Do I need PAT testing?

Looking for the technical detail? Read the version for professionals → IET Code of Practice 5th Edition. In service inspection methodology and how to set intervals by risk.

Do I need it for my business? Yes.

Why? The law makes you responsible for electrical safety and for keeping your equipment maintained. PAT testing is a cheap and effective safety measure. It is the simplest way to show you are doing everything reasonably practicable.

Does the law say I must do it? No. It says you must maintain electrical equipment so it does not cause danger. It does not say how. But if you are not testing, ask yourself how you will prove it instead.

Where people get ripped off is not on whether to do it. It is on how much and how often and at what price. That is what the rest of this page is about.

What the law actually requires

Northern Ireland: the equivalent duty is in the Electricity at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991. Same position in substance.

Why "yes" is still the right answer

Say something goes wrong. A fire or an electric shock or an insurance claim. The question you will be asked is: what did you do to maintain your equipment?

"Nothing, because the law does not say PAT" is not an answer anyone wants to give to an HSE inspector or an insurer or a solicitor. A test record and a certificate from a competent person is. It costs a few pounds an item and it is the evidence trail that most clearly shows a reasonable employer doing a reasonable thing.

So the buyer's decision is not whether. It is how much and how often and what it costs. Get those right and PAT is one of the cheapest lines on your compliance budget. Get them wrong and it is one of the most padded.

What a proportionate programme looks like

You need two layers. Both of them. Neither replaces the other.

Layer 1: your own visual checks, always

Staff look at equipment before they use it. Damaged cable. Cracked casing. Scorch marks. A loose or overheating plug. Taped up repairs. Anything that fails the look is taken out of use and reported. A named person in your business keeps a simple note of what was found and what was done.

This costs nothing and it catches most faults before they hurt anyone. It is what HSE expects every employer to be doing regardless of any testing regime. It is not optional and it is not a substitute for Layer 2.

Layer 2: formal inspection and testing by a competent engineer, always

This is the safety net and the proof. A competent engineer inspects and tests the equipment. The results go on an asset register and a certificate is issued. That certificate is what your insurer or landlord or an inspector will actually ask to see.

Should I buy a tester and do this myself? Not unless someone in your business is competent. Competent means trained to do the checks and to use the tester and to read the results. If they are not, a faulty item can be marked as safe. You are not paying for someone to press a button on a tester. You are paying for someone who knows what an unsafe appliance looks like and which failures matter. You are paying for their name on a certificate. That is proof a safety measure was taken by someone competent to take it. A DIY test with no engineer's name on it is weaker evidence when it counts. For a few pounds an item the saving is not worth the exposure.

How often: the simple plan

Most ordinary commercial premises do not need everything tested every year. That covers offices and shops and salons and small workshops. Here is the plan in plain English.

Before every use. Whoever is about to use an item checks it by eye. Look at the cable and the plug and the casing. Look for scorch marks.

At least every 12 months. A trained and competent person does a formal visual check of everything and writes it down.

A full test at least every 2 years for ordinary items. Things that sit still on a desk. Computers and monitors and printers and desk lamps.

A full test every year for higher risk items. Anything handheld or moved often. Anything used near heat or water. That means kettles and toasters and heaters and hairdryers. It means floor cleaners and extension leads and hand tools. It means anything in a commercial kitchen.

Power tools on building sites every 3 months. Site kit takes a beating whatever the premises.

The first visit should test everything. That builds your asset register. Every item with its location and its result. Without the register you cannot manage anything.

Why it is built that way. The legal duty is "maintain to prevent danger" and not "test annually". This plan keeps every item under a formal check every year and under a full test at least every two. The items most likely to fail are tested every year. It is also the honest answer to the everything every year model most of the trade runs. The detail behind it comes from the IET Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (5th edition). The Code sets intervals by risk. It does not require everything every year.

What the plan does not cover. It is a simple plan and not a check of each item's risk. Anything with a damage history or kept somewhere wet or hot or dusty moves into the yearly full test. A construction site needs a programme designed for it.

Ask your engineer to set the interval on the certificate. If you have items that need testing more often than the plan above then ask the engineer to put the shorter interval on the certificate. A good contractor will do this without being asked. One who cannot explain why an item needs testing more often is guessing or selling.

What it should cost

A small premises with up to about 20 items: about £130. An office or shop with 40 to 100 items: about £210. Larger sites: about £1.50 an item. Most contractors apply a minimum charge of about £110 a visit. A formal visual costs about half a full test. The larger or more complicated your premises, the more likely the price will be bespoke and will change. All prices exclude VAT. They are typical for work done in normal hours, Monday to Friday. Prices may vary across the country and by type of business. If you are quoted materially more then ask what you are paying for.

Where these prices come from. We take the middle of every published price we could find for each size of site. Then we use the higher of the average and the middle value. Checked 30 October 2026.

• Fantastic Services, PAT testing cost 2026
• MyJobQuote, PAT testing cost in the UK (2026)
• Safelincs, PAT testing
• MyConstructor, PAT testing prices
• elec.training, How much should you charge for PAT testing?
• squote, PAT testing pricing guide
• Trade2Base, Electrical testing and inspection pricing UK (2026)
• Hexo, PAT testing prices
• Duotest, PAT testing prices (2026)

Figures are typical prices taken from published commercial price guides and checked October 2026. Same method on every page. Larger or more complex premises sit above them.

Check what else your business needs

PAT is one small part of electrical safety. Your fixed wiring (EICR), your fire risk assessment and your general risk assessment matter far more. Run the Compliance Check to see what applies to your premises.