Your School Electrical Compliance Folder: What to Keep for LA Audits, Insurers and H&S Reviews

A common questions you will be asked is “can you show the electrical documents?”
Sometimes it’s a local authority check, sometimes an insurer, sometimes an internal H&S review. Either way, having a tidy folder turns it from a scramble into a quick handover.

For more information on how Azure structures this work for schools, the overview page Electrical Statutory Compliance links the testing pieces together.

The four core documents most schools should be able to show

1) The latest EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report)

This is the main “fixed installation” report for distribution boards, circuits, sockets, earthing and bonding.

Keep:

• the latest EICR (PDF is fine)

• the recommended re-test date

• any notes about access limitations (locked cupboards, rooms not reached)

If your EICR includes C1 or C2, remedial work is required. If FI is present, further investigation must also be carried out.

2) PAT Testing register (portable equipment list)

PAT is about plug-in items: kettles, laptop chargers, extension leads, printers, classroom kit.

The HSE is clear there’s no legal requirement to keep PAT records or label equipment, but records can be a useful management tool and help demonstrate a maintenance scheme exists.

Keep:

• your PAT register (asset, location, pass/fail, date)

• notes on any failures and what happened next

• your approach to frequency (risk-based is best practice)

A tidy PAT register is especially useful in schools where equipment moves between rooms or buildings.

3) Emergency lighting logbook

This is the one that often trips schools up because the tests are simple, but the recording gets forgotten.

BAFE stresses the importance of keeping documents up to date (logbook) and storing them safely for reference if required.
Logbooks should capture regular checks and any faults/actions taken.

Keep:

• monthly functional test records

• annual full-duration test record (often 3 hours)

• fault notes + repair dates

Internal link tip: where emergency lighting faults feed into repairs, it’s easy to reference Electrical Remedial Work in a natural way, without making it a sales message.

4) Evidence of remedial actions and “close-out”

This is the part that auditors and estates teams value most: proof that findings didn’t just sit in an inbox.

Keep:

• minor works certificates / installation certificates (where applicable)

• a short “actions taken” note for C1/C2/FI items

• re-test evidence where needed

Some local authority policies set internal target timescales for addressing coded items (for example, a London borough policy document references timescales for remedying coded observations and planning C3s).
Not every school follows the same timeline, but having a clear record of what was done and when is what matters.

A simple folder structure that works (especially for multi-site schools)

A practical setup looks like this:

1. Overview

• site name, address, key contacts, meter locations, main DB locations

• quick “where to find things” page

2. Fixed installation

• latest EICR

• previous EICR (optional but useful for trend spotting)

• remedials + certificates

3. Portable equipment

• PAT register

• failure log + actions taken

4. Emergency lighting

• logbook

• annual test record

• repair records

5. Other related safety docs (optional)

• any site electrical policy notes

• contractor competence evidence (if your LA requires it)

Keep it digital if possible, but don’t underestimate a clearly labelled folder in the site office for day-to-day use.

How long should records be kept?

A helpful rule from HSE’s inspection guidance (for work equipment) is that inspection records should be kept at least until the next inspection.
That principle is a sensible minimum for many routine checks because it proves continuity.

For schools, it’s also useful to keep:

• the previous EICR (even if only one cycle back)

• the last annual emergency lighting duration test record

• PAT registers for at least the last cycle

Why? Because it shows patterns. If the same corridor keeps failing, it stops being “random”.