There is no legal interval for a commercial EICR. The law requires the electrical installation to be maintained so that danger is prevented, and the date of the next inspection is set by the electrician who carries out the last one — in practice five years for most Nottingham offices, shops and small commercial units, three years for industrial premises, and every year where the environment is hard on the wiring. An EICR — an Electrical Installation Condition Report, often called fixed wire testing — is a periodic inspection and test of a building's fixed wiring: distribution boards, circuits, sockets and everything hard-wired in between. It is work for a qualified, registered electrician, and nothing here asks you to open a board. How often does a commercial property need an EICR? At least every five years for most premises, and sooner if the last report said so. Electrical Safety First puts the general rule as intervals not exceeding five years, or sooner if specified. If you already hold an EICR, its front page carries a recommended date for the next inspection — that date is the authoritative answer for your building, because a competent person set it against your actual installation. With no previous report, the first inspection establishes both the condition and the interval. What does the law actually require? The duty sits under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. Regulation 4(2) reads: "As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, such danger." That is a standard of condition, not a diary date. The Health and Safety Executive is explicit about it: there is no legal requirement for inspection and testing at set intervals, and the requirement is simply to maintain the installation in a safe condition, on a risk-based basis. BS 7671 is not law, but the HSE notes that complying with it is likely to achieve compliance with the regulations. The duty is continuous; the EICR is the evidence you are meeting it. What sets commercial EICR frequency in Nottingham? BS 7671 asks for the interval to be set by the type of installation and equipment, its use and operation, the frequency and quality of maintenance, and the external influences on it. In practice: what the building does, since a quiet office on Arnold's high street and a workshop running machinery behind it are not the same electrical risk; who is in it, because public access and headcount raise the consequences of a fault; the environment, as damp, dust, heat, vibration and outdoor circuits age an installation faster; and what has changed — a refit, a change of use, a new tenant, or load added by catering equipment, machinery or EV chargepoints. What are the recommended inspection intervals by premises type? The IET publishes recommended frequencies in Guidance Note 3 to BS 7671. Its table is titled "recommended initial frequencies of inspection of electrical installations" — a starting point for a new installation, and a recommendation rather than a legal requirement. Premises Commonly recommended maximum interval Where the figure comes from Offices, shops and general commercial units 5 years, or at change of occupancy Industry practice, from IET Guidance Note 3 Industrial premises 3 years, or at change of occupancy Industry practice, from IET Guidance Note 3 Launderettes 1 year IET guidance Rented residential accommodation 5 years, or change of occupancy — a legal duty in England Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 Rented homes are the exception: that one genuinely is a fixed legal interval. Commercial premises have no equivalent, which is why the date on your own report matters more than any published table. How can you check whether your commercial EICR is due? A paperwork and observation check. It needs no electrical knowledge, and it stops where an electrician is needed. • Find the last EICR. The front page gives the inspection date and a recommended date for the next one. Past or close, it is due. No report anywhere? Ask the landlord or managing agent before assuming none exists. • Check the outcome and the remedials. Satisfactory or unsatisfactory — and were the coded items actually put right and certified, rather than just noted? • List what has changed since. New tenant, refit, change of use, added machinery, catering equipment, EV chargepoints or outdoor circuits. • Note what you have seen in normal use. Breakers tripping repeatedly, warm or discoloured sockets, flickering lighting, a smell of burning. Write it down and pass it on. • Stop there. Do not open a distribution board, remove covers or test anything. If you can smell burning, see scorching or see exposed conductors, keep people away from it and call an electrician straight away. • Book with a registered electrician, and check the register rather than the logo on the van. The Government-authorised search at electricalcompetentperson.co.uk takes a postcode or a company name; NAPIT also publishes its own member register. Who is responsible for a commercial EICR — the landlord or the tenant? Under the Electricity at Work Regulations the duty falls on those in control of the electrical system, which in an occupied building usually means the employer operating in it as well as the owner. Who arranges and pays is a separate question, answered by the lease rather than by electrical regulations — read your own lease, and take that one to your solicitor or surveyor. Insurers have an interest too, and what your policy requires is a question for your broker. What happens if a commercial EICR comes back unsatisfactory? Observations are coded C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous) and FI (further investigation required). Any of the three makes the report unsatisfactory, and a C1 is normally made safe on the day. The rest becomes remedial work to be quoted, carried out and certified. An unsatisfactory report is a list, not a verdict on the building — it is the untouched list that causes difficulty later. Frequently asked questions Is a commercial EICR a legal requirement? The report is not required by name, but the duty behind it is. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require systems to be maintained so as to prevent danger, and the HSE states there is no legal requirement to inspect at set intervals — only to keep the installation safe. A periodic EICR is how that is normally shown. Is PAT testing the same as an EICR? No. An EICR covers the fixed wiring — distribution boards, circuits, sockets, switches and fixed equipment. Portable appliance testing covers items that plug in, such as kettles, computers and power tools. Most businesses need both, on different cycles, and one does not substitute for the other. Does a change of tenant trigger a new EICR? It is a common trigger rather than an automatic legal one. Published guidance frequently pairs the recommended interval with "or at change of occupancy", because a new occupier often brings a different use, a different load and a refit. A report from the previous tenancy may no longer describe the installation in front of you. How long does a commercial EICR take, and will the power be off? It depends on the number of distribution boards and circuits, so we give an estimate once we have seen the schedule rather than beforehand. Part of the testing is done with circuits isolated, so some loss of supply is unavoidable. For shops and busy premises it is usually scheduled out of hours or in stages. Commercial EICRs with Somo Electrical Somo Electrical is a NAPIT-registered electrical contractor carrying out electrical testing and inspections and commercial electrical work across Nottingham, including Arnold , Carlton and Beeston. We agree the extent of the inspection before we start, work out of hours where premises cannot lose supply during trading, and set the next date on what we find rather than on a standard figure. To arrange an inspection, call Somo Electrical on 07733 666004 or use our online quote form . Every installation is different, so we look at the premises before pricing. Sources checked 7 August 2026: the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 on legislation.gov.uk; HSE guidance on electrical inspection and testing; the IET on BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 and Guidance Note 3 Table 3.2; Electrical Safety First on periodic inspection; Aviva's loss prevention standard. Intervals quoted are recommendations, not legal requirements.