The short answer

For most commercial premises, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is required every five years, or on change of occupancy or use, whichever is sooner.

That is the default. The interval can be shorter than five years where the premises is higher-risk, and it can occasionally be longer where the building is low-occupancy and low-risk — though “longer than five years” is rare in commercial practice and most insurers will not accept it.

This article goes deeper than the headline answer: who decides the interval, what changes it, what happens between EICRs, and what a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory report actually means.

Who decides the interval

The interval is set by the qualified person carrying out the inspection, not by the customer. They make that decision using BS 7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations) and the IET’s Guidance Note 3: Inspection and Testing. The decision is influenced by:

The type of premises (office, retail, industrial, education, public assembly)
The age and condition of the installation
The occupancy pattern (24/7 production vs Monday-to-Friday office)
The presence of higher-risk elements (industrial machinery, swimming pools, theatres, kitchens)
The history of faults and previous report findings

The interval is recorded on the cover sheet of the EICR. The next inspection date is the legal pointer landlords, FMs and procurement teams should keep in their compliance calendar.

Typical commercial intervals

These are not regulatory minimums — they are what the IET recommends and what most inspectors apply in practice:

Commercial premises (offices, shops, hospitality) — every 5 years
Industrial sites — every 3 to 5 years, depending on the production environment
Educational establishments — every 5 years (some local authorities run 3-year cycles)
Healthcare premises — every 5 years
Public assembly (theatres, cinemas, places of worship) — every 1 to 3 years
Petrol filling stations — every year (and quarterly visual inspection)
Construction sites — every 3 months while active
Swimming pools, leisure facilities — every year

For most readers of this article, the answer is 5 years.

What triggers an early EICR

Even if you are not yet at the 5-year mark, an EICR should be carried out:

On change of occupancy — a new tenant or business taking over the premises
On significant change of use — converting office to retail, or retail to assembly use
After significant alteration — major rewiring, new circuits, or new distribution boards
After a fault or incident — fire, flood, lightning strike, electric shock to a user
On insurer request — some commercial policies require an EICR before renewal
On request by an authority — the Health and Safety Executive or local enforcement

The duty-holder under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is responsible for arranging this. For let property that is almost always the landlord, regardless of who occupies.

What an EICR involves

The inspection itself is delivered to BS 7671. The qualified person:

Strips and visually inspects every distribution board in scope
Tests a sample of final circuits (the sample size is set by BS 7671 and disclosed on the report)
Verifies earthing and bonding by inspection and resistance test
Verifies protective devices (RCDs, RCBOs, MCBs, fuses)
Photographs and documents any observations
Codes each observation as C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous), C3 (improvement recommended), or FI (further investigation required)

A report with any C1 or C2 codes is classed as Unsatisfactory and triggers remedial work. C3 codes alone do not fail the report.

Between EICRs: what else is required

The 5-year cycle is the headline number, but it is not the only electrical compliance activity. Between EICRs, most commercial premises should also be doing:

PAT testing of portable appliances — frequency depends on equipment class and environment (annually for higher-risk Class I equipment in commercial use is typical)
Emergency lighting tests — monthly function tests and annual full-duration tests under BS 5266-1
Fire alarm tests — weekly user tests and 6-monthly engineer inspections under BS 5839

A planned electrical maintenance (PPM) contract sequences all of these activities on one calendar with one contractor, with the EICR slotted in at the appropriate year of the cycle.

What you get on completion

For each EICR we carry out we deliver:

PDF EICR within 48 hours of completion, signed by a qualified person
Remedial-works quote within 48 hours where any C1 or C2 is coded
Re-issued Satisfactory EICR after remedials complete
Next-test date logged in our system — we will prompt you when you are six months out

When to start planning

If your last EICR is more than four years old, start planning now. Coordinating an EICR across a working business takes one to two weeks of lead time at standard pace, longer if the premises is multi-tenant or 24/7.

If you are unsure when your last EICR was carried out, the certificate should be on file with your facilities team, your landlord, or the contractor who issued it. If none of them have it, treat the premises as overdue.

How often does a commercial EICR need to be done?