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How to find a good local electrician

Electricians are one of the most in-demand tradespeople around, and it’s important to make sure you find a good local electrician to work on your home. In this guide we’ll give you tips to find a good electrician in your area, so that you can be confident you’ll hire someone you can rely on.

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Electricians are one of the most in-demand tradespeople around, and it’s important to make sure you find a good local electrician to work on your home. In this guide, we’ll give you tips to find a good electrician in your area so that you can be confident you’ll hire someone you can rely on.

Top tips to find a good local electrician

1. Rely on word of mouth

One of the best ways to find a good local electrician is by asking for recommendations from your friends, family and neighbours. If you can hire an electrician that’s already been tried and tested by someone you trust, and they were happy with the electrician’s work, then chances are they’ll do a good job.

2. Ask other reliable tradespeople

Good tradespeople like to work with other qualified, reliable tradespeople, so ask any tradespeople you know or have worked with before if they can recommend an electrician. They’ll likely be able to help you find a good electrician in your area.

3. Check trade associations Competent Person register

If you can’t find a good local electrician through recommendations, the next step is to check the Registered Competent Person register for qualified electricians. All the electricians listed on the register will have been assessed to ensure the quality of their work and will be reputable tradespeople. Similarly, the Trustmark register is another source for finding qualified electricians who’ve also been assessed.

4. Refer to trade associations

There are several regulatory bodies and trade associations that offer memberships and accreditations to electricians in the UK. Organisations such as ECA, NICEIC, NAPIT and ELECSA all offer registration for electricians and can be a great place to find a reliable, qualified electrician in your area.

5. Use Checkatrade search

We have thousands of reliable, qualified tradespeople registered on Checkatrade and all qualifications shown on an electrician’s profile will have been checked and verified by us. So you can trust that they’re a qualified tradesperson. You can even use our handy request a quote tool to find reliable electricians and make sure you’re paying a fair and competitive price for the work. Try it out – it’s quick and easy!

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Questions to ask to find a good local electrician

While you’re trying to find a good electrician to hire, here are some useful questions that you might want to ask them to help you decide:

Are you a registered member of one of the Government approved schemes, such as the Competent Person Register?
How long have you been working as an electrician?
What qualifications and/or accreditations do you have?
Have you worked on similar projects to this one?
Can you provide references for previous customers?
Can I see examples of your recent work?
Do you have Public Liability Insurance?
How much do you charge, and what are the payment terms?
What does the price include, and are there any extra charges I should be aware of?
How long will it take for you to carry out the work?
Do you offer a service guarantee?

How much does an electrician cost?

The average cost of an electrician is around £45 per hour, or £225 per day – depending on the type of electrical work involved, the individual electrician and their experience. If you need rewiring done in your home, the average cost to rewire a house will depend on the size of the property but can range from around £1,500 for a 1-bed flat to £12,500 for a 5-bed house.

Why find a qualified electrician?

We always recommend hiring a qualified electrician to do any work in your home. And, if you’re on the fence, here are some of the reasons why a qualified electrician should be your only option:

Electrical work needs to be done to a professional standard to ensure the health and safety of you and your family.
Qualified electricians are regulated by the UK and Scottish Governments, and they’ll work to the appropriate national safety standards.
They’re insured so that you’re protected should any of their work cause issues.
Using a qualified electrician is a legal requirement for certain electrical work.
It gives you peace of mind that your home is going to be left in a safe condition.

See the tradespeople we've checked and recommend for your job

FAQs

How do I find the best electrician in my area?

The best ways to find the best electrician in your area is to:

Ask friends, family and neighbours for their recommendations.
Speak to other reliable tradespeople for details of the electricians they recommend.
Check the Competent Person Register.
See which electricians are registered with national trade associations.
Use Checkatrade request a quote feature to reach out to reliable local electricians.

How do I find a qualified electrician?

It’s quick and easy to search for qualified electricians on Checkatrade. Any accreditations or qualifications you see advertised on any of our electrician’s profiles (or any tradesperson’s profile for that matter) have been checked and verified by us, so you can trust the quality of the service they offer.

Alternatively, you can search for qualified electricians on the Competent Person Register.

How do you check an electrician is qualified?

The quickest way to check if an electrician is qualified is to refer to the body that they’re claiming to be qualified through or registered with, which will often be one of the following:

The tick you can trust

8/10 homeowners would choose a tradesperson endorsed by Checkatrade over one who isn't*

Claims are sourced from a survey conducted by Deep Blue Thinking on a nationally representative UK sample in November 2021. *8 out of 10 people would choose a trade endorsed by Checkatrade compared to one that isn’t endorsed.