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Electrics and gas

Does a service sticker on a boiler replace the surveyor’s “not tested” sentence?

No. A sticker is the engineer’s label, if you can read the date and the firm. The surveyor does not adopt it as their test. HSE’s gas guidance is about registered engineers doing gas work. The sticker may show someone did. It does not extend the RICS inspection to a combustion test.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

Read the date. A sticker from eight years ago is not a current service. A sticker you cannot read is not evidence. Ask the seller for the invoice that matches it. The survey still says what it inspected visually: leaks they could see, the flue terminal, the cupboard. Those observations stand beside the paper, not under it.

If the sticker is recent and the survey saw no visible defect, you still do not have a surveyor’s certificate of the boiler. You have a service record plus a visual limit. That is often enough to proceed, and it is a decision for you, not a rule. If the survey saw rust, staining or a flue issue, the sticker does not cancel the sentence. Ask an engineer to look at what was seen.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • What is the date on the sticker, or was it illegible?
  • Did you see a defect the service record does not mention?
  • Are you relying on the sticker for anything in your rating?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. Ask the seller for the matching invoice.
  2. Do not scratch the sticker off during a viewing.
  3. If the survey found a visible problem, show it to an engineer with the record. Do not choose one document and ignore the other.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Does a landlord gas record do this job on a sale?

Only if the property was rented and the record exists. It is not automatic, and it is not the survey. Owner-occupiers are not under the landlord gas duty.

Is a sticker a warranty?

No. It is a label. Warranty terms, if any, are a separate document.

Sources