How to Create a PAT Testing Schedule for Your Workplace

A PAT testing schedule stops portable appliance testing from being a last-minute scramble. Without one, retests get missed, records go stale, and you lose the paper trail that proves due diligence.

This guide walks you through building a practical PAT testing schedule from scratch — one that fits your workplace and keeps your appliance register current.

If you want the full picture of what PAT testing involves and why it matters, start with our guide to PAT testing records.

Step 1: Audit Your Appliances

You cannot schedule testing for appliances you do not know you have. The first job is a full inventory.

Walk every room, every floor, every cupboard. Record:

What it is — kettle, monitor, desk fan, phone charger, floor lamp
Where it is — building, floor, room number or desk ID
Who uses it — shared, assigned to a person, or communal area
Class I or Class II — Class I appliances have an earth connection (three-pin metal-bodied items like kettles). Class II are double-insulated (two-pin or marked with the square-within-a-square symbol)
Condition on sight — any visible damage, frayed cables, cracked plugs

Do not forget personal items staff bring in. Hair straighteners, phone chargers, desk fans — these are portable appliances too, and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (Regulation 4) places a duty on employers to ensure all electrical equipment used at work is maintained to prevent danger.

A typical office of 50 people might have 200-400 portable appliances once you count monitors, chargers, and kitchen equipment.

Step 2: Classify by Risk

Not every appliance needs testing at the same frequency. The IET Code of Practice for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment groups appliances by risk based on three factors:

Equipment type:

Handheld appliances (drills, hairdryers) — highest risk
Portable appliances (kettles, fans, heaters) — medium-high risk
Moveable equipment (printers, desktop PCs) — lower risk
Stationary equipment (fridges, vending machines) — lowest risk for portable category
Fixed equipment (hand dryers, water heaters) — tested less frequently

Environment:

Construction sites and workshops — harsh conditions, more frequent testing
Offices — generally benign, less frequent testing needed
Commercial kitchens — wet environment, higher frequency than standard office

User type:

Public access (hotels, shops) — more frequent
Managed workplace — standard frequency

Use our PAT testing frequency calculator to get recommended intervals for each appliance type and environment.

Step 3: Set Testing Frequencies

The IET Code of Practice provides suggested initial intervals. For a standard office environment, these are typical starting points:

Equipment type	Suggested interval
IT equipment (desktop, monitor, printer)	48 months
Portable appliances (kettle, fan, heater)	24 months
Hand-held equipment	12 months
Extension leads and power strips	12 months
Kitchen appliances	12 months

These are not legal requirements — they are risk-based recommendations. You can adjust them based on your own failure data over time. If your kettles consistently pass at 12 months, extending to 18 months is reasonable. If extension leads in a busy workshop fail regularly, shorten the interval.

For a detailed breakdown of how often each type of equipment should be tested, see our PAT testing frequency guide.

Step 4: Create a Calendar

With your inventory classified and frequencies assigned, map it onto a calendar.

Group by quarter. Testing everything in one month creates a bottleneck. Spread it across the year:

Q1 (Jan-Mar): Kitchen appliances, hand-held equipment
Q2 (Apr-Jun): Extension leads, power strips, portable heaters
Q3 (Jul-Sep): IT equipment batch 1 (floors 1-3)
Q4 (Oct-Dec): IT equipment batch 2 (floors 4-6)

Adjust to suit your workplace. The point is that testing becomes a rolling programme rather than an annual event.

Set calendar reminders at least 4 weeks before each testing period starts. This gives you time to book a tester (in-house or external), confirm the appliance list, and notify staff.

Build in a new-starter process. When someone joins and brings equipment, or when new appliances are purchased, they go into the register and get assigned to the next appropriate testing window.

Step 5: Assign Responsibilities

A PAT testing schedule fails if nobody owns it. Define three roles:

Who tests: This could be an in-house trained person or an external contractor. For most offices, a staff member with a one-day PAT testing course and a portable appliance tester is sufficient for Class II visual inspections and basic testing. Complex or three-phase equipment may need a qualified electrician.

Who records: The person doing the testing should record results at the point of test. Delays between testing and recording lead to missing data.

Who reviews: A facilities manager, office manager, or health and safety lead should review the register quarterly. They are checking for missed retests, patterns of failure, and any equipment gaps.

Write these responsibilities into job descriptions or health and safety procedures. When the person responsible leaves, handover must include the appliance register and schedule.

Step 6: Record and Review

Testing without proper records is testing wasted. For each appliance tested, record:

Unique asset ID (matching the label on the appliance)
Description and location
Test date
Tester name
Test type (visual inspection, combined inspection and test)
Results (earth continuity, insulation resistance, functional checks)
Pass or fail
Next retest date
Action taken for failures (repaired, withdrawn, disposed)

Review your data every 6 months. Look for:

Failure clusters — are certain appliance types or locations producing more failures? Adjust frequency or replace equipment.
Missed retests — any appliances overdue? Find out why and close the gap.
Register gaps — new equipment that was never added, or disposed items still showing as active.

This review cycle is what turns a static spreadsheet into an active safety management tool.

Quick-Reference Checklist

Use this checklist when setting up or reviewing your PAT testing schedule:

Keep Your PAT Testing Schedule on Track

The hardest part of a PAT testing schedule is not creating it — it is maintaining it. Appliances move, staff change, equipment gets replaced. A schedule only works if your register stays current.

PATvault is built to handle exactly this. It tracks your appliance register, sends retest reminders before deadlines arrive, and keeps your records audit-ready without manual calendar management.

Join the PATvault waitlist to get early access when we launch.