Electrical installation certificate (EIC): who signs it, what goes on it, and why it has three signatures

Published 6 May 2026 · updated 10 June 2026 · SparkCerts guides for UK electricians

The electrical installation certificate is the senior document in BS 7671. Every new circuit, every new board, every new installation ends with one, and unlike the condition report it does not expire: it stands forever as the record of who designed the work, who built it, and who tested it. That is also why it carries three signatures.

The three signatures

The EIC separates responsibility for design, construction, and inspection and testing. On a commercial project those can be three different firms. On a domestic job they are usually one electrician signing three times, and the repetition is the point: each signature is a separate declaration that one stage of the work complies with BS 7671. Signing for design means owning the cable calculations and protective device selection, signing for inspection means owning every reading on the schedule.

The schedules are the certificate

An EIC without its two schedules is a cover letter. The schedule of inspections records what was visually and physically checked. The schedule of test results records, circuit by circuit, the continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance and RCD figures that prove the installation is safe to energise. When a certificate is challenged years later, at a sale, after an incident, at a scheme assessment, the schedules are what gets read. A reading that cannot be right, a Zs lower than Ze, an RCD over its disconnection time, undermines the whole document, which is why software that validates readings on site earns its keep on exactly this form.

When an EIC is required

• Every new circuit, regardless of length or load
• Consumer unit replacements, certifying every circuit reconnected
• New installations in full, from a rewire to a new build
• Additions and alterations that go beyond the scope of a minor works certificate

Where the work is notifiable under Part P in England and Wales, the EIC pairs with notification to building control, normally through the installer's scheme membership.

What the customer should receive

The certificate with both schedules, within days of completion, alongside the invoice rather than weeks behind it. For rental property the EIC joins the compliance file next to the EICR. For everyone it goes in the drawer with the deeds, because the next electrician, the buyer's conveyancer and the insurer all read the same document, and the homeowner who can produce it is in a stronger position than the one who remembers paying for it.

Common questions

Who can issue an electrical installation certificate?

The person responsible for the work: a competent electrician, usually registered with a scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT so the work can be notified under Part P where required. The signatory takes responsibility for design, construction and testing, which on most domestic jobs is the same person.

Is an EIC a legal requirement?

BS 7671 requires certification for new electrical work, and Part P of the Building Regulations requires notifiable domestic work in England and Wales to be certified and notified. In practice, new circuits without an EIC become a problem at sale, remortgage or insurance time.

What if I never received an EIC for work done?

Ask the installer first; reissuing paperwork is routine. If that fails, a registered electrician can inspect the work and issue an EICR describing its condition. An EICR does not replace the EIC, but it documents that the installation has been inspected and tested.