--- title: "How to Fill in an EICR" slug: "how-to-fill-in-an-eicr" excerpt: "An EICR follows a fixed structure, and filling it in section by section, in order, is the easiest way to keep the report internally consistent." date: 2026-08-18T00:00:00.000Z author: "Shine Forms Team" category: "Tips & Guides" tags: [] featuredImage: "/images/How to fill in an EICR.png" draft: false metaTitle: "How to Fill in an EICR | Step-by-Step Guide" metaDescription: "How to complete an EICR section by section, from extent and limitations through supply characteristics, test results and observation codes to the declaration." --- An EICR follows a fixed structure. Filling it in section by section, in order, is the easiest way to keep the report consistent with itself. If you're completing your first few condition reports, this covers what each section asks for and why it sits where it does. ## 1. Client and installation details Every EICR opens with who the report is for and what it covers. The client's details, the address of the installation, whether the occupier is someone different, the purpose of the report, and what you know about the installation itself. Include its age, the type of premises, and whether it's been altered or extended since the last inspection. Finish this section before you move on. It's the quickest part of the report and the easiest to leave half done, and a complete first page sets the tone for everything after it. ## 2. Extent and limitations This section is the easiest to shortcut, and it's the one worth taking time over. The extent and limitations define what the inspection covers. Which parts of the installation you inspected and tested, and which parts you couldn't. A sealed void, a circuit you couldn't isolate, an area you weren't given access to. Agree them with the client before you start work, rather than once you've finished and are writing the report up. If a limitation comes up partway through, stop and agree it with whoever instructed the inspection, then and there. Access refused to a room, say, or a circuit that can't be isolated without shutting down something critical. This section works in your favour. An EICR reports on what was inspected and nothing else, so a limitation you've recorded and agreed is a limitation you've accounted for. One you decided on your own after the fact is harder to stand behind later. ## 3. Supply characteristics and earthing arrangements Record the type of earthing arrangement (TN-S, TN-C-S or TT), the number and type of supplies, and the measured or established values for the supply. Usually the external earth fault loop impedance and the prospective fault current. These figures feed straight into the schedule of test results. They set the maximum permitted values you're checking each circuit against, so getting them right here saves you unpicking the whole schedule later. Verify them on site rather than assuming. Copying from a previous report for the same property is a common shortcut, and supplies do get changed. TT installations need their own checks too, including RCD protection and earth electrode resistance, which a TN-C-S assumption would miss. ## 4. Schedule of inspections The schedule of inspections is the visual and physical check. No testing yet, just looking, and confirming item by item that the installation meets what's expected of it. This is where you first record PASS, LIM, N/A or one of the classification codes against each item. Work through it as you go rather than trying to remember what you saw at the end. Items left blank because you weren't sure, or because you'd come back to them, are the ones you can miss. ## 5. Schedule of test results This is where you record, circuit by circuit, the circuit description and designation, the protective device type and rating, the conductor size, and then the test results. Continuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance at the far end of each circuit, and RCD operating and trip times where RCD protection applies. Check each Zs reading against the maximum permitted value for that circuit's protective device and disconnection time, rather than recording it and moving on. A value that passes on your instrument but sits close to the limit is worth a second look, particularly when it doesn't match the other circuits on the same board. Keep your test instrument in current calibration and keep the record against its serial number. Scheme assessors ask for it as a matter of course, and it's the thing that lets your results stand on their own. ## 6. Observations and classification codes Record anything you find during the inspection or testing that doesn't meet the standard, with a classification code. C1, C2, C3 or FI. Each observation should be specific enough that the client, another electrician or an assessor can tell what was found and where. A C1 changes what you do next. Danger is present, so the person ordering the work needs telling straight away in writing, and the danger needs making safe before you leave site. The code on the report is the record of it, not the action itself. Classification is a judgement call on the facts in front of you rather than a lookup table. If you want worked examples, [EICR Observation Codes Explained](https://www.shineforms.co.uk/blog/2026/8/eicr-observation-codes-explained) covers C1, C2, C3 and FI in detail. Consistency counts as much as accuracy. When your team produces reports under one name, the same finding should get the same code, whoever carried out the inspection. That's what makes a set of reports hold together when someone reads them side by side. ## 7. Declaration and next inspection date The declaration is where the report gets signed off, and it needs two signatures. The person who carried out the inspection and testing, and the person authorising the report for issue. In a small company that can be the same person, but both roles have to be represented. This is also where you record the overall outcome, satisfactory or unsatisfactory, following on from the codes in the observations section, and recommend a date for the next inspection. The interval depends on the type of installation, its condition and how it's used. There's no single default that suits every property, so apply your judgement rather than reaching for a standard figure out of habit. ## 8. Issuing the report Before it goes out, check it as a whole rather than section by section. Every field completed, every schedule item coded, observations matching what's recorded in the schedule, photos and appendices attached, both signatures in place. Keep a copy. If you're working in a team, whoever reviews the work, a QS or a senior engineer, should be able to see what was entered and what got queried, rather than just the finished PDF. ## Where Shine Forms fits in Shine Forms takes you through an EICR in this order, section by section, and checks your values against BS 7671 as you enter them. A Zs reading over the maximum for that circuit gets flagged at the point you type it in, while you're still on site and can do something about it. The regulation checks are verified directly against BS 7671 by someone who helps write it. Observations and codes stay linked to the schedule items they came from, so classification stays consistent, whoever on the team carried out the inspection, with an audit trail of what was entered and reviewed. If you're weighing up certification software and want to know what else to check, [How to Choose Electrical Certification Software](https://www.shineforms.co.uk/blog/2026/6/choosing-electrical-certification-software) covers it. Or see our [EICR software.](https://www.shineforms.co.uk/eicr-software)