Strange, but true: in the UK you do not need to be a fully qualified electrician to work on electrical installations in domestic properties. Electrical installation work on domestic properties in England and Wales is covered by Approved Document-Part P of the Building Regulations.
However if you are planning to do domestic electrical installation work, Electacourse strongly advise you to make contact with a qualified electrical contractor. You can find a contractor by taking this link: Electrical Installers – England and Wales. Scotland and N.Ireland don’t have single web pages to find electricians.
Part P is the section of the Building Regulations of England (not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) which relates to the design, installation, inspection, testing and certification of electrical work associated with dwellings (domestic properties) operating at low or extra low voltage (below 230V).
How is Part P administered?
Approved Document P requires that certain domestic electrical installation works need to be notified to the Local Authority Building Control. See the sample chapter from Electacourse Part P Course for a list of notifiable work.
Notification to Building Control of electrical work undertaken by a contractor or by the householder themselves, applying directly to their local authority. This can be a time consuming and costly process both for the householder and the contractor. It is not commercially viable for an electrical contractor to operate in this way.
An electrical contractor would aim to join a scheme which will notify the authorities on the householder’s behalf. These schemes are known as self-certification schemes. Access to these schemes are limited to firms, contractors and individuals who can demonstrate skills, experience and competency in domestic electrical installation.
Self-certification Scheme providers
The Government has approved electrical self-certification schemes to be operated by:
additionally
APHC (Plumbing and Heating Contractors) can certify electrical work only as an adjunct to or in connection with the primary activity of plumbing, heating etc.
Self-Certification Assessment
All of the self-certification scheme providers have different requirements, processes, methods and costs of assessment. You can take the links from the bullets above to each of the providers’ websites. They all share a common approach.
Assessment Day – Office review
On assessment day, the assessor will visit your office and examine your business documents and process
You may expect the assessor to review:
Qualifications
It is necessary to check with each scheme provider which qualifications they require; each scheme provider has different requirements. A minimum requirement for some providers can be 17th Edition City & Guilds 2382-15 (see Electacourse 17th Edition Course), it may also be required that Part P Assessment candidates can demonstrate qualifications as well as experience in inspection and testing.
Documentation
You will need to have the most recent version of Building Regulations, not just Part P, but all other approved documents which apply to electrical installations. You will also need to have:
- [amazon_textlink asin=’1849197695′ text=’Requirements for Electrical Installations, IET Wiring Regulations, BS 7671:2008+A3:2015′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’electacourse-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’b95d9cd5-06fa-11e7-babb-3b193d8ebe34′]
- [amazon_textlink asin=’184919887X’ text=’On-Site Guide (BS 7671:2008+A3:2015)’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’electacourse-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’cfa46f37-06fa-11e7-a746-4f8c251c74e5′]
- Health and Safety at Work Act Documentation
- Risk Assessment Policy and completed documents
- Complaints Procedure
- Details of completed and outstanding works
- Completed Domestic Electrical Installation Certificates
Equipment
- Working test equipment – and a demonstration of your ability to use them
- Up to date maintenance and calibration reports
Insurance
Evidence of public liability insurance for a minimum £2M.