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If you're starting out as a PAT tester or building a side business doing it, working out what to charge is one of the most important early decisions you'll make. Pitch too low and you'll work hard for poor returns and risk underpricing the entire local market. Pitch too high and you'll lose work to competitors who actually understand the cost structure better than you do.
This post covers how to price PAT testing properly — from per-item rates to call-out fees to annual contracts — and how to think about your time, equipment costs and overheads when setting prices that work.
The simple model: per-item plus call-out
UK PAT testing pricing follows a near-universal pattern: a per-item rate plus a minimum call-out fee.
The per-item rate is what you charge per appliance tested. The minimum call-out covers travelling to the site, setting up, and the basic admin of issuing certificates regardless of how many items you actually test.
Both numbers matter — and getting either one wrong is the most common pricing mistake new testers make.
What UK PAT testers actually charge in 2026
Mid-market UK PAT testing rates currently:
- Per-item rates: £1.00-£2.00 with most settling at £1.20-£1.60
- Minimum call-out: £40-£80, typically £50-£60
- Day rate (where used): £250-£450
Premium and discount markets exist:
- Premium / specialist: £2-3+ per item (HMO specialists, healthcare, construction)
- Cash-in-hand budget: £0.50-£0.80 per item (typically uninsured, possibly unqualified)
- National contractor rates: often lower per-item but with higher minimums
Where you fit depends on your market position, qualifications and the type of clients you're targeting.
How to actually calculate what you should charge
Forget what others charge for a moment. Work out what you need to charge.
Step 1: Calculate your actual cost per hour
Total annual costs:
- Insurance (public liability): £150-300/year
- Tester calibration: £60/year
- Software/admin: £100-200/year
- Vehicle running: variable, £1,500-3,000/year if business-use
- Phone/internet (proportional): £200-400/year
- Tester depreciation: £100/year (£800 tester / 8-year life)
- Marketing/website: £200-500/year
Annual fixed costs: £2,500-4,500
If you want to earn (say) £30,000 from PAT testing in your first year, working full-time, plus cover those fixed costs, that's £32,500-£34,500 in revenue needed.
Working ~220 days/year, that's £148-£157 per day to break even at the £30k income level. With appropriate margin, you're looking at a target of £200+ per day.
Step 2: Calculate items per day
A reasonably efficient PAT tester can complete 80-150 items per day, depending on:
- Site accessibility and complexity
- Item type mix (handheld vs stationary)
- Documentation requirements
- Travel between locations during the day
For pricing purposes, plan around 100-120 items per typical working day.
Step 3: Set your per-item rate
If you need £200/day and average 110 items/day:
£200 ÷ 110 = £1.82 per item
That's why £1.50-£2.00 is the typical per-item range. The numbers reflect actual cost-of-doing-business plus reasonable margin.
Step 4: Set your minimum call-out
The minimum protects you on small jobs. If a 15-item job at £1.50 per item is only £22.50, you've lost money before you've started. The minimum should cover at minimum:
- Half a day's travel and admin (£100+)
- Basic per-item revenue contribution (£20-30)
A minimum of £50-80 for most areas is what makes small jobs viable.
Pricing models that work
Standard per-item + minimum call-out
The most common model. Examples:
- 30-item office: 30 × £1.50 = £45 (below minimum, charge £60)
- 80-item office: 80 × £1.50 = £120
- 200-item office: 200 × £1.30 = £260
Tiered per-item rates
Discounts at higher volumes:
- 1-50 items: £1.80
- 51-200 items: £1.50
- 201-500 items: £1.30
- 500+ items: £1.10
This rewards larger clients while protecting margins on small jobs.
Day rate
Used for very large sites or annual contract work:
- £350-450/day for a single tester
- £600-800/day for a tester with assistant/scribe
- Items per day expectation specified in contract (typically 150-200/day with assistant)
Annual contract pricing
For repeat clients (HMO landlords, holiday let owners, multi-site businesses):
- Discount of 10-20% compared to per-visit rates
- Predictable revenue for you, predictable cost for them
- Scheduled testing at agreed intervals
Project-based pricing
For unusual jobs (one-off audits, post-fire investigations, large-scale equipment commissioning):
- Negotiated based on scope
- Typically priced at standard rates plus 10-25% premium for complexity
How to handle different client types
Small businesses and shops
Price simply: standard per-item rate plus minimum call-out. Be transparent — small business owners value clarity over haggling.
Typical job: 25-50 items, total £60-100.
Landlords with single properties
Same simple pricing approach. Build relationships for repeat work.
Typical job: 15-30 items per property, total £60-90.
HMO landlords and portfolio investors
Volume work but higher requirements (annual testing, detailed documentation, often multiple properties).
- Offer multi-property discounts (5-10% across 3+ properties)
- Annual contract pricing with scheduled testing
- Premium for HMO-specific documentation
Typical revenue: £80-150 per property, multiplied across portfolio.
Holiday let owners
Annual testing, often combined with seasonal accommodation. Premium pricing acceptable for:
- Weekend/evening availability during the season
- Same-day reporting for changeover bookings
- Coordination with cleaning and maintenance teams
Typical revenue: £80-150 per property, with seasonal premiums.
Schools and educational settings
Volume work concentrated into school holidays. Plan capacity carefully and book bulk school work months ahead.
Typical revenue: £900-2,500 per school visit, with clear pricing for re-test rounds during inspection cycles.
Construction and industrial sites
Specialist work requiring 110V capability and site safety awareness. Premium pricing.
Typical revenue: £400-800 per visit minimum, with quarterly testing creating recurring revenue.
Property management companies
High-volume but cost-sensitive. Typically:
- Lower per-item rate (£1.00-£1.20)
- Strong contract terms
- High volume making thin margins workable
Insurance-driven testing
Where testing is required by insurance for risk reduction:
- Often premium pricing
- High documentation requirements
- Audit trail needs
Pricing pitfalls to avoid
Going too low to win work
The most common newcomer mistake. £0.80 per item with a £30 minimum sounds attractive but:
- Doesn't cover proper insurance
- Doesn't justify proper qualifications
- Sets impossible expectations for the rest of the local market
- Burns out the tester within 1-2 years
If you can't make the numbers work at £1.20+ per item, you need to either improve efficiency or rethink whether PAT testing is the right business.
Free quotes for tiny jobs
A 15-item visit might only generate £60 in revenue. Don't spend an hour on the phone qualifying it. Have a clear minimum and quote standard prices.
Free re-tests after failures
Re-testing failed items after repair takes time. Either include reasonable allowance in your quote (e.g. up to 5 re-tests free) or charge a per-item rate for re-tests.
Underestimating travel time
A "near" job 25 minutes away with traffic adds up to nearly an hour of unbillable travel each direction. Either build the journey into your minimum or use higher minimums for distant clients.
Not raising prices
PAT testing rates have moved up over the past 5 years to keep up with inflation. Charging the same prices you set 3 years ago means you're effectively earning less. Review and adjust annually.
Communicating prices to clients
Some practical points on how to present pricing:
Quote in writing
Always email a written quote. Verbal-only pricing leads to disputes.
Include what's covered
Make it clear what the price includes:
- Initial visual inspection of every item
- Standard PAT testing
- Pass/fail labels applied
- Standard certificate
- Detailed asset register
- Up to X re-tests of failed items free of charge
Make exclusions explicit
State what's NOT included:
- Per-item rate beyond inclusion threshold for re-tests
- Replacement of failed items (cost of new equipment)
- Specialist work requiring 3-phase or fixed-appliance testing
- Out-of-hours premium
Offer payment terms
For bigger jobs:
- 50% deposit on booking (for one-off jobs over £200)
- Payment due on completion (for routine jobs)
- 30-day terms (for established business clients)
Setting your initial pricing
When starting out:
- Research local market: get 5-10 quotes from local competitors for hypothetical jobs
- Set rates 5-10% above the lowest quotes: don't undercut, but don't price for mid-market until established
- Anchor on your minimum: small jobs are where most money is made; protect this aggressively
- Build evidence: detailed certificates, professional appearance, prompt communication
- Raise prices after 3-6 months when you have real local references
The instinct to "be cheapest to win work" is the single most common pricing mistake. Almost every successful local PAT tester is mid-market, not budget — because mid-market clients pay reliably and don't argue about every line item.
Pricing for value, not just time
Beyond basic per-item pricing, value-add services that command premium pricing:
- Same-day reporting: detailed digital certificate emailed within 24 hours of testing
- Asset management software access: ongoing access to asset register and retest reminders
- Annual contract guarantee: priority booking for time-critical work
- Branded reporting: client-branded certificates and reports
- Photographic documentation: photos of every failed item with the certificate
- Specialist certifications: HMO-specific, holiday-let-specific, healthcare-specific reporting
These services don't cost much more to deliver but justify 20-30% premium pricing because they reduce client effort and risk.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge per item for PAT testing?
UK mid-market is £1.20-£1.60 per item. Going below £1.00 is hard to justify on cost-of-business grounds; above £2.00 is premium territory. Set initial rates around £1.40-£1.50 if you're a new tester with proper qualifications.
What's a fair minimum call-out for PAT testing?
£50-£80 is typical UK mid-market. Below £40 doesn't cover travel and admin properly; above £100 prices you out of small jobs. £50-£60 is the sweet spot for most regional UK markets.
Should I charge a day rate or per-item?
Per-item is more flexible for small to mid-sized jobs. Day rates are useful for large sites (1,000+ items) where the per-item math becomes unwieldy. Most testers use per-item rates as the standard model.
How much can I make as a PAT tester?
A full-time tester achieving 100-120 items per day at £1.50 per item earns roughly £150-180 per day, or £35,000-£45,000 per year. With overhead costs deducted, take-home is typically £28,000-£36,000 per year. Multi-tester operations and specialist niches can earn significantly more.
How do I get my PAT testing qualification?
What you actually need is documented proof of proper training. City & Guilds 2377-22 is the gold standard if you want it, but it isn't required — what matters is that you've completed a proper one-day course covering theory and practical testing. Our own 1-day PAT testing course covers the same ground in a single day with hands-on practice.
Should I offer free quotes?
Yes, but limit time spent on small jobs. Quote standard pricing on the phone for jobs under 50 items; only do site visits for quotes on jobs over 200 items.
How do I handle clients who haggle?
Have a clear minimum below which you don't go. For volume discounts on 200+ item jobs, be willing to negotiate within reason. For everything else, professional firmness on pricing is essential — clients respect testers who know their numbers.
The takeaway
UK PAT testing pricing has settled around £1.20-£1.60 per item with £50-80 minimums for good reason — those numbers reflect actual cost-of-business plus reasonable margin. New testers who try to undercut this range typically fail within 1-2 years; those who price properly build sustainable businesses.
If you're starting out, complete a proper PAT testing course, get the qualification, sort insurance, set rates around £1.40-£1.50 per item with a £60 minimum, and focus on building referenceable client relationships rather than racing to the bottom.
The math works at proper rates. It doesn't at budget rates. Choose accordingly.
