PAT stands for portable appliance testing, and the name is doing a lot of work. What the trade sells is a combined inspection and test of equipment that plugs in: a visual check of the plug, the flex and the casing, followed by instrument tests of earth continuity and insulation. Most faults are found by the eye rather than the meter, which is the part of the process people underestimate.
What the tester actually does
The visual inspection comes first: the plug and its fuse, the flex for cuts, crushing and strain at both ends, the casing for cracks and signs of overheating, and whether the equipment suits where it is used. The instrument then measures earth continuity on class I equipment and insulation resistance, and for some items a functional check. A pass label goes on afterwards, with a date and an identifier.
What counts as a portable appliance
In practice, anything with a plug and a flex, from a kettle to a floor-standing printer, plus extension leads and detachable power cables. The trade also tests equipment that is not portable at all, such as a fixed hand dryer, because it sits on the same side of the plug as the rest. What it does not cover is the fixed wiring, which is inspected by an EICR.
What the label and the certificate mean
A label records that the item passed on a date and who tested it. A certificate or register lists every item tested with its result. Neither is required by law in itself, and neither proves the equipment is safe today: they are records that maintenance was carried out, which is what a duty-holder needs to be able to show.
Test and tag, and other names for it
Test and tagging is the same service under the name used in Australia and New Zealand, and some British firms use it too. Electrical appliance testing and portable appliance inspection mean the same thing. What matters is not the label on the invoice but whether the inspection and testing were suited to the equipment and the environment.
Where PAT fits beside the fixed installation
An EICR covers the wiring in the walls; PAT covers what plugs into it. A landlord or an employer with a real duty over both usually buys them together, and the two records sit side by side in the same file. Neither substitutes for the other, and a firm that offers one while implying it covers the other should be asked directly.
Questions people ask about portable appliance testing
What does PAT stand for?
Portable appliance testing. The full name for the work is inspection and testing of in-service electrical equipment.
Is a PAT certificate a legal document?
No. It is a record. The law requires equipment to be maintained so as to prevent danger, and the record is how a duty-holder evidences that maintenance happened.
Does PAT testing cover fixed equipment?
Testers commonly cover fixed equipment on the same visit, but the fixed wiring itself is inspected under an EICR rather than under PAT.
Is test and tag the same as PAT testing?
Yes. It is the same work under the name used in Australia and New Zealand, and used by some firms here.