From EICR Code C2 to Paid Remedial Work: How to Quote and Invoice the Fix (UK, 2026)

By Daniel Sedgwick, founder and managing director of Checker and a former gas engineer. He writes practical guides for UK trade businesses on field workflows, paperwork and admin.

Updated 1 November 2026

TLDR: Quote each remedial item against its observation code the same day, as lines separate from the inspection fee. Then certify the work with the right certificate and invoice against the accepted quote. In England, a landlord has 28 days from the inspection, or less if the report says so, to get C1, C2 and FI items dealt with.

The report is done. It lists three C2s and one FI, and the landlord’s 28 days started on the day you tested. You can see the clock running. The landlord cannot see a price yet, because the quote is still in your head.

An EICR with C2 or FI findings is not a finished job. The quote is the second half of the visit. Send it a week later and the landlord has lost a quarter of their time limit, and may have rung someone else. Fold the fix into the inspection fee and nobody can see what they are paying for. So we write the quote lines while the report is still open.

What does each EICR code oblige the landlord to do?

C1 and C2 mean remedial work is required, and FI means further investigation is required. C3 does not. That is the line drawn in the government’s electrical safety guidance for landlords in England (published 1 November 2025, checked 1 November 2026). With any C1 or C2, the report states the installation is unsatisfactory for continued use.

The deadline comes from regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. Where the report requires further investigative or remedial work, the landlord must have it done by a qualified person within 28 days, or within a shorter period set in the report, starting with the date of the inspection and test. A 2025 amendment extended the same duties to social landlords: they apply to social tenancies granted after 1 December 2025, and to existing ones from 1 May 2026.

The code wording follows the GOV.UK guidance and Electrical Safety First’s Best Practice Guide 4 (issue 7.4, August 2026). That guide calls FI “further investigation is advised”; the government guidance says “without delay”. The code on each item is the inspector’s judgement against BS 7671. Since 15 October 2026 the IET has treated BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 as the only current version.

How do you quote remedial work on the same day?

Because the 28 days run from the test, not from the day the landlord reads the report, the quote is worth most on the day you write the report. A landlord with a priced list can say yes from their phone that evening. One without it has to chase you, then chase a second firm to compare.

1. Keep the inspection fee separate. Invoice the EICR as its own job or line. The remedial quote is new work the customer decides on.
2. Write one line per observation. Cite the code, the item number from the report and the location, then say what you will do. For example: C2, item 2, bedroom socket-outlet, no earth at the accessory; reinstate the protective conductor, replace the accessory and test.
3. Price each line on its own. The landlord may approve some lines and not others. A single lump sum makes a partial yes impossible.
4. Mark C3 lines as optional. Group them under their own heading so nobody mistakes a recommendation for a requirement.
5. State the clock and the paperwork. Give the inspection date, the date 28 days on, and the certificate the landlord will receive when the work is done.

Our guide to whether an emailed quote is a contract covers what counts as acceptance. The short version: keep the landlord’s reply against the exact quote it accepts.

What does a worked example look like?

The report carries four observations needing action, plus one recommendation. The quote goes out from the van before the next job:

• C2, item 1: no effective main protective bonding to the incoming gas pipe. Install bonding conductor and test. £120.
• C2, item 2: no earth at a bedroom socket-outlet. Reinstate protective conductor, replace accessory, test. £65.
• C2, item 3: incorrect polarity at a landing light switch. Correct and test. £45.
• FI, item 4: one circuit at the consumer unit could not be traced. Investigation, up to two hours on site. £120.
• Optional, C3, item 5: recommended improvement. £95.

The required lines come to £350 before VAT (£120 + £65 + £45 + £120). VAT at 20% adds £70, so £420 in total. The optional C3 line would add £95 plus £19 VAT. The EICR fee sits on a separate invoice, already sent.

One observation, followed from report to invoice. The wording and price stay the same at every step, so the landlord can match each charge to a finding. Illustrative figures.

What if the customer accepts only some items?

Do the accepted lines, and say in writing what the declined lines leave open. Line-by-line pricing is what makes a partial yes workable. Say the landlord approves the three C2s and the FI but declines the C3 improvement. That is the clean case, because a C3 does not stop the report being satisfactory.

It gets harder when a landlord declines a C2. Your work on the other lines does not clear that observation. The report still records it, and the landlord’s 28-day duty for it still stands. Reply with a short written note: which lines are booked, which were declined, and that the declined C2 remains outstanding on the report. Then the record shows what you were asked to do and what you were not.

Do not reword or downgrade an observation to make a smaller quote look complete. The code belongs to the inspection, not to the sale.

What if you cannot price the fix yet?

Then quote the investigation, not the repair. An FI, or a C2 whose cause you could not find on the day, cannot be priced line by line without guessing. A guess either loses you money or loses you the job.

Write the investigation as its own step: what you will test, a time limit, a fixed price, and a promise to quote the repair once the cause is known. Tell the landlord plainly that this is two steps. The regulations allow for it. Where an investigation finds that more work is needed, regulation 3(6) has the landlord repeat the remedial steps for that work. The landlord gets a fixed first step instead of an open-ended bill.

Which certificate follows the fix?

Usually a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate, unless the work adds a new circuit or replaces the consumer unit. The GOV.UK guidance accepts a satisfactory EICR, an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate or other appropriate electrical certification as written confirmation that remedial work is done.

The IET’s model forms for BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 draw the line. The minor works certificate is for additions and alterations “that do not extend to the provision of a new circuit”, and not for replacing consumer units or distribution boards. A new circuit or a new consumer unit calls for an EIC.

Does the remedial work need notifying?

Only if it adds a new circuit, replaces a consumer unit or alters circuits in a special location. Those jobs are notifiable in England. Regulation 12(6A) of the Building Regulations 2010 lists a new circuit, a replacement consumer unit, and additions or alterations to circuits in a special location, such as the space around a bath or shower. Approved Document P explains how that work is certified, through a registered competent person scheme, a third-party certifier or building control. Put the expected certificate on the quote line, so a board change is never a surprise at invoice time.

The landlord must give the written confirmation and the original report to each tenant, and to the local council, within 28 days of the work being completed. That is the landlord’s duty, but it starts with your certificate. Send it on the day you finish, with the report it answers.

How do you invoice and keep one record?

Invoice the accepted quote, line for line, and keep the report, quote, certificate and invoice on the same job. When a landlord or agent queries a charge months later, you want to show the observation, the price they accepted, the certificate for the work and the invoice in one place. The invoice still needs the details GOV.UK lists: a unique number, both parties’ details, a clear description, supply and invoice dates, VAT and the total owed.

We built Checker to keep this sequence on one job. On the Checker electrical software you produce the EICR, the Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate and the Electrical Installation Certificate in forms that follow BS 7671 layouts, offline if the basement has no signal. The quote, certificate and invoice stay tied to the same customer and job. You type the remedial quote lines yourself from the report. The customer accepts with one tap, the Quote Chaser can follow up on quotes the customer has not answered, and an accepted quote turns into an invoice in one tap with the lines carried across. Xero two-way sync of invoices and payments is available on PRO and PRO+.

Plans are LITE £10.99, PRO £19.99 and PRO+ £25.99 a month, plus VAT. Software keeps the record straight. It does not make a report compliant or replace your judgement on site. For the full sequence, see our guides to creating and sending electrical reports and certificates and moving from quote to job to invoice without retyping.

Do Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ?

Yes. The 28-day rule above is England’s. Each nation sets its own duty:

• Scotland: the Repairing Standard statutory guidance (published 31 January 2024) says landlords should have an EICR completed every five years.
• Wales: regulation 6 of the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 requires a valid electrical condition report, normally valid for five years.
• Northern Ireland: regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 sets five-yearly checks and a 28-day remedial period from the inspection.

The quoting method travels. Check the timescale for the property’s nation before you put a date on the quote.

Frequently asked questions

Authoritative sources

1. legislation.gov.uk: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulation 3.
2. GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance.
3. Electrical Safety First: Best Practice Guide 4, electrical installation condition reporting.
4. IET: BS 7671 current edition and amendment status.
5. IET: model forms for BS 7671:2018+A4:2026.
6. legislation.gov.uk: Building Regulations 2010, regulation 12.
7. GOV.UK: Approved Document P, electrical safety in dwellings.
8. GOV.UK: competent person schemes.
9. GOV.UK: what an invoice must include.
10. GOV.UK: VAT rates.
11. gov.scot: Repairing Standard statutory guidance, electrical safety.
12. legislation.gov.uk: Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 6.
13. legislation.gov.uk: Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024, regulation 3.