If you have searched for "IET Code of Practice 6th edition" or "PAT testing regulations changed 2026" in the last few months, you have probably read something that is wrong. A run of blog posts and sales pages are presenting the EET and ITEE naming change as a fresh 2026 rule, and a few go further and imply there is a new edition of the Code of Practice you need to comply with. Neither is true, and it matters because compliance decisions are being made on the back of it.
The current edition is the 5th, published in 2020
The IET's Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment is on its 5th edition, published in 2020 and written by James Eade. It is still the current edition and is still the one sold by the IET. There is no 6th edition. If you are commissioning testing in 2026, the correct reference on your paperwork is the 5th edition of the IET Code of Practice, alongside the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
The City & Guilds qualification moved with it: 2377-77 replaced the older 2377-22 and 2377-32 units. If a provider quotes a qualification number older than that, or cites the 4th edition of the Code, that is a genuine red flag. A claim to be working to a 6th edition is a different kind of red flag, because the document does not exist.
Where the EET and ITEE confusion comes from
The 5th edition moved away from the phrase "portable appliance testing". The Code uses "in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment", which the trade has shortened to ITEE, and a lot of test equipment suppliers and training providers use EET, or electrical equipment testing, instead. The reasoning was sound. "Portable appliance" made people think the duty stopped at kettles and extension leads, when in practice it covers fixed and stationary equipment connected by a plug or a flexible cable too, from a wall-mounted hand dryer to a bolted-down bandsaw.
That change happened in 2020. It is a naming and scoping clarification, not a new legal obligation, and it carries no deadline and no penalty. Articles dated 2025 and 2026 that present EET as a brand new requirement are simply recycling a six-year-old update. Nothing about your testing schedule needs to change because of it, and the word "PAT" on your certificates does not invalidate them.
What genuinely did change recently
Two real developments are being conflated with the Code of Practice. The first is BS 7671 Amendment 4, published in April 2026, which updates the 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations with new material on stationary secondary batteries, Power over Ethernet, functional earthing for ICT and medical locations. It is an amendment, not a 19th Edition, and it applies to fixed electrical installations. That is EICR territory, not appliance territory. If you want the distinction laid out properly, see our piece on what in-service inspection and testing actually covers.
The second is in the social rented sector in England, where electrical safety duties comparable to those private landlords have held since the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 are being extended, including in-service testing of electrical equipment supplied as part of a tenancy, phased in for new and then existing tenancies. If you are a social landlord or manage stock for one, check the commencement dates that apply to your tenancies. If you are a private landlord in Derbyshire or North Yorkshire, your position is unchanged: five-yearly EICRs are mandatory, and appliance testing remains the practical way of showing you have met your duties on landlord-supplied appliances under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 and fitness for habitation law.
The legal position has not moved at all
Regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 requires electrical systems to be maintained so far as reasonably practicable to prevent danger. It sets no intervals and names no test. The Code of Practice and HSE guidance tell you how to discharge that duty proportionately, using risk to set frequencies: a construction site 110V transformer needs looking at far more often than a receptionist's desk lamp. That risk-based approach was in the 4th edition and is reinforced in the 5th. Nobody has introduced a 2026 frequency table, and any provider quoting one as a legal requirement is inventing it.
What to do with this
Check your last certificate. It should reference the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the IET Code of Practice 5th edition, list items individually with test results rather than just a pass count, and give a recommended retest date based on how the equipment is used. If it references a 6th edition, ask the provider where they got that from. Sectors under external inspection, particularly care homes and schools, should be especially careful here, because an inspector who spots an invented standard on your paperwork will start questioning the rest of it.
We test to the 5th edition across Chesterfield, north Derbyshire and the Peak District from our Chesterfield base, and from York for North Yorkshire work. Visits are priced by length rather than by item, from £50 for up to an hour and £125 for a half day, so you know the cost before we arrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a 6th edition of the IET Code of Practice?
No. The current edition of the IET Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment is the 5th, published in 2020, and it is still the version sold by the IET. Any provider or certificate claiming to work to a 6th edition is citing a document that does not exist, which should prompt you to question the rest of their paperwork.
Did PAT testing regulations change in 2026?
No. The legal duty still comes from Regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which requires electrical systems to be maintained so far as reasonably practicable to prevent danger and sets no intervals or mandatory tests. There is no new 2026 frequency table and no new deadline or penalty attached to appliance testing, so any provider quoting one as a legal requirement is inventing it.
What is the difference between PAT, EET and ITEE?
They describe the same work. The 5th edition of the Code dropped the phrase "portable appliance testing" in favour of "in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment", shortened by the trade to ITEE, while many suppliers and trainers use EET, or electrical equipment testing. That was a naming and scoping clarification made in 2020, not a new obligation, and the word "PAT" on your certificates does not invalidate them.
Does BS 7671 Amendment 4 affect appliance testing?
No. Amendment 4, published in April 2026, updates the 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations with new material on stationary secondary batteries, Power over Ethernet and functional earthing for ICT and medical locations. It applies to fixed electrical installations, so it is EICR territory rather than appliance testing, and it is an amendment rather than a 19th Edition.
What should a valid PAT testing certificate reference in 2026?
It should cite the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the IET Code of Practice 5th edition, list each item individually with its test results rather than only a pass count, and give a recommended retest date based on how the equipment is used. Older references such as the 4th edition of the Code, or City and Guilds units 2377-22 and 2377-32 rather than 2377-77, are a genuine red flag. Care homes and schools should be particularly alert, as an inspector who spots an invented standard will scrutinise everything else.