If your building or property has had an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) recently, it’s worth knowing that the rules around who is qualified to carry one out are about to get stricter.

An EICR is the inspection report that confirms whether a building’s fixed electrical wiring and installations are safe. It’s already a legal requirement for private and social landlords in England, and the accepted way for commercial premises to demonstrate compliance under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. The inspection is assessed against BS 7671 – the national standard for electrical installations, currently in its 18th Edition.

What is changing: from 1 October 2026, every individual carrying out an EICR must hold a recognised Level 3 qualification in inspection and testing, along with at least two years’ documented experience. Until now, a single qualified person at company level could effectively cover a whole team. That is no longer going to be acceptable.

This matters for anyone commissioning an EICR. If the person who turns up to carry out the inspection does not hold the right individual qualification, the report will not satisfy your legal obligations. It’s a simple question to ask upfront: not just “is the company accredited?” but “does the engineer doing the work hold a Level 3 qualification in periodic inspection and testing?”

From October 2025, scheme assessors are already recording non-conformances against firms that cannot meet the new individual standard. Enforcement follows from October 2026.

Sources: BS 7671:2018+A2:2022, IET Wiring Regulations (electrical.theiet.org) | Electrotechnical Assessment Specification EAS 2024 (learntradeskills.co.uk)