Helpful video reference. The LEARN ELECTRICS channel explains what homeowners are actually allowed to do when it comes to their own electrical installation — cutting through the misinformation and setting out the Part P rules plainly. UK-specific content throughout.
1. What is Part P?
Part P is a section of the Building Regulations for England. It came into force in January 2005 and applies to electrical installations in dwellings and their outbuildings. It does not apply to Scotland (which has its own system), Wales (which has separate regulations) or Northern Ireland.
The purpose is to ensure that electrical work in homes is carried out to a standard that does not endanger people. It does this by requiring that certain categories of work are either done by a registered competent person or notified to building control before it starts.
Part P does not say that homeowners cannot do electrical work. It says that if they do notifiable work, it needs to be inspected and certified.
2. Non-notifiable work: what you can do without telling anyone
The following types of work are non-notifiable in England. You can do them without telling building control, as long as the work complies with BS 7671 and is safe:
- Replacing a like-for-like socket, switch or light fitting on an existing circuit (in any room that is not a bathroom, kitchen or outdoor location)
- Adding a socket outlet to an existing ring or radial circuit in a living room, bedroom, hallway or similar room
- Replacing a ceiling rose, pendant or batten lampholder on an existing circuit
- Replacing a damaged section of cable on an existing circuit (like-for-like)
- Fitting a new light fitting or fan on an existing circuit in a room that is not a bathroom
- Installing or replacing a doorbell at low voltage (SELV)
- Wiring a plug
Non-notifiable does not mean unregulated. The work still has to be safe and correct. It just means you do not have to tell building control or use a registered electrician to do it.
3. Notifiable work: when you must use a registered electrician or notify building control
The following categories of work are notifiable under Part P in England. They must either be done by a registered competent person (who self-certifies) or by anyone else who first notifies local authority building control:
- Installing a new circuit anywhere in a dwelling — including living rooms, bedrooms and hallways
- Replacing or upgrading a consumer unit (fuse box)
- Any electrical work in a bathroom or shower room, regardless of scope
- Any new circuit installed in a kitchen
- Electrical work in a garden or outside the house — new outdoor sockets, outdoor lighting circuits, outbuilding circuits
- Installing an electric vehicle charger
- Installing solar panels or battery storage connected to the installation
The bathroom and kitchen rules catch people out. You cannot add a socket in a bathroom (they are not permitted within 3 metres of a bath or shower anyway) and adding a socket to an existing kitchen circuit may be notifiable. If you are unsure whether a specific job is notifiable, contact the local authority building control or a registered electrician and ask.
4. How the competent persons scheme works
The easiest way to get notifiable work certified is to use a qualified electrician who is registered with an approved Part P scheme. The main schemes in England are NICEIC, NAPIT and ELECSA, though there are others.
A registered electrician can self-certify their own work. They inspect and test it, fill in the correct certificates, and notify building control on your behalf as part of the process. You do not need to contact the council yourself. They will issue a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, which is forwarded to you and also registered with the council.
This is the route most homeowners take, because it is straightforward and the paperwork is handled for you.
5. Notifying building control yourself
If you want to do notifiable electrical work yourself (or use someone who is not registered with a competent persons scheme), you must notify the local authority building control department before the work starts. You pay a notification fee, which varies by council.
The council will arrange for the work to be inspected — either during the work or after completion. Once satisfied, they issue a Building Regulations Completion Certificate. If the work fails inspection, you will need to rectify it before the certificate is issued.
This route is legal but can be slow and adds cost. For most homeowners, using a registered electrician is simpler.
6. The paperwork you should receive
A registered electrician should give you the following after completing notifiable work:
- An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) for a new installation or new circuit — this includes design, construction and test results, signed by a qualified person
- A Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC) for additions or alterations to an existing circuit — this records the test results for the specific part of the circuit affected
Keep these certificates. They are required when you sell the property. A conveyancing solicitor will ask for them, and if they cannot be produced for recent electrical work, it can hold up or derail a sale. If you cannot find certificates for work done in the last few years, an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) can sometimes be used to satisfy a buyer, though this depends on the solicitor and the buyer.
7. What happens if you skip the notification?
Not notifying does not make the work automatically dangerous, but it creates several practical problems. Your home insurance may not pay out if a claim arises from electrical work that was not certified. When you sell the property, the absence of certification for known or visible electrical work will be picked up in the conveyancing process and may need to be regularised before exchange.
Local councils can also issue improvement notices, though in practice they rarely go looking for uncertified work unless an incident occurs.
When to call us
If you need notifiable electrical work done in east Kent — new circuits, consumer unit work, kitchen or bathroom wiring, outdoor power — Richard can carry out and self-certify the work. He covers Sandwich, Deal, Dover, Ramsgate and Canterbury. Contact him with a description of your project for a straightforward quote.
Need certified electrical work in east Kent?
Richard carries out and certifies notifiable electrical work across Sandwich, Deal, Dover, Ramsgate and Canterbury. All work is certified with the correct documentation.
Contact Richard