A C2 code on an EICR means the electrician found something potentially dangerous — not a live risk at the moment they looked, but a fault that could cause an electric shock or a fire if it is left alone. Any C1, C2 or FI code makes the whole report unsatisfactory. A C3 on its own does not, and does not have to be fixed. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) inspects a property's fixed wiring, and every fault it finds gets a code. Those four codes decide whether the report passes, what you are obliged to do, and what the bill afterwards looks like. What do the EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI mean? The codes come from the model EICR forms published with BS 7671, the national standard for electrical installations. They describe how serious a fault is, not how expensive it is to put right. Code What it means Does it fail the report? What has to happen C1 Danger present. There is a risk of injury right now. Yes Acted on immediately — made safe or the circuit isolated before the electrician leaves. C2 Potentially dangerous. Safe as it sits, unsafe if something else fails. Yes Urgent remedial work by a qualified electrician. C3 Improvement recommended. Falls short of the current standard but is not dangerous. No Nothing. Your choice entirely. FI Further investigation required. Something could not be confirmed on the day. Yes The investigation commissioned, then re-coded on what it finds. One C2 anywhere in a fifteen-page report is enough to make the whole thing unsatisfactory, however much of the installation was fine. What does a C2 code mean on an EICR? It means a fault that is not hurting anyone today but is one failure away from doing so — an exposed live part behind an accessory, missing or undersized main protective bonding to the gas and water services, no RCD protection where it is needed, damaged cable insulation, or signs of overheating at a connection. A C2 is a judgement call made against the standard, and two competent electricians can occasionally disagree on a borderline item. That is why a good report records what was observed and where, rather than just the code. If yours says "C2 — bonding" and nothing else, ask for the detail. Does a C3 code have to be fixed? No. A C3 is a recommendation, and a report with nothing but C3s is satisfactory. A rented property with only C3s is legally lettable and needs no remedial work at all. This is worth knowing because C3s are where unnecessary work gets sold. Common ones — a plastic consumer unit enclosure, no circuit chart on the board, no RCD on a circuit that did not require one when it was installed — are genuine improvements, not obligations, and none of them are urgent. What does it cost to fix an unsatisfactory EICR? Remedial work is priced per fault, after the report exists, because until somebody has inspected the installation there is nothing to price. Anyone quoting a fixed "EICR remedial" figure before seeing the report is guessing. Somo publishes ranges for the jobs we have costed properly, and prices the rest from the report. What the report found Usual code What putting it right involves Somo's price Consumer unit with no or inadequate RCD protection C2 or C3 Replacement consumer unit, full test, Electrical Installation Certificate £600 – £1,000 Widespread deteriorated wiring across most circuits C2 Full rewire — the point at which repairs stop being economic £4,000 – £6,000 for a 3-bed semi Main protective bonding missing or undersized C2 Bonding conductors run to the gas and water services Priced from the report Damaged accessory, exposed live part, loose or overheated connection C1 or C2 Replace or remake the connection, then test that circuit Priced from the report Circuit that could not be verified on the day FI Targeted investigation, then re-coded on what it finds Priced from the report The inspection itself, rental property — Full EICR and report £170 – £250 None of these are quotes. Property age, access, the number of circuits involved and whether plaster has to be chased all move them, and the only way to know your number is for somebody to look at the actual installation. Our guide to consumer unit replacement costs covers the most common one in more detail. How long do you have to fix an unsatisfactory EICR? If you are a landlord in England, 28 days from the report — or sooner, if the report specifies a shorter period for a particular fault. That comes from the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. You then supply written confirmation that the work is done to the tenant and to the local housing authority within 28 days of completion. Written confirmation means a certificate from whoever did the work — an Electrical Installation Certificate or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate — not an invoice. Keep it with the original unsatisfactory report; the pair together is what evidences compliance. Our guide to landlord EICR penalties covers what missing it can cost. If you are an owner-occupier, no deadline applies — a C1 or C2 is still worth acting on, but it is a safety decision rather than a legal one. What should you ask for before agreeing to remedial work? An unsatisfactory report is the moment you have least information and most pressure, so it is the moment to slow down. Four things to ask for: • The quote itemised against the codes. Every line should map to a numbered observation. A lump sum for "remedials" tells you nothing about what you are buying. • The C3s separated out , so they stay your decision rather than part of a total. • Which certificate you get at the end — an Electrical Installation Certificate for new or altered circuits, a Minor Works Certificate for smaller jobs. • A second opinion, if a report leads straight to a rewire. Sometimes that is the right answer, but it should be justified by the observations, not by one sentence at the bottom of the report. All of that is reading a document and asking questions. The inspection, the testing and every remedial job that follows are work for a qualified, registered electrician, and nothing here is an instruction to open a consumer unit or touch a circuit. Frequently asked questions Is a C2 a fail on an EICR? Yes. A single C2 anywhere in the report makes the overall result unsatisfactory, no matter how much of the installation was found to be in good order. It sits alongside C1 and FI as a failing code. Only C3 observations can appear on a report that is still marked satisfactory. Can I rent out a property with an unsatisfactory EICR? Not without acting on it. The duty in England is to carry out the remedial or investigative work within 28 days of the report, or sooner if the report specifies, and to confirm in writing to the tenant and the council once it is done. Whether your particular situation is compliant is a question for your own adviser. Who decides what code a fault gets? The inspecting electrician, judged against BS 7671 and the model forms published with it. There is guidance on common codings, but it is professional judgement rather than a lookup table, so borderline items can be coded differently by different inspectors. A well-written report records the observation itself, which lets anyone else see the reasoning. Does the electrician who did my EICR have to do the remedial work? No. You are free to have the work done by any qualified, registered electrician, and getting a second price on a large remedial list is reasonable. Whoever does it issues the certificate for it. Some landlords deliberately separate inspection from remedial work to keep the two decisions independent. How long does an EICR take? For a typical Nottingham house, two to four hours, with the power off circuit by circuit while testing is carried out. Larger properties, or ones with many circuits or poor access to the consumer unit, take longer. The report itself normally follows within a day or two rather than on the spot. EICRs and remedial work with Somo Electrical Somo Electrical is a NAPIT-registered electrical contractor carrying out EICRs and electrical safety certificates across Nottingham, including West Bridgford , Beeston and Arnold. We write reports that say what was observed and where, price remedial work itemised against the numbered observations, and separate the C3s so they stay your decision. If you have an unsatisfactory report from somebody else and want it read through before you commit, we are happy to do that. Call 07733 666004 or use our online quote form . Landlord duties are set out on GOV.UK, and Electrical Safety First publishes plain-English guidance on what an EICR covers. Sources checked 18 August 2026: the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/312, amended by SI 2025/1043); GOV.UK guidance for landlords on electrical safety standards; the model EICR forms published with BS 7671:2018. Prices are Somo Electrical's own ranges, not national averages, and are not quotes. Not legal advice.