1.1 About the 2391-52 Exam

Quick Answer: The City & Guilds 2391-52 is the Level 3 Award in Initial and Periodic Inspection and Testing of Electrical Installations. It merges the 2391-50 (initial verification) and 2391-51 (periodic inspection) awards into one qualification. To earn the award you must pass two assessments: the 2391-052 online multiple-choice test on e-volve (60 questions, 120 minutes, open book and invigilated, pass mark approximately 75%), and the 2391-502 practical assignment, which includes a short-answer written paper. The current standard is BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 with IET Guidance Note 3, 10th Edition (2026).

What the 2391-52 Qualifies You to Do

The 2391-52 teaches you to inspect and test electrical installations for both new work and existing installations:

• Initial verification — the full set of inspections and tests carried out on a new or altered installation before it is energised and put into service, documented on an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC).
• Periodic inspection — inspection and testing of an existing installation at scheduled intervals, documented on an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).

The separate 2391-50 (initial verification only) and 2391-51 (periodic only) awards still exist; the 2391-52 combines both into one qualification, so a single certificate covers both activities.

Qualification at a Glance

These figures come from the City & Guilds Qualification Handbook version 2.3 (July 2024) — the current handbook for this award.

The Two Assessment Components

The handbook is explicit: candidates must "successfully complete one practical assignment (2391-502)" and "successfully complete one online multiple choice test (2391-052)". Both must be passed; there is no compensation between them.

A common misconception is that the written short-answer paper is a third separate exam. It is not — it is a task within the 2391-502 practical assignment. Training providers commonly quote around three hours for the practical tasks and about 1 hour 20 minutes for the four short-answer questions, but City & Guilds publishes a duration only for the multiple-choice test (120 minutes); confirm the practical timings with your centre.

Note also that the handbook states the MCQ pass mark is "set at approximately 75%, however this may be adjusted to ensure consistency across cohorts (reliability)" — treat 75% as the working target, not a guaranteed fixed boundary.

The practical is the component most candidates underestimate. You must carry out a safe isolation, inspect and test the installation, interpret the results, and produce the correct documentation for both initial verification and periodic inspection.

Open-Book Working

The multiple-choice test is open book and invigilated. In practice candidates work from:

1. BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 — the IET Wiring Regulations (the requirements)
2. IET Guidance Note 3 (10th Edition, 2026) — inspection and testing methodology
3. The IET On-Site Guide — simplified on-site reference for common installations

City & Guilds does not publish a national list of permitted titles in the qualification handbook, and centres apply their own rules on annotations, photocopies and digital copies. Confirm with your centre what you may bring before exam day. Own-copy tab flags and marginal notes are normally accepted; loose photocopies usually are not.

Current Standards Timeline

A4:2026 is the amendment to study against. Because the previous version is not withdrawn until 15 October 2026, sittings during the transition may still be set against the earlier text — ask your centre which version your paper is written to. If you are studying from an A2:2022 or A3:2024 copy, update it: the EICR outcome rules, the model forms in Appendix 6 and the RCD verification requirements have all moved on.

Official Learning-Outcome Weighting

The Qualification Handbook (v2.3) publishes the exact question split for the 2391-052 test. This is the only official weighting that exists for this qualification — treat any six-domain or percentage breakdown you see elsewhere as somebody’s teaching structure, not the blueprint.

Testing is 56% of the multiple-choice test — more than every other outcome combined. If you only have time to master one area, master testing: the sequence, instrument selection, expected values, factors that distort a reading, and interpretation of results. LO5 carries no MCQ questions but is the whole of the practical assignment, so it is not optional.

How This Guide Maps to the Learning Outcomes

Entry Requirements

This is not an entry-level qualification, and the handbook is unusually direct about it:

• Age: City & Guilds "cannot accept any registrations for learners under 18".
• Prior qualification: "It would be expected that candidates have previously achieved a Level 3 Electrotechnical qualification or similar before undertaking this qualification."
• Experience: the qualification "must not be taken by learners new to the industry who do not possess sufficient skills, knowledge, and experience to undertake inspection and testing safely and competently", and is "not suitable for learners with limited experience of working in the electrotechnical sector".
• Centre screening: centres must carry out a thorough initial assessment of applicants before enrolment.

In practice, most candidates hold a current 18th Edition award — now C&G 2382-26, updated for Amendment 4:2026 — before starting, because the exam is open book and you must be able to navigate BS 7671 quickly. Many training providers make it a hard prerequisite even though the handbook expresses it as an expectation.

A typical preparation profile:

• Course length: around 5 days of guided tuition plus self-study (50 GLH, 67 TQT)
• Cost: roughly GBP 700–1,000 including course and assessments, varying by provider
• Format: classroom or virtual tuition, with the practical assignment sat at an approved centre

What Passing the Award Lets You Do

Holding the 2391-52 demonstrates competence to inspect, test and certify new installations (EIC) and to report on the condition of existing ones (EICR). It is a standard requirement for electricians undertaking inspection and testing work, and it is widely accepted by employers, competent person schemes and housing providers as evidence of test competence. It also feeds the progression route to the Level 4 2396 design and verification award.