PAT Testing Course
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All workplaces need to comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 by ensuring electrical equipment is maintained in good condition. As part of our essential Health and Safety training collection, our PAT Testing Online Course teaches you how to properly verify the safety of portable electrical appliances. Portable Appliance Testing is one of the most effective methods for maintaining electrical safety in the workplace. Learn the techniques and receive an instant digital certificate upon completion.
Course Level: Intermediate
5 Modules (Duration: 1 CPD Hour)
Accreditation: RoSPA Assured, CPD Certified
Certificate: Self printed
Last Updated: 14th February 2025
Description
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition. Portable Appliance Testing is one way in which to ensure electrical equipment is safe.
Electronic appliances are everywhere at home and work, but faulty electronics is a leading cause of fires, and getting electrocuted is also a risk when appliances are not maintained. Hundreds of people get seriously injured or die because of faulty electronics so checking equipment is an important prevention method.
This course teaches you how to carry out a Portable Appliance Test (PAT) on your personal appliances. You’ll find out how to identify the different types of electronic items and become familiar with the testing equipment. You’ll find out about the different ways damage can happen to electrical equipment, appliances and their flexes.
As stated in the IEE Code of Practice - in order to comply with these regulations, the tester must have an understanding of the modes of electrical, mechanical or thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances as well as their flexes which may be encountered in a work environment.
Training for testers must include the identification of equipment and appliance types to determine the test procedures, and the frequency of inspection. Persons testing must be familiar with the test instruments used and in particular their limitations and restrictions, so as to achieve repeatable results without damaging the equipment or the appliance.
Test and PAT testing certificate
At the end of the PAT testing training course there will be a multiple-choice quiz, comprising of 21 questions, testing your knowledge of the topic. The pass mark is set at 80% but don't worry you can attempt the test as many times as is needed.
Following the successful completion of the course you will receive a digital certificate, which you can download or print. We recommend that you keep these for your records.
The portable appliance testing course is RoSPA assured and CPD approved and their logos are included on the certificate.
All portable appliance testing equipment is different. It is the learner’s responsibility to make sure that they have read and understood the manufacturer’s user manual for their PAT testing equipment before attempting to carry out PAT testing.
Although we make every reasonable attempt to verify the accuracy of the technical information and advice provided in this portable appliance testing course, we accept no responsibility for loss or damage to persons or equipment resulting from its application or interpretation.
Duration
This online PAT testing course should take approximately 30 - 45 minutes to complete. The length of time taken depends entirely on how quickly you can study and absorb the material. You can proceed as quickly or slowly as you like.
The training saves automatically as you work through the course so it can be completed convenience.
Target Audience
This module is suitable for anyone interested in becoming a competent person in portable appliance testing.
Entry Requirements
There are no specific entry requirements for this course.
What training can I do next?
PAT Testing is a vital part of health and safety, we offer many other courses covering the latest legislation and guidance including our Complete Health and Safety Package, Health and Safety at Work Training Package and Fire Safety Training.
PAT Testing Qualification
Our online PAT Testing training is purely a vocational course and does not qualify you to carry out PAT testing on other people’s property.
This course is for anyone who wishes to update their knowledge on this subject or is going to be carrying out PAT testing on their own premises.
Legislation covered in this course includes:
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition.
Portable Appliance Testing is one way in which to ensure electrical equipment is safe. As stated in the IEE Code of Practice - testers must have an understanding of the modes of electrical, mechanical or thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances and their flexes which may be encountered in a work environment.
Health and Safety Legislation and Compliance Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Workplace Health and Safety Regulations 1992
What you'll learn
- The key equipment and tools needed to carry out a Portable Appliance Test
- How to identify and test Class I appliances, including inspection, insulation and leakage tests
- How to identify and test Class II appliances, including inspection, insulation and leakage tests
- Troubleshooting and resolving common electrical safety issues in real-world scenarios
Suitable for
- This module is suitable for anyone interested in becoming trained in portable appliance testing, supplementing formal training with an accessible resources
- Our course would suit anyone pursuing a recognised qualification in PAT testing, such as electricians, landlords, business owners and building managers
- Commercial Maintenance Staff
- Facilities Managers
- Office Maintenance Staff
- Caretakers
- Business Owners
- Building Managers
Course Structure
The course starts by explaining the importance of PAT testing and the dangers of it. There is also a knowledge check to find out how much you know about the topic.
Certification
Upon completion of any of our courses, learners will be able to download a digital certificate from Virtual College which will include the accrediting bodies logo where applicable, the learner's name, the title of the course and the date of completion.
If you have purchased the posted certificate option, available on selected courses, a high quality, seal embossed, certificate will be sent out the following working week after completion.
Self-Printed Certificate Option
Upon completion of the course, a digital certificate will be available to download instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
The short answer to this is yes, unless you are a private landlord, as their regulations state that the PAT testing must be carried out by a qualified electrician. At present in other environments, you don’t have to be a qualified electrician in order to PAT test. However, the person doing testing work needs to be competent to do it. You can learn more about what that means here.
Recent Reviews
19th July 2025
Super easy to use and a comprehensive…
Super easy to use and a comprehensive training schedule - thank you very much!
19th July 2025
Great
Easy to navigate
18th July 2025
Level 2 health & Safety within the catering world. With using virtual college
With using virtual college, it was quick and easy to pay and access my chosen course. I had a choice of using different methods on what type of device that I could use which was great for me. The course was very informative and I learnt a lot and the assessment at the end was good & you have a certificate that you can download straight away. Very highly recommend.
18th July 2025
Easy to access the Training
The process of purchasing the training (in this case combined offer of Allergy Awareness and Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene) was easy as was the ability to access and complete the training. The online training system works well. The Food Allergy course was comprehensive and well structured my only criticism is that the Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene is not as well structured with the same material repeated may times in different places so the course could be made much shorter.
18th July 2025
Very good everything completed…
Very good everything completed professionally
18th July 2025
Found the training easy to access and…
Found the training easy to access and navigate through different sections
17th July 2025
Very easy to follow well constructed…
Very easy to follow well constructed course
17th July 2025
The system was easy to use and things…
The system was easy to use and things were clear throughout
17th July 2025
easy to complete
easy to complete very informative
17th July 2025
Very informative
Very informative. Well navigated and explained in ways I could understand with out jargon that can often get in the way.
Excellent
4.7 out of 5
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