Niceic Domestic periodic inspection report

General
Detailed guidance on the completion of NICEIC forms for certification and reporting is included in the NICEIC Inspection, Testing and Certification book.

The NICEIC Domestic Electrical Installation Periodic Inspection Report is intended to be used only for the purpose of reporting on the condition of an existing electrical installation in a domestic property. The report should identify, so far as is reasonably practicable and having regard to the extent and limitations recorded in Section D, any damage, deterioration, defects, dangerous conditions and any non-compliances with the requirements of the current issue of BS 7671 which may give rise to danger. It should be noted that the greater the limitations applying to a report, the less its value to the recipient.

The report must not be used instead of an Electrical Installation Certificate or a Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate for certifying a new electrical installation, or as a substitute for a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate for certifying an addition or an alteration to an existing installation.

The Domestic Electrical Installation Periodic Inspection Report may be used only where all the following conditions apply:
The inspection and testing work relates to a single dwelling (house or individual flat)

The installation forms part of a fl TN-S or TN-C-S (PME) system

The distributors cut-out incorporates an HBC fuse to BS 88, or a BS 1361 Type II fuse, rated at 100 A or less

The protective measure against electric shock is by Automatic Disconnection of Supply (ADS).

The report form marked ‘Original’, including any additional pages, is to be given to the person ordering the inspection, as required by Regulation 631.2. The report form marked ‘Duplicate’ is to be retained by the Approved Contractor and made available for review by the NICEIC.

This report form has been designed for compilation by hand or with the aid of computer software.

Irrespective of the method of compilation of the report, it remains the responsibility of the compiler of the report to ensure that the information provided in the report is factual, and that the declaration of the condition of the electrical installation to which the report relates is objective, fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.

The total number of pages which make up the report must be inserted in the box provided at the foot of each of the pages on the right-hand side.
Completing the report

Page 1
Section A (Details of the Client)
provides space for the client’s name and address.

Section B (Address and Details of the Installation)
provides space for recording the details of the installation, including the address, if different from the address in A.

Section C (Purpose of the Report)
is to enable the purpose of the report to be clearly identified. The main purpose of the report is to identify, so far as is practicable, any factors impairing the safe functioning of the electrical installation. This section may also identify the purpose in terms of expectations of interested parties such as a mortgagee, landlord, or insurance company.

Section D (Extent of the Installation and Limitations of the Inspection and Testing)
must fully identify the extent of the installation covered by the report and any agreed limitations on the inspection and testing. The Approved Contractor should have agreed all such aspects with the client and other interested parties before carrying out the inspection and testing. NICEIC will assume that comprehensive inspection and testing of the whole of the electrical installation, without limitations, has been carried out unless otherwise clearly indicated (including the reasons for these limitations) in Section D.

Section E (Particulars of the Approved Contractor)
only NICEIC Approved Contractors are authorized to issue these reports.

Section F (Declaration)
A declaration of the overall condition of the installation must be given by the inspector, reiterating that given in Section H which should summarise the observations and recommendations made in Section 6. The inspection, testing and assessment by the inspector must be reviewed and confirmed by the registered NICEIC Qualified Supervisor. The signatures are to be those of the competent person undertaking the inspection of the installation and of the Qualified Supervisor of the NICEIC Approved Contractor or Conforming Body, who should review each report. Where the Qualified Supervisor carries out the inspection personally, the Qualified Supervisor should sign in both places.

Page 2
Section G (Observations and Recommendations for Actions to be Taken)
Section G includes two boxes at the top, in one of which the report compiler is required to enter a ‘Yes’ or a ‘/‘ to indicate, as appropriate, that ‘there are no items adversely effecting electrical safety’ or ‘the following observations and recommendations are made’. In the latter case, the observations and recommendations are to be listed with a Recommendation Code 1, 2, 3 or 4 (see reverse of page 2 of the report form for further guidance on the recommendations). Only one Recommendation Code is to be given for each recorded observation. At the bottom of the Section, two boxes are provided for recording the items which, in the opinion of the report’s compiler, need urgent remedial work and those items requiring corrective action, respectively.

Where an Approved Contractor classifies a recommendation as ‘requires urgent attention’, the client is to be advised immediately, in writing, to satisfy the duties imposed by the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. It should be noted that, where an existing or a potential danger is observed that may put the safety of those using the installation at risk, Recommendation Code 1 (requires urgent attention) must be used.

If the space available on the form for recording recommendations is insufficient, additional numbered pages are to be provided as necessary. Additional pages must also be identified by the unique Domestic Electrical Installation Periodic Inspection Report serial number.

Section H (Summary of the Inspection)
must be completed with an accurate description of the general condition of the installation, together with the date(s) of the inspection and a one-word overall assessment of the installation ie ‘satisfactory’ or ‘unsatisfactory’. If the space available on the form for the summary of the inspection is insufficient, additional numbered pages are to be provided as necessary. Additional pages must also be identified by the unique Domestic Electrical Installation Periodic Inspection Report serial number.

It would not be reasonable to indicate a ‘satisfactory’ assessment if any observation in the report had been given a Code 1 or Code 2 recommendation.
Section I (Next Inspection)
provides a place to insert the appropriate time interval before re-inspection of the installation becomes due. IEE Guidance Note 3 gives guidance on the maximum recommended intervals for various types of premises, but due account must be taken of the present condition of the installation. For domestic premises, the maximum initial interval to the next periodic inspection is normally ten years or upon change of occupancy. Your recommendation for the interval to the next inspection is conditional upon all items which have been given a Recommendation Code 1 and Code 2 being remedied without delay and as soon as possible respectively (see Section G). Additionally, your recommendation for the interval to the next inspection is also to be conditional on all items which have attracted a Recommendation Code 3 being remedied as soon as practicable.

Page 3
Section J (Supply Characteristics, System Type, Earthing and Bonding Arrangements)
provides places to enter details of the supply characteristics, the type of system, the characteristics of the primary supply overcurrent protective device(s), the main switch or circuit-breaker, the means of earthing and the main bonding conductors.

All boxes on the Schedule of Items Inspected and the Schedule of Items Tested are to be completed, as appropriate for the particular installation. To indicate that an inspection or test has been carried out and that the result is satisfactory, insert a tick ‘/”. To indicate that an inspection or test has been carried out and that the result is unsatisfactory, insert a ‘X’. It is unlikely that all items will apply, and the range of applicable inspections and tests will depend on the particular installation covered by the report. If an inspection or a test is not applicable, ‘N/A’ should be recorded in the box. Exceptionally, where a limitation on a particular inspection or test has been agreed with the client, and has been recorded in Section D, the appropriate box (es) must be completed by inserting ‘LIM’, indicating that an agreed limitation has prevented the inspection or test being carried out.

Page 4
Entries for circuit details and associated test results should be made for all installation circuits covered by the report. Boxes are provided for the ‘Location of consumer unit(s)’ and ‘Designation of consumer unit(s)’ to be recorded. The test instruments used to obtain test results should be identified by serial number in the boxes provided for the purpose.

Further Guidance for the Domestic periodic inspection report.
For further guidance on completing the report, refer to the practical advice and guidance in the NICEIC Inspection, Testing and Certification book, the current edition of BS 7671, and lEE Guidance Note 3.

The purpose of periodic inspection is to determine, so far as is reasonably practicable, whether an electrical installation is in a satisfactory condition for continued service. This report provides an assessment of the condition of the electrical installation identified overleaf at the time it was inspected, taking into account the stated extent of the installation and the limitations of the inspection and testing.
The report has been issued in accordance with the national standard for the safety of electrical installations, British Standard 7671 (as amended) - Requirements for Electrical Installations.

If you were the person ordering the work, but not the user of the installation, you should pass this report, or a full copy of it including these notes, the schedules and additional pages (if any), immediately to the user.

The ‘Original’ report form should be retained in a safe place and shown to any person inspecting or undertaking further work on the electrical installation in the future. If you later vacate the property, this report will provide the new user with an assessment of the condition of the electrical installation at the time the periodic inspection was carried out.

Where the installation incorporates a residual current device (RCD), there should be a notice at or near the main switchboard or consumer unit stating that the device should be tested at quarterly intervals. For safety reasons, it is’ important that you carry out the test regularly.

Also for safety reasons, the electrical installation will need to be re-inspected at appropriate intervals by a competent person. The recommended maximum time interval to the next inspection is stated on page 2 in Section I (Next Inspection). NICEIC* recommends that you engage the services of an Approved Contractor for this purpose. There should be a notice at or near the main switchboard or consumer unit indicating when the next inspection of the installation is due.

Only an NICEIC Approved Contractor or Conforming Body is authorised to issue this NICEIC Domestic Electrical Installation Periodic Inspection Report form.

The report consists of at least four numbered pages. Additional numbered pages may have been provided to permit further relevant information concerning the installation to be recorded. The report is invalid if any of the identified pages are missing. The report has a printed seven-digit serial number, which is traceable to the Approved Contractor to which it was supplied by NICEIC.

This report is intended to be issued only for the purpose of reporting on the condition of an existing electrical installation. The report should identify, so far as is reasonably practicable and having regard to the extent and limitations recorded in Section D, any damage, deterioration, defects, dangerous conditions and any non-compliances with the requirements of the national standard for the safety of electrical installations which may give rise to danger. It should be noted that the greater the limitations applying to a report, the less its value.

This report should not have been issued to certify that a new electrical installation complies with the requirements of the national safety standard. A ‘Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate’ or ‘Electrical Installation Certificate’ should be issued for the certification of a new installation.

You should have received the report marked ‘Original’ and the Approved Contractor should have retained the report marked ‘Duplicate’.

Section 0 addresses the extent and limitations of the report by providing boxes for the Extent of the electrical installation covered by this report and the Agreed limitations, if any, on the inspection and testing. Information given here should fully identify the scope of the inspection and testing and of the report. The Approved Contractor should have agreed all such aspects with the person ordering the work and other interested parties (eg insurance company, landlord, mortgagee etc) before the inspection was carried out

A declaration of the overall condition of the installation should have been given by the inspector in Section F of the report. The declaration must reflect that given in Section H, which summarises the observations and recommendations made in Section 6. A list of observations and recommendations for urgent remedial work and corrective action(s) necessary to maintain the installation in a safe working order should have been given in Section 6, where appropriate. For further guidance on the recommendations, please see the reverse of page 2.

Should the person ordering the periodic inspection (eg the client, as identified on Page 1 of this report) have reason to believe that the report issued by the Approved Contractor does not reasonably reflect the condition of the electrical installation reported on, the person should in the first instance raise the specific concerns in writing with the Approved Contractor. If the concerns remain unresolved, the client may make a formal complaint to NICEIC, for which purpose a standard complaint form is available on request.

The complaints procedure offered by NICEIC is subject to certain terms and conditions, full details of which are available upon application and from the website. NICEIC does not investigate complaints relating to the operational performance of electrical installations (such as lighting levels), or to contractual or commercial issues (such as time or cost).

Irrespective of the method of compilation of the form, all un-shaded boxes should have been completed either by insertion of the relevant details or by entering ‘N/A’, meaning ‘Not Applicable’, where appropriate.

GUIDANCE FOR RECIPIENTS ON THE RECOMMENDATION CODES
Only one Recommendation Code should have been given for each recorded observation,

Recommendation Code 1
Where an observation has been given a Recommendation Code 1 (requires urgent attention) a danger exists, and urgent remedial action is necessary as the safety of those using the installation may be at risk.

The person responsible for the maintenance of the installation is advised to take action without delay to remedy the observed deficiency in the installation, or to take other appropriate action (such as switching off and isolating the affected part(s) of the installation) to remove the potential danger.
NICEIC make available ‘dangerous condition’ notification forms to enable inspectors to record, and then to communicate to the person ordering the report, any dangerous condition discovered.

Recommendation Code 2
Recommendation Code 2 (requires improvement) indicates that, whilst the safety of those using the installation may not be at immediate risk, remedial action should be taken as soon as possible to remove potential danger, and improve the safety of the installation to the level provided by the national standard for the safety of electrical installations, BS 7671. The Contractor issuing this report will be able to provide further advice.

Items which have been given a Recommendation Code 2 should be remedied as soon as possible (see Section 6).

Recommendation Code 3
Where an observation has been given a Recommendation Code 3 (requires further investigation), the inspection has revealed an apparent deficiency which could not, due to the extent or limitations of this inspection, be fully identified. Items which have been given a Recommendation Code 3 should be investigated as soon as possible (see Section G).

The person responsible for the maintenance of the installation is advised to arrange for the Contractor issuing this report (or other competent person) to undertake further examination of the installation to determine the nature and extent of the apparent deficiency.

Recommendation Code 4
Recommendation Code 4 [does not comply with BS 7671(as amended)] will have been given to observed non-compliance(s) with the current safety standard which do not warrant one of the other Recommendation Codes. It is not intended to imply that the electrical installation inspected is unsafe, but careful consideration should be given to the benefits of improving these aspects of the installation. The Contractor issuing this report will be able to provide further advice.

It is important to note that the recommendation given at Section I Next Inspection of this report for the maximum interval until the next inspection is conditional upon all items which have been given a Recommendation Code 1 and Code 2 being remedied without delay and as soon as possible respectively (see Section G).

It would not be reasonable to indicate a ‘satisfactory’ assessment if any observation in the report had been given a Code 1 or Code 2 recommendation (see Section H).