Guide
EICR codes explained: C1, C2, C3 and FI
One letter and one digit against each observation decides whether a report is satisfactory, what has to be fixed and by when. C3 looks like a failure and is not one.
The four codes
C1 means danger present. Something is live and reachable now, and the inspector makes it safe before leaving rather than writing it down and going. A C1 on a report should always be accompanied by a note saying what was done about it on the day.
C2 means potentially dangerous. Nothing is live and reachable today, and a foreseeable fault or a single further failure would make it so. Missing earthing to a lighting circuit is the classic example. C3 means improvement recommended: the installation is safe and does not meet the current standard, which is true of almost every installation older than the standard. FI means further investigation is required, usually because something could not be reached or tested.
What makes a report unsatisfactory
Any C1, any C2, or any FI. That is the whole rule. A report covered in C3 observations and nothing else is satisfactory, and it is the normal outcome for a sound installation that was wired to an earlier edition of the standard.
This matters because a report with eleven observations is not worse than one with two until you have read the codes. Landlords in particular benefit from knowing that the regulations require the C1, C2 and FI items to be addressed and leave C3 items optional, so a remedial quote can price the two separately.
What has to happen next
In a rented property, remedial work on the C1, C2 and FI items has to be completed within 28 days of the report, or sooner if the report specifies, and written confirmation goes to the tenant and to the council if they have asked for it.
In an owner occupied house nobody can compel anything. The report is still the list a surveyor will read during a sale, and C3 items are worth doing when a room is being decorated or a floor is up for another reason, which is almost always the cheapest moment.
The observations that come up most
No residual current protection on socket circuits. A lighting circuit with no earth conductor, which is standard in houses wired before the late sixties and rules out metal fittings. Main protective bonding missing or undersized at the gas and water entry points. A plastic consumer unit under a wooden staircase.
None of those means an installation is dangerous today. All of them are worth understanding before agreeing to a quote, and it is worth asking the inspector to spend ten minutes walking through the report with you.
Worth knowing
A report is unsatisfactory if anything on it is coded C1 or C2, or marked FI for further investigation. C3 is an improvement recommendation and does not on its own make a report fail, which is the distinction most disputes turn on.
IET Guidance Note 3 classification codes, as used on the model EICR
Worth knowing
A report is valid for at most five years and for less if it says so. The inspector sets the next date on the report itself, and that date rather than the five year default is the one that counts.
Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulation 3(2)
Common questions
Does a C3 have to be fixed?
No, in any property. A C3 is a recommendation and does not affect the verdict. It is a good list to work through opportunistically.
Can the same electrician inspect and then do the remedials?
Yes, and it is common and convenient. You are also free to have the remedial work done by any competent electrician.
How long does an unsatisfactory report stay unsatisfactory?
Until the C1, C2 and FI items are addressed and confirmed in writing. The original report is not reissued; the confirmation sits alongside it.
Where to go from here
- EICREICR costLandlord certificatesLandlord certificates costEarthing and bondingEarthing and bonding costFuse box replacementFuse box replacement cost