What Can I Do with a Part P Qualification?

For electricians in the UK, ensuring your work is regulated, safe, and precise is vital to maintain clients and grow your business. If you want to expand your trade, meeting the requirements of Part P of the Building Regulations can be a great way to increase your credibility, but what exactly is Part P, and how do you become registered to self-certify work under it?

Whether you're an electrician wanting to register with a competent person scheme to self-certify your work, or a tradesperson wishing to carry out electrical jobs as part of your trade, such as kitchen fitters, this article will tell you everything you need to know about Part P, who it applies to, and how to go about meeting its requirements.

Let's get started.

What Is Part P?

Part P is a section of the Building Regulations, introduced in 2005. It is designed to protect individuals in domestic properties in England and Wales from unsafe electrical installations.

An electrician who is registered with a government-approved competent person scheme can self-certify that their notifiable electrical work on a domestic property complies with the Building Regulations, including Part P. There are five current electrical scheme operators:

• NICEIC — National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting.
• NAPIT — National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers; a Government approved and United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited certification body across electrical, heating and plumbing.
• BFC — Blue Flame Certification, a United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited certification body across gas, oil and electrical.
• BESCA — Building Engineering Services Competence Assessment.
• OFTEC — a certification body that registers electrical work alongside oil and heating.

Self-certification removes the need for the homeowner to submit a building notice to their local council, as the registered electrician will do the paperwork on their behalf.

The Electrical Safety Roundtable states that the following are deemed 'notifiable work' in England:

• Installation of new electrical circuits.
• Fuse box/consumer unit replacements.
• Electrical circuit alterations in bathrooms (or those with a certain proximity to showers/baths).
• Electrical circuit alterations in rooms containing swimming pools or saunas.

This is slightly different in Wales, where the above plus work to circuits in kitchens and outdoor areas is also considered notifiable work.

Once the work has been carried out and completed, the electrician will fill out a BS 7671 electrical installation certificate and give you a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate.

Part P: Training vs. Registration

When people talk about "doing Part P", they usually mean one of two separate things: training in the Building Regulations, or registering a business with a competent person scheme so it can self-certify its work. These aren't the same thing, and neither one is a "Part P qualification" in its own right.

Training in Part P of the Building Regulations

Electricians can complete a course covering the Building Regulations for electrical installations in dwellings. This can be in the form of the City & Guilds 2383-10 Level 3 Award in Building Regulations for Electrical Installations in Dwellings, which, once completed, will demonstrate that the electrician has a thorough understanding of current regulations and can ensure that their work complies with Part P of the Building Regulations.

This in-centre course runs over 2 days and costs £235, inclusive of VAT. At the end of the course, you'll sit a 40-minute open-book exam, consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions, to determine whether you pass or fail.

Completing this course proves your knowledge of the regulations, but you will still need to register with a competent person scheme to self-certify your work.

Registering with a Competent Person Scheme

This differs from the Gas Safe Register for gas fitters: working on gas fittings in the course of business without Gas Safe registration is a criminal offence, while there's no equivalent legal requirement for electricians to register with a competent person scheme. Competent person schemes, such as NICEIC and NAPIT, involve an annual membership and assess whether a business is working to current electrical regulations and is competent in the trade.

Registering with a competent person scheme lets an electrician sign off their own notifiable work. An electrician who isn't registered with a scheme can still carry out the work lawfully, provided they notify their local building control body before starting.

Do I Need Part P?

Part P applies in England and Wales only, so this guide is most relevant if you work as an electrician, or carry out electrician-adjacent work, in either country.

In Scotland, electrical work sits under the Building (Scotland) Regulations. An electrician who wants to sign off their own work can join the Certifier of Construction (Electrical Installations to BS 7671) scheme, run by SELECT and Certsure.

Northern Ireland's building regulations don't set an electrical requirement, so there's no equivalent scheme to join there. BS 7671 is the wiring standard used across all four nations, so the installation work itself is carried out to the same standard everywhere.

Electricians don't need a specific Part P qualification to join a competent person scheme. Instead, the scheme assesses the business, including the technical competence of the person supervising the work. Understanding Part P can still be helpful for individuals other than electricians working as:

• Kitchen fitters
• Bathroom fitters
• Plumbers and heating engineers
• General builders who may carry out electrical work

This will not only bolster your business's offerings to customers but also ensure that your electrical work is carried out safely and in accordance with current regulations.

What Can I Do with a Part P Qualification?

There's no specific "Part P qualification" to hold, but registering your business with a competent person scheme changes what you are allowed to do. Once registered, it can self-certify notifiable work on domestic premises, rather than notifying building control for each job.

The two types of electrical works are classed as:

• Notifiable Electrical Works — In England, this covers installing a new circuit, replacing a consumer unit, and adding to or altering a circuit in a special location, such as the zone around a bath or shower, or a room containing a swimming pool or sauna heater. Kitchens and outdoor circuits are also notifiable in Wales.
• Minor Electrical Works/Non-Notifiable Electrical Works — These concern "minor" electrical works such as replacing a like-for-like socket, switch, or light fitting or repairing/maintaining existing electrical work.

Notifiable electrical works carry higher risks due to their extensive nature or proximity to danger (such as bathrooms and kitchens). They should only be carried out by competent, qualified electricians to ensure safety for both contractor and customer.

Although minor electrical works are "non-notifiable", meaning the works don't require you to notify your local building control, minor works will need a Minor Works Certificate upon completion.

This can be issued in the form of:

• Electrical Installation Certificate.
• Minor Works Certificate.

How to Become Part P Registered?

You don't become "Part P registered", but you can register your business with one of the competent person schemes which assesses the business and the competence of whoever supervises the electrical work. Formal Part P training isn't a condition of joining, but many people take it to demonstrate their knowledge of the regulations first.

If you'd rather study remotely, the same City & Guilds 2383-10 course is also available as an online course, suitable for qualified and experienced electricians who wish to gain comprehensive, accredited training for domestic electrical installers.

This specific course is for individuals wishing to learn remotely and at their own pace and will cover the following:

• Identification techniques for notifiable and non-notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations.
• General understanding of the Building Regulations and how they are enforced.
• Understanding of Building Control Services and their role in the industry, as well as Local Authority Building Control Services.

The course will focus on the following topics:

• All Parts of Schedule 1 relating to electrical work (concerning parts A, B, C, E, F, L, M, and P).
• Circuit Specifications (standard, final, lighting and cooker circuits and fused connection units).
• Design (materials and installation).
• Government-approved competent person scheme providers (NICEIC, NAPIT, etc.)
• Legislation (general health and safety, Building Regulations, notification to building control, definitions of minor/non-notifiable work and notifiable work).
• Mains Position (supply systems, earthing and bonding, residual current devices).
• Safety (pre-work surveys).
• Special Locations (rooms containing baths/showers, kitchens).

The online course takes around 6 to 8 hours to complete, spread across 14 self-paced modules, and costs £185, inclusive of VAT. At the end of the course, you'll sit the same 40-minute open-book exam, which can be taken from home using City & Guilds' remote invigilation service.

Registering a business with a competent person scheme, such as NICEIC or NAPIT, allows it to sign off its own notifiable work. Electricians who aren't registered can still carry out this work by notifying building control before starting.

What Electrical Work Can I Do Without Part P?

As the NICEIC says, "The safest way to do electrical DIY is NOT to do electrical DIY." The best advice is always to hire a professional.

Part P always applies to fixed electrical work in a dwelling, but not all of that work is "notifiable". According to government advice for qualified electricians, electrical work considered "minor", such as like-for-like replacements or changing existing sockets and switches, can be carried out without notifying Building Control, provided it still complies with Part P.

These jobs can include:

• Changing existing sockets
• Changing existing switches
• Replacing damaged cables
• Replacing thermostats
• Installing extra-low voltage cabling for alarms and telephones

The downside of hiring an electrician who isn't registered with a competent person scheme is a loss of that extra layer of oversight, since their notifiable work needs to be checked and signed off by building control rather than self-certified. Part P exists to protect people in domestic properties from unsafe electrical installations, and choosing a registered electrician helps verify that their work meets this standard.

Electricians who aren't registered with a competent person scheme will likely offer cheaper services, but a lower price doesn't mean the work is to the same standard. It's recommended that all electrical work is carried out by someone competent and aware of Part P and the Building Regulations, to ensure the job is safe and complies with current legislation.

Conclusion

It can be tricky to understand the ins and outs of electrical safety and legislation. Part P adherence is crucial to any qualified electrician's toolkit and can help bolster your credibility in the field while ensuring your work is of the correct, current electrical standards.

• Part P was introduced at the beginning of 2005 and is designed to keep contractors and consumers safe from unsafe electrical installations.
• Part P is a section of the Building Regulations, not a qualification. It sets the standard that competent person schemes assess businesses against.
• Notifiable electrical works require documentation, such as a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, which an electrician registered with a competent person scheme can sign off.
• Training is available through City & Guilds, such as the 2383-10 Level 3 Award in Building Regulations for Electrical Installations in Dwellings, either in-centre or online.
• Registering with a competent person scheme, such as the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC), lets a business sign off its own notifiable work. Without registration, the work still needs to be notified to building control before it starts.

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