Free PAT Testing Record Template (UK): PDF & Excel

There is no law that says “PAT test annually”: the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require systems to be maintained to prevent danger, and the IET Code of Practice sets risk-based inspection intervals. This record implements exactly that: a register, results, and a next-due date you choose per appliance.

⬇ Download PDF (print-ready)⬇ Download Excel (editable)

Free for use within your organisation. No sign-up required.

How to use it

• Register every portable appliance with an ID sticker; note its class (I or II).
• Set intervals by risk: a kettle in a busy kitchen needs attention far more often than a monitor on a desk.
• Failed items go on the quarantine sheet: repaired or scrapped, never quietly returned.

The legal detail (and the annual-testing myth, debunked): PAT testing records: what UK law actually requires.

Who must keep this record

Any employer whose staff use portable electrical equipment. The duty comes from the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (systems maintained so as to prevent danger) and PUWER 1998 (equipment kept in an efficient state and good repair). It covers kit staff bring from home and use for work, such as laptops and chargers, so put approved personal items on the register too. Landlords letting furnished property must provide safe appliances under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Consumer Protection Act 1987, and HMO licence conditions commonly require annual testing of landlord-supplied equipment.

How long to keep it

There is no statutory minimum retention period for PAT records. Keep them for at least the life of the appliance plus a reasonable period after it leaves service; many organisations simply keep them indefinitely in digital form. Keep the failures as well as the passes: an inspector looking into an electrical incident wants to see that defective kit was withdrawn and dealt with, not merely that testing happened.

What a completed entry looks like

One line per appliance:

• Asset ID and description: KIT-014, kettle, staff kitchen
• Test date and result: 3 June 2026, fail, damaged flex at the plug entry
• Tester: S. Doyle, in-house, City & Guilds trained
• Remedial action: withdrawn and labelled 3 June, flex replaced, retested and passed 10 June
• Next test due: set by risk. Construction site tools typically three months, workshop and industrial kit annually, office equipment every one to four years

FAQs

Is annual PAT testing a legal requirement?

No. There is no fixed legal interval and no law that says test annually. Intervals should be set by risk: the type of equipment, the environment it works in, and how much handling and movement it gets.

Do we have to test equipment staff bring in from home?

Yes, if it is used for work. The employer's duty extends to personal laptops, chargers and similar items used on the premises. Keep a register of approved personal equipment and run it through the same inspection regime as company kit.

Who is allowed to carry out the testing?

A competent person. For simple low-risk equipment in a low-risk setting that can be someone with basic training in the test equipment and the relevant safety requirements. Complex equipment or higher-risk environments call for a qualified electrician or electrical engineer.

How long do we keep the records?

There is no statutory minimum. Keep them for at least the life of the appliance plus a reasonable period afterwards. Digital records cost nothing to hold, so many organisations never delete them.

Sources

HSEHSE: PAT testing FAQslegislation.gov.ukElectricity at Work Regulations 1989

Tell me when the rules behind this template change (free, one email when it happens, nothing else).