Commercial EICR testing that keeps your sites trading.
Fixed-wire inspection for offices, retail, hospitality, warehousing and industrial premises — carried out out-of-hours, circuit by circuit, with insurer-ready certification for a single unit or a national portfolio.
The obligation isn't optional.
A valid Electrical Installation Condition Report is how a business demonstrates its fixed wiring is being maintained in a safe condition. Several overlapping duties make it a practical necessity.
- Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. Regulation 4(2) places a duty on the duty-holder to maintain electrical systems so far as is reasonably practicable to prevent danger. Periodic inspection is the accepted means of evidencing it.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The general duty to protect employees and the public extends to the electrical installation they work in and around.
- Insurance policy conditions. Commercial property and buildings insurers routinely require a current, satisfactory EICR — a lapsed report can invalidate cover after a fire or electrical incident.
- Commercial lease obligations. Repairing and full-tenant covenants frequently oblige the tenant or landlord to keep the installation certified and to hand it back in a compliant state.
Maximum inspection frequency by premises type.
Guidance figures drawn from IET recommendations (as published in the Guidance Note on periodic inspection). The report may specify a shorter interval where the condition or use of the installation warrants it.
5 years
General commercial office accommodation and let workspace.
5 years
High-street units, retail parks and shopping-centre demises.
3 years
Factories, workshops and light-industrial premises.
5 years
Restaurants, bars, hotels and catering kitchens.
1–3 years
Cinemas, theatres and public entertainment venues.
3 years
Farms, glasshouses and land-based holdings.
1 year
Touring, static and holiday-park pitch supplies.
1 year
Forecourts and hazardous-area (DSEAR) installations.
Tested around your operating hours.
A fixed-wire test means isolating circuits, and on a live commercial site that has to be planned. We work to your rota rather than ours.
- Out-of-hours and overnight. Evening and night visits so shops, offices and kitchens test with the doors shut.
- Weekend attendance. Saturday and Sunday slots for premises that can't release circuits mid-week.
- Phased, circuit-by-circuit testing. Large installations are split across visits so no more than a small section is ever isolated at once — tills, servers and cold storage stay live.
- A method statement in advance. Every commercial job is booked with an agreed isolation plan and RAMS before the engineer sets foot on site.
Sectors served and portfolio programmes run.
From single unit to national estate
Commercial landlords, managing agents, retail chains, hospitality groups, offices, warehousing and logistics, education and healthcare — each with sector-appropriate documentation and access requirements built in.
One point of contact
Multi-site clients get a single point of contact and a named account manager who owns the schedule end to end — one relationship covering every property, not a fresh booking for each.
Consolidated reporting portal
Every certificate, asset schedule and remedial quote in one place, with a rolling programme that flags renewals ahead of expiry so no site falls out of certification.
“We handed Polarity a portfolio of 63 retail units mid-lease and asked them to bring every EICR back into date without closing a single store. They tested overnight, kept us to one account manager, and cleared the backlog inside a quarter — the portal now tells me exactly what's due before our insurer ever asks.”
Survey, schedule, test, certify.
Survey & scope
We review your site list, board counts and existing certificate dates, then return a fixed price and a rolling schedule per premises.
Plan access
Your account manager agrees isolation windows, out-of-hours slots and RAMS with each site or managing agent.
Inspect & test
Directly-employed engineers carry out phased, circuit-by-circuit testing, photographing every coded observation.
Certify & track
Signed EICRs and remedial quotes land in the portal within five working days, with renewals tracked automatically.
Documentation your insurer will accept.
- Signed EICR per site. A model-form Electrical Installation Condition Report for each premises, certified against BS 7671.
- Asset & circuit schedules. A full schedule of distribution boards and circuits, so future works and re-tests start from a known baseline.
- Itemised remedial quotations. Any C1 or C2 observation priced line by line, so you can approve, defer or tender with full visibility.
- Insurer-ready documentation. Certificates and evidence packaged the way underwriters and auditors expect, ready to submit on request.
Straight answers before you commission.
Managing an estate and need a tailored programme? Call 0330 043 8871 or email info@polarityelectrics.com to speak to an account manager.
Talk to usHow often does a commercial installation need an EICR?
It depends on the premises type. IET guidance sets maximum recommended intervals of five years for offices, shops and hospitality, three years for industrial, agricultural and horticultural premises, one to three years for leisure venues, and one year for caravan or holiday parks and petrol filling stations. The report itself will state the next inspection date, which may be sooner if condition or use warrants it.
Is a commercial EICR a legal requirement?
There is no single statute that names the EICR, but the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require the duty-holder to maintain electrical systems to prevent danger, and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 imposes a broader duty of care. Periodic inspection and testing is the recognised way to demonstrate compliance, and most commercial insurers and leases require a current, satisfactory report.
Will testing disrupt trading or operations?
It shouldn't. We schedule commercial work out-of-hours, overnight or at weekends, and split large installations into phased, circuit-by-circuit visits so only a small section is ever isolated at a time. Tills, servers, refrigeration and security stay live throughout.
Can you cover a portfolio of sites across the country?
Yes. Multi-site clients get a single point of contact and a named account manager, a consolidated reporting portal, and a rolling schedule that keeps every property in certification. We operate nationwide through regional engineering teams.
What do we receive for each site?
A signed EICR, full asset and circuit schedules, an itemised remedial quotation for any C1 or C2 observations, and insurer-ready documentation — all delivered through the portal within five working days of the visit.
Can you carry out the remedial work as well?
Yes. Our engineers are directly employed and qualified, so we can correct C1 and C2 items and re-issue a satisfactory certificate without bringing in a second contractor. Remedial quotes are itemised, and there's no obligation to use us for the work.
One programme, every site in certification.
Send us your site list and certificate dates and we'll return a fixed price, a rolling schedule and a named account manager — with testing planned around your trading hours.
Request a portfolio quote