A domestic EICR takes between ninety minutes and half a day: around two hours for a small flat, two to four for a typical three-bed house, longer for large or complicated properties. Here's the breakdown, why the power goes off, and what stretches an inspection, because duration is also a quality signal.
Duration by property
These are estimates, not quotes. Final costings always follow a free site inspection — and jobs often come in under the estimate, never over without you agreeing it first.
| Property | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| 1–2 bed flat | 1.5–2.5 hours |
| 2–3 bed house | 2–4 hours |
| 4–5 bed house | 3–5 hours |
| HMO | half a day upward |
The time goes where you'd hope: dead tests and live tests on every circuit, a sample of accessories opened and inspected, the earthing and bonding verified, and the schedule of results recorded as it happens. Which supports a blunt rule of thumb: a "full EICR" on a whole house in 45 minutes wasn't one. What all that testing is and what it should cost have their own guides.
Will the power be off?
Yes, in stages: dead testing requires circuits isolated, so each goes off while it's tested, and there's usually a short whole-installation shutdown for the main checks. Plan for the wifi and the freezer door accordingly, warn anyone working from home, and mention anything that genuinely can't lose power, medical equipment especially, when booking, so it's planned around rather than discovered.
What makes it run long
No access: the consumer unit behind the Christmas boxes, locked rooms in rentals, furniture over half the sockets. Clearing access before the visit is the single thing an owner can do to speed an EICR up. No records: an installation with no previous certificates gets mapped before it gets tested. High fault count: every defect found is investigated, coded and recorded, so a struggling installation takes longer than a healthy one, which is the useful kind of slow. Occupancy: working around a household's day adds time politely.
Do I need to be home for an EICR?
Someone needs to provide access and ideally agree the power-off windows; beyond that you're free to ignore the inspector. For rentals it's usually arranged directly with tenants, with the notice your tenancy requires.
Does the power go off?
In stages throughout, plus one short full shutdown. It's inherent to the testing, not an inconvenience a better inspector avoids.
Why did mine take four hours?
Either the property earned it, many circuits, no records, faults to chase, or the inspector was thorough on a house that needed it. Four careful hours producing a full schedule is the product working; it's the suspiciously quick one that should worry you.
Booking around Bristol: EICR testing covers prices and the photos that speed your booking up.
Need it done by a deadline?
Say when the report is needed and how big the property is — most EICRs are booked within the week.
