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.
Key points
- Part P covers fixed electrical work in dwellings in England and Wales.
- Notifiable: new circuits, consumer unit changes, and fixed work in a bathroom.
- Not notifiable: adding to an existing circuit elsewhere, like-for-like swaps, repairs (still must comply with BS 7671).
- Two routes: a registered electrician self-certifies, or you notify building control directly and pay for inspection.
- Unnotified work surfaces at sale and costs more to regularise later than to notify at the time.
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.
Special locations, defined
The phrase "special location" trips people up because it sounds vague. In a home it almost always means a room containing a bath or shower, where the proximity of water raises the risk and the rules tighten. Work there can be notifiable even when the same job elsewhere would not be, and the zones around the bath or shower (broadly the space in and immediately around it, and the area within reach of it) carry their own restrictions on what equipment can go where. The practical rule for a homeowner: assume bathroom electrical work is notifiable and let the electrician confirm, rather than the other way round.
The two routes, and what each costs
| Route | Who uses it | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|
| Registered electrician self-certifies | The trade, day to day | Included in the job; the scheme notifies and posts the compliance certificate |
| Building control notification | DIY, or trades not on a scheme | A building control fee plus inspection, often £200 to £400 depending on the council and job |
The self-certification route is cheaper and quicker because the electrician's scheme membership does the notifying. That is the whole commercial reason competent person schemes exist, and it is why most notifiable domestic work never goes near a council office.
A short history, because it explains the confusion
Part P arrived in 2005 and originally caught a much wider range of jobs, which is the root of the persistent myth that you cannot change a socket without permission. In 2013 the scope was trimmed so that only the genuinely higher-risk work (new circuits, consumer units, special locations) remained notifiable. A lot of the bad advice still circulating is simply the pre-2013 rules repeated by people who never noticed they changed.
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.
Does Part P apply in Scotland?
No. Part P is part of the Building Regulations for England and Wales. Scotland has its own building standards system covering electrical work, so the notification routes differ, though the principle of competent, certified work is the same.
Is a new socket notifiable under Part P?
Adding a socket to an existing circuit outside a special location is not notifiable; a like-for-like replacement is not either. It becomes notifiable when it involves a new circuit, or when the work is in a special location such as a bathroom.
What counts as a special location for Part P?
A room containing a bath or shower is the common one. Fixed electrical work there is treated more strictly because water raises the risk, so jobs that would be non-notifiable elsewhere can be notifiable in a bathroom.
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