How much does an electrical safety inspection cost?

An electrical safety inspection can cost anywhere from £80 to £500 or more. There are various companies that are able to undertake an electrical inspection on your property and produce an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR for short). The electrical inspection cost can vary dramatically between companies and whilst shopping around for the cheapest quote is always recommended, care should be taken to ensure that apples are being compared to apples.

As a fully qualified Electrician and Electrical Lecturer, I am familiar with industry practices regarding electrical inspections and know some of the corners that are often cut when producing an electrical safety certificate. You see, a thorough periodic electrical inspection in a typical three bedroomed home should take a few hours not 30 minutes. A lengthy report should be produced detailing any deficiencies, dangers, and non-compliances with BS7671 wiring regulations.

Let’s have a look at the cost of properly conducted electrical inspections from certified electricians in 2025.

1) Electrical Safety Check Costs in homes and premises based on size

​Flats

Studio Flat - £150 - £170
1 Bedroom Flat - £160 - £200
2 Bedroom Flat - £190 - £220
3 Bedroom Flat - £210 - £240

Terraced Houses

2 Bedroom terraced house - £200 - £230
3 Bedroom terraced house - £220 - £260
4 Bedroom terraced house - £250 - £280

Semi-Detached Houses

2 Bedroom Semi Detached House - £220 - £240
3 Bedroom Semi Detached House - £240 - £280
4 Bedroom Semi Detached House - £260 - £320
5 Bedroom Semi Detached House - £280 - £330

Detached Houses

3 Bedroom Detached House - £250 - £290
4 Bedroom Detached House - £270 - £350
5 Bedroom Detached House - £290 - £370
6 Bedroom Detached House - £300 - £400

Small Shops

​£250 - £350

​Large Shops

£350 -£500
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The costs stated above are typical charges for a thorough and correct electrical inspection on a property and should be seen as a guide to allow you to budget for the inspection. Some electricians charge "per circuit" and "per consumer unit" for electrical inspections and these costs can be seen below. Generally, larger homes will cost more to perform electrical safety report testing as there is more work to be done. 

2) Electrical Safety Check Cost based on Number of Circuits

Mains and Consumer Unit Costs are added to the total number of circuits to arrive at your quote. The more electrical circuits that there are the more the inspection is likely to cost.

Consumer Unit and Mains Inspection

​£50-£90 per Consumer Unit or Fuse Box

Circuit Inspection Costs Domestic

​£15-£30 per circuit

Circuit Inspection Costs Commercial

£12-£35 per circuit
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As an Example, a domestic consumer unit may contain anywhere from 4 circuits up to 20 circuits. The more circuits there are to inspect the greater the cost of the inspection. The home's electrical system can contain circuits that really do not need be tested in some cases. For instance, a doorbell circuit that contains only a short piece of cable from the consumer unit to the doorbell transformer would be a waste of time to carry out any testing. A quick visual inspection need only be undertaken in this circumstance and a charge is often not made.

6 Circuit Fuse Box or Consumer Unit

​From £180 to £250

8 Circuit Consumer Unit

​From £200 to £280

10 Circuit Consumer Unit

From £240 to £360

​12 Circuit Consumer unit

​From £280 to £400

3) ​Electrical Safety Inspections in Domestic Homes

​The safety of your home is more important than almost anything else. Faulty wiring and electrical issues can lie undetected for years and may not seem to cause a problem during normal use of the electrical system. It is when a secondary issue occurs that these hidden dangers can come to light. Electricity and electrical systems often have no indication that there is anything wrong or that there are any dangers present and this can lead people to believe that everything is just fine.

In reality, if your home has not been thoroughly inspected by an electrician in the last ten years then it is likely there are a few small issues that may need addressing. These could be minor things NOW but may turn into major things LATER.

4) What kinds of electrical issues can occur?

​An electrical problem can occur without your knowledge and present danger to the persons using the electrical system. Such issues could be Earthing, Bonding, Insulation Degradation, Failure of Electric Shock Protection, Overloading, Loose Wiring Connections, Breaks in Circuits and more.

Lack of Earthing

​Where earthing is not adequate or is missing completely, the electrical system will often appear to function as normal yet GREAT danger exists! Earthing is the safety path for electricity to follow when a fault occurs and as such is absolutely vital for the safe operation of electrical installations. Potential issues arising from a lack of earthing could be frequent shocks, live parts exposed to touch and serious electrical shock or electrocution.

No Bonding

​Bonding is the process of earthing any metal parts in the home that require an earth connection. Such examples could be pipework, structural steel, and oil tanks. Not all pipework need be or should be bonded and a professional electrician is needed to carry out the required tests to check if pipework, the gas meter, or other parts should be bonded.

Insulation Breakdown

​Our wiring is surrounded by an outer sheath on the cable and internally cable insulation. This cable insulation is usually made from PVC and is there to prevent electric shock risk, short circuit problems and insulation faults. When the insulation on the cable begins to degrade, serious electrical hazards can occur and a risk of house fires increases.

Failure of RCD / Electric Shock Protection Measures

An old fuse board or fuse box does not tend to have a Residual Current Device (RCD for short). These devices are often used to protect against electrical shock and are a vital component of any modern consumer unit in electrical installations. These devices should be tested every 6 months by pressing the RCD test button to see if they trip. If the device does not trip then the device should be replaced by your electrician.

Electricians will also perform a more thorough test on these devices during an inspection to ensure that they are tripping quickly enough and at the right electrical current.

Overloading

Overloading can be very dangerous and can result in damage to electrical components and electrical fires. Circuit breakers and other Overcurrent Protective Devices are used to prevent overloading the cables within your home and so long as your electrical system has not been modified since installation, these devices should provide adequate protection against overload.

Loose Wiring

​Loose wires can happen over time and are particularly prevalent in older homes. A thoroughly trained electrician can determine if there may be loose electrical wiring in your home. Various tests are carried out using specialised test equipment and any potential hazards are identified. We measure the resistance of the wiring and compare it to what would be expected for the size of the circuit to check for loose connections.

Circuit Breaks

​Breaks in an electrical circuit can be incredibly dangerous and mean that any overload protection may not work correctly. Most commonly, Ring Final Circuits are often found to be broken in our homes. These circuits supply socket outlets and other electrical outlets such as fused spurs and are commonly adapted, modified, and extended by those that do not understand the dangers!

5) How long is an EICR report?

The length of time taken for an electrical inspection should be proportionate to the size of property and number of electrical circuits. A small studio flat should take no more than 2 hours under most circumstances, a small terraced property 2-4 hours and a 5 bedroom detached property will take up to a full day or more to fully inspect all available electrical circuits.

The physical length of the written report is typically between 5 and 8 pages and should be produced on carbon copy paper or digitally as a PDF document. It will outline any recommended repairs, serious dangers, electrical failures, shock hazards and lack of code compliance where necessary.

6) ​Does outdated wiring need to be replaced?

​Certain types of older wiring should ABSOLUTELY be replaced for new wiring. There is some confusion about this so let’s clear it up. 

Simply because your UK electrical wiring is the OLD COLOURS does not mean it’s time for a rewire. If your wiring is RED and BLACK indicating LINE and NEUTRAL respectively, this simply means that your wiring was installed before the colours changed to Brown and Blue in 2004 - 2005. This means that, as of today in 2025, your wiring is AT LEAST 20 years old. 
Modern PVC wiring installed since around 1960 onwards should last several decades before needing replacing. If your wiring is this old then it is almost certainly coming to, or at the end of its useful life span.

7) What do the Codes mean on Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs)?

​There are a number of electrical codes that apply to an EICR. Each code has a different meaning as follows:

C1 - Immediate Danger Present - Immediate Remedial Action is Required.

C2 - Potential Danger Present - Urgent Remedial Action is Required. 

C3 - Improvement Recommended - Carry out any improvements or recommendations from your electrician

FI – Further Investigation Required – Where the inspector believes that further investigation will lead to the discovery of a C1 or C2 code. 

NOTE - Your electrician has seen something that is worthy of noting but does not attract a code.

For a wealth of information on electrical codes, dangerous situations to which codes would apply and examples, check out our article on Electrical Codes.

8) What do Electrical Repairs cost after an EICR?

​Once the electrical inspection report has been produced, your electrician will normally provide you with a quote for electrical repairs. The cost of these can vary depending upon the type of repairs that are needed.

​New Electrical Panel / Consumer Unit Typical Costs

​£350 - Garage Consumer Unit
£650 - Small Home Consumer Unit
£800 - Large Home Consumer Unit
£1200 - Very Large Home Consumer Unit

​Replacement Light Switches

From £20 per switch
​
Swapping Damaged Light Fixture

​From £50 per light

Upgrading Bonding and Earthing

​From £250 - £400

Replacing Damaged Sockets

​From £20 per socket

Finding and Fixing Loose Connections

​From £100 - £500. Costs depend upon location of hidden faults.

9) When should I have an Electrical Inspection Carried out?

You should have a home electrical inspection carried out every ten years in a private residence. Where you are considering purchasing another residence it’s a good idea to have a thorough professional inspection carried out by an electrician as part of a more comprehensive home inspection. 

Your electrician will inspect and test the electrical system against the current safety standards to see if there are recommendations for improvements, potential electrical hazards or risks of electrical shocks. 

10) Conclusion

Whilst shopping around for the cheapest inspection may seem like a good idea, the costs are normally proportional to the time spent testing, inspecting and reporting on the condition of the installation. It is not possible to complete a thorough periodic electrical inspection on any installation in less than an hour and with larger numbers of circuits, more time is required to check out the electrical system.

If you have any questions or would like to book and electrical safety inspection, please get in touch.