What Needs PAT Testing? A Practical Checklist for UK Workplaces

If it has a plug and it's used at work, it probably needs some form of inspection. But not everything needs the same level of testing, and some items don't need PAT testing at all. Getting this right saves you money and means your testing schedule actually reflects the risk — rather than treating a desk lamp the same as an angle grinder.

This guide covers which appliances need PAT testing, which don't, and how to categorise them using the IET Code of Practice framework.

The IET equipment categories

The IET Code of Practice for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment classifies electrical equipment into five categories. These categories determine the recommended testing frequency and the type of inspection required. Understanding them is the first step to building a sensible PAT testing schedule.

Stationary equipment

Weighs more than 18 kg and has no carrying handle. May have wheels for repositioning, but not designed to be moved during normal use.

Examples: large photocopiers, floor-standing printers, vending machines, water coolers, commercial dishwashers, server racks, free-standing air conditioning units.

Still has a plug, still needs PAT testing. The risk profile is lower because the cable and plug aren't subject to repeated handling, so testing intervals are longer.

IT equipment

Equipment that processes, stores, or transmits data. The IET Code of Practice treats IT equipment as its own category because it's often continuously powered and may be double-insulated.

Examples: desktop computers, monitors, routers, switches, network-attached storage, desk-sized printers, scanners, docking stations.

Movable equipment

Weighs less than 18 kg and can be moved, but normally stays in a fixed position.

Examples: desktop fans, portable heaters, table lamps, freestanding monitors on adjustable arms, small portable air conditioning units, dehumidifiers.

Portable equipment

Designed to be moved while in use, or frequently moved between uses. This is the broadest category and covers most workplace appliances.

Examples: kettles, toasters, microwaves, vacuum cleaners, portable power tools, laptop chargers, phone chargers, extension leads, desk lamps that get moved between desks, portable projectors.

Higher risk than stationary or movable equipment because the cable, plug, and appliance are all subject to regular handling.

Handheld equipment

Held in the hand during normal use. Highest-risk category — the user is in direct contact with the appliance while it's energised.

Examples: power drills, angle grinders, soldering irons, handheld sanders, hair dryers (in salons), heat guns, handheld vacuum cleaners, glue guns.

Handheld equipment receives the most frequent testing under the IET Code of Practice. In industrial environments, user checks before every use and formal visual inspections every 6 months are standard.

What definitely needs PAT testing

The following items should be on your appliance register and included in your PAT testing programme. This is not exhaustive — it covers the most common items found in UK workplaces.

Kitchen and breakroom

Kettles
Microwaves
Toasters
Fridges and fridge-freezers
Coffee machines
Sandwich makers
Slow cookers or instant pots
Water boilers (counter-top type with a plug)

Kitchen appliances are among the most common items to fail PAT testing. They operate in a moisture-rich environment, are handled frequently (often with wet hands), and tend to accumulate limescale, grease, and food debris around cable entry points.

Office equipment

Desktop computers and monitors
Laptop chargers and docking stations
Desk lamps
Desk fans
Portable heaters
Phone chargers used at work
Shredders
Laminators
Printers (both desk-sized and floor-standing)
Scanners
Projectors

Cables and leads

Extension leads
Multi-socket adaptors (power strips)
IEC power leads (the detachable cables that connect to PCs and monitors)
Phone and laptop charger cables

Extension leads and power strips deserve particular attention. They're frequently overloaded, daisy-chained, positioned where they get stepped on, and used well beyond their intended lifespan. The IET Code of Practice recommends user checks before each use. If you find one with cracked sockets, bent pins, or a damaged cable, remove it from service immediately.

Tools and workshop equipment

Portable power tools (drills, saws, sanders, grinders)
Soldering irons
Bench grinders
Heat guns
Inspection lamps
Battery chargers (mains-powered units)
Compressors (portable, plug-in type)

Cleaning equipment

Vacuum cleaners
Floor polishers and scrubbers
Carpet cleaners
Steam cleaners
Portable hand dryers

Other common items

Portable air conditioning units
Dehumidifiers
Electric heaters
PAT testers themselves (yes — a PAT tester is a portable appliance and should be included in your register)
Audio-visual equipment (speakers, amplifiers, sound bars)
Portable display screens
Sewing machines (in educational or manufacturing settings)
Electric wheelchair chargers provided by the employer

What does NOT need PAT testing

PAT testing applies to portable electrical equipment — items with a plug that connects to a socket outlet. Several categories of equipment fall outside its scope.

Fixed electrical installations

Wall sockets, ceiling lights, fuse boards, consumer units, distribution boards, hard-wired cookers, hard-wired electric showers, and any other equipment permanently wired into the building's electrical system. These are covered by periodic inspection and testing of the fixed installation, resulting in an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). An EICR is carried out by a qualified electrician, typically every 5 years for rented properties (required by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020) or at intervals determined by the previous report.

PAT testing and fixed installation testing are separate obligations. They cover different equipment and are carried out by different people using different procedures.

Battery-only devices

If a device runs solely on batteries and is never plugged into a mains socket — not even for charging — it doesn't need PAT testing. A battery-powered torch, a set of walkie-talkies with a separate charging cradle, or a battery-operated clock all fall outside the scope.

However, the charging unit or cradle does need PAT testing if it plugs into the mains. The battery device itself doesn't; the thing that charges it does.

Equipment under manufacturer warranty with no visible damage

The IET Code of Practice states that brand-new equipment from a reputable manufacturer can be assumed to be safe for initial use without formal PAT testing. A visual check before first use is still recommended — confirm the plug is correctly wired (if rewirable), the cable is undamaged, and the equipment is appropriate for the intended environment. But a full combined inspection and test is not required until the first scheduled testing interval.

This applies to new equipment only. Once it's been in service, normal testing schedules apply regardless of warranty status.

Extra-low voltage equipment

Equipment operating below 50V AC or 120V DC (extra-low voltage) is generally excluded from PAT testing requirements. Most USB-powered devices fall into this category — a USB desk fan powered directly from a laptop port, for example. But if that fan has its own mains plug or USB mains adaptor, the adaptor needs testing.

The grey areas

Several categories of equipment cause regular confusion. Here's how to handle them.

Personal items brought to work

Phone chargers, desk fans, personal heaters, and other items that employees bring from home and plug in at work. The employer still has a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. If it's plugged into your socket, it's using your electrical system, and you have a responsibility to ensure it's safe.

The practical approach: include personal items in your PAT testing programme, or establish a policy that personal items must be PAT tested before use on-site. Many organisations require employees to register personal appliances with facilities management, at which point they're added to the PAT register and tested at the same intervals as company-owned equipment.

Banning personal items outright is an option, but it's hard to enforce and unpopular. Testing them is simpler.

Equipment in communal kitchens

Items in shared kitchens — kettles, microwaves, toasters, fridges — are used by many people, often roughly, in an environment with water and heat. They deserve more attention than an equivalent appliance in someone's private office. The IET Code of Practice's recommended intervals for equipment "used by the public" are a reasonable benchmark for communal kitchen items, even in an otherwise low-risk office environment.

Items that are "always plugged in"

A fridge that hasn't been unplugged in three years. A printer behind a desk. A router in a comms cupboard. The fact that equipment stays in one place doesn't exempt it from inspection.

The IET Code of Practice is clear: stationary equipment still needs periodic formal visual inspection and combined inspection and testing. The intervals are longer — typically 24 months for visual inspection and 48 months for combined testing in office environments — but they're not zero. "We never unplug it" is not a valid reason to skip testing.

Double-insulated (Class II) equipment

Equipment marked with the double-insulation symbol (a square within a square) doesn't have an earth connection, which means the earth continuity test — one of the standard PAT tests — doesn't apply. This sometimes leads to the incorrect conclusion that double-insulated equipment doesn't need PAT testing at all.

It does. The insulation resistance test still applies. A formal visual inspection still applies. The only difference is that the earth continuity test is skipped because there's no earth conductor to test. Your PAT tester will handle this automatically if you select the correct equipment class.

Three-phase equipment

Some larger appliances — industrial motors, commercial ovens, large compressors — use a three-phase supply with a different plug type (often a CEE industrial connector rather than a standard 13A plug). These items still need inspection and testing, but a standard single-phase PAT tester may not be suitable. Check your PAT tester's specifications, or arrange specialist testing for three-phase equipment.

Download a PAT testing checklist

Want a structured checklist to work from during your walk-through? Our PAT register template generator creates a customised spreadsheet with all the IET Code of Practice fields — asset ID, description, make/model, location, category, class, test date, result, and next test date. Use it as both your initial audit checklist and your ongoing PAT register.

How to build your appliance register

Knowing what needs testing is only useful if you have a complete list of everything in your premises. Here's how to build one.

Step 1: Do a walk-through

Go through every room, cupboard, and storage area. Note every item with a plug. Include communal areas, kitchens, server rooms, loading bays, and outbuildings. Take a colleague — two pairs of eyes catch things one pair misses.

Step 2: Assign unique IDs

Every appliance gets a unique identifier — a sequential number, a location-based code (e.g., 2F-R204-001), or a barcode from a label printer. The ID links the physical appliance to its register entry. A register full of entries for "kettle" with no way to tell which kettle is which is useless. Attach a physical label to each appliance that will survive its environment.

Step 3: Record the details

For each appliance, record: unique ID, description, make and model, serial number, location, equipment category, equipment class (Class I or Class II), and date added. This forms the foundation of your PAT testing records.

Our PAT register template generator creates a structured spreadsheet with all of these fields pre-configured to match the IET Code of Practice.

Step 4: Assign testing intervals

Once each appliance is categorised, assign a testing interval based on the IET Code of Practice for that category and environment.

Testing frequency by category

The IET Code of Practice provides recommended initial intervals for each equipment category. Here's a summary for office and commercial environments:

Equipment category	Formal visual inspection	Combined inspection and test
Stationary	Every 24 months	Every 48 months
IT equipment	Every 24 months	Every 48 months
Movable	Every 24 months	Every 48 months
Portable	Every 24 months	Every 48 months
Handheld	Every 12 months	Every 24 months
Extension leads and cables	Every 24 months (user check before each use)	Every 48 months

For industrial, construction, or high-use environments, these intervals are significantly shorter. A portable power tool on a construction site may need a combined inspection and test every 3 months.

These are starting points. The IET Code of Practice expects you to adjust based on your own failure rate data. If you test 50 office kettles annually and none ever fail, extending to a 24-month visual inspection interval is defensible. If 15% of your workshop extension leads fail at 12 months, shorten to 6 months.

For detailed interval tables across all environment types, including construction sites, schools, and public venues, see our full PAT testing frequency guide. Or use our PAT testing frequency calculator to get a recommended schedule based on your specific equipment and environment.

Common mistakes when deciding what to test

Testing everything at the same interval. A blanket annual test for all equipment ignores the IET Code of Practice's risk-based approach. It over-tests low-risk items and may under-test high-risk ones.

Ignoring extension leads. Extension leads are the most commonly failed item in PAT testing. They're also the easiest to overlook because people treat them as part of the furniture rather than as appliances in their own right.

Forgetting personal items. If employees bring phone chargers, fans, or heaters to work, those items should be in your register. You have a duty of care regardless of who owns the equipment.

Excluding "permanently plugged in" items. Stationary equipment still needs testing. The intervals are longer, but the obligation exists.

Not recording items that pass visual inspection only. If an appliance only needs a formal visual inspection at a given cycle (not a combined test), that inspection still needs to be recorded. An unrecorded inspection might as well not have happened.

For more pitfalls, see our guide to common PAT testing record mistakes.

Start with the register

The testing itself is the easy part. The hard part — and the part that actually protects you in an audit or incident — is having a complete, current register of every appliance, its category, its location, and its test history.

Start with a walk-through. Categorise everything. Assign IDs. Set testing intervals based on the IET Code of Practice. Then keep the register up to date as equipment is added, moved, or disposed of.

Use our PAT compliance checker to identify gaps in your current setup, or generate a structured starting template with our PAT register template generator.

PATvault is built for exactly this workflow — an online appliance register where you categorise equipment once, and the system tracks retest dates, sends reminders, and produces audit-ready records. No spreadsheet maintenance, no missed retests.

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