Homeowners meet Part P when a kitchen is ripped out, a consumer unit is replaced, or a buyer’s solicitor asks for electrical certificates. The question is not “is this person good with cables”. It is whether the work is notifiable, and who will file the notice. This page is that rule. For pounds, use house rewire costs.
GOV.UK’s building-regulations page lists examples that often need approval: replacing fuse boxes and connected electrics, and changing electrics near a bath or shower. Approved Document P is the official guidance for dwellings in England. It is not a quote and it is not a directory badge.
What Part P actually requires
Part P of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations says electrical installations in dwellings must be designed and installed so they are reasonably safe. Approved Document P, published on GOV.UK with a 2013 date and still the document that page points to, explains when notification is required and how inspection and testing should follow BS 7671.
Since April 2023 the Building Safety Regulator has a duty to keep building safety under review, including the Approved Documents. That does not turn this page into a 2026 rewrite of Part P. If GOV.UK replaces the document, that file wins.
NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA on a profile is a competent-person hint, not a Part P certificate. Six businesses here show one of those marks, all in London. Ask what paper you will hold at the end of the job.
What usually has to be notified
Approved Document P treats as notifiable, in broad terms, new circuits, a replacement consumer unit, and additions or alterations in special locations such as bathrooms. Like-for-like replacements of fittings on an existing circuit, and many minor additions outside those special locations, are often not notifiable — they must still be safe and still need testing appropriate to the work.
GOV.UK also lists “replace fuse boxes and connected electrics” and “change electrics near a bath or shower” among jobs that might need building-regulations approval. If you cannot decide, GOV.UK says to check with a building-control body. This site will not decide it for you.
- A full rewire — notifiable.
- A new consumer unit — notifiable.
- A new circuit for a kitchen, extension or outbuilding — usually notifiable.
- Work in a bathroom zone — treat as notifiable until someone competent says otherwise.
- Swapping a like-for-like socket in a dry room — often not notifiable, still not a DIY licence if you do not know the circuit.
Three ways the work is certified
Approved Document P describes three routes for notifiable work: self-certification by a registered competent person; third-party certification by a registered certifier; or certification by a building-control body. A competent-person installer gives you a BS 7671 electrical installation certificate and the building-regulations compliance paperwork their scheme sends.
If the installer is not in a scheme, someone still has to notify before the work is treated as signed off. “I’ll do it cash and skip the notice” is how a sale falls through two years later. Ask for the certificate at completion, not “when we get round to the paperwork”.
Scotland, Wales and this directory
Part P is an England (and, in its own form, Wales) Building Regulations story. Scotland uses a different building-standards system. Glasgow and Edinburgh lists on this site are still useful for a phone number; they are not a Part P notice. Ask what certificate a Scottish electrician will leave, and who notifies the local authority if the work is a warrant item.
London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol and the other English and Welsh cities on this directory sit inside the GOV.UK Part P framing. Cardiff follows Welsh building regulations. Do not paste an English notice onto a Glasgow tenement and call it done.
What to have on the call
Have the rooms involved, whether a consumer unit is changing, and whether a solicitor or a building-control officer has already named the job. Ask whether the work is notifiable, which route they will use, and what certificate you will hold. For a price band, use the rewire cost page. For a number, open electrical work in London or Manchester.
This site does not notify building control and does not email the electrician.
Questions before you treat a certificate as optional
Does changing a consumer unit need Part P notification?
In England, replacing a fuse box or consumer unit is the kind of work GOV.UK lists as often needing approval. A competent-person installer can self-certify. This site does not file the notice.
Is every electrical job notifiable?
No. Approved Document P distinguishes notifiable work from minor work that must still be safe. If you cannot decide, ask a building-control body or a registered installer.
Does Part P apply in Scotland?
Scotland has its own building standards. Ask what certificate and what warrant the electrician will handle. Do not assume an English Part P notice exists.
Where do I find an electrician?
Open an electrical city list and use the phone number on the profile. Ask what certificate they leave.
Need an electrician’s number?
Open electrical, pick the city, and ask what certificate they will leave. This site does not notify building control.