What is a Building Regulations compliance certificate for electrical work?

Glossary · Regulations and registration

How the certificate works

Some electrical work in a home has to be notified to building control. Approved Document P, the statutory guidance for England, says that work is notifiable if it is the installation of a new circuit, the replacement of a consumer unit, or any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a special location, which means the space around a bath or shower. Other additions and alterations outside those locations, and replacements, repairs and maintenance anywhere, are not notifiable.^{[1]Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Electrical safety: Approved Document P (2013 edition)}

For notifiable work, one of three routes must be used to show it complies with the Building Regulations.^{[1]Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Electrical safety: Approved Document P (2013 edition)}

The building control notification route is the one for an installer who is not registered. They must notify a building control body before the work begins.^{[1]Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Electrical safety: Approved Document P (2013 edition)}

The 30-day rule

Electricians who are registered competent persons complete a BS 7671 installation certificate for every job, and give it to the person who ordered the work. The installer or their registration body must then, within 30 days of the work being completed, give a copy of the Building Regulations compliance certificate to the occupier and give the certificate, or its information, to the building control body.^{[1]Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Electrical safety: Approved Document P (2013 edition)} In rented homes the certificate may go to the person who ordered the work and be copied to the occupier.^{[1]Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Electrical safety: Approved Document P (2013 edition)}

For electrical work in dwellings, the GOV.UK list of authorised competent person schemes names BESCA, Blue Flame Certification, Certsure (NICEIC), NAPIT and OFTEC. Anyone joining an electrical scheme is included in a single electrical competent person register for householders to find registered electricians.^{[3]Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Competent person scheme: current schemes and how schemes are authorised} Our page on NICEIC vs NAPIT compares the two best known. Martin Day Electricians is an NICEIC Approved Contractor and Part P registered, and tells customers that work is notified where the regulations require it.^{[5]Martin Day Electricians, Electrician in Leeds}

Example

Ravi has his old fuse box replaced with a new consumer unit in his house in Oakwood. Replacing a consumer unit is notifiable.^{[1]Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Electrical safety: Approved Document P (2013 edition)} His electrician is registered with a competent person scheme, so they self-certify. Ravi receives an Electrical Installation Certificate, which is the BS 7671 safety record. The compliance certificate follows from the scheme within 30 days. Ravi files both together. Our page on the electrical installation certificate covers the first document, and when to replace a consumer unit covers the job.

What people get wrong

People often think the Electrical Installation Certificate and the Building Regulations compliance certificate are the same piece of paper. They are not. The first records that the work met BS 7671 and goes to whoever ordered it. The second confirms compliance with the Building Regulations, and a copy goes to building control as well as the occupier.

The second mistake is going without. GOV.UK says the person doing the work could be prosecuted and fined if they do not comply, the building control body could make you pay to fix faulty work, and without approval you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you sell your home.^{[2]GOV.UK, Building regulations approval} If an installer will not provide a certificate, Electrical Safety First says to contact their certification body if they are registered, or building control if they are not, because the duty to notify then falls on the consumer.^{[4]Electrical Safety First, FAQ for Electrical Safety - Your Questions Answered}

The bottom line

Notifiable electrical work needs sign-off under Part P. A registered electrician provides it by self-certification and sends the compliance certificate to you and to building control within 30 days. It is separate from the Electrical Installation Certificate, and you should keep both. If you are unsure whether a job is notifiable, ask before the work starts. Our article on NICEIC and Part P qualifications explains what the registration means.