Test equipment calibration reminder

A multifunction tester, gas analyser or PAT tester that's out of calibration doesn't fail loudly — it keeps giving readings, and every one of them looks exactly as trustworthy as it did the day the kit was last checked. The problem only surfaces later, if it surfaces at all: a test certificate gets challenged, an insurer asks for calibration records during a claim, or a competent person scheme audit flags a gap. This tool holds the last calibration date for your MFT, gas analyser and PAT tester against a single interval and flags whichever is closest to falling out of date.

Why one interval, not three

Manufacturers, insurers and certification bodies don't always agree on how often test equipment needs recalibrating, so this tool asks for a single interval and applies it across all three items rather than guessing a different figure for each. 12 months is the common default for most MFTs and gas analysers; some PAT testers are specified at 24 months; kit that gets heavy daily use on site is sometimes tightened to 6. Whichever you pick, it's a sensible starting point — not a rule. The actual requirement is whatever your manufacturer's handbook, your insurer or your certification body specifies, and that's worth checking directly rather than relying on a default.

A worked example

An MFT last calibrated 10 months ago, on a 12-month interval, has 2 months of headroom left — not urgent, but close enough that booking the recalibration now avoids a gap. A gas analyser calibrated 11 months ago on the same interval sits right on the edge of "due soon." A PAT tester calibrated 2 months ago has most of a year left and doesn't need attention yet. Seeing all three against the same interval, rather than tracking each on a sticker inside the case lid, is the actual point — and it's the same problem the certification renewal tracker solves for Gas Safe, NICEIC and the other professional-body renewals that lapse on their own separate clock.

Why it matters beyond the paperwork

Test results are only as good as the equipment that produced them. The electrical tools on this site — load, headroom and circuit calculators — all assume the measurements feeding them came from equipment that was actually in calibration when the reading was taken. An out-of-date MFT doesn't just risk an audit; it puts a question mark over every certificate issued since the last time it was checked.

What this isn't

This doesn't book a recalibration, doesn't store dates between visits (they reset if the page is closed), and doesn't know the specific interval your manufacturer, insurer or certification body actually requires — that varies and is worth confirming directly. Treat it as a snapshot to act on today, not a calibration record.