EICR vs EIC vs Minor Works Certificate: Which One Do You Need?

Landlords, buyers and letting agents in London often ask for "an electrical certificate" without knowing there are three different documents, each for a different job. Asking for the wrong one wastes a visit. Here is what each certificate is for and when you need it.

EICR: the check on an existing installation

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is an inspection and test of wiring that is already in place. Nothing new is installed. The electrician checks the consumer unit, tests every circuit, inspects sockets, switches and fittings, and codes anything wrong as C1, C2, C3 or FI.

• Needed by private landlords before a new tenancy and at least every five years.
• Often requested when buying or selling a home, or for HMO licences.
• Recommended for owner-occupiers every ten years, or when moving in.

An EICR in London with Energy North starts from £100, with the report emailed the same day.

EIC: the certificate for new work

An Electrical Installation Certificate is issued when new circuits are installed or a whole installation is replaced: a new consumer unit, a full or partial rewire, a new circuit for a kitchen extension or an EV charger. It confirms the new work was designed, installed and tested to BS 7671. Notifiable work in a home also has to be registered with Building Control, which a registered electrician does through their scheme.

• Issued after a consumer unit change, rewire or new circuit.
• Keep it with the property paperwork. Buyers' solicitors ask for it.
• It is a different document from the landlord's five-yearly EICR, so keep both.

Minor Works Certificate: small changes to an existing circuit

A Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate covers additions or alterations that do not add a new circuit: an extra socket on an existing ring, moving a light switch, replacing a damaged fitting with a different type. It is a single page and covers only that change.

• Used for small jobs and many EICR remedial repairs.
• Landlords need it, or an EIC, as written proof that C1 and C2 items have been fixed.

Which one do you need?

• Letting a property or renewing every five years: EICR.
• New consumer unit, rewire or new circuit: EIC.
• Small change or repair to an existing circuit: Minor Works.
• Failed EICR: the repairs come with an EIC or Minor Works, which you keep with the original report.

One visit, the right paperwork

Energy North is a registered electrical contractor working across North, East and West London. Tell us what the certificate is for when you book and we will issue the right one. If you are fitting a home charger, the EV charger installation comes with its own EIC and Building Control notification.

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