How to get a Part P certificate

Wondering how to get a Part P electrical certificate? We explain what it is, what it looks like, how much it costs, and how to get one if it's gone missing.

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If you've had electrical work done at home, you've probably heard the term "Part P certificate" thrown around. It sounds like a single document, but it's actually a shorthand for a process that gives you legal proof your electrics are safe and compliant.

Here's exactly what it is, what it looks like, and how to get one.

Not sure? Why not try with a checked and reviewed electrician in your local area?

What is a Part P certificate?

Part P was added to the Building Regulations in 2005 to protect homeowners from unsafe electrical installations.

It covers "notifiable" electrical work in your home, meaning work that's significant enough to need sign-off from your local council's building control team.

Part P certification itself isn't a document you're handed. It's a status held by the electrician.

An electrician registered with one of the government-approved competent person schemes, such as NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA, is allowed to self-certify their own notifiable work. That means they can sign it off and notify your council directly, so you don't have to deal with building control yourself.

What does a Part P certificate look like?

There isn't one single "Part P certificate" template, which is part of why it causes so much confusion. In practice, you'll end up with a combination of paperwork:

• An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) to BS 7671, issued by the electrician who did the work. This includes details of the installation, test results, and the electrician's signature and registration number.

• A Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, sent to you (usually by post or email) once your registered electrician has notified the job to their scheme provider and the scheme has confirmed it to your local authority.

Together, these two documents are what most people mean when they ask for their "Part P certificate." If you're only handed one and not the other, it's worth asking your electrician where the second one is.

Which electrical jobs actually need one?

Not every job is notifiable. Typical examples that do require certification include:

• A full or partial rewire

• Installing a new circuit

• Replacing a consumer unit (fuse box)

• New electrical work in a kitchen or bathroom, in some cases

• Adding an outdoor socket or garden wiring

Simpler jobs, like replacing a light fitting, adding a socket to an existing circuit, or swapping a broken switch, usually aren't notifiable and don't need Part P sign-off, though your electrician should still test the work and can be asked to.

How to get a Part P certificate, step by step

If you hire a registered electrician

1. They complete the notifiable work and test it against BS 7671.

2. They issue you an Electrical Installation Certificate.

3. They notify the job to their competent person scheme (NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, or similar).

4. The scheme notifies your local council on your behalf.

5. You receive a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate confirming the work is signed off.

If you use a qualified but unregistered electrician

This route is more hands-on for you as the homeowner:

1. Your electrician (or you) must notify the council and submit a building regulations application before work starts.

2. The council charges a fee for this, typically in the region of a few hundred pounds, though this varies by local authority.

3. Once the work is done, either your electrician or a separately hired registered electrician needs to test and inspect it.

4. The council (or its appointed inspector) then signs it off.

In short: as a homeowner, what you actually need isn't a "Part P certificate" as such, it's a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, backed up by an Electrical Installation Certificate. A registered electrician gets you both with minimal hassle.

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Part P certificate vs EIC vs EICR: what's the difference?

These three terms get mixed up constantly, so here's a quick breakdown:

If you want a general health check on your home's wiring rather than certification for a specific job, you're actually looking for an registered electrician who can test and inspect the circuits and issue a certificate in the form of an EICR, not a Part P certificate.

Check out our electrician hub for all the information you need in one place. There's everything from the cost of adding plug sockets to hanging a chandelier!

How much does it cost?

There's no fixed fee for a Part P certificate itself, since it's part of the electrician's service rather than a separate charge.

Costs vary depending on:

• The size and complexity of the job

• Whether your electrician is registered (cheaper, as notification is built in) or unregistered (you may need to pay the council's application fee separately)

• Your local authority's fees, if you're going the unregistered/DIY notification route

For a general sense of what electrical work costs, our electrical safety check cost guide and electrician hourly rate guide are good starting points, and our rewire cost guide breaks down pricing for bigger notifiable jobs like full rewires.

Always get certification costs confirmed in writing as part of your quote, not as an afterthought once the work's finished.

How much does it cost to rewire a house in the UK?

Bought a new property or looking to upgrade the wiring in your existing house? Find out the average house rewiring costs to help plan your budget.

Learn more

What if you can't find your certificate?

It happens more often than you'd think, especially with older homes or work carried out by a company that's since closed down.

If you're missing paperwork:

• Contact the scheme provider (NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA) directly with your address and roughly when the work was done. They can often trace it and issue a duplicate.

• If the original electrician can't be traced and no record exists, you'll likely need a fresh Electrical Installation Condition Report to demonstrate the current state of your wiring instead.

• For jobs going back further, check with your local authority's building control team, as some retain older Part P notification records too.

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Selling a house without a Part P certificate

Missing Part P paperwork is one of the most common snags in a house sale.

If you can't produce evidence that notifiable work was signed off, your buyer's solicitor may ask you to take out indemnity insurance to cover the risk, or ask for retrospective building regulations approval, which means paying your council to inspect and approve the work after the fact.

Sorting this early, rather than mid-sale, will save you a lot of stress.

UK Building Regulations explained

When building, renovating, extending or converting a property, you’re going to come into contact with Building Regulations in the UK. They are guidelines that are in place to ensure that any work being carried out to create or adapt a property is done in a safe, secure and sturdy way.

Learn more

How to find a registered electrician

Always confirm registration before booking, and ask to see evidence of their scheme membership if you're not sure.

Our guide to checking a NICEIC domestic certificate and our breakdown of ELECSA vs NICEIC are useful if you want to understand exactly what you're checking for.

• Confirm your electrician's scheme membership

• Ask what paperwork you'll receive, and when

• Get certification costs in writing

• Keep both the EIC and compliance certificate safe

• Store copies digitally as a backup

Frequently asked questions about Part P certificates

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