Sector guide
EICR Testing for Offices
EICR testing for offices — meeting your duties as an employer or landlord, minimising downtime, and keeping staff and equipment safe under BS 7671.
For offices, an EICR is the practical way to demonstrate that the electrical installation is safe for staff, visitors and the equipment the business relies on. Whether you are the employer occupying the space or the landlord letting it, periodic inspection and testing helps you meet your legal duties and protect a busy, equipment-heavy environment.
Who is responsible in an office
- Landlords are responsible for the fixed installation they provide, and for common parts in multi-let buildings.
- Employers and occupiers have duties under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 to maintain the installation and equipment in a safe condition.
Lease terms usually set out who arranges the EICR — but the underlying safety duty rests with whoever controls the installation.
Why offices need careful planning
Offices combine high occupancy with sensitive, always-on systems — servers, comms rooms, access control and HVAC. Testing must protect these while still being thorough. In practice that means:
- visual inspection and non-disruptive live tests during the working day;
- circuit isolations scheduled out of hours or during quiet periods;
- clear identification of critical circuits that must not be interrupted without notice.
What the EICR covers in an office
- Consumer units and distribution boards feeding lighting, small power and mechanical services.
- RCD protection for socket circuits used by general staff and cleaners.
- Earthing and bonding, including to metallic services and comms infrastructure.
- Signs of overload on circuits serving dense workstation clusters or server rooms.
Managing the result
Observations are coded C1, C2, C3 or FI. Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory and should be remediated by a competent person and certified. C3 items are improvement recommendations. We quote remedial work separately from the inspection so the report stays impartial and you can see exactly what needs doing and why.
Keeping offices continuously compliant
Record the next inspection date and, across a property or portfolio, keep a single compliance calendar covering EICRs, emergency lighting and fire alarm servicing. That coordinated approach keeps a busy office both safe and demonstrably compliant with minimal disruption to the working day.
Frequently asked questions
How often does an office need an EICR?
Offices are commonly inspected every 5 years, subject to risk assessment. Higher-occupancy or heavily-serviced offices, or those with older installations, may warrant a shorter interval as recommended on the previous report.
Can office EICR testing be done out of hours?
Yes. Circuit isolations can be scheduled for evenings or weekends so that trading and IT systems are unaffected during the working day. We plan the programme around your occupancy and critical systems.
This article provides general guidance and distinguishes legislation, British Standards and good practice. It is not legal advice. Always confirm the specific duties applying to your property and tenure.