Choose an electrician who is qualified for the job, can get notifiable work signed off under Part P of the Building Regulations (either by self-certifying through a competent person scheme or through building control), gives you the right certificate at the end, and puts the price in writing before starting. If you check those four things, you avoid almost every problem homeowners and landlords in Hertfordshire run into with electrical work.

What makes an electrician the right choice

Most electrical problems that surface later, when you sell a house, let it out or make an insurance claim, come down to paperwork that was never produced or work that was never notified. Wiring is hidden once plaster goes back on, so the certificate is the only proof you have that the job was tested and done properly.

A good electrician will:

• tell you before starting whether the work is notifiable, and how it will be signed off
• test the circuit they have worked on and give you the matching certificate
• explain any existing faults they find in plain terms, with the evidence
• quote in writing, and explain what happens if they find something unexpected
• carry public liability insurance and show evidence of their qualifications if you ask

If you are also looking for other trades, our guide on how to choose a plumber follows the same approach. For electrical work you can see what our team covers on our electrical services page.

Part P in plain English

Part P is the section of the Building Regulations in England that deals with electrical safety in homes. It applies to the fixed wiring: circuits, sockets, switches, lights, the consumer unit (fuse box) and anything wired in permanently. It does not cover plugging in appliances.

Since 2013, only certain jobs in England have to be notified to the local authority. The rest still have to be done safely and to the wiring standard, BS 7671, but nobody has to tell building control about them.

Job	Notifiable in England?	Paperwork you should receive
Adding a new circuit (for example for an electric shower, cooker or EV charger)	Yes	EIC plus a Building Regulations compliance certificate
Replacing a consumer unit	Yes	EIC plus a Building Regulations compliance certificate
Adding to or altering a circuit inside a bathroom or shower zone	Yes	Certificate plus a Building Regulations compliance certificate
Extra socket or light on an existing circuit, outside a bathroom	No	Minor Works Certificate
Replacing a socket, switch or light fitting like for like	No	A Minor Works Certificate is good practice
Replacing a single damaged cable on one circuit	No	Minor Works Certificate

A “special location” in the regulations means the zones around a bath or shower (and swimming pools and saunas) as defined in the wiring regulations. That is why a new spotlight in a bathroom ceiling can be notifiable while the same job in a hallway is not.

The rules in Wales are slightly different, so if you have a property over the border, check with the electrician or local authority there.

Competent person schemes, explained simply

There are two legal routes for notifiable work.

1. The electrician is registered with a government-authorised competent person scheme. They can self-certify their own work. The scheme notifies your local council, and you receive a Building Regulations compliance certificate, usually by post. Registered electricians are assessed by the scheme on a regular basis, including checks on their completed work.
2. The electrician is not registered. Before the work starts, a building notice has to be given to the local authority building control team. Building control then inspects and signs off the work, and the council charges a fee for this. It is legitimate, but it takes longer and adds a cost.

What you should never accept is notifiable work done by someone who is not registered and does not involve building control. Local authorities can require work that does not meet the Building Regulations to be altered or removed, and unsigned-off work usually surfaces at the worst moment, during a house sale.

You can check whether an electrician is registered with a scheme by searching the Electrical Competent Person Register online, using their name or your postcode. Ask the electrician which scheme they belong to, then check it yourself.

The certificates you should know

Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC)

For new circuits, consumer unit changes, rewires and bigger alterations. It records the design, the tests carried out and the results, and is signed by the people responsible for the design, installation and inspection. Keep it with your house documents.

Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate

Usually called a Minor Works Certificate. It covers small additions and alterations that do not include a new circuit, such as an extra socket. It is shorter than an EIC but still records test results for the circuit worked on.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

This is not a certificate for new work. It is an inspection of an existing installation, and it tells you whether the installation is safe to keep using. Our EICR page explains what the inspection involves. Any problems found are coded:

Code	What it means	Action
C1	Danger present, risk of injury	Must be made safe immediately
C2	Potentially dangerous	Urgent remedial work needed
FI	Further investigation required	Investigate without delay
C3	Improvement recommended	Not a failure on its own

Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory. Ask the inspector to show you what each coded item is, and be cautious of a report that lists lots of C2 items with no explanation, followed straight away by a quote for a full new consumer unit.

Landlords: the five-year rule

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require private landlords to:

• have the installation inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, or sooner if the report says so
• give existing tenants a copy of the report within 28 days of the inspection
• give new tenants a copy before they move in
• give the local authority a copy within 7 days if it asks in writing
• complete any remedial or investigative work within 28 days, or sooner if the report specifies

Our landlord services page covers gas and electrical safety checks together, which saves arranging two separate visits.

How to compare quotes

1. Get two or three written quotes for anything bigger than a small repair.
2. Check the scope is the same. One quote may include chasing cables into walls and making good the plaster, and another may leave you with open channels for a plasterer.
3. Ask which certificate you will get, and for notifiable work, how it will be notified.
4. Ask what happens if they find a problem on an existing circuit that prevents them certifying the new work. A fair electrician explains this before starting.
5. Ask about testing the existing installation. Adding a circuit to an old consumer unit can reveal faults, and you want to know how that will be handled.
6. Compare the guarantee on workmanship, not just the price.

Can you do electrical work yourself?

In England a homeowner can legally do some non-notifiable work, such as replacing a light fitting, but it still has to meet BS 7671 and be safe. Notifiable DIY work has to go through building control before you start. If you are not confident isolating a circuit, proving it dead and testing afterwards, leave it to an electrician. Mistakes with earthing and protection often show no symptoms until something goes wrong.

What it costs with Vantage

For electrical repairs and fault finding, in normal working hours there is no call-out fee. After the first hour, time is charged in half-hour steps, and parts are quoted before we fit them. Evening, weekend and overnight visits are charged at the out-of-hours rates. Larger jobs, such as a consumer unit change or new circuits, are quoted in writing before we start. Every rate is published on our prices page, so you know what you will pay before we arrive.

For more on the work itself, see electrical installations and electrical repairs and fault finding.

Frequently asked questions

What does Part P registered mean?

It is a common shorthand for an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, which lets them self-certify notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations. Training courses with “Part P” in the name exist, but a course alone does not allow self-certification. Registration with a scheme does.

Do I need a certificate for a new socket?

Yes, you should get one. Adding a socket to an existing circuit outside a bathroom is not notifiable, but it should still be tested and recorded on a Minor Works Certificate.

How often should a homeowner get an EICR?

There is no legal requirement for owner-occupiers. A periodic inspection around every ten years is widely recommended, and it is sensible when you buy a home or before major work.

What happens if notifiable work was never signed off?

You can ask the local authority about regularisation, where building control assesses the work after the event. This can involve opening up some areas to inspect, so it is far easier to get it signed off at the time.

Is an electrician the same as an electrical inspector?

Not always. Installing and inspecting are different skills. For an EICR, ask whether the person is experienced in inspection and testing of existing installations, not only new work.

Electrical help in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire

If you are choosing an electrician in Hertfordshire for new circuits, a consumer unit, fault finding or an EICR, our electrical team can help, and our phone line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for urgent faults. Call 01462 506374 and ask us the same questions this guide suggests.