginal readings, spot damage and counterfeit equipment on inspection, and set and justify the intervals.

Instrument choice follows the work. A manual tester such as the Megger PAT120 (£425 ex VAT at tester.co.uk, 19 Oct 2026) does continuity, insulation and leakage for occasional jobs; downloadable units such as the PAT410 and PAT420 (£1,178 and £1,350 ex VAT) store results for a day of 200 items. Whatever you use, the instrument's calibration status goes on the record, and the Code expects the test current and voltage you used to be the ones appropriate to the item, not whatever the preset happened to be.

What should be recorded, and do labels matter?

HSE says neither records nor labels are a legal requirement, then says records are useful for monitoring the scheme and demonstrating that one exists. In practice the record is the evidence. The IET Code's model forms are a list of the equipment covered and a formal visual and combined inspection and test record per item, plus a test-instrument accuracy record; the Scottish guidance adopts those forms by name and expects copies to go with the EICR.

Each item's record should carry a unique identifier (the number on the label), description, make and model, location, class, the inspection and tests done with measured values rather than a bare pass, the result, any remedial action such as a replaced plug or fuse, the tester, the instrument and its calibration status, the date and the next check date from the risk assessment. Keep failed items on the record with what happened to them: an auditor wants to see that the failed kettle was withdrawn, and GOV.UK's social-landlord guidance expects unsafe items to be replaced or made safe within 28 days with a fresh record afterwards.

A pass label shows the identifier, test date, next date and the tester, and links the item to the record; a failed item gets a distinct label and comes out of service immediately. New equipment does not need a formal test (HSE: it "should be supplied in a safe condition"), but a visual check for transit damage and a correct fuse is sensible, and the 5th Edition's new appendix on counterfeit and doubtful-provenance equipment is worth reading before you pass a boxful of cheap chargers.

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 £4.99 a month, charged when you sign up.

Sources

• Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Regulation 4(2); Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
• IET Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, 5th Edition (2020); IET Wiring Matters Issue 81 (July 2020) and Issue 84 (March 2021) on the 5th Edition changes.
• HSE INDG236(REV3), Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments; HSE, Portable appliance testing FAQ.
• GOV.UK, Electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors: guidance (SI 2020/312 as amended by SI 2025/1043).
• Scottish Government, Repairing Standard: statutory guidance for private landlords, Annex D3 (31 January 2024).
• BS EN 50699:2021, Recurrent testing of electrical equipment; City & Guilds 2377-77 qualification page; BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 Chapter 65; IET GN3 10th Edition.
• Related guides: How often is an EICR required?, EICR for commercial premises, Digital vs paper electrical certificates.

Written by the Certio team. Last checked 19 October 2026.