EICR codes explained: what C1, C2, C3 and FI actually mean

An EICR marked "unsatisfactory" tends to cause more alarm than it should, or occasionally less than it should, depending on which code sits behind the result. As explained in our overview of the Electrical Safety Standards, the summary line at the top of the report is far less informative than the individual observation codes underneath it.

C1: danger present

A C1 code means the electrician judged there to be a risk of injury right now, and it's treated as requiring immediate action — in practice, this usually means the dangerous element is made safe on the spot, before the electrician even finishes writing up the rest of the report. This is the code that genuinely warrants an emergency response, not a scheduled follow-up.

C2: potentially dangerous

A C2 code flags something that isn't an immediate danger but could become one, and it's expected to be addressed urgently rather than left to the next planned maintenance visit. This is the code that most commonly drives an overall "unsatisfactory" result, and it's worth resisting the urge to treat that word as equivalent to the emergency implied by a C1.

C3 and FI: recommended improvement and further investigation

A C3 is a recommendation for improvement rather than a required fix — it doesn't affect the overall satisfactory result on its own, though it's still worth acting on where practical. An FI code means the electrician needs to investigate further before a finding can be properly classified at all, which sits closer to "we need another visit to know more" than to a defined defect with a defined fix.

Why treating every unsatisfactory result the same wastes urgency

An agent who reads "unsatisfactory" and escalates every case with the same urgency ends up either burning goodwill with landlords over minor C3 recommendations, or — more dangerously — treating a C1 with the same unhurried pace as routine paperwork. Reading past the summary line to the actual codes is the difference between a proportionate response and either overreaction or under-reaction.

• –C1 — danger present, needs making safe immediately
• –C2 — potentially dangerous, needs urgent remedial action
• –C3 — improvement recommended, doesn't affect the satisfactory result
• –FI — further investigation required before the finding can be classified

Turning a coded finding into a closed job

Whatever the code, a finding only actually matters once it's turned into a tracked piece of work with an owner and a close-out date — a report that sits in an inbox, however clearly coded, protects nobody. We've written more generally about taking an inspection finding through to a completed repair, and the same logic applies just as directly to EICR findings as it does to a leak spotted on a routine walkthrough.

Getting a second opinion when a report feels off

It's reasonable to query a report that seems disproportionately severe or oddly light for what was actually found — a competent electrician should be able to walk through the reasoning behind a specific code, and choosing a contractor worth trusting on this includes one who'll do that without treating the question as a challenge to their judgement.

The report filed as a pass

An EICR is not a pass mark, and the most common handling error is treating it as one. The report arrives, the overall assessment is read, and it goes into the property file — with its observations, each carrying a different code and a different urgency, effectively unread. Months later there is documentary evidence that the landlord was told about something and no record of anything being done.

Worth separating clearly: the report's arrival, the remedial work it calls for, and the evidence that work happened. Three distinct things, frequently collapsed into one filed PDF.

Common mistakes

• –Filing the report without turning its observations into dated jobs
• –Treating all observations as equally urgent or equally deferrable
• –No evidence retained that remedial work was completed
• –Losing the link between the remedial work and the report that prompted it
• –Assuming a satisfactory overall result means no action is required
• –Discovering unresolved observations at the next inspection