Every observation on an EICR carries a code, and the codes are the report. C1 means danger is present. C2 means potentially dangerous. C3 means improvement recommended. FI means further investigation is required without delay. Only the first two and FI make a report unsatisfactory, and knowing which is which is the difference between an urgent bill and a note for the file.
C1: danger present
Something on the installation could injure somebody now: exposed live parts, a damaged accessory with conductors accessible, a socket wired the wrong way round in a way that energises exposed metal. A competent inspector will make it safe on the visit or isolate it before leaving, and will tell you so. A C1 always makes a report unsatisfactory.
C2: potentially dangerous
Nothing is dangerous while everything works, but a foreseeable fault would make it so. No earthing at a socket, missing main bonding to gas and water services, an unsuitable protective device. These are the most common reason a report comes back unsatisfactory and the most common cause of remedial work a landlord did not budget for.
EICR C3: improvement recommended
The installation is safe but does not meet the current standard in some respect: no RCD protection on a circuit that would need it if installed today, an older consumer unit that would not be chosen now. A C3 does not make a report unsatisfactory and does not have to be acted on, which is why a quote that treats every C3 as urgent work deserves a question.
FI: further investigation required
The inspector found something that cannot be judged without more work: a reading that does not make sense, a circuit whose route is unknown, evidence of an alteration nobody can explain. FI makes the report unsatisfactory because the answer is unknown rather than because a defect is proven, and the investigation is a separate piece of work.
EICR remedial works: what an unsatisfactory report obliges
For a rented property in England, further investigative or remedial work must be carried out within 28 days, or the shorter period the report specifies, and written confirmation obtained from the qualified person who did it. For everyone else there is no clock in law, but an insurer, a mortgage lender or a buyer will read the same word and draw their own conclusion.
Eicr c2 and the electrical codes c1 c2 c3 examples people ask for
Worked examples are what make the codes stick, so here are the ones that recur. C1: a broken accessory with a conductor you could touch, a socket wired so the metalwork is live, a consumer unit with a cover missing. C2: a socket with no earth, main bonding missing to the gas or water service, a circuit protected by a device that will not operate fast enough, a shower circuit with undersized cable. C3: no RCD protection where today's standard would want it, an older plastic consumer unit under a wooden stair, a bonding conductor that is adequate but smaller than current practice. The line that matters is that C1 and C2 make a report unsatisfactory and C3 does not, so a report with six C3s and nothing else is a pass with a shopping list.
EICR coding in practice, and the two codes people argue about
The arguments are almost always about the line between C2 and C3, and about when FI is the honest answer. Two examples carry most of the disputes. No residual current device protecting socket outlets in an older installation: potentially dangerous in most modern readings, so C2, though it was compliant when installed, and calling it C3 because it once complied is the commonest under coding. And missing or undersized main bonding to gas and water: C2, because the fault path it is there for is foreseeable. On the other side, plastic consumer units in a domestic property and the absence of a circuit that current standards would ask for are C3 improvements rather than dangers. FI belongs where the inspector cannot see enough to decide, a junction box buried in a wall or a circuit that cannot be traced, and it makes the report unsatisfactory precisely so that the question is answered rather than filed. Where you disagree with a code, ask which regulation and which foreseeable fault the code rests on; a code that cannot be tied to either is a negotiating position.
Questions people ask about EICR codes
Does a C3 make an EICR unsatisfactory?
No. C3 is improvement recommended. Only C1, C2 and FI make a report unsatisfactory.
How long do I have to fix a C2?
In a rented property in England, 28 days from the inspection or the shorter period the report specifies, with written confirmation of the work obtained afterwards.
Can the inspector do the electrical remedial work on the day?
Often, for small items, and many will make a C1 safe immediately. Larger remedial work is normally quoted separately, and you are free to have somebody else do it.
Does an unsatisfactory report have to be redone from scratch?
No. Once the remedial work is complete, written confirmation from the person who carried it out is what turns the position around, rather than a whole new inspection.
What does a C3 EICR observation mean?
Improvement recommended: something that does not meet the current standard but is not dangerous as it stands. C3 items alone do not make a report unsatisfactory, so an inspector coding everything C3 has not given you an action list.
Does a new consumer unit come with its own certificate?
Yes, an installation certificate for the work done, which is a different document from the condition report that called for it. Keep both: the report is the finding and the certificate is the evidence the remedial was carried out and tested.