There are various types of electrical certificates that are issued. All certificates are only issued when work has been satisfactorily completed, inspected and tested. The main types of certificates are.

Electrical Installation Certificate

A certificate issued when one or more circuits have been newly installed in commercial or industrial settings, i.e. offices, retail, factory.

Domestic Installation Certificate

A certificate issued when on or more circuits have been newly installed in a domestic setting.

Periodic Inspection Report

A comprehensive certificate issued after the inspection and testing of an existing installation. The Periodic Inspection Report (PIR) should be carried out at regular intervals to determine the state and safety of the wiring in your home, i.e. it is recommended that you have an electrician carry out a PIR for your home every 10 years.

*** As from 2011, Periodic Inspection Reports (PIR) shall be redesigned and renamed as 'Electrical Condition Reports'. This is being done in a much needed attempt to create reports that are easy to read and understand by people with no electrical experience or knowledge. Periodic Inspection Reports are the certificates which are most important to read and understand as they are reports on the condition of existing installations and may contain important recommendations and what has to done to rectify dangerous problems. The reports are very easy for an electrician to read but very hard for a layman to read. Hopefully the new format and new name will make these reports easier to digest.

Portable Appliance Test (PAT test)

A basic test that is carried out to determine the safety of the electrical appliances that are used in commercial and public settings, i.e. workplace, shops, bars, libraries etc. Basically anything with a plug top on needs to be tested. The frequency that the test should take place depends on various factors. It is quite a routine test to carry out, although a certain amount of logistics is required on large scale jobs in order to keeps the labour cost down and to keep down-time to a minimum. Usually for a small business premise, i.e. a small shop or office, all the appliances can be tested for £60, which is the minimum cost at which elec does PAT testing for.

Visual Condition Report / Electrical Safety Check

The purpose of a Visual Condition Report is to determine as far as is reasonably practicable, whether the installation has any visually- evident defects or has suffered any damage or deterioration which may affect safety. Do not be fooled into thinking a Visual Inspection Report, regardless of who it has been carried out by will determine whether the electrical installation is safe or not.

'...due to significant limitations, it is not appropriate to report that an installation is in a satisfactory condition on the basis of visual inspection only' (NICEIC)

Visual Condition Reports are not reports to determine whether an installation is safe or not, rather they are generally used as an indicator for what or if any actions needed to be taken next.