Part P Electrical Certification for Homeowners

Introduction

Building Regulations Part P — Electrical Safety in Dwellings — requires that certain electrical work in homes is notified to the local authority Building Control or carried out by an electrician registered with a government-approved Competent Person Scheme. Part P was introduced in 2005 in response to concerns about unsafe DIY electrical work in homes and has been revised several times since. Understanding which electrical works require notification, which can be self-certified by a registered electrician, and what certification documents should be obtained helps homeowners manage electrical works in a renovation project correctly.

Which Electrical Works Are Notifiable

Under Part P, electrical work in a dwelling is notifiable to Building Control if it involves:

• New circuits (a new circuit from the consumer unit to any point in the dwelling)
• A consumer unit replacement
• Any work in special locations — defined as a bathroom, shower room, or any location within 0.6m of a sink, bath or shower tray
• Any work in outdoor locations — external electrical installations, garden lighting, electric vehicle charging points
• Any work on outdoor equipment — shed, greenhouse, outbuilding supplies

Minor works — such as replacing a socket outlet, light switch, or light fitting on an existing circuit outside a special location — are not notifiable under Part P. Adding a socket outlet to an existing ring main outside a special location is also typically not notifiable, though the work must still comply with BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regulations).

Competent Person Schemes

The primary route for compliance with Part P in practice is through a Competent Person Scheme (CPS). An electrician registered with a government-approved scheme — such as the NICEIC, ELECSA, NAPIT, or ECA — can self-certify notifiable electrical work. This means they notify the local authority (or the Building Control department) on the homeowner's behalf, carry out the work, and issue a BS 7671 installation certificate confirming compliance.

The self-certification route is used for the vast majority of domestic electrical work. The homeowner should receive from the electrician:

• An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) for new installations and major works
• A Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC) for minor works on existing circuits
• Notification to Building Control that the work has been carried out (the electrician handles this)

The EIC or MEIWC is an important document that confirms the work has been carried out to BS 7671 standard and should be retained with the property's building documents for future sale or mortgage purposes.

Building Control Approval for Electrical Works

Where an electrician is not registered with a CPS, notifiable electrical work must be approved by Building Control before the work is done (Full Plans application) or notified and inspected during or after the work. This is a longer and more expensive route than using a CPS-registered electrician, and is rarely necessary for domestic renovation work. The only circumstances where it typically arises are where a homeowner installs their own electrical work and is not a CPS-registered electrician — in which case, Building Control inspection and approval is required.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR, formerly PIR or periodic inspection report) is an assessment of the condition of an existing electrical installation — not certification of new work, but an inspection report identifying faults, deterioration, and departures from current standards. An EICR is required:

• By law for all rented properties — Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require an EICR every 5 years and before a new tenancy begins
• By mortgage lenders — some lenders require a satisfactory EICR for properties with old wiring before advancing a mortgage
• As good practice at the start of a renovation of an older property — to identify the condition of the existing electrical installation before deciding whether to rewire or retain the existing system

An EICR codes faults as C1 (danger present — immediate action required), C2 (potentially dangerous — urgent action required), or C3 (improvement recommended). A property with C1 or C2 codes should not be considered safe for occupation.

Full Rewire in a Renovation Project

A full electrical rewire of a Victorian or Edwardian house — replacing all wiring, sockets, switches, consumer unit and distribution — is notifiable under Part P as it involves multiple new circuits. An NICEIC or equivalent registered electrician will self-certify the work to Building Control. At completion, the homeowner will receive:

• An Electrical Installation Certificate covering all new work
• Part P notification to Building Control (self-certifying the work)
• A Building Regulations compliance certificate from Building Control (or a Local Authority Building Control certificate from the approved inspector if used)

Costs

Conclusion

Part P compliance is straightforward when electrical works are carried out by a CPS-registered electrician — the electrician self-certifies the work, notifies Building Control, and issues the appropriate installation certificate. The homeowner's responsibility is to ensure that the electrician is properly registered (check their scheme membership before appointing), to obtain and retain the EIC or MEIWC for every piece of notifiable work, and to maintain a record of all electrical certificates with the property's building documents. An architect coordinating a renovation project will ensure that the specification requires CPS-registered electricians for all Part P works and that all required certificates are obtained and handed over at practical completion. See our guide on full electrical rewire for the practical context of rewiring a Victorian or Edwardian house.