Portable appliance testing records that follow the appliance
Keep portable appliance inspection and test records per appliance, on a risk-based interval, with the evidence an inspector expects. Electricity at Work Regs.
What the standard asks
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical equipment to be maintained so far as reasonably practicable to prevent danger. The law does not set a fixed test interval and does not use the word PAT.
The HSE and the IET Code of Practice describe a risk-based approach: user checks before use, formal visual inspections at intervals you decide from the equipment class and environment, and combined inspection and test where the risk justifies it.
Records are not a strict legal requirement for most workplaces, but the HSE says a record system helps you show that maintenance is under control. Inspectors and insurers ask for it.
How AssetWRX handles it
- 01
One record per appliance
Each appliance is an asset with its class, location, last inspection and next due date. A label with a QR code opens exactly that record.
- 02
The IET checks as a template
Plug, flex, casing, switch, signs of overheating and the test readings as fields, so a fail is a data point with a photo, not a line in a spreadsheet.
- 03
Intervals per class, not per building
Scheduled inspections run per appliance on the interval you set for its class and environment, and remind the right person before the date.
- 04
Failed items become work
A failed inspection opens a job: remove from service, repair or replace, with the evidence attached and the closure recorded.
- 05
The report an inspector accepts
A signed, timestamped PDF per appliance or per site, with every reading and photo, shareable by link.
Questions
- Is PAT testing a legal requirement in the UK?
- Not by that name. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require equipment to be maintained to prevent danger; inspection and testing is how most organisations show they do. The interval is yours to set from the risk, and the HSE says annual testing of everything is often more than needed.
- Who can carry out a formal visual inspection?
- A competent person with the right training. Combined inspection and test needs someone competent to use the test instrument and interpret the results. AssetWRX records who did each check and when.
- Do I need to keep PAT records?
- There is no explicit legal duty for most workplaces, but a record system is the HSE's recommended way of showing maintenance is under control, and landlords in some tenancy schemes and insurers require it.
General guidance, not legal advice. Duties depend on your premises, jurisdiction and risk assessment; confirm them with a competent person.
Run the first check this week
Your first asset is free, with no card. Import the checklist at signup, label the asset, run the check on a phone.