There is no legally fixed interval for PAT testing. How often equipment should be inspected or tested depends on the type of equipment, the environment it is used in, how often it is moved, and who uses it. A drill on a building site may need attention every few months; a monitor on an office desk may need almost none.
The annual test many organisations run is a convention, not a legal requirement — and for low-risk equipment it is usually more testing than the risk justifies.
Why there is no fixed legal interval
The duty in the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is to maintain equipment “as may be necessary to prevent danger”. That phrasing is deliberate: the law sets an outcome, not a timetable, because a kettle in an office and a transformer on a construction site cannot sensibly share one schedule.
Your intervals should therefore come out of a risk assessment, and you should be able to explain the reasoning behind them.
What determines how often equipment needs checking?
1. Type of equipment
Hand-held equipment takes the most punishment — it gets dropped, its cable gets pulled, and it is often used in awkward positions. Stationary equipment that sits on a desk and is rarely unplugged deteriorates far more slowly.
2. The environment
Construction sites, workshops, kitchens and outdoor work are harsh: dust, moisture, heat, vehicles running over cables. A clean, dry office is at the opposite end of the scale.
3. How often it is moved
Movement is what damages flexes and plugs. Equipment that is constantly unplugged, coiled, carried and re-plugged needs more frequent attention than something installed once and left.
4. Who uses it
Equipment used by the public, by untrained staff, or by people who did not buy it tends to be treated less carefully. Shared tools are usually in worse condition than personal ones.
5. Its history
If a particular type of equipment keeps failing, shorten the interval. If a category has never produced a fault in years of checks, that is evidence you can lengthen it.
What does a sensible regime look like?
Rather than one annual test, the HSE’s approach layers three levels of check — and the cheapest layer does the most work:
| Level | Who | How often |
|---|---|---|
| User check — look for damage before use | The person using it | Every time, for higher-risk equipment |
| Formal visual inspection — systematic check, plug and fuse examined, recorded | Trained person | Interval set by risk |
| Combined inspection & test — visual plus instrument tests | Competent person with a PAT tester | Least frequent; where testing genuinely adds value |
The important insight: the majority of faults are found by looking, not by testing. A frayed cable, a cracked plug, a scorch mark — none of these need a £600 instrument to detect. That is why an organisation with good user checks and occasional testing is often safer than one that tests everything annually and never looks in between.
Broad guidance by risk level
These are illustrative patterns, not legal minimums — your own risk assessment decides:
- Construction site tools, 110 V equipment, frequently moved handhelds — user checks before each use, formal inspection frequently, combined testing at relatively short intervals
- Workshops, kitchens, cleaning equipment — regular user and formal checks; testing at moderate intervals
- Offices: IT, monitors, desk lamps, chargers — user awareness, occasional formal inspection; combined testing rarely needed and often at long intervals
- Extension leads and multi-way adaptors, anywhere — treat as higher risk than they look. They are moved constantly, trodden on, and among the most commonly damaged items on any site
Common mistakes with intervals
- Testing everything annually because it’s simple. It costs money on low-risk items and can still be too infrequent for site tools.
- Treating the label date as a deadline. Equipment does not become unlawful the day after a “test due” date — that date was your own risk-based choice.
- Testing but never looking. A pass sticker from eight months ago says nothing about the damage done last week.
- Never reviewing the interval. If results show a category never fails, that is evidence to extend. If failures cluster, shorten.
- Forgetting new and borrowed equipment. New items are generally safe on arrival, but hired, borrowed or employee-owned equipment brought on site often has no history at all.
How should intervals be recorded?
Keep it simple and defensible: an inventory of equipment, its risk category, what level of check applies, when it was last done, by whom, what was found, and what was done about failures. That record is what demonstrates the regime is real — which is the thing an inspector, insurer or court would actually want to see.
Further reading
Set intervals with confidence
Our PAT Testing Awareness course covers risk-based intervals, the three levels of check, and what the law actually asks of you.
Related reading: What is PAT testing? · Is PAT testing a legal requirement?
£9 per course. CPD accredited, 100 % online, verifiable e-certificate on completion. Pay for 2, get 3 — any 3 courses for £18.
Please note: this is a CPD awareness course and general information, not legal advice. Where your role or scheme requires a regulated qualification or licence, that must come from an approved provider — always check your employer’s or scheme’s specific requirements.