PAT Testing Prices Guide

It is our aim to make the process of getting a PAT Testing price as easy as possible for you, whilst we do recommend you contact us for a personal price we also offer standard prices here. Our prices are always fair and competitive for the work to be undertaken, and take into account time, wages and other costs.

We would prefer our rates to be fixed, a simply hourly rate or price for the job but unfortunately we operate in an industry where clients still expect us to work at ‘piece rate’, so we have a fixed price initially including the first so many items then a price per item tested thereafter. This is rarely in the customers favour, but it is what they expect.

Our PAT Testing price structure is simple:

There is an initial fee that covers the first 20 items to test; we then charge for every item we test thereafter

The more items you have the more the price is discounted – we don’t go crazy on this though as it still takes the same amount of time to do the job.

We would prefer to give you a fixed price for the job or per item rate

We don’t charge for repairs (standard BS1363 plugs) – so if you need a plug or cable repairing, a plug or fuse replacing – we’ll do it for free.

The price you agree now, will guarantee to stay the same for the next 3 years.

Our Price Guide

Our initial fee is £55.00* – this includes travel and up to 20 items to test, for all locations within 20 minutes drive, including North and South Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, Cramlington etc. The price increases for further travel, which is fixed and provided on the quotation.

*or £45.00 for less than 10 items. 

Our standard price is £1.50 per item, discounted to £1.25 for over 100 items, with further discounts available depending on the job. We recommend you contact us for a price rather than taking this price as correct, as we tend to offer discounts when you speak to us. If you have over 150 items we will likely drop the initial fee; or it’ll be reduced if you’re in other areas.

If you prefer we can charge day rate of £300.00 (1/2 day rate £150.00), or per hour rate of £45.00 (first hour is £70).

In an office environment we could test around 2-300 items per day, depending on access to equipment; sometimes even more. 

Microwave emissions tests are chargeable at the standard rate; for commercial ovens we charge £5.00.

Please contact us for a personal price.

**Prices quoted above are for standard BS1363 (13amp) plugs. VAT will be added to all prices.

Rental Properties – domestic living, holiday lets, caravans, air b’n’b etc.

We charge a fixed rate depending on the property location, access, number of items in the property etc. Discounts are available for large portfolios and block bookings. Please contact us for a personal price.

  • For one property in Newcastle / N Tyneside up to 20 items £55.00
  • For one property in Newcastle / N Tyneside up to 10 items £45.00
  • For a portfolio of properties (up to 10 items per property) in Newcastle / N Tyneside done at different times £35.00
  • For a portfolio of properties (up to 10 items per property) in Newcastle / N Tyneside done back to back £30.00
  • For a portfolio of properties (up to 5 items per property) in Newcastle / N Tyneside done back to back £25.00

Industrial (Cform) Commando Plugs

  • Work in industrial locations such as factories, workshops etc will be at least £1.50 per item, or time related such as hourly or day rate.
  • Inspection and testing of 110v or 230v commando plugs £1.90 per item, 32a £2.50 per item, 63a + £5.00 per item.
  • Repairs to commando plugs £5.00 each, supply and fit replacement commando plugs from £10.00 each + repair fee (this is price for 16a plug).
  • Inspection and testing of 400v / 3P commando plugs 16a and 32a £5.00 per item, 63a + £7.50 per item

For further information see this industrial plug guide from Essential Supplies.

Please contact us for a personal price.

How do we work out what PAT Testing Costs?

The price we quote for appliance testing varies depending on the job – we have to take various factors into consideration.

  • We have to travel to the job before we get paid, so we have to take that time into account. Our cheapest travel rates are for up to 30 minutes, and we charge a bit extra from then on, because the more time we spend travelling the less time we spend getting paid for testing.
  • If you are based closer to us, we may offer a discount.
  • For example if we do 2 jobs in a day that’s twice as much paperwork to do, so we have to cover the admin time for that too.
  • If we can put two or more engineers on the same job, travelling together the travel costs are reduced so we pass this saving on to you.
  • If we’re on a job all week at the same place, there is a lot less admin to do as it’s just one report, so you get the saving there too.
  • A job in an industrial unit is likely to mean a lot more repairs than say in an office, so we have to take that into account.
  • A job in a big empty office on a Saturday makes our work so much easier, so we’re more inclined to give a discount. And so on.

Speak to us about a personal price by getting your own PAT Testing quotation.

PAT testing is carried out in workplaces such as offices, salons, restaurants and so on to make sure electrical equipment is as safe now as when it was purchased; to make sure no issues have been allowed to develop, to make sure the appliance is still safe to use. Regular PAT Tests help business owners to meet the requirements of the Electricity at Work Regulations.

White 3-pin '13amp' plug is a standard item for PAT Testing

How much does PAT testing cost?

Everybody seems to want the cheapest PAT testing price – that’s the wrong way to look at it. What happens if you pay peanuts? Well that definitely applies in this industry. We have same some awful work by cheap companies.

If you organise someone to check your electrical equipment is safe, you want the peace of mind of knowing that it really is.

You have passed on this work to someone because you are not competent to do it yourself, but are you? Could you do your PAT testing yourself? If you’re considering paying less than about 75p to £1.00 per item, yes, you could do it yourself. For 75p we’re talking big numbers in low risk environments by the way.

If your chosen PAT company is charging you less than 75p per item you want to have a think about what you’re getting. From our experience, and we have witnessed their work, we know that you are not getting much.

The companies that charge you that amount, pay their ‘engineers’ peanuts. If they’re lucky they’ll get 25p per item. If that’s all they’re getting they need to test 44 items per hour to make minimum wage. Whereas a company charging you £1.00 per item can be paying their engineer £15.00 per hour or higher. The engineer on an hourly rate isn’t in a rush to do his job, so he does it right – he checks every plug, every lead, every appliance. He opens every plug, he checks the fuses and the terminals, he makes sure the appliance functions, that switches work, that microwave seals are in place, and so on. He has the time. He does repairs as needed, he’ll replace plugs. When you work with us this is what you get, and we don’t charge extras for the repairs.

The cheap company’s engineer doesn’t have time to do all that, as he has to label and record 44 items to make minimum wage, so he’ll label as many items as he can, ideally more than 44. He’s actually targeted about 500 items each day, which is more like 66 items an hour. He’ll like make up the test results, and he’ll not bother unplugging items and doesn’t have time for visual inspections. He could be missing some very dangerous appliances, but he doesn’t care.

We care about you, and your business, which is why we do our job right. We charge proper prices, that are sensible, cost effective and guarantee you a competent engineer who will do a good job and give you peace of mind that your appliances are safe.

Industrial ‘Commando’ Plugs

Industrial appliances – if your plugs are ‘commando’ type like the one pictured then we charge a bit more.

Whether it’s 110v, 230v or 400v the process of the inspection takes a lot longer than a normal plug. It’s a lot harder to open the plug and usually there will be more repairs to do. Basic repairs such as tightening screws or rewiring are done automatically included in the price, but if we have to supply replacement plugs or repair the cable and do a full rewire we will have to charge for parts.

We can test:

  • 110v appliances
  • 230v appliances
  • 400v appliances
230v single phase 32amp cable mount

For repairs there is more work to do – a repair takes longer, and the parts are more expensive so it’s not included in the price.

  • For flexible cable repairs: When the cable is damaged we’ll remove the plug, cut it back to a safe location and re-attach the plug – this costs £5.00*
  • To replace the full plug: There is a charge of £10.00 to supply and fit the plug, either ‘male’ or ‘female’.*

Please note: We only replace 16a and 32a plugs; we don’t replace full cables. Wee don’t do full rewires or replacements for 400v as these are specialist and you need a qualified industrial electrician to do this.

*We do not do cost able repairs automatically – we will collect up all items that need this repair, put them in one place and leave until end of the job. We’ll quote you for the work, then it’s up to you if the repairs are done. 

Microwave Emissions Testing

Microwave Ovens will be checked:

  • internally for rust,
  • the door locking system will be checked and
  • a test will be carried out using a radiation checker to make sure no excessive emissions are leaking from the unit.

This process takes a few minutes to complete and comes with a standard charge of £5.00 per oven. This is done automatically; although the first is included in the initial fee.

See here for more information on the microwave emissions leakage test.

Microwave oven with plates of food

Fixed Appliances

Not all portable appliances have plugs – some have had the plug removed and have been ‘hard wired’. For example integrated kitchen appliances, hand driers in toilets, hair driers in hotels, electric heaters on your office wall. These also need checking.

When we do your PAT test we will visually inspect these, and if they have ‘earth’ we’ll do a continuity test between the appliance and ‘spur’. This costs the same as the normal PAT test.

However, they also need a formal ‘fixed appliance test‘ carried out every 5 years from installation. To do this we need to turn off the power, open the spur and check the internal wiring. This takes longer to do and due to the constraints this is an added service which commands additional costs. We charge £45.00 per hour + vat to carry this out. This is not part of the PAT test.

Integrated Fridge freezer in a kitchen is a good example of a fixed electrical appliance.

Price per hour or day rate

Not everybody wants a per item rate; in fact for almost every job we would recommend an hourly or day rate – it would work out much cheaper on many occasions, but for reasons unknown clients want a per item rate.

If however, you want to pay by the hour or the day, or to potentially save money we recommend choosing this option.

All costs are included – it’s a fixed price, whether we do 10 items an hour or 50 items, it doesn’t matter. You get our first class service, all repairs etc included in the price.

Save 5% off your PAT testing price

You can save 5% off your PAT testing price by paying up front. We agree a rate for the job and you pay for it before to reserve the appointment; when the job is done there is nothing to pay – unless we do more items than you were quoted for, in which case we’ll charge for the extras.

To get a PAT Testing price or to arrange a site visit contact DRA PAT Testing today

DRA PAT Testing – There’s no shocks with us! 

The following is for information and examples

Cheap PAT testing – is it value for money?

I just want to make sure you are aware of what you may not get from a ‘50p per item supplier’.

As director for a national association trying to raise awareness of the ethics of these companies, I want to make sure you’re aware of the risks.

This is based on a real live example – we have worked with this client a few years now, a school in Newcastle upon Tyne. They’d had a bad experience with their previous supplier and so we got the job.

The previous supplier’s engineer managed to test over 600 items in less than a day on site; he missed loads of appliances that were damaged – found throughout the following term by teachers and children at school.

That scares me, that someone cares so little about children in school he’d knowingly cut corners putting them at risk.

These companies charging 50p or about that, to PAT test, are cowboys, and the people that work for them are cowboys too. They could get a much better job working for an ethical company. They get paid about 20p per item, so do the maths – they have to test 500 items a day to make £100.00. Then quite often they don’t get paid travel time or fuel either so that comes off what they earn. I have heard of guys ‘testing’ 1000 items in a day!

What do they actually do – the slap their stickers on and do little else. Quite often they write down the appliance in a book and later on make up the test results whilst watching the TV sat on their sofa at home.

When we did the inspection last year at this school, we had 3 of our best guys on the job all day.

I have seen too many issues arise from companies that cut corners and it scares me the most when it’s children that could suffer.

If the PAT tester misses dangerous things that puts school children (or other users in other workplaces) at risk of electric shock, or the appliance at risk of overheating and catching fire, risking other items, the building, the business, etc.

They also have high charges for repairs, when they do them – quite often the engineer will skip them completely, simply fail the item and move on or pretend he didn’t see it, because he doesn’t get paid for a fail or to repair. But when they do charge, they’ll charge astronomical rates like £10 to change a plug. They also do ‘socket tests’ for an added fee – you don’t need to get sockets tested, they’re done by the electrician as part of your EICR.

We don’t pay our engineers per item rates like most, we pay proper wages and encourage them to take time to ensure every appliance is carefully checked and any repairs needed are done.

We pay them travel time and fuel allowance and don’t have targets, except to do a great job and to be sure they have left every workplace safer than how they found it.

We provide you with certificates that itemise every item tested, and their electrical readings – if something happens that requires you to give evidence in court you’ll need that information as evidence you have taken all possible action to ensure you have maintained safe equipment. 50p companies don’t tend to provide this information – I’ve seen paperwork so bad it was in illegible handwriting, I’ve seen other reports where the data provided differed from page to page, others where just a tick confirms something had been checked.

I have watched PAT testers wave their phone at an appliance to claim it was tested, and not get a tester or screwdriver out of their tool bag, ever.

Check out this video from the PAT Testing Network that shows you What is Not PAT Testing.

Example: How much does PAT Testing cost if you have more than 100 items?

If you have more than 100 items the price drops, and if you’re local we often don’t charge the initial £55.00 fee. Quite often we’ll charge around £125 for 100 items then £1.00 per item after that – it all depends on the job really.

If we’re going to be at the same place a day, or longer we offer further discounts, as travel is less, we can put more people on the job and there is less admin as we’re only doing one site.

There are so many possibilities to consider we always recommend you contact us for your own PAT testing price.

White 3-pin '13amp' plug is a standard item for PAT Testing

What’s the real cost of PAT Testing?

PAT testing companies are like high street shops where prices are concerned; there’s the big national chains offering rock bottom prices for a quick fix – the quality isn’t great but you know you get something “that’ll do” until it goes wrong. There’s the middle ground company charging an average rate, who is safe, and going to do a good job and then there is the premium priced stores who must people just won’t shop in.

PAT testing prices are like this – you can pay..

Rock bottom prices – 50 to 70p per item (or less) and you get a range of the service, from nothing more than a few stickers slapped on your appliances to a quick job done to minimum standard.. The latter end of this price range ticks the boxes and is going to be acceptable to minimal scrutiny and you may get a report saying “pass”, whilst if you go for the cheapest price you’ll likely get an engineer who has to sprint everywhere to make a basic salary, who won’t have time to open your plugs or do repairs.

Middle of the road – 75p (for the high numbers) through £1 to around £1.20 per item for most jobs. For this price you can expect to receive a good service in the most part, there are some who still cut corners, but if you do your homework and choose a supplier with plenty of good reviews and credentials to back up their work, you shouldn’t go too wrong in your choice. You can expect to get peace of mind that your equipment is safe, repairs should be carried out though expect a charge, and you’ll get a comprehensive report which should include electrical readings.

High end Prices – If you go for the high end prices, the electrician rates at £5.00 an item or £60 an hour you expect to get the best product AND service. This is what you should get here, but what you actually get is a mix of the other 2, usually carried out by people with less experience and less PAT knowledge than the the other two.

When you use us – we offer middle of the road prices – for most jobs everything is a pound; sometimes we may discount that if we can put a team on the job thus reducing our travel costs and admin time. Sometimes, such as when we’re testing lots of tools or in industrial areas we may charge more. In fact we recommend you pay us an hourly rate, as that is always better for you. For your money you get peace of mind; our engineers are paid by the hour, so they’re not in a rush, they’re encouraged to remove old labels, find faults and take the time to do good repairs – most of the time the repair costs are NOT passed on to the customer, as by charging a little bit more, they’re covered in the initial fee.

Our staff are also encouraged to build rapport with their customer, to get to know your business so we can offer the best possible service. We also talk to you about retest periods so you’re not spending money when it’s not necessary, and set up a reminder service for you so you’re always compliant. We provide itemised reports that include electrical readings, which have stood up to the test of court-room scrutiny, and meet HSE PAT testing, CQC, Ofsted and CHAS etc scrutiny.

We ask all our clients to review our service on Google, so other prospective clients can see first hand what our customers think of our work, giving us complete transparency.

You can contact us for a personal PAT testing price, or you can just book an appointment at our standard rates, it’s up to you whichever you prefer. Once we have done the job we’ll likely offer you a better price to retain your work long term anyway.

How long does PAT testing take?

On average we expect to test 25 to 30 items per hour; when conditions are good we may do more. In an average day at one location we’d expect to test 200 to 250 items.

If you choose a day rate, if conditions are good (like you’re office based), we may be able to test 250 items in the day – if you’re paying per item you’d pay more than you would paying day rate.

PAT testing prices - Kitchen appliances often found in a rental property that will need pat testing for landlords

Our PAT testing prices – what does PAT Testing cost?

Our PAT Testing price is fair and competitive, slightly higher than average but we think its worth you paying that bit extra now, to save money and problems later.

By paying a little bit more than some our cheaper rivals you get a quality service; we don’t rush our work, taking care to check every appliance thoroughly and carry out necessary repairs automatically. Rewiring of plugs for example is completely free – others charge for that.

If we have to replace plugs or fuses we also do that for free; some competitors offer a lower per item rate but charge ridiculous hidden fees to change a plug; one local rival charges £10.00 to replace a plug (its in their terms and conditions, not clearly obvious on quotes, and many get stung by it). By doing free plug replacements, we don’t waste plugs, only changing a plug if it is really necessary. We carry spare parts so if a plug can be repaired rather than fully replaced that is what we will do.

If your PAT tester cuts corners or rushes their work, it leads to issues being found later – damage gets missed, and then what’s the point in getting the job done? When it is your responsibility if there is an accident at work, you want to be sure that won’t happen. Our attention to detail and quality assurance gives our clients peace of mind.

When choosing a PAT testing company, you need to be sure the company you pick will provide you with a quality service, when you work with us you get the peace of mind that your equipment is safe to continue using, all the paperwork necessary to prove compliance and the benefit of working with a company that cares. We’re a small business in North Tyneside, a team of 4 professionals who are friendly and considerate and work with clients long term.

Now whatever we say here, we understand, you may not believe us, so see what our clients say in their reviews – we ask clients to review us on Google because Google reviews can’t be faked. We’re proud of all the reviews we receive.

As a business we have been trading since 2009 and have had pretty much the same pricing structure ever since; we guarantee you if you accept our price, it will not rise for at least 3 years – in most cases it never rises!

We can also offer you the benefit of guidance on retest periods – if it doesn’t need annual PAT testing, why do it? Not only do you have to ensure the PAT testing prices are right for you, but the PAT testing frequency has to be appropriate too.

Unlike some cheaper companies, we don’t rush on the job, we do thorough visual inspections on every appliance, and carry out repairs automatically, usually without additional costs to you.

We inspect and test each mains powered part of the appliance and also can do additional microwave emissions tests. But we don’t waste your money doing socket tests that are not necessary. We also are partnered with an electrical testing company to offer you discounts on mains wiring inspections (EICR).

On completion of the inspection every client is issued with an itemised PAT Testing Certificate Report which includes all the information you need to ensure you comply with current workplace Health and Safety regulations, which we send to you by email as an attached PDF document, by the end of the week – same day certificates are available on request (terms apply).