Commercial EICR in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
We inspect and test the fixed wiring in business premises across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and issue a coded condition report to BS 7671:2018+A4:2026. A commercial EICR starts at £300 + VAT, priced on your boards and circuits after a free survey, with the written fixed price usually within one working day. Call 07304 027013.
£2M public liability. Registered in Scotland SC821028. OZEV authorised installer EVHS/WCS14254. Steven Watt also holds City and Guilds 2382-22 BS 7671, 2365-03 installations and 2921-34 EV charging.
What a commercial EICR covers
A commercial EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) is a periodic inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation in business premises, written up on the model form in BS 7671 with every defect coded and an overall verdict of satisfactory or unsatisfactory. It is the same thing facilities managers call fixed wire testing.
The report is the record a duty holder keeps to show the installation is being maintained: the business owner, the facilities manager, or the landlord for the parts of a building the landlord controls. Insurers, letting agents and buyers ask for it by name.
Our inspections are carried out by our own team, led by Steven Watt with Callum working alongside him, under NICEIC enrolment 620239. Tell us the premises and we will tell you what the inspection will cover before you commit to anything. Call 07304 027013.
How much does a commercial EICR cost in Aberdeen?
A commercial EICR from us starts at £300 + VAT for a small unit. Larger premises are priced on what the survey finds, because the time on site follows the number of boards and circuits, not the floor area. You get the figure in writing before we book.
| Price driver | Why it changes the time on site | Useful to tell us |
|---|---|---|
| Distribution boards | Each board is opened, inspected and tested in its own right, with its own schedule of results. | How many boards, and where they are. |
| Final circuits | Every circuit gets measured values on the schedule. A small unit with three busy boards can take longer than a big open store with one. | A rough circuit count, or a photo of each board. |
| Three phase and sub mains | Sub mains, switch disconnectors and machinery supplies add tests and isolation planning. | Any plant, compressors, kitchens or welding bays. |
| Access | Boards behind stock, locked plant rooms, high bay fittings and ceiling voids slow the work or limit what can be reached. | Who holds keys, and whether a lift or tower is needed. |
| Timing | Dead testing needs circuits off. Phased shutdowns, early starts or Saturday mornings are planned in when the quote is written. | Your trading hours and the areas you can spare first. |
| Missing circuit charts | Unlabelled boards mean circuits have to be identified before they can be tested. | Whether the board charts are up to date. |
From £300 + VAT
Included: the visual inspection, the measured tests, the coded report and the schedules of test results for every board we test, with the extent and limitations agreed with you and written on the report.
Not bundled in: remedial work. It is priced separately against the observation numbers, so the inspection never doubles as a sales visit.
Why three quotes for one building can be so far apart
No periodic inspection opens every accessory in a building. It is sampled, and BS 7671 expects the extent of the inspection and its limitations to be agreed and recorded. A cheap quote often means a thin sample. That can be legitimate, but only if you know about it.
Ask every contractor, us included, what proportion of accessories they will open and what the limitations section will say. Our quote states both.
How much does an electrical inspection cost for a home or a rented flat? That is a different job with a different price. See our EICR in Aberdeen page for homes and landlords. For business premises, send us the address and a photo of each board, or call 07304 027013, and we will come back with a fixed price.
Get your commercial EICR priced
From £300 + VAT. Free survey, sampling stated in the quote, and a fixed price in writing, usually within one working day.
Do you need an EICR for a commercial property?
No statute names the EICR, but the duty behind it is real. Regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 says that, as may be necessary to prevent danger, every electrical system must be maintained so as to prevent danger so far as is reasonably practicable. A periodic inspection and test is the accepted way to show you have done that, and it is the first document an insurer or an inspector asks for after an incident.
Who has to arrange it
Owner occupiers and tenants of a whole building carry the duty for the installation they control.
Multi let buildings split it by the lease. The landlord usually keeps the landlord's supply and the common parts, and each tenant the installation inside their unit. If the lease is silent, ask before the insurer does.
Insurers and leases often make a current report a condition, sometimes with a shorter interval than the inspector would recommend. That wording is the deadline that binds first.
What does not apply here
Some pages state that commercial buildings in Scotland must have a new EICR every five years by law. No statute says that. The fixed five year duty in Scotland belongs to private residential lets under the Repairing Standard, and HMOs carry their own rules. For flats, houses and HMOs, see our landlord electrician in Aberdeen page.
Part P has never applied in Scotland, and there is no Building Control notification here. Where remedial work needs a building warrant, it comes from Aberdeen City Council for premises in the city or Aberdeenshire Council for the shire, and we tell you at survey.
What we do about it: we inspect to the current edition, BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, record who asked for the report and why, and put the recommended date for the next inspection on the front page so it goes straight into your compliance diary. Call 07304 027013 if your insurer or landlord has asked for a report by a date.
How often should a commercial EICR be done?
As often as the installation needs, which the inspector sets on the report. The HSE puts it plainly: an installation should be tested often enough that there is little chance of deterioration leading to danger. There is no single legal interval for business premises.
The recommended date for the next inspection is set by the inspector using the IET's guidance on maximum intervals by type of premises, then adjusted for how the building is used and the condition found. A dusty workshop, a commercial kitchen or a site with damp and vibration will be given a shorter interval than a tidy office.
- Earlier than the date on the report if the occupier changes, the use changes, the installation is altered or damaged, or your insurer or lease asks for less.
- Before you take on a lease, so you know what you are inheriting and can agree who pays for the findings.
- Across a portfolio, we can stagger reports so they do not all fall due in the same month.
To keep inspections, remedials and emergency lighting tests on one schedule, see our planned electrical maintenance service, or call 07304 027013 and tell us when your last report was done.
What happens during a commercial electrical inspection
The inspection has two halves: a visual examination, and measured tests that put real numbers on the schedule. Some of those tests need the power off, so the order of work is agreed with you before the day.
- Scope agreed in writingThe extent of the inspection, the sample of accessories to be opened, and anything we cannot reach, all agreed at survey and carried onto the report.
- Safe isolation, one section at a timeCircuits are isolated and locked off in the order you choose, starting with the areas you can spare, so the rest of the building keeps trading.
- Visual inspectionBoards opened, connections, cable condition, labelling, containment and the sampled accessories examined for damage, overheating and wear.
- Dead testsContinuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance and polarity, each recorded as a measured value against the circuit.
- Live testsEarth fault loop impedance, prospective fault current and RCD operating times, measured rather than checked with the test button.
- Report and debriefThe coded report with schedules of inspection and test results. Anything dangerous is explained to you on the day, before we leave site.
How long it takes depends on the number of boards and circuits and how much can be isolated at once. The written quote tells you how long we expect to be on site and which areas will be off when, so nothing is sprung on your staff. Call 07304 027013 to agree a window.
Book your inspection around your trading hours
Isolations planned board by board, agreed in writing before the job is booked.
Industrial units, three phase boards and workshops
Industrial premises get the same report with more to test: switch disconnectors, sub mains to remote boards, and dedicated circuits for compressors, cranes, roller doors and welding bays. The boards below are from our own industrial EICRs in Aberdeen, shown with the client's permission.
Three phase and machinery supplies
On a three phase installation we test each sub main as well as the final circuits, and record how each machine is isolated and protected. Where the inspection shows a board is out of capacity or needs reconfiguring, we can quote the three phase installation work separately.
Emergency lighting and PAT on the same visit
An EICR records the emergency lighting circuits but does not replace the BS 5266 tests. We install, test and certify emergency lighting, and can run the annual full duration test while we are on site. Where tired fittings are better replaced, see commercial LED lighting. NICEIC also lists us for portable appliance testing.
One visit, one price. Tell us at survey whether you want the PAT and the emergency lighting test done alongside the EICR and we will put all three in the same fixed quote. Call 07304 027013.
EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI on a commercial report
Under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, only C1 and C2 observations make an EICR unsatisfactory. C3 and FI are advisory. The four classifications separate dangerous and potentially dangerous conditions from recommendations and advised further investigation.
Immediate action. We tell you on the day and make it safe or isolate it, with your agreement, before we leave. Unsatisfactory.
Urgent remedial action. Most genuine remedial work sits here. Unsatisfactory.
Safe as it is but short of the current standard. Normal on older installations. Advisory.
An identified potential safety issue that could not be fully assessed within the agreed extent and limitations. Advisory, but follow it up promptly.
Restricted access on its own is not a reason for an FI. A locked room or a blocked board is recorded as a limitation, and anything we can establish is coded for what it is. If you hold an older report, check the edition stated on it, because coding guidance has changed over time. Our guide to EICR codes explained has worked examples.
Remedial work and the paperwork that follows
Our remedial quotes are written line by line against the observation numbers on the report, so you can see what each item costs and decide on it with the facts in front of you.
How we price the findings
C1 and C2 remedial work is priced first, because those items decide the overall assessment.
FI investigations are priced as investigations, so you know what finding the answer costs before anything is replaced.
C3 recommendations are listed separately. Where one is not worth doing yet, we say so.
Holding a quote from someone else? Read is your remedial quote justified first, then send us the observations and we will price them against the same numbering.
Documentation after remedials
Once the work is done we test the parts affected and record the work separately from the original report. You get the right certificate for the job: a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate for most repairs, or an Electrical Installation Certificate where a circuit is added or a board is replaced.
Keep that certificate with the original EICR. Any later inspection or report reflects the assessment actually carried out, so your file shows exactly what was found and what was fixed.
For the step by step on a failed report, read what to do after an unsatisfactory EICR.
Unsure what an existing report actually covers? Send it to us. We will tell you what was inspected, what was sampled and what the limitations section leaves out, at no charge. Call 07304 027013.
Unsatisfactory report on your desk?
Send us the observations. We price C1 and C2 remedials and any advised FI investigation separately, then give you the right certificate for the work.
Commercial EICRs across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the north east
City centre offices and shops, business park premises at Dyce, and industrial units at Altens, Tullos and Kirkhill are all within our Aberdeen patch. Further north, the Aberdeenshire towns are covered from our base in Peterhead.
Peterhead and the Buchan coast
Our base is 17 Thomson Road, Peterhead, so harbour businesses, processing units and the Peterhead estates are on our doorstep. For installation work as well as testing in the town, see our commercial electricians in Peterhead.
New fit out or a whole service?
A newly installed fit out gets an Electrical Installation Certificate, not an EICR, so the periodic clock starts from the date on that certificate. See electrical fit outs for Cat A and Cat B work, or our commercial electrician in Aberdeen page for everything else we do for businesses.
An inspector qualified for inspection, not just installation
Reporting on someone else's installation is its own competence, with its own City and Guilds award. Before you appoint anyone, check these against a public register. Ours are below.
Also need a workplace EV charger? We install them from £800 + VAT as an OZEV authorised installer, EVHS/WCS14254, and can survey for one on the same visit as your EICR. Call 07304 027013.
Commercial EICR questions
If yours is not here, call 07304 027013 during office hours and ask it.
How much should a commercial EICR cost?
Our commercial EICRs start at £300 + VAT for a small unit. The final figure depends on the number of distribution boards and final circuits, any three phase sub mains and machinery supplies, access to boards and ceiling voids, and whether testing has to be phased or done early or on a Saturday. We survey free and confirm a fixed price in writing, with remedial work always priced separately.
Do I need an EICR for a commercial property?
No law names the EICR, but the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be maintained so as to prevent danger, so far as is reasonably practicable. A periodic inspection and test is the accepted way to show that. Insurers and commercial leases also commonly make a current report a condition, so most businesses need one in practice.
Is it a legal requirement to have an EICR on commercial property in Scotland?
Not by name. The legal duty is to maintain the installation so it does not cause danger, under regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and it applies in Scotland. The fixed five yearly EICR requirement in Scotland applies to private residential lets under the Repairing Standard, not to business premises.
How often should a commercial EICR be done?
There is no single legal interval for business premises. The inspector recommends the next inspection date on the report, using IET guidance on maximum intervals for the type of premises and adjusting for how the building is used and the condition found. Harsh environments get shorter intervals. Your insurer or lease may set a shorter one, and that is the one to follow.
How much does an electrical inspection cost?
For business premises, our commercial EICR starts at £300 + VAT and is priced on boards and circuits after a free survey. Homes and residential lets are priced differently, and our EICR in Aberdeen page sets out those prices.
What makes a commercial EICR unsatisfactory?
C1 means danger present and requires immediate action. C2 means potentially dangerous and requires urgent remedial action. C3 means improvement recommended. FI means further investigation is advised. Under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, C1 and C2 make the report unsatisfactory, while C3 and FI are advisory and do not themselves affect the overall assessment. FI should still be followed up promptly, and an inaccessible area alone is not an automatic reason to assign it.
Do we have to close while you test?
Usually not. Dead testing needs circuits switched off, but we isolate one section at a time in an order agreed with you, so the rest of the building keeps running. Where a full shutdown is unavoidable, we plan it as an early start or a Saturday morning before the job is booked.
Does a commercial EICR include PAT testing and emergency lighting?
No. An EICR covers the fixed installation. Portable appliance testing and the BS 5266 emergency lighting tests are separate, and we can do both on the same visit and include them in the same fixed quote.
Can you price remedials from another contractor's report?
Yes. Send us the observations and we will price each item against the original numbering, separating C1 and C2 remedial work from C3 recommendations and FI investigations, so you can compare like with like.
Does Part P apply to a commercial EICR in Scotland?
No. Part P is a building regulation for England and Wales and has never applied in Scotland, and there is no Building Control notification here. Where remedial work needs a building warrant, it comes from Aberdeen City Council or Aberdeenshire Council depending on where the premises are.
Book a commercial EICR in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire
Call 07304 027013 or use the form. Tell us the premises, what it is used for and how many boards you think there are. We will survey free, agree the sample and the shutdown plan, and send a fixed price in writing, usually within one working day. From £300 + VAT, with remedials always priced separately.
Request a commercial EICR quote
Faithful Spark Electricians Ltd, 17 Thomson Road, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, AB42 3FJ. Registered in Scotland SC821028. VAT 503 6560 13. NICEIC Approved Contractor 620239. TrustMark 4205123. OZEV EVHS/WCS14254. £2M public liability. Reports issued to BS 7671:2018+A4:2026. Commercial prices exclude VAT and were correct at October 2026.