Get quotes to PAT test your property

HaMuch is Excellent
By Emily Rivers
Last updated 18th July 2022

Why do I need a PAT test?

You must have seen them at work,school or in your rented accomodation? The labels attached to electrical appliances with a pass written on them, dated quite recently? These are the result of a PAT test or Portable Appliance Test that is a legal obligation for employers or landlords to check that electrical appliances are fit for purpose and do not present a fire or electric shock risk.

It is not a legal obligation to PAT test electrical appliances in your home but the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Housing Act states that it is a requirement in a work setting and an obligation for landlords. So it is not a legal requirement as of 2023 for landlords to get their electrical appliances tested but electrical items in rented accommodation need to be in a safe condition in case of fire which is the whole point of a PAT test.

PAT testing cost

How much does a PAT test cost?

A PAT test can be conducted quite quickly in a small office setting or one bedroom flat so should not take longer than an hour. For larger properties with lots of electrical equipment and appliances you can expect to pay more as it will take a lot longer to complete the inspection. Some PAT testers will charge you by the hour or size of property, others will charge per electrical appliance which will include wiring, stationary equipment, IT equipment, moveable equipment, portable appliances and hand held appliances. You will be surprised what these guys can stick a sticker on!

How much you pay will depend a lot on your location in the UK as it tends to be more expensive in the South East of England. On average the cost of a PAT test on up to 30 items should cost no more than £60. For this you will get a PAT test certificate and a lot of electrical items in good working order and a fresh pass sticker.

If the working environment is testing or represents a danger to the tester expect to pay more. Busy working kitchens or machine shops are an example of this. As said before, the more electrical appliances, the more you will have to pay.

Who does a PAT test?

You might be surprised to learn that you don’t need to be a qualified electrician to conduct a PAT test but you do need to have taken a PAT testing course to be let loose on all those electrical appliances.

This is something qualified electricians will have done so unless you want to take the course and have time to inspect your appliances it might be better to hire an electrician. They can also help identify other electrical safety issues with your property that an untrained eye might miss.

Either way you will also need the equipment to conduct a test and there are a number of PAT testing kits to make your life a hell of a lot easier. Unfortunately they are not cheap. The PAT testing machines start from £200 and go up to £1750 depending on the specification which includes things like printing labels to stick on the tested appliances.

Each electrical item is different and may require a different way to be tested. So having an understanding of not only being able to visually inspect the appliance for its safety but also to be able to test the appliance using authorised PAT testing equipment correctly is important.

What is measured in a PAT test

The first part of a PAT test is to visually inspect the appliance and lead and then to conduct a test using a custom PAT testing device. The test will check for current leakage, earth continuity, lead polarity and insulation resistance. The appliance is plugged into the PAT machine and probes are fixed to the appliance so that the machine can show whether it has passed or failed. Each appliance is then given a pass or fail sticker.

There is no definition of what a portable electrical appliance is and it doesn’t have to be something you carry around with you. Basically if it's got a plug socket attached to it, it should be tested but there are differences.

Electrical appliances are categorised as class I,II and III.

  • Class III: refers to low voltage items. They are the least dangerous and therefore the safest class of electrical appliance. Class III items do not need to be PAT tested, although any charging leads should be checked.

  • Class II: includes electrical equipment that doesn’t rely on earth for protection. These should be tested.

  • Class I: relates to equipment that has basic insulation and needs earth for protection.

How often do I need to do a PAT test?

There are no hard and fast rules as to when you should be conducting a PAT test and this depends on the use of the electrical equipment, the environment they are used in and the class of the appliance.

How do I hire an electrician to conduct a PAT test?

There are companies dedicated to PAT testing but the majority of PAT tests are conducted by qualified electricians. Get a quote to PAT test your property today from electricians in your local area. Simply post your job on HaMuch, get the electrician rates and talk to electricians that fit your budget.


Estimates for common electrician jobs;

Rates for other trades

PAT testing cost in the UK
PAT testing cost in the UK (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKPAT testing cost
PAT testing near Aberdeen£62
PAT testing near Amber Valley£58
PAT testing near Angus£56
PAT testing near Arun£64
PAT testing near Ashfield£62
PAT testing near Aylesbury Vale£78
PAT testing near Barnsley£64
PAT testing near Basildon£84
PAT testing near Basingstoke & Deane£82
PAT testing near Bassetlaw£60
PAT testing near Bath & North East Somerset£70
PAT testing near Bedford£78
PAT testing near Belfast£46
PAT testing near Birmingham£66
PAT testing near Blackburn£64
PAT testing near Blackpool£64
PAT testing near Bolton£64
PAT testing near Bournemouth£66
PAT testing near Bracknell Forest£90
PAT testing near Bradford£64
PAT testing near Braintree£76
PAT testing near Breckland£72
PAT testing near Bridgend£60
PAT testing near Brighton£76
PAT testing near Bristol£70
PAT testing near Broadland£68
PAT testing near Broxtowe£60
PAT testing near Bury£64
PAT testing near Caerphilly£60
PAT testing near Calderdale£62
PAT testing near Cambridge£76
PAT testing near Canterbury£64
PAT testing near Cardiff£60
PAT testing near Carmarthenshire£58
PAT testing near Charnwood£62
PAT testing near Chelmsford£82
PAT testing near Cheltenham£64
PAT testing near Cherwell£74
PAT testing near Chester£62
PAT testing near Colchester£72
PAT testing near Conway£98
PAT testing near Coventry£66
PAT testing near Crewe & Nantwich£60
PAT testing near Dacorum£90
PAT testing near Derby£58
PAT testing near Doncaster£60
PAT testing near Dover£60
PAT testing near Dudley£66
PAT testing near Dumfries & Galloway£60
PAT testing near Dundee£62
PAT testing near East Ayrshire£60
PAT testing near East Devon£62
PAT testing near East Dunbartonshire£70
PAT testing near East Hampshire£72
PAT testing near East Hertfordshire£84
PAT testing near East Lindsey£52
PAT testing near East Riding£60
PAT testing near Eastleigh£74
PAT testing near Edinburgh£68
PAT testing near Elmbridge£96
PAT testing near Epping Forest£94
PAT testing near Erewash£60
PAT testing near Exeter£58
PAT testing near Falkirk£70
PAT testing near Fife£64
PAT testing near Flintshire£60
PAT testing near Gateshead£66
PAT testing near Gedling£62
PAT testing near Glasgow£68
PAT testing near Gloucester£62
PAT testing near Guildford£86
PAT testing near Gwynedd£90
PAT testing near Halton£64
PAT testing near Harrogate£62
PAT testing near Havant & Waterloo£70
PAT testing near Horsham£82
PAT testing near Huntingdonshire£74
PAT testing near Ipswich£66
PAT testing near Isle of Wight£76
PAT testing near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£62
PAT testing near Kingston-upon-Hull£60
PAT testing near Kirklees£62
PAT testing near Knowsley£64
PAT testing near Lancaster£58
PAT testing near Leeds£66
PAT testing near Leicester£72
PAT testing near Lisburn£48
PAT testing near Liverpool£64
PAT testing near London£96
PAT testing near Luton£88
PAT testing near Macclesfield£64
PAT testing near Maidstone£84
PAT testing near Manchester£64
PAT testing near Mid Bedfordshire£80
PAT testing near Mid Sussex£80
PAT testing near Middlesbrough£64
PAT testing near Milton Keynes£76
PAT testing near Neath Port Talbot£60
PAT testing near New Forest£72
PAT testing near Newbury£80
PAT testing near Newcastle-under-Lyme£56
PAT testing near Newcastle-upon-Tyne£66
PAT testing near Newport£60
PAT testing near North Ayrshire£64
PAT testing near North East Lincolnshire£54
PAT testing near North Hertfordshire£84
PAT testing near North Lanarkshire£70
PAT testing near North Lincolnshire£60
PAT testing near North Somerset£68
PAT testing near North Tyneside£66
PAT testing near North Wiltshire£78
PAT testing near Northampton£74
PAT testing near Norwich£72
PAT testing near Nottingham£62
PAT testing near Nuneaton & Bedworth£70
PAT testing near Oldham£64
PAT testing near Oxford£78
PAT testing near Pembrokeshire£50
PAT testing near Perth & Kinross£66
PAT testing near Peterborough£64
PAT testing near Plymouth£62
PAT testing near Poole£66
PAT testing near Portsmouth£74
PAT testing near Powys£66
PAT testing near Preston£64
PAT testing near Reading£84
PAT testing near Redcar & Cleveland£66
PAT testing near Reigate & Banstead£94
PAT testing near Renfrewshire£70
PAT testing near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£62
PAT testing near Rochdale£64
PAT testing near Rotherham£58
PAT testing near Salford£64
PAT testing near Salisbury£62
PAT testing near Sandwell£66
PAT testing near Scarborough£58
PAT testing near Sefton£64
PAT testing near Sevenoaks£88
PAT testing near Sheffield£58
PAT testing near Slough£90
PAT testing near Solihull£66
PAT testing near South Ayrshire£64
PAT testing near South Bedfordshire£78
PAT testing near South Cambridgeshire£78
PAT testing near South Gloucestershire£70
PAT testing near South Kesteven£70
PAT testing near South Lanarkshire£66
PAT testing near South Oxfordshire£82
PAT testing near South Somerset£68
PAT testing near South Tyneside£64
PAT testing near Southampton£74
PAT testing near Southend-on-Sea£80
PAT testing near St Albans£90
PAT testing near St Helens£64
PAT testing near Stafford£62
PAT testing near Stockport£64
PAT testing near Stockton-on-Tees£64
PAT testing near Stoke-on-Trent£56
PAT testing near Stratford-on-Avon£68
PAT testing near Stroud£62
PAT testing near Suffolk Coastal£68
PAT testing near Sunderland£64
PAT testing near Swale£74
PAT testing near Swansea£60
PAT testing near Tameside£64
PAT testing near Teignbridge£56
PAT testing near Tendring£68
PAT testing near Test Valley£66
PAT testing near Thamesdown£76
PAT testing near Thanet£60
PAT testing near The Wrekin£58
PAT testing near Thurrock£88
PAT testing near Torbay£56
PAT testing near Trafford£66
PAT testing near Vale of Glamorgan£62
PAT testing near Vale of White Horse£74
PAT testing near Vale Royal£60
PAT testing near Wakefield£64
PAT testing near Walsall£66
PAT testing near Warrington£64
PAT testing near Warwick£66
PAT testing near Waveney£66
PAT testing near Waverley£84
PAT testing near Wealden£90
PAT testing near West Lancashire£64
PAT testing near West Lothian£66
PAT testing near West Wiltshire£78
PAT testing near Wigan£62
PAT testing near Windsor & Maidenhead£90
PAT testing near Wirral£66
PAT testing near Wokingham£88
PAT testing near Wolverhampton£68
PAT testing near Wrexham Maelor£58
PAT testing near Wychavon£66
PAT testing near Wycombe£86
PAT testing near York£62