The short answer
An EICR inspects the fixed wiring of a property — the consumer unit, circuits, sockets and switches — and typically costs around £100–£300 depending on size. PAT testing (portable appliance testing) checks plug-in electrical appliances such as kettles, lamps and chargers, and is usually priced per item (often around £1–£3 each) or as a small call-out plus per-item fee. They are not interchangeable: an EICR is about the installation, PAT is about the appliances. For a let property, a landlord has a legal duty to the fixed wiring (the EICR) and a separate responsibility to ensure any appliances they supply are safe, which is where PAT testing comes in.
EICR and PAT testing are often confused because both involve electrical safety, but they cover different things and are priced on completely different bases. Here is how they compare and when each applies.
EICR vs PAT at a glance
- EICR coversfixed wiring & circuits
- PAT coversplug-in appliances
- EICR cost~£100–£300 (whole property)
- PAT cost~£1–£3 per item (typical)
- Landlord dutyEICR is the legal one
What each one checks
An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) assesses the fixed electrical installation: the consumer unit (fuse board), the circuits, earthing and bonding, sockets, switches and fixed lighting — everything that is wired into the fabric of the building. It is carried out to BS 7671, the 18th Edition Wiring Regulations, and records any faults against the C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous) and C3 (improvement recommended) codes, ending in an overall verdict of satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The electrician works through each circuit in turn, testing insulation resistance, confirming polarity and earthing, and checking that protective devices such as RCDs and RCBOs operate correctly.
PAT testing looks at an entirely different part of the picture: portable and plug-in appliances — anything with a plug that connects to a socket. It combines a visual check of the casing, cable and plug with electrical tests for the items that need them, and records a simple pass or fail for each appliance. An EICR will not test your kettle, and a PAT test will not tell you whether your ring final circuit is safe. They sit at opposite ends of the same system: the EICR covers the wiring up to and including the socket, and PAT covers what you plug into it.
| Feature | EICR | PAT testing |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | fixed wiring & circuits | plug-in appliances |
| Standard | BS 7671 (18th Edition) | appliance safety guidance |
| Typical cost | ~£100–£300 (property) | ~£1–£3 per item |
| Result | satisfactory / unsatisfactory | pass / fail per item |
| Landlord status | legal duty (England) | good practice for supplied items |
Indicative UK figures for guidance. Sources: Checkatrade and Electrical Safety First.
How the costs compare
The two are priced on completely different bases, so a direct comparison is misleading. An EICR is a single fee for the whole property, typically £100–£300 for a domestic home, and that figure follows the number of circuits the electrician has to test rather than the contents of the rooms. PAT testing is priced per appliance, often around £1–£3 an item, sometimes with a minimum call-out charge — so the total depends entirely on how many appliances there are. A furnished let with a fridge, washing machine, microwave, lamps and a TV will cost more to PAT-test than a sparsely furnished property, while the EICR fee for the same two properties would be much the same if they have similar wiring.
Because the EICR is a fixed-installation check and PAT is a per-item check, you cannot save money by treating one as a substitute for the other — they measure different risks. The sensible way to budget is to treat the EICR as a known periodic cost tied to the property, and PAT (where relevant) as a variable cost tied to the number of appliances. Some electricians will carry out both on the same visit, which can be convenient and may reduce a separate call-out, but the two are still costed separately because they are genuinely separate pieces of work.
The per-item basis of PAT testing also explains why headline 'from £1 an item' figures can mislead. Many providers set a minimum charge or call-out fee, so testing a handful of appliances in a small flat can cost more per item than the rate suggests, while a large furnished property or an office full of equipment benefits from the economy of scale. An EICR, by contrast, does not work that way: its price tracks the number of circuits, not the number of rooms or the contents, so a lightly furnished and a heavily furnished home of the same wiring will see much the same inspection fee. Keeping that difference in mind stops you comparing the two on a like-for-like basis they were never designed for.
Which one do you need?
If you own and live in your home, the EICR is the meaningful periodic check of your wiring — recommended at least every ten years as guidance — while PAT testing of your own appliances is optional and largely down to common sense and a visual eye for frayed cables or cracked plugs. There is no obligation on an owner-occupier to have either done to a fixed schedule, but the EICR is the one that tells you whether the installation itself is sound, which is the more consequential question.
If you are a landlord in England, the position is firmer. The EICR is a legal duty at least every five years under the Electrical Safety Standards 2020, and the installation must be confirmed satisfactory with any remedial work completed in the timescale the report sets. Alongside that, you should make sure any appliances you supply — white goods, lamps, kettles and the like — are safe, which is where PAT testing helps as evidence of having met that duty. The two together cover both halves of electrical safety: the installation, via the EICR, and the things plugged into it, via PAT.
Common misunderstandings worth clearing up
A frequent mix-up is treating a PAT test certificate as if it covered the property's electrics, or assuming an EICR means the appliances have been checked too. Neither is the case, and the distinction matters most for landlords who need to show they have met the right duty. The EICR is the document a local authority can ask to see for the fixed installation; a folder of PAT pass labels, however thorough, does not satisfy the five-yearly inspection requirement, because it speaks to the appliances rather than the wiring.
Another point of confusion is frequency. The EICR runs on a clear cycle — at least every five years for a let property, or sooner if the report specifies — whereas PAT testing has no single fixed legal interval; how often appliances are checked depends on the type of equipment and how it is used, and is a matter of risk-based good practice rather than a statutory clock. Keeping the two ideas separate in your head — fixed wiring on a five-year legal cycle, appliances on a risk-based visual-and-test routine — is the cleanest way to remember which is which, and it stops you paying for the wrong check or assuming a duty has been met when it has not.
A final way to keep the two straight is to think about where the boundary actually sits: the EICR covers everything wired permanently into the building up to and including the socket outlet, and PAT covers everything that plugs into that socket. A fixed appliance hard-wired into the installation — an electric shower, a cooker on its own circuit, or fixed heating — falls on the EICR side because it is part of the fixed wiring, not a portable item. That single line, socket as the dividing point, resolves most of the confusion people have about which check applies to a given piece of equipment, and it makes clear why neither test can stand in for the other: they are deliberately scoped to cover different halves of the same electrical system.
Frequently asked questions
Is an EICR the same as PAT testing?
No. An EICR inspects the fixed wiring of a property — consumer unit, circuits, sockets and switches. PAT testing checks plug-in appliances such as kettles and lamps. They cover different things and are priced differently.
How much does PAT testing cost?
PAT testing is usually priced per appliance, often around £1–£3 an item, sometimes with a minimum call-out charge. The total depends on how many appliances there are, unlike an EICR which is a single fee for the whole property.
Do landlords need both an EICR and PAT testing?
An EICR is the legal duty for the fixed wiring in England. PAT testing is not a standalone legal requirement, but landlords have a general duty to ensure any appliances they supply are safe, so periodic appliance checks are common practice.
Sources & further reading
Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific property. They are guidance, not a quotation. Legal duties are summarised for guidance — confirm the current position on GOV.UK.