What qualification is required to inspect against Edition 18?

Qualifications Guide for EAS October 2024

Appendix 4 - Mandatory Technical Competence

Requirements by Work Category.

June 2025.

electrical.theiet.org/.../eas-qualifications-guide-june-2025.pdf

Hi Tim. I agree with  John Peckham CEng FIET LCGI (Elec.

Eng.) guidance on this from his standard Specification

In addition, the inspector shall hold as a minimum the following Ofqual approved

qualifications.

1. 2. A QCF/RQF Level 3 “Qualification in Requirements for Electrical Installations

(BS 7671:2018)”. That qualification shall be for the current edition of BS 7671

which is the 18th Edition.

A QCF/RQF Level 3 Qualification in the Periodic Inspection and Testing of

electrical installations.

AFAIK, there is no statutory requirement to hold any particular qualification in order to write an EICR. However, a wise customer might want to be assured that the  inspector (and tester) has the appropriate C&G qualification (which change from time to time), or is a member of a registered competent persons scheme, or a combination of the two.

The C&G in I&T might be regarded as long-term because the principles do not change. Knowledge of the current Edition of BS 7671 is demonstrated by C&G 2382.

Chris Pearson said:

Knowledge of the current Edition of BS 7671 is demonstrated by C&G 2382

There's some disagreement with that statement ... although if someone has "underpinning knowledge" (prior learning) to demonstrate the understanding) then yes, adding the qualification probably demonstrates a general understanding of the latest BS 7671 ... but this then raises questions as to how long ago the "prior learning" was taken, and whether it covered some concepts in use in the latest BS 7671 (e.g. Solar PV, EV charging, Prosumer's Electrical Installations etc.) ... 

... which is most likely why "bolt-on" qualifications are becoming popular.

So, does it depend on whether the installation has any of these "bolt-on" components as to whether the individual is competent to undertake EICR on the whole installation ... or are we going to see increasingly piecemeal EICRs ("this not included, that not included")?

To satisfy 651.5, it would seem that your “engineer” needs to be a skilled person (electrically) as defined in part 2 and competent in periodic inspection and testing.
As someone who has been an assessor on the 2391 since it was first introduced and who has assessed hundreds of candidates over the years, I can tell you straight that relying solely on the 2391 qualification as a means to demonstrate competence is definitely not a good idea. Having said that, I don’t think it wise to employ operatives to do periodic inspections unless they have both the 2391 and up-to-date 18th Edition. 
I would also advise putting a robust QA system in place to confirm that the operative’s required skills and competences are being properly and consistently applied. 

Hm! At least on the day of the exam.

Given its open-book format, I suppose that you could argue that it does not demonstrate knowledge, but at least the candidate knows where to look for e.g. current-carrying capacity of cables.

There may well be electricians who would decline to inspect (and test) an installation with PV and EV and still make a living. The folk who have been doing my MOT tests for nearer 30 than 20 years have not got involved in EVs, but you still have to book well in advance.