Part P explained: which electrical jobs are notifiable and who signs them off
In short: Part P of the Building Regulations makes most fixed electrical work in dwellings in England and Wales subject to building control. New circuits, consumer unit replacements and work in bathrooms must be notified, either through an electrician registered with a competent person scheme who self-certifies, or by paying building control directly. Non-notifiable work still has to comply.
Part P is the shortest approved document in the Building Regulations and the most misunderstood. It says, in essence, one thing: fixed electrical installations in dwellings must be designed and installed to protect people from fire and injury. The argument is never about that sentence; it is about which jobs must be notified to building control, and who is allowed to sign them off.
Notifiable or not
| Job | Notifiable? |
|---|---|
| New circuit (any location) | Yes |
| Consumer unit replacement | Yes |
| Any fixed wiring work in a bathroom zone | Yes |
| Additions to an existing circuit elsewhere | No |
| Like-for-like replacement of accessories | No |
| Repairs and maintenance | No |
Non-notifiable does not mean unregulated: the work must still comply with BS 7671 and deserves a minor works certificate.
The two routes to compliance
Route one is the one the trade uses: an electrician registered with a competent person scheme (NICEIC, NAPIT and others) does the work, self-certifies it, and the scheme notifies building control. The customer gets a Building Regulations compliance certificate in the post and the matter is closed. Route two is notifying building control directly before work starts, paying their fee, and having them inspect. It exists mainly for DIY and for the rare trades not on a scheme.
Who actually signs
The person who signs the Electrical Installation Certificate is certifying design, construction and testing against BS 7671. Scheme membership adds the Part P notification on top. This is why a registered electrician will not sign off a stranger's wiring: the signature covers work they did not design or watch go in, and an assessor will ask exactly that question.
When it was never notified
Unnotified notifiable work surfaces in two places: conveyancing, where the buyer's solicitor asks for certificates that do not exist, and insurance claims after an electrical fire. The remedy is regularisation: building control inspects, usually requiring parts opened up and tested, and issues a regularisation certificate for a fee. It is always more expensive than notifying at the time, which is the system working as designed.
Keeping the evidence
For electricians the practical duty is recordkeeping: the certificate, the schedule of test results and the notification all need to be findable years later, because that is when they are asked for. A job marked notifiable at the time it is certified, with the export ready when the scheme or a solicitor asks, is thirty seconds of admin against an afternoon of archaeology.
Common questions
Is changing a socket notifiable under Part P?
No. Like-for-like replacements, adding sockets or lights to an existing circuit outside special locations, and repairs are not notifiable. They still have to comply with BS 7671, and a minor works certificate is the right paperwork for them.
Can a homeowner do their own electrical work under Part P?
Yes, the law restricts notification, not who holds the screwdriver. But notifiable DIY work must go through building control with a fee and inspection, and getting a registered electrician to certify someone else's work after the fact is something most will refuse.
What happens if notifiable work was never notified?
Building control can require it to be opened up, tested and regularised for a fee, and unnotified work routinely surfaces in conveyancing searches when the house is sold. A retrospective regularisation certificate is the usual fix, and it costs more than notifying at the time.
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