Free notes
Filling in EIC page 1: who did whatWhy do you sign the certificate three times?
Free from the notes: Sparky’s video on it, the section word for word as members see it, and a PDF to keep.
The notes
Exactly as they are on the site.
| Box | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Certificate number | Your own numbering system. The same number goes on every page of the set, so the pages can’t be separated |
| Client | Who the work is for. Not always where it is |
| Installation address | Where the installation actually is |
| Description | A brief summary of the installation as a whole. Something like “single-phase domestic installation, nine circuits” — counting the circuit you just added |
| Extent covered | What this certificate covers. A whole new installation: all of it. One new circuit: say which, e.g. “circuit 7 only, EV charger”. This box limits what you’re answerable for |
| New / addition / alteration | Tick what applies. More than one can be ticked |
Three signatures, usually the same person
The EIC is a multiple-signature certificate: one section for the designer (with room for a second designer where two share responsibility), one for the constructor, one for whoever inspected and tested. On most jobs you’re all three, and you sign three times. Where one person really is responsible for all three, a single-signature declaration can be used instead.
Departures and permitted exceptions
Departures: BS 7671 isn’t law, and a designer can depart from it, provided the result is no less safe — but the departure has to be written on the certificate. The box names the regulations that allow it — use the ones listed on the form. If there aren’t any, write None. Never leave it blank.
Permitted exceptions means one regulation: 411.3.3, the 30 mA RCD for socket-outlets. Under Amendment 4 it covers three things, all up to 32 A:
| 30 mA RCD required for | Can there be an exception? | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Sockets liable to be used by ordinary people | No |
| (b) | Sockets in any other location | Yes |
| (c) | Mobile equipment for use outdoors | No |
The exception for (b) needs a documented risk assessment, done with a skilled person (electrically) involved, and that risk assessment goes with the certificate — there’s a “risk assessment attached” tick box. Showing an ordinary person how the installation works doesn’t make them anything other than an ordinary person. In practice the exception is rare: think a socket in a locked switch room. A home is exactly where ordinary people and children use the sockets, so it never applies there. BS 7671 also recommends RCD protection on all socket-outlets.
Next inspection: who decides the first periodic inspection?
A favourite exam question. The designer. The designer recommends the interval to the first periodic inspection and test, as part of the design, taking into account how the installation will be used and the maintenance it can reasonably expect. After that, each periodic inspection recommends the interval to the next one.
BS 7671 · Reg 134.2.2 Guidance Note 3 · 2.4 Guidance Note 3 · 3.4 BS 7671 · Reg 411.3.3 Guidance Note 3 · Fig 5.1 · p.147 · an example page 1
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Sparky Study Notes is the whole Level 3 syllabus written up like this: the explanation, the worked example, and where it is in your book. With a video lesson for every part and a practice paper for every exam.
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- 18th Edition
- Building Regs
- PAT
- Fundamental Inspection & Testing
- Initial Verification
- Periodic Inspection & Testing