Once your PAT testing is done and the certificate is in your hands, the obvious question is: what do you actually need to do with it? How long should you keep it? And what happens if you can’t find it? Here’s a straightforward answer.
What Records Should a PAT Test Produce?
A proper PAT test carried out by a competent electrician should produce a written record — typically called a PAT testing certificate or register — which documents every appliance that was tested. This record should include:
A description of each appliance tested, including its make and model where possible. A unique identifier or asset number for each item (useful for larger premises with lots of similar equipment). The date it was tested. The result — pass or fail. The retest date or recommended retesting interval. The name and contact details of the person or company who carried out the testing.
Each individual appliance should also have a label applied to it showing the test date and result. This label is the quick visual reference that tells anyone using the equipment whether it’s been recently tested.
Is There a Legal Requirement to Keep PAT Testing Records?
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 don’t specifically mandate a particular record-keeping format or retention period. What they do require is that electrical equipment is maintained in a safe condition. The records are your evidence that you’ve done this.
In practice, if there’s ever an inspection by the Health and Safety Executive, a council licensing visit for an HMO, or an insurance claim following an electrical incident, your PAT testing records are what you’ll be asked to produce. Not being able to show them is equivalent — in the eyes of inspectors and insurers — to not having done the testing at all.
How Long Should You Keep PAT Testing Records?
There’s no fixed statutory retention period written into UK law for PAT testing records specifically. The general principle applied in practice is to keep records for at least as long as the equipment is in service, plus a reasonable period afterwards.
The guidance that most compliance-conscious businesses follow is:
For general workplace equipment: keep records for the lifetime of the appliance, or for a minimum of five years — whichever is longer. This aligns with the general approach to health and safety record keeping.
For rented property: keep records for the duration of any tenancy to which the testing relates, plus at least two years after. This provides cover in the event of a dispute or claim after a tenancy ends.
For HMOs and licensed premises: follow the specific retention requirements set by your local authority, as these may be more prescriptive than the general guidance.
When in doubt, keep them for longer rather than shorter. PAT testing certificates are not large documents. There’s no meaningful reason to dispose of them.
How Should PAT Testing Records Be Stored?
There’s no formal requirement for how records are stored — paper or digital both work. The practical requirements are that they should be:
Accessible — you should be able to find them quickly if asked. Legible — a scanned copy of a damaged or faded certificate isn’t much use. Backed up — digital records should be stored somewhere that isn’t solely on one person’s laptop. Organised — if you have multiple sites or multiple rounds of testing, records should be clearly labelled with the location and date.
Many businesses now keep PAT testing records in a shared folder or document management system, with paper copies held on site. Either works, as long as you can produce them when needed.
What If You’ve Lost Your PAT Testing Records?
If you’ve lost your certificate, the most straightforward solution is to arrange a new round of PAT testing. This gives you a clean, dated record and ensures the testing itself is current. Trying to reconstruct old records from memory or labels alone isn’t a reliable approach.
If the company that carried out your previous testing is still trading, it’s worth contacting them — they may hold a copy of your records. We keep records of all testing we carry out, so if we’ve worked with you before, we can reissue your documentation.
Do Staff Need to See PAT Testing Records?
Staff don’t typically need to review the full PAT testing register, but they should know that testing has been carried out and that labelled equipment is safe to use. If an employee raises a concern about a specific appliance — it’s making a noise, giving a mild shock, or showing visible damage — that item should be taken out of use immediately and reported, regardless of when it was last tested.
PAT Testing Across Cheshire and Manchester
We issue full digital and paper PAT testing certificates on the same day as testing, covering every appliance individually. All records are kept on file at our end as a backup.
If you need PAT testing for your business or property across Cheshire, Greater Manchester, or the wider North West, our PAT testing service page has everything you need to get booked in.