How long is an EICR valid for?

There is no single expiry that applies to every EICR; the validity depends on the property's status and the electrician's recommendation. Here is how long a report typically lasts.

The maximum intervals

For landlords in England, the law sets the outer limit: a satisfactory EICR is valid for a maximum of 5 years before a new inspection is required, under the Electrical Safety Standards 2020. For owner-occupiers, the equivalent guidance from Electrical Safety First is up to 10 years. These are ceilings, not guarantees — an installation can develop a fault the day after a satisfactory report, which is why the period is described as a re-test interval rather than a warranty. A satisfactory EICR confirms the condition at the time of inspection, and the validity is how long before it should be checked again.

The reason the two figures differ comes down to law versus guidance. The five-year limit for rented homes is written into statute, so it is a genuine maximum that a landlord cannot exceed without breaching the regulations. The ten-year figure for owner-occupiers is a recommendation from Electrical Safety First rather than a legal ceiling, which means it carries no penalty if missed but rests on exactly the same engineering logic: a sound domestic installation in normal use can reasonably go that long between professional checks, but not indefinitely. The shorter interval for rentals reflects the higher turnover of occupants and the fact that a tenant is relying on a landlord they do not control to keep the wiring safe.

It is worth being clear that validity attaches to a satisfactory result. An EICR that comes back unsatisfactory does not start a fresh five- or ten-year clock — the installation is not signed off until the C1, C2 or FI faults it records have been put right and confirmed. Only once the report reads satisfactory does the maximum interval begin to run from the inspection date. So a report's validity is really shorthand for ‘how long this satisfactory verdict can be relied upon before the installation should be reassessed’, which is why an unsatisfactory report needs acting on rather than diarising.

General UK guidance — your report's date takes precedence. Sources: Electrical Safety First; GOV.UK.

When a report expires sooner

The maximum only applies if nothing changes and the installation stays sound. The validity is effectively shorter where the electrician records a reduced re-test date on the report, which they may do for an ageing installation. It can also be overtaken by events: a major electrical alteration such as a rewire or an extension, damage from a fault or flood, or a change of use of the property. In those cases the existing report no longer reflects the installation as it now stands, and a fresh inspection or certification of the new work is the right course rather than relying on the old date.

The reduced re-test date is the most common reason a real-world EICR is valid for less than the headline figure, and it is entirely at the electrician's professional judgement. If the inspection finds an installation that is sound today but showing its age — an older consumer unit, wiring nearing the end of its expected life, or accessories that are worn but not yet faulty — the electrician can record a next-inspection date of, say, three or seven years rather than the full five or ten. That recommendation is not a criticism of the wiring; it is a considered call that the installation should be looked at again sooner than a pristine one would need to be. The figure on the report always overrides the general maximum, and a shorter date should be treated as the real expiry.

Major works are the other route to early expiry, and the distinction matters: when an installation is altered or added to, the new work is certified separately with an Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Works Certificate, not folded into the old EICR. A full rewire effectively resets the picture, because the installation being described by the old report no longer exists in the same form. After significant change it is the new certification, plus the next periodic EICR, that tells the story — relying on a pre-alteration report would be describing a property that has since been rebuilt around the wiring.

Checking your EICR is still in date

Your report states the date of inspection and a recommended date for the next inspection. To know whether it is still valid, go by the next-inspection date, not the maximum interval — they can differ. Landlords in particular should track this carefully, because letting with an out-of-date EICR is a breach of the legal duty. If you have bought a property, ask for the most recent EICR and check both its result and its re-test date; if it is missing, undated, or close to expiry, commissioning a new one gives you a clear, current picture.

When you read a report to check its currency, look beyond the dates to the overall outcome. A report can be in date by the calendar yet have been unsatisfactory at the time, with remedial work still outstanding — in which case its ‘validity’ is meaningless until that work is done and confirmed. A genuinely valid EICR is one that is both within its re-test date and records a satisfactory result, ideally accompanied by evidence that any earlier faults were put right. For a landlord, that evidence — the confirmation that remedial work was completed — is as much a part of demonstrating a valid, compliant position as the report's date itself.

How validity matters when buying, selling or letting

The practical weight of an EICR's validity changes with what you are doing with the property. When buying, an in-date satisfactory report from the seller is a genuine reassurance, but check how much of its validity remains: a report with a year left tells you the wiring was sound recently, whereas one nearing its re-test date means an inspection is looming as a near-term cost. When selling an owner-occupied home there is no duty to hold a current EICR at all, though a recent valid one can reassure a cautious buyer and remove a negotiating point. The validity only becomes a hard legal matter when the property is let.

For a let property the date is enforceable, and this is where validity stops being a matter of good practice and becomes a duty. A landlord must have a valid — in-date and satisfactory — EICR in place before a tenant occupies, must supply it to the tenant, and must renew it before the maximum five years elapse or the report's own shorter date arrives. Letting on the back of an expired report exposes the landlord to a remedial notice and a financial penalty from the local authority, and undermines their position if there is ever an incident. So while the underlying ten-year and five-year figures look like a simple shelf life, the consequence of an EICR lapsing is mild for an owner-occupier and serious for a landlord — which is the single most important thing to understand about how long a report ‘lasts’.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• GOV.UK — electrical safety standards in the private rented sector: guidance
• Electrical Safety First — your questions answered

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.