The quickest way to clear up what a commercial EICR actually covers is to draw one line. An EICR tests the building, not the things you plug into it. Everything hardwired through your electricity meter, including distribution boards, circuits, sockets, switches, and light fittings, sits inside the inspection. The kettle, the laptop, the paper shredder sit outside it.
Once that’s clear, the rest falls into place: scope, results, responsibility, and what a ‘Satisfactory’ or ‘Unsatisfactory’ verdict actually means for the building.
What Does a Commercial EICR Actually Test?
A commercial EICR, also known as fixed wire testing for commercial premises, covers the permanent electrical installation in your building. That’s everything the electricity meter feeds: main switchgear, distribution boards, consumer units, the wiring running through walls and ceilings, socket outlets, light fittings, switches, and any hardwired equipment like storage heaters or hand dryers.
An engineer runs both visual checks and electrical tests on every circuit, confirming the installation is safe and compliant with BS 7671, the UK wiring regulations. Depending on site size, the inspection can take a day for a small office or several days for a large commercial estate. Hawkesworth’s engineers work through this in zones where possible, so EICR fixed wire testing rarely needs to stop the site operating.
What Isn’t Covered in a Commercial EICR?
This is where most confusion kicks in. Anything that plugs into a socket sits outside the scope of an EICR. Laptops, desktop PCs, phone chargers, printers, kettles, microwaves, portable heaters, and all the other mains-powered kit in your building fall under PAT testing instead.
The two services complement each other rather than overlap. EICR proves the building’s wiring is safe. PAT testing proves the individual appliances running off that wiring are safe. A building with a current EICR but no PAT testing, or vice versa, has a gap in its electrical safety record, which is why most facilities teams run both through the same provider.
Is a Commercial EICR a Legal Requirement for Commercial Property?
Not in the way it is for residential landlords. An EICR isn’t a statutory requirement for most commercial buildings in England, Scotland, or Wales.
What is required is that the electrical installation stays safe. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 put a duty on the person in control of a commercial premises to maintain electrical safety for employees and visitors. A commercial EICR is how most businesses demonstrate that duty has been met: a dated, signed record from a competent engineer confirming the installation is safe or flagging what needs remedial work. Insurance providers and large tenants often ask for a current EICR as part of due diligence too, which is another practical reason it sits on most compliance calendars.
Who Is Responsible for EICR on Commercial Property?
Responsibility sits with the person in control of the premises. In practice, that’s usually the business owner, the commercial landlord, or a nominated facilities lead with day-to-day responsibility for the building.
The duty can be delegated. A facilities manager can arrange the inspection and manage the paperwork. What it can’t do is pass the duty on: legal responsibility still traces back to whoever has control of the site.
For multi-tenanted buildings, responsibility is often split. Common parts usually sit with the landlord, while tenant-occupied areas sit with each tenant, and the specifics come down to the lease. Keeping track of UK electrical compliance deadlines across a mixed portfolio is usually easier with a single schedule covering every inspection type in one place.
What Do the Codes in Your Commercial EICR Report Mean?
Your engineer uses four observation codes to classify anything they find during the inspection.
C1: Danger Present. An immediate risk of injury, such as exposed live parts or incorrect polarity at the mains. The engineer will usually act on site to make the fault safe, and full remedial work is a top priority.
C2: Potentially Dangerous. Not an immediate hazard, but could become one under fault conditions. Missing RCD protection on sockets or unreliable earthing are common examples. Remedial work is needed as a matter of urgency.
C3: Improvement Recommended. A non-compliance with current wiring regulations that isn’t dangerous. C3 findings don’t make a report unsatisfactory, but are often worth fixing while the engineer is on site.
FI: Further Investigation. The engineer suspects a fault but can’t confirm it without more access or testing. FI makes the report unsatisfactory until the investigation is completed.
Any C1, C2, or FI makes the overall result ‘Unsatisfactory’ and triggers remedial work. Once that’s done, you receive an Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate to sit alongside the original report. For examples under each code, our decoding your EICR report breakdown goes deeper.
Book Your Commercial EICR with Hawkesworth
Hawkesworth covers commercial EICR work across the UK and Ireland, from single-site offices through to multi-site portfolios with hundreds of circuits. Our 190+ City & Guilds certified engineers work to BS 7671, and multi-site pricing is available for landlords and facilities teams running EICR programmes across several buildings.
We also track your inspection schedule so a reminder goes out before the next certificate is due, and out-of-hours visits come at no extra charge when daytime access isn’t practical. Request a quote and we’ll build the work around your operational hours.
Michael Kiddle
Managing Director of Hawkesworth and a nationally recognised leader in electrical and fire safety, Michael (GIFireE) directs one of the UK's leading compliance companies, safeguarding thousands of businesses each year. Through his voluntary Safe Home Initiative, he has identified and removed thousands of dangerous household appliances from vulnerable people's homes, replacing each one with a safe alternative free of charge.
