How Long Does an EICR Take?

EICR stands for Electrical Installation Condition Report. It is a formal check of the fixed electrical installation in a property: the wiring, the consumer unit, the distribution boards, sockets, switches, lighting circuits and the earthing and bonding. The result is an installation condition report that tells you whether the installation is in a satisfactory state or whether remedial work is needed.

The time it takes comes from the two halves of the job. First there is a visual inspection, where the electrician looks at the installation for damage, wear, overloading and anything that does not look right. Then comes the testing, where each circuit is checked with instruments. Testing is the slower part, because every circuit has to be isolated and tested in turn.

As a general guide, a flat or small house with a modest number of circuits can often be inspected in a few hours. A three bedroom house usually sits in the middle: many take roughly half a day, though some run longer if there are extra circuits for an extension, garage or outbuilding.

Larger family homes, properties with several distribution boards, and a commercial property such as a shop, office or unit can take a full day or more. These are general expectations, not a promise for any particular job. The electrician can give you a realistic estimate once they know the size and layout of the installation.

If you manage several rental properties, each one is inspected and reported on separately, so allow time for each address.

The number of circuits is the biggest factor. More circuits means more isolating, testing and recording. Older properties often have more irregular wiring layouts, which take longer to trace and check.

Access matters too. Blocked consumer units, locked rooms, furniture in front of sockets, loft hatches that are hard to reach and unlabelled circuits all slow things down. If circuits are not labelled, the electrician has to identify each one, which adds time.

The condition of the installation also plays a part. When issues are found, the electrician needs to investigate and record them properly, including a code for each observation. A property with several problems will generally take longer to inspect than one that is in good order, although the report itself is still a record of what was found rather than a repair job.

Finally, the testing needs the power off for parts of the visit, and it has to be done safely. In a busy home or workplace, working around occupants can stretch the day.

Because circuits must be isolated to test them, you should expect the power to be switched off for periods during the visit. Usually this is circuit by circuit rather than everything at once, but the main supply may need to go off at times.

Before the visit, it helps to plan around this. Save and close any work on computers, and consider anything that needs constant power, such as a freezer, medical equipment, alarms or a home office. Tell the electrician about these in advance so the work can be arranged sensibly. In a commercial property, you may want to book the inspection outside busy trading periods.

If you also need pat testing of portable electrical equipment, mention it when you enquire. It is a separate check from an EICR, so it is worth asking how the two would be scheduled together.

A little preparation can save time on the day:

Clear access to the consumer unit and any other distribution boards, and make sure the electrician can get into every room, the loft, the garage and any outbuildings with their own supply.

Move furniture or stored items away from sockets and switches where you can.

Gather any previous reports, certificates or details of recent electrical work, as these help the electrician understand the installation.

Tell them about known problems such as tripping circuits, flickering lights, warm sockets or burning smells.

After the visit, the electrician prepares the eicr report. If it lists remedial work, the time and cost of that depend on what is needed, and it is separate from the inspection itself. Always ask for a written quote for any follow-up work so you know what is included.

Pricing for an EICR is usually based on how long the job will take and how complex the installation is, so the same factors that affect the time also affect the cost: the number of circuits, the size of the property, the number of distribution boards, access, and whether the work has to happen at a particular time of day. Some electricians quote a fixed price after learning about the property, while others charge by time. Ask which approach is being used and request the quote in writing, with clear notes on what it covers and what would count as extra.

If the inspection is for a landlord, a sale or a business, the rules about when a report is needed can change. Check GOV.UK for the current position on rental properties and your responsibilities as a landlord, employer or owner. Fire risk assessments are a separate matter from an EICR, though the condition of the wiring can feed into your wider view of fire risk.