Frequency of pat testing: Inspection Test Frequency
The Inspection Test Frequency carries 4 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages, from 2 to 5 year, read 15 September 2026.
- Median of the published figures
- 4 year
- Range
- 2 to 5 year
- Sources with a figure
- 4
- Sources read that publish one
- 2 of 22
2 of the 22 named sources read in full publish a figure; 20 publish none, read 15 September 2026.
By environment and equipment-class and tenure
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| environment schools | 5 year | 5 to 5 year | 1 |
| environment care-homes | 5 year | 5 to 5 year | 1 |
| environment leisure | 3 year | 3 to 3 year | 1 |
| environment industrial | 3 month | 3 to 3 month | 1 |
| environment construction | 3 month | 3 to 3 month | 1 |
| equipment-class handheld | 48 month | 48 to 48 month | 1 |
| tenure rented | 2 year | 2 to 2 year | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| How Often Should PAT Testing Be Done? Full UK Frequency Table | 48 month | handheld | 2026-09-12 |
| Commercial EICR Frequency London | 5 year | schools | 2026-09-12 |
| Commercial EICR Frequency London | 5 year | care-homes | 2026-09-12 |
| Commercial EICR Frequency London | 3 year | leisure | 2026-09-12 |
| Commercial EICR Frequency London | 3 month | industrial | 2026-09-12 |
| How Often Should PAT Testing Be Done? Full UK Frequency Table | 3 month | construction | 2026-09-12 |
| How Often Should PAT Testing Be Done? Full UK Frequency Table | 2 year | rented | 2026-09-12 |
The sentence each figure was read from (7)
- How Often Should PAT Testing Be Done? Full UK Frequency Table, read 2026-09-12:
Handheld and portable items (kettles, desk fans, phone chargers) fall on a 24–48 month cycle depending on class.
- Commercial EICR Frequency London, read 2026-09-12:
Schools: 5 years maximum, with annual visual inspection.
- Commercial EICR Frequency London, read 2026-09-12:
Care homes and supported living: 5 years EICR plus annual visual.
- Commercial EICR Frequency London, read 2026-09-12:
The annual interval reflects the consequence of failure. Gyms and dry leisure (no pool): 3 years standard.
- Commercial EICR Frequency London, read 2026-09-12:
Heavier-duty industrial with significant motor load or harsh environment (chemical, foundry, food processing) can pull to annual. Construction sites: 3 months.
- How Often Should PAT Testing Be Done? Full UK Frequency Table, read 2026-09-12:
The IET Code of Practice sets out intervals from 3 months (construction) up to 60 months (office IT) depending on environment and appliance.
- How Often Should PAT Testing Be Done? Full UK Frequency Table, read 2026-09-12:
The widely accepted standard is every 2 years, or at every change of tenancy (whichever is sooner).
Read in full, publishes no figure
20 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- Repairing Standard: statutory guidance for private landlords - gov.scot, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Private renting: Your landlord's safety responsibilities - GOV.UK, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- Maintaining electrical equipment safety - HSE, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments - HSE, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- PAT (Portable appliance testing) - HSE's answers to popular questions, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Maintaining portable electrical equipment - HSE, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- hse.gov.uk, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Getting repairs done as a private tenant - mygov.scot, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- PAT Testing Frequency: How Often Should It Be Done?, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- housingandpropertychamber.scot, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- PAT Testing Frequency Guide, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- PAT Testing Frequency: Recommended Intervals by Appliance Type, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- INDG236: Maintaining Portable Electrical Equipment, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- aber.ac.uk, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Swimming Pool Zones: Zone 1 = 2m, Zone 2 = 3.5m, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- Electrical Installation Regulations UK: BS 7671 Explained, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- leia.co.uk, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- EICR Frequency of Inspections - Pro Certs Software Ltd, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- theiet.org, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- HSE's electricity guidance and the housing statutes, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through the estate's fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
2 of the 22 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 20 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 1 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source in year (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences), so N counts sources, never sentences; 37 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
Derivation as chartered: Two intervals that nobody publishes as one answer, each labelled with whether it is LAW or GUIDANCE.
For portable appliances: the initial interval by equipment class and environment (hand-held against stationary, office against construction site against equipment hire), from HSE's own guidance - which says explicitly that no fixed interval is required by law and that the suggested tables are suggestions.
For fixed installations: the maximum period between inspections by tenure and premises type (private rented 5 years by statute in all four nations, owner-occupied 10 years by guidance, HMO, commercial, industrial, caravan park, swimming pool), from the statute where a statute sets it and from BS 7671 / IET guidance where it does not.
The derivation is the gap: how often the internet's stated interval is a guidance figure being repeated as if it were law.
37 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (23)
- Repairing Standard: statutory guidance for private landlords - gov.scot (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Private renting: Your landlord's safety responsibilities - GOV.UK (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Maintaining electrical equipment safety - HSE (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments - HSE (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- PAT (Portable appliance testing) - HSE's answers to popular questions (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Maintaining portable electrical equipment - HSE (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- hse.gov.uk (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Getting repairs done as a private tenant - mygov.scot (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- PAT Testing Frequency: How Often Should It Be Done? (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Commercial EICR Frequency London (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- housingandpropertychamber.scot (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- PAT Testing Frequency Guide (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- How Often Should PAT Testing Be Done? Full UK Frequency Table (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- PAT Testing Frequency: Recommended Intervals by Appliance Type (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- INDG236: Maintaining Portable Electrical Equipment (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- aber.ac.uk (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Swimming Pool Zones: Zone 1 = 2m, Zone 2 = 3.5m (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Electrical Installation Regulations UK: BS 7671 Explained (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- HSE PAT Testing Guidance: Requirements, Frequency & Records (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- leia.co.uk (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- EICR Frequency of Inspections - Pro Certs Software Ltd (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- theiet.org (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- HSE's electricity guidance and the housing statutes (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
Cite or embed this figure
The Inspection Test Frequency carries 4 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages, from 2 to 5 year, read 15 September 2026.
2 of the 22 named sources read in full publish a figure; 20 publish none, read 15 September 2026.
Inspection Test Frequency, environment schools: median 5 year across 1 source, read 15 September 2026.
Inspection Test Frequency, environment care-homes: median 5 year across 1 source, read 15 September 2026.
Inspection Test Frequency, environment leisure: median 3 year across 1 source, read 15 September 2026.
Inspection Test Frequency, environment industrial: median 3 month across 1 source, read 15 September 2026.
Inspection Test Frequency, environment construction: median 3 month across 1 source, read 15 September 2026.
Inspection Test Frequency, equipment-class handheld: median 48 month across 1 source, read 15 September 2026.
Inspection Test Frequency, tenure rented: median 2 year across 1 source, read 15 September 2026.
Cite as: "Asbestos Survey Cost Inspection Test Frequency", updated 2026-09-15, https://asbestossurveycost.co.uk/datasets/inspection-test-frequency/.
Download the CSV (7 rows, computed 2026-09-15)