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PAT due date checker.

Pick the equipment and where it is used, and enter the date of its last visual inspection or test. The checker shows HSE's suggested next dates: a starting point from HSE guidance, not a legal deadline. No signup, no cookies, and nothing leaves your browser.

PAT: suggested next check and test dates

Uses HSE’s suggested initial intervals (HSG107, Table 1). A suggested starting point from HSE guidance, not a legal deadline: adjust it to your own risk assessment.

User checks

HSE’s table: Yes.

Formal visual inspection

HSE’s suggested starting interval: every 6 months to 1 year. Enter the date of the last one to see a date.

Combined inspection and test (PAT)

HSE’s suggested starting interval: every 1 to 2 years. Enter the date of the last one to see a date.

  • Suggested starting point from HSE guidance, not a legal deadline. HSE says the figures “are not legal requirements” and the dutyholder sets the interval on a risk assessment (HSG107, paragraphs 55 to 57).
  • HSE also expects a combined inspection and test whenever there is reason to suppose the equipment may be defective, and after any repair, modification or similar work (HSG107, paragraph 47).
  • Results over time may justify longer or shorter intervals. If items are grouped and tested together, HSE says to use the shortest interval in the group.

Intervals from HSE’s HSG107 Maintaining portable electrical equipment (third edition, 2013), Table 1. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Where a month has no matching day, the date is the last day of that month. Nothing you enter leaves your browser or is stored. Planning aid, not legal advice. Tool from hovermarks.co.uk.

Looking after more than a handful of appliances?

Hovermarks gives each appliance a small QR plug label or cable flag that opens its live record, puts it on the interval you choose, and reminds you before it is due. See PAT testing in Hovermarks. Start a 30-day free trial

Frequently asked questions

Where do the intervals come from?
From Table 1 of HSE's guidance HSG107, Maintaining portable electrical equipment (third edition, 2013), which sets out suggested initial intervals for user checks, formal visual inspections and combined inspection and testing by type of equipment and environment. HSE's leaflet INDG236 has the same figures for low-risk workplaces such as offices and shops.
Is the date the checker gives a legal deadline?
No. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require equipment to be maintained so as to prevent danger, but HSE says they do not specify what needs to be done, by whom or how often. HSG107 (paragraph 57) says its suggested intervals are not legal requirements. Treat the date as a starting point and adjust it to your own risk assessment.
Why does it give a range of dates?
Where HSE's table gives a range, such as 1 to 2 years, HSG107 (paragraph 56) says the shorter interval is for more demanding conditions of use and the longer interval for less demanding conditions. The checker shows both ends.
Who decides when the next test is due?
The dutyholder, usually the employer. HSE says the person carrying out the test should not assess when the next test will be due, because that decision should be made by the dutyholder on a risk assessment basis (INDG236 and HSG107, paragraph 54).
Is this the same as the rules for landlords?
No. Some landlords have their own rules with their own intervals. In Scotland, private landlords' statutory guidance sets an electrical safety inspection, including PAT, at least every 5 years, and in England social landlords must have equipment they provide checked at least every 5 years. See the landlords page for each nation.
Does anything I type leave my browser?
No. The checker works entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us or stored, and the tool uses no cookies.

Sources

Every statement on this page was checked against these on . This page is general information, not legal advice. Your own risk assessment, and for landlords the rules where the property is, decide what applies to your equipment.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Quotations from legislation and HSE guidance are Crown copyright. Hovermarks is not endorsed by HSE or any other public body.

Related: how often PAT testing is needed, who can do PAT testing, PAT testing for landlords, PAT labels that stay current, PAT testing software.

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FORM HVK-CTA-01 · v05  ·  signed: hovermarks · uk