Meet the EVCICR: why a standard EICR isn’t enough for EV chargers

Ask most people to prove their electrics are safe and they will hand you an EICR, an Electrical Installation Condition Report. It is a good, well-understood document. But it was written for a building’s general fixed wiring, not for the specific demands of an electric vehicle charge point. And that gap is exactly where EV charging problems hide.

What a standard EICR misses on EV chargers

EV chargers are not just another accessory on the ring main. They draw sustained high current for hours at a time, they sit outdoors in car parks and loading bays, and BS 7671 gives them their own dedicated section, Section 722, precisely because they behave differently. A generalist inspection to a standard EICR scope can pass while charger-specific issues go unnoticed, because looking for them was never in the brief.

A standard EICR asks ‘is the wiring safe?’ The EVCICR asks ‘is this charger safe, and will it keep working?’

What the EVCICR adds

So we built the UK’s first Electric Vehicle Charging Installation Condition Report, the EVCICR. It encompasses all the usual legal requirements of an EICR, carried out by authorised professionals to BS 7671 18th Edition standards, and then goes further to assess and highlight the issues that are specific to EV charge points.

Two things matter about how it is delivered:

• It is non-intrusive. We get a genuine picture of the health of your charge points without tearing the site apart.
• It can be expanded to fit the estate. Optional additions include RCD testing and DC rapid filter cleaning, so the inspection matches the hardware you actually run.

The point is not to replace the EICR. It is to stop treating a charger like a socket, and to give owners a report that reflects how charging equipment really behaves.

Where the EVCICR fits

For most estates the EVCICR sits inside the wider picture we handle around fire risk and compliance: inspection, then the remediation of anything found, with reporting you can hand straight to an insurer. And like all our work, it follows an initial, non-invasive Charge Point Audit so the plan is built on the real condition of your estate rather than a guess.

An inspection designed for the equipment in front of you is not a luxury. On EV charging, it is the difference between a certificate and genuine peace of mind.

Frequently asked

What is an EVCICR?

An Electric Vehicle Charging Installation Condition Report, the UK's first EV-specific inspection created by Safer Charging. It covers everything a standard EICR does, to BS 7671 18th Edition, and adds the checks specific to EV charge points.

How is an EVCICR different from an EICR?

A standard EICR assesses a building's general fixed wiring. The EVCICR includes that scope but also assesses issues specific to EV charging, the loads, siting and protection that make chargers behave differently from ordinary circuits.

Is the EVCICR intrusive?

No. It is a non-intrusive inspection that gives an honest picture of the health of your charge points, and it can be expanded with optional extras such as RCD testing and DC rapid filter cleaning.