EIC, Minor Works or EICR After Alterations and Consumer-Unit Replacements?

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title: "EIC, Minor Works or EICR After Alterations and Consumer-Unit Replacements?" slug: eic-minor-works-or-eicr-after-alterations item_id: cp-2026-09-03-eic-minor-works-or-eicr-after-alterations lane: pain-point classification: article drafted_at: 2026-09-16 target_audience: UK electricians, landlords and property managers deciding what evidence should exist after defined electrical work meta_description: "Should you issue an EIC, Minor Works Certificate or EICR after an alteration or consumer-unit replacement? A practical UK decision guide."

EIC, Minor Works or EICR After Alterations and Consumer-Unit Replacements?

The document choice comes from the work scope, not just from the fact that the property is old or the consumer unit has been changed.

The short version is this: an EIC or Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate records work just completed. An EICR reports the condition of an existing installation at the time of inspection. They are not interchangeable.

Consumer-unit replacements are where people get caught out. “No new circuit” does not automatically make the job a Minor Works Certificate case. The current IET Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate guidance excludes replacement of consumer units, distribution boards and similar items. The current IET EICR guidance also says the EICR is not for that replacement work.

So what should you issue? Here is the practical decision path, with the caveat that the responsible designer, installer or inspector still has to judge the actual job.

Quick answer

Use the scope of the work as the starting point:

“Normally” matters. The table is a decision aid, not permission to choose a form without understanding the design, extent and limitations of the work.

The IET model forms page has the current Electrical Installation Certificate, Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate and Electrical Installation Condition Report forms. Start there when checking the live form wording and version.

The three documents do different jobs

Electrical Installation Certificate

An Electrical Installation Certificate, or EIC, is used for a new installation, a new circuit, or an addition or alteration that is outside the Minor Works scope.

The current IET EIC model form has extent choices for a new installation, adding to an existing installation and alteration to an existing installation. It also provides the design, construction and inspection/testing declarations for the work covered.

That does not mean every alteration automatically needs an EIC. It means the EIC is the normal work-certificate route when the job is new, substantial or outside the narrower Minor Works boundary.

Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate

The Minor Works Certificate is for qualifying additions and alterations to an existing installation that do not extend to the provision of a new circuit. The IET guidance gives examples such as adding socket-outlets or lighting points to an existing circuit, or relocating a light switch.

The important bit is the boundary, not the word “minor”. The same guidance says the form is not for replacement of consumer units, distribution boards or similar items. It also says appropriate inspection and testing should be carried out regardless of the extent of the work.

Minor does not mean untested. It means the work fits the form’s intended scope.

Electrical Installation Condition Report

An EICR reports on the condition of an existing electrical installation at the time of inspection. It is the normal document for a periodic inspection or another defined condition assessment of an existing installation.

It is not the certificate for a new circuit. It is not a general replacement for an installation certificate. The current IET EICR model-form guidance expressly says the report is not for replacement of a consumer unit or distribution board.

That distinction is the cleanest way to avoid most of the confusion:

EIC or Minor Works Certificate = evidence for work just done.

EICR = a condition report on an existing installation.

Consumer-unit replacement: which certificate?

For a consumer-unit or distribution-board replacement, an EIC is normally the work-certificate route, subject to the responsible person’s judgement and current scheme requirements.

The reason is not simply that a board replacement is “big”. It is that the current IET forms set boundaries around the other two choices:

• the Minor Works Certificate guidance excludes replacement of consumer units, distribution boards and similar items;
• the EICR guidance says an EICR is for reporting on the condition of an existing installation, not for consumer-unit or distribution-board replacement.

That leaves the EIC as the normal certificate for the replacement work. If the job also includes a new circuit or other substantial alteration, record the full extent rather than trying to squeeze it into a Minor Works form.

This is also why “there was no new circuit” is not enough to decide the form. It rules out one part of the Minor Works boundary, but it does not override the explicit board-replacement exclusion.

What should the board-replacement record cover?

Use the certificate and supporting records to make the extent of work clear. Depending on the job, that may include:

• the consumer unit or board replaced, the supply characteristics and earthing arrangement;
• the affected circuits and any limitations on what was inspected or altered;
• protective-device, RCD, RCBO and SPD details where installed and relevant;
• the inspection and test results and instrument details appropriate to the work;
• defects or limitations found in the existing installation;
• labels, diagrams, photographs and manufacturer information where useful;
• any building-regulations notification or completion evidence that applies;
• a link to the previous EICR and other records for the installation.

This is an evidence checklist, not an exhaustive legal form. The record should describe what was actually done and what was actually verified. A new board does not silently turn every existing circuit into a new installation, and it does not erase defects or limitations elsewhere in the property.

Electrical Safety First identifies Best Practice Guide 1 as relevant when a consumer unit or other main switchgear is replaced in residential or similar premises. Use the live guide and current scheme requirements alongside the certificate decision.

What certificate follows each common job?

A new circuit

A new circuit from the consumer unit or distribution board points to an EIC. The work needs the relevant design, construction, inspection and testing evidence for that circuit.

Do not use an EICR merely because the installation already existed before the new circuit was added. The question is what work you are certifying now.

An addition or alteration to an existing circuit

If the work is a qualifying addition or alteration within the Minor Works scope, a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate is the normal direction. Adding a socket or lighting point to an existing circuit, or relocating a light switch, are examples given in the IET guidance.

If the alteration is broader, more complex or outside that scope, use an EIC. “No new circuit” is not a complete decision rule.

A complete rewire or new installation

Use an EIC for the new installation or the extent of the rewire covered by the work. The fact that the building itself is not new does not turn a new electrical installation into an EICR job.

A consumer-unit replacement plus additional work

Use an EIC route for the board replacement and the additional work covered by the certificate. Describe the full extent and record any parts of the existing installation that were outside the work or could not be verified.

Do not issue a Minor Works Certificate just because the additional circuit work looks small. The board-replacement exclusion still matters.

Remedial work after an EICR

There is no universal “EICR after remedial work” document.

The original EICR remains the condition report for the installation at the date it was carried out. The remedial work should have evidence that matches its scope:

• a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate where the remedial work is a qualifying addition or alteration within that scope;
• an EIC where the remedial work is a new circuit, broader alteration or otherwise outside the Minor Works boundary;
• appropriate completion, verification or reinspection records where a further condition assessment has been agreed.

Do not call the new work certificate an “updated EICR” unless a competent person has actually carried out and documented a new condition report. Keep the original report, the remedial certificate and any reinspection record linked together.

EICR after remedial work: close the loop properly

An unsatisfactory EICR and a later remedial certificate answer different questions.

The EICR records what was observed and tested at the original inspection. The remedial certificate records the work completed afterwards. If a reinspection is commissioned, that is a separate assessment with its own scope and date.

The handover should make four things visible:

1. what the original EICR identified;
2. what remedial work was completed;
3. what remains outside the completed scope or is still outstanding;
4. whether a further inspection or verification was carried out.

For rented properties, check the landlord rules for the relevant UK nation and keep any written remedial-work confirmation or reinspection evidence required by that regime. Do not assume that one England rule applies across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Building regulations are a separate evidence track

The electrical certificate and building-regulations evidence are related, but they are not the same document.

For work in England, Approved Document P gives statutory guidance on electrical safety in dwellings, including notification, design, installation, inspection, testing and information provision. Whether notification is required, and how it is handled, depends on the work and the competent-person or building-control route.

The UK nations have different building-regulations systems. Do not copy an English Part P notification answer into a job in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland without checking the applicable route.

If the work was dealt with through a registered competent-person scheme, retain the notification or compliance evidence supplied for the property and job. The Registered Competent Person Electrical register explains the separate self-certification route in the contexts where it applies.

The practical rule is simple: keep the work certificate and the building-regulations evidence together, but do not treat one as a substitute for the other.

Common mistakes

“No new circuit means Minor Works”

Not automatically. The current Minor Works guidance also excludes consumer-unit, distribution-board and similar replacements. Check the whole scope.

Issuing an EICR for work just completed

An EICR is a condition report on an existing installation. It is not a casual replacement for the certificate covering a new circuit, board replacement or substantial alteration.

Treating the old EICR as proof of the new work

An earlier EICR is a snapshot from its inspection date. It does not certify work carried out later. Keep it linked to the new EIC or Minor Works Certificate instead.

Assuming a new board makes the whole installation compliant

A consumer-unit replacement does not silently repair every circuit connected to it. Record defects, limitations and items outside scope rather than implying that the whole installation was renewed.

Forgetting the building-regulations route

The BS 7671 work certificate is not automatically the building-regulations notification or completion evidence. Check the route for the property’s UK nation and retain the relevant record.

Forcing complex work into a small form

If the design, extent or responsibility is broader than the Minor Works scope, do not choose that form merely because the physical job was quick or there was no new circuit. The form has to match the work.

What to retain in the evidence chain

For a defined alteration, board replacement or remedial job, retain the records that let the next competent person understand the installation and the work completed:

• the previous EICR and any schedules or observations;
• the new EIC or Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate;
• inspection and test results, limitations and departures where relevant;
• circuit schedules, diagrams, labels and useful photographs;
• manufacturer information for the board and protective devices where relevant;
• building-regulations notification or completion evidence where applicable;
• remedial completion statements and any later reinspection record;
• installer, responsible person, certificate version and date details.

The strongest record is not necessarily the biggest file. It is the one that preserves the chain from the original condition report to the work completed and any later verification.

That is where structured software can help. TestFast can keep the new work certificate linked to the affected installation while preserving the previous EICR history. It does not decide the certificate for you, replace competent design and testing, or prove building-regulations notification. It just makes the evidence chain harder to lose.

The practical takeaway

Ask one question first: are you certifying work just completed, or reporting on the condition of an existing installation?

Then check the scope:

new circuit, substantial alteration, complete rewire or consumer-unit replacement → normally EIC

qualifying addition or alteration to an existing circuit within the Minor Works scope → Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate

periodic or defined condition inspection of an existing installation → EICR

Keep the building-regulations evidence separate but linked, retain the previous EICR, and describe anything outside the completed work. That gives the next person a defensible record instead of a folder full of documents with overlapping names.

Structural coverage and internal-link notes

Relevant lenses covered:

• definitions: separates EIC, Minor Works Certificate and EICR by purpose;
• practical examples: new circuits, additions, rewires, board replacements and remedial work;
• mistakes: “no new circuit” shortcut, EICR substitution, lost history and building-regulations confusion;
• edge cases: board replacement with additional work, limitations, UK jurisdiction and reinspection after remedial work;
• decision guidance: quick table and end-of-article scope test;
• reporting/workflow implications: evidence chain, supporting records and TestFast’s restrained workflow role;
• next step: identify the work, choose the evidence direction, and retain the linked record set.

Internal link suggestions:

• link the remedial-work section to the existing EICR remedial-work article;
• link the EICR explanation to the EICR codes article;
• link the evidence-chain section to the paper-vs-digital EICR article;
• link the TestFast workflow mention to the electrical certificate software page.

Draft guardrails retained:

• the EIC route for consumer-unit replacement is stated as normal, with responsible-person and scheme caveats;
• no universal EIC/EICR choice is claimed for every alteration;
• England-specific Approved Document P wording is not generalised to the whole UK;
• no universal test values or exhaustive legal checklist is invented;
• TestFast is mentioned only for evidence capture and record linkage.