Portable appliance test record

If you’ve elected to train an employee to carry out portable appliance testing, use this form to record the details.

Legal requirement

Portable appliance testing (PAT) is carried out to comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. They require that all electrical systems are kept in safe working order - “system” includes equipment which is connected via a plug.

As described in guidance available from the HSE and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, businesses need a programme of: (a) formal visual inspection; and (b) testing, to satisfy their legal duties.

Note. You can find out more from the HSE at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg107.htm

Why would you need this form?

Our Portable Appliance Test Record is for use by staff who have been trained to undertake PAT.

Large firms and specialist contractors tend to use PAT equipment which logs information electronically on a database. This may include barcoding of items to improve efficiency during future PAT when the items are revisited. However, for those operating on a much smaller scale the cheapest method is to bring out the pen and paper.

Although putting it in writing may take a little longer we’ve done our best to make our form quick to fill in. For example, we have used tick boxes where possible. In other parts of the form the correct answer can be circled.

It’s also designed for recording the inspection and testing of a single appliance through the course of five separate sessions. So, for example, if the item has an annual check the form would last for five years. This means that the top section of the document, which includes the appliance details, only needs to be completed once.

What’s included?

The document is set out as a series of tables with headings and questions in shaded boxes. Answers should be written in the adjacent white boxes. The first part of the form outlines the name, make and other details of the appliance, followed by the frequency of inspections and tests required. The second half of the page has a list of checks to make. It ends with whether it is “OK to use” and a comments box.