PAT Testing Cost: What You Should Expect to Pay in the UK
Updated: Oct 9
Most UK PAT testing is priced per item, and typical market rates sit at roughly £1 to £1.25 per appliance, with a minimum visit fee of around £40 to £60 on small jobs. Those are the ballpark averages in Checkatrade's cost guide (last updated June 2026). The real number for your premises depends on how many items there are, how easy they are to reach, and what happens to the ones that fail.
How much does PAT testing cost per item?
Per item pricing is the most common way testers charge, and the unit price usually drops as the count goes up. Checkatrade's guide puts smaller jobs (up to about 50 items) at around £1.25 each and larger jobs at around £1 each.
The minimum charge matters more than the unit price for a small business. With only a couple of dozen items, the per item rate comes to less than the typical minimum visit fee of £40 to £60, so the minimum fee is what you will actually pay. For a home office or a small salon, the minimum fee is usually the whole bill.
Prices in London and the South East tend to run higher than the UK average. When we quote for PAT testing in Shifnal, Wolverhampton and Telford, we base the figure on the item count and the site, which is why we ask about both before giving a price.
Per item or hourly rate: which one suits you?
Some testers quote by the hour or the day instead of per item, usually for large or awkward sites. Where hourly rates are used, the same guide puts them at about £40 to £60 an hour, rising to around £80 to £100 an hour for out of hours work.
Per item pricing suits you when you know your count and the items are easy to reach. A time based price can work out better on a site with hundreds of low risk items grouped together, such as a call centre with rows of identical desks. It works out worse where equipment is scattered, hard to unplug or only accessible before opening time.
If you are offered a day rate, ask roughly how many items the tester expects to get through in that day. That turns a day rate into a per item figure you can compare.
What drives PAT testing prices up or down?
Five things move the price more than anything else:
Item count: more items cost more in total but less per item.
Access: kit under desks, in ceilings, or on a live production line takes longer to reach and isolate.
Timing: evening, weekend and early morning visits (to avoid disrupting trade) cost more.
Class of equipment: earthed (Class I) items get more electrical tests than double insulated (Class II) items, so a site full of kettles, heaters and power tools takes longer than one full of laptops.
Failures: replacing a fuse or a plug on the spot, and retesting afterwards, is extra labour and parts.
It also helps to know that not every item needs a full electrical test. HSE guidance says double insulated equipment does not need a portable appliance test, only user checks and visual inspections, and battery powered items under 40 volts need neither. A good tester will not charge you to "test" things that only need looking at, and knowing what PAT testing involves for each class of item makes it easier to spot padding on a quote.
What does PAT testing cost for landlords?
Landlords of single properties are usually offered a fixed price for a set number of items. Checkatrade's figures put this at around £45 for up to 10 items, £55 for up to 20 and £65 for up to 30, with extra items at roughly £1 each.
Private landlords in England are not legally required to PAT test the appliances they supply, but a test at a change of tenancy, or regularly in an HMO, is a simple way to show that what you provide is safe. Social housing providers are different: since the 2025 amendment to the electrical safety regulations, they must have equipment they supply checked at least every 5 years. If you manage several properties, grouping visits on the same day is the easiest way to avoid paying the minimum fee more than once.
What a proper test and record should include
A cheap price is only cheap if you get a usable result. For each item, a proper visit should cover:
A visual inspection, including opening rewireable plugs to check the fuse rating, terminals and cord grip.
Electrical tests appropriate to the item's class, such as earth continuity and insulation resistance on Class I equipment.
A clear pass or fail result, with a label on the item and a written reason for any failure.
A record listing every item, its location, what was done and the result.
The HSE says there is no legal requirement to keep records or label equipment, but a record is how you show you are maintaining your equipment if anyone asks. It is also how you spot patterns, such as one department that keeps damaging leads.
Watch for labels that print a "next test due" date chosen by the tester. HSE guidance on maintaining portable equipment says the tester should not decide when the next test is due; that is your call as the dutyholder, based on risk. A sensible tester will advise you on intervals rather than set them for you.
What is often not included in the price
Quotes vary most in what they leave out. Before you accept one, check whether it covers:
the minimum charge or travel to site
replacement fuses and plugs (and whether those are charged as parts plus labour)
retesting failed items after repair
disposing of items that cannot be repaired
extension leads, multi-way adaptors and IEC leads, which should be counted as separate items
A quote that looks cheap per item but charges for every fuse, label and retest can end up costing more than a slightly higher all-inclusive price.
How to compare PAT testing quotes
Put each quote on the same footing. Give every tester the same item count, split into rough groups (IT, kitchen, cleaning, power tools, leads), and tell them when access is possible.
Then ask three questions. What is the total including the minimum charge? What happens, and what does it cost, when an item fails? What exactly will we receive at the end? If a tester cannot answer those clearly, the low headline price is not the full story.
It is also worth asking whether the tester can tie PAT into the rest of your electrical maintenance, such as the fixed wiring inspection, so the site is visited once rather than several times. Because PAT testing is not a fixed legal requirement in itself, you have room to shape the schedule around risk rather than paying for blanket annual visits.
If you would like a quote for your premises in Shropshire, Staffordshire or the West Midlands, get in touch with a rough item count and we will price the visit after a look at the site.
PAT testing price questions, answered
Is PAT testing cheaper if I do it myself?
It can be. HSE guidance says a portable appliance test does not have to be done by an electrician, but the person needs the right test equipment, training to use it and the knowledge to interpret the results. For most small businesses, the cost of a suitable tester and training outweighs a yearly or less frequent visit.
Do I need to test everything every year?
No. The law does not set a frequency, and HSE says annual testing is not always necessary in low risk environments. Intervals depend on the type of equipment and how it is used, so a well planned schedule can cut your costs by testing lower risk items less often.
Why was my quote higher than the online averages?
Usually because of the minimum charge, awkward access, out of hours working or a high share of Class I and heavy use items. Ask the tester to break the quote down so you can see which of these applies.
Comments