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C3: the EICR code that pays for the electrician’s van
Your EICR came back with a list of observations and a quote for all of them. Only some of them are yours to fix. C3 means improvement recommended, and it is where the money gets made. Here is how to read the codes and what to do about each.
What you were told: "Your EICR has failed. Here's the quote to bring it up to standard: £2,400."
What the report says: two C2 observations and eleven C3s. The C2s cost £280 to fix. The rest is the electrician's opinion about how they'd like your installation to look if they were building it today.
The codes, and what each obliges you to do
Fix it now. The inspector should have made it safe before leaving. Not negotiable.
Fix it urgently. Within 28 days for a rented home in England; without unreasonable delay for commercial premises. Get it priced separately from everything else.
Have it investigated. It may resolve to nothing. It may become a C2. Until it's resolved the report is unsatisfactory.
Nothing is required. The installation differs from the current edition of BS 7671 in this respect and it isn't dangerous. Old cable colours, a plastic consumer unit, no surge protection, no RCD on a lighting circuit that never leaves the building: all typical C3s. All optional.
Your three options on every C3
Leave it and monitor. Legitimate for most. Note it, check it's still a C3 next time.
Schedule it into planned works. If you're refitting or an electrician is coming anyway, add the C3s then and pay for one visit instead of two.
Fix it now. Right where the C3 is in a high-use area, causes nuisance tripping, involves RCD protection on circuits the public uses, or your insurer has specifically asked.
Ask the electrician which C3s they'd fix in their own building. A good one will say two or three and tell you why. One who wants to fix all eleven is quoting, not advising.
The 2026 amendment
BS 7671 Amendment 4 was published in April 2026 and becomes the sole standard for new work in October. It does not oblige you to upgrade an existing installation. Any contractor telling you that your wiring now "fails" because a new amendment exists is describing a C3 at most, and probably not even that.
What you shouldn’t be sold
- "Failed" when the front page says satisfactory. Read the box, not the letter.
- All C3s quoted as required work. Ask for the C1/C2/FI work priced on its own.
- A consumer unit replacement because of an amendment. A safe installation doesn't become unsafe when the book changes.
- Remedial work quoted on the day, unitemised, by the inspector. Get the report, get the codes, then get two quotes. The inspector can be one.
Quick answers
- Do I have to fix C3 items on an EICR?
- No. C3 means the installation does not meet the current edition of the Wiring Regulations in that respect but is not dangerous. Almost every installation more than a few years old has some. You can leave them, schedule them into planned works, or fix the ones that matter to you. The report is satisfactory with C3s alone.
- Which codes make an EICR unsatisfactory?
- C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous) and FI (further investigation required). Any one of those makes the report unsatisfactory and requires action: immediately for C1, urgently for C2, and promptly for FI.
This is general information about UK compliance, written for the person paying the bill. It isn’t legal advice. If your situation is unusual, get a professional to look at it.