Most homeowners have heard the phrase notifiable work at some point, usually from an electrician giving a quote or from a solicitor during a property transaction. But few people fully understand what it means in practice, who needs to be told, what the process involves, or what the consequences are of getting it wrong.
This guide explains all of it clearly. If you are planning electrical work on your property, commissioning a rewire, having an extension wired, or selling a property where electrical work has been done, understanding notifiable work is not optional.
What Is Building Control and Why Does It Exist?
Building Control is the function of local authorities that ensures building work carried out in England meets the minimum standards set by the Building Regulations 2010. These regulations cover a wide range of building activity: structural work, fire safety, energy efficiency, ventilation, drainage, accessibility, and, since 2005, electrical installations in dwellings.
The purpose of Building Control is to protect public safety and welfare by ensuring that buildings are constructed and modified to defined minimum standards. When work requires notification, it is because the relevant regulations have identified it as carrying a level of risk that warrants independent oversight or competent person certification before it is considered compliant.
Building Control is distinct from planning permission. Planning permission controls whether something can be built. Building Control governs how it must be built to meet safety and quality standards. You can have planning permission for an extension and still need Building Control approval for the electrical installation within it.
Local authority Building Control departments employ inspectors who can visit properties to verify that work is being carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations. They also have enforcement powers, including the ability to require the removal or alteration of work that does not comply.
What Is Part P of the Building Regulations?
Part P of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010 is the part that specifically addresses electrical safety in dwellings. Its core requirement is straightforward: reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining, or altering those installations from fire or injury.
Part P came into force in England on 1 January 2005. Before that date there was no statutory legal requirement for domestic electrical installation work to comply with any specific standard, although the industry standard BS 7671 was widely followed. The introduction of Part P changed that, placing a legal obligation on anyone carrying out fixed electrical installation work in dwellings to ensure it is done safely.
The IET, as the body that publishes BS 7671 and provides guidance on Part P, is clear that the relevant standard for demonstrating compliance with Part P is BS 7671:2018 Requirements for Electrical Installations, the 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations. Designing and installing to BS 7671, inspecting, testing, and certifying to that standard is the recognised route to demonstrating that Part P has been complied with.
Part P has been amended twice since its introduction. The version that came into effect on 6 April 2013 is the current version applying to work in England, and it significantly reduced the scope of work that is classified as notifiable compared to earlier versions. Notably, electrical work in kitchens and outdoor installations was notifiable under the original 2005 version but is no longer notifiable under the 2013 version, provided it does not involve a new circuit or work in a special location.
The Full Scope of Where Part P Applies
Understanding exactly where Part P applies is important, because the answer is broader than many people assume.
Part P applies primarily to electrical installations in dwellings, which includes houses, bungalows, maisonettes, and flats. But its reach extends beyond the main dwelling itself.
It also applies to electrical installations outside the dwelling but connected to the dwelling’s supply. This includes fixed lighting and other equipment attached to the outside walls of the house, photovoltaic panels, fixed lighting and pond pumps in gardens, and any electrical installation in outbuildings such as detached garages, sheds, and domestic greenhouses. The critical point is whether the installation shares its electricity supply with the dwelling. If it does, Part P applies regardless of whether the installation is physically inside or outside the main building.
It applies in the common parts of blocks of flats, including corridors, staircases, and shared amenities such as laundries, communal kitchens, and gymnasiums.
Importantly, it also applies to business premises connected to the same meter as a dwelling. This is the aspect that surprises many people. A shop with a flat above, where both the commercial and domestic parts of the building are supplied from the same meter, falls within the scope of Part P for both the dwelling and the business areas. A pub or restaurant in a building that includes residential accommodation on the same supply is in the same position. A home worker operating a business from a converted outbuilding or garage that is supplied from the domestic meter is also within scope.
The distinction is metering. If the business premises has its own separate meter, Part P does not apply to the business areas, though those areas remain subject to the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 regardless. If the business shares the domestic meter, Part P applies to both.
Part P does not apply to agricultural buildings, to business premises with entirely separate metering, or to the power supply for lifts in blocks of flats.
What Is Notifiable Work?
Notifiable work is work that must either be carried out and self-certified by a registered competent person, or notified to building control before it begins. Not all electrical work that falls within the scope of Part P is notifiable. The 2013 amendment significantly narrowed what requires notification.
Under the current rules, the following types of work are notifiable:
Installation of a new circuit from the consumer unit or distribution board. This is the most commonly encountered trigger for notification. Running a new circuit to supply an extension, a detached garage, a new outdoor socket, an EV charger, a new kitchen circuit, or any other new branch of the installation from the consumer unit is always notifiable. It does not matter how short the circuit is or how simple it appears. A new circuit is a new circuit.
Replacement or upgrade of a consumer unit. Replacing a fuse board or consumer unit with a modern unit is notifiable. It involves working directly at the heart of the electrical installation and requires certification and notification regardless of the size or type of property.
Any addition or alteration to an existing circuit in a special location. Special locations are defined as bathrooms and shower rooms (within the zones around the bath or shower), and rooms containing a swimming pool or sauna heater. Any electrical work carried out within a special location, not just new circuits but additions and alterations to existing circuits too, is notifiable. Simply changing an accessory such as a light fitting or switch in a bathroom does not itself constitute an alteration to the circuit for this purpose, but anything more substantial does.
Full or partial rewiring of a house or flat. A rewire involves the installation of new circuits throughout and is clearly notifiable.
Everything else, additions to existing circuits outside special locations, replacing switches and sockets like for like, replacing light fittings, maintenance and repair work, is not notifiable. Adding a spur to an existing ring main in a living room, adding a socket to an existing circuit in a kitchen (not a new circuit), or replacing a damaged socket are all non-notifiable. The work must still comply with BS 7671 and be done to the required standard, but no notification to building control is required.
Special Locations in Detail
The concept of special locations is central to understanding which additions and alterations trigger notification requirements.
Bathrooms and shower rooms are special locations because water, steam, wet skin, and earthed metalwork combine to create a significantly higher risk of electric shock than a dry domestic environment. BS 7671 Section 701 sets out detailed requirements for electrical installations in bathrooms, including zone definitions, IP ratings, RCD protection, and supplementary bonding requirements. Any addition or alteration to a circuit within a bathroom, not just new circuits but changes to existing wiring and equipment within the defined zones, is notifiable.
The zones in a bathroom are defined by proximity to the bath or shower. Zone 0 is inside the bath or shower basin. Zone 1 is above the bath or shower to a height of 2.25 metres from the floor. Zone 2 extends 0.6 metres horizontally from the edge of the bath or shower tray and up to 2.25 metres high. Outside the zones but still within the bathroom, any electrical work on circuits, not just accessories, is also notifiable as the whole room is considered a special location.
Rooms containing swimming pools or saunas are special locations because the combination of large volumes of water, high humidity, and elevated temperatures creates similar or greater risks. Section 702 of BS 7671 imposes some of the most restrictive electrical installation requirements of any domestic environment.
The Two Routes to Compliance for Notifiable Work
When work is notifiable, there are two routes available to achieve compliance.
Route 1: Use a registered competent person. An electrician registered with a government-approved competent person scheme is authorised to self-certify their own work. They design and install the work, carry out the required inspection and testing in accordance with BS 7671 and IET Guidance Note 3, issue the relevant electrical installation certificates, notify building control on your behalf within 30 days of completion, and provide you with a Building Regulations compliance certificate. You do not need to contact building control yourself. The registered electrician handles the notification as part of the job.
This is the route used for the overwhelming majority of notifiable domestic electrical work in England. It is straightforward, the cost of scheme membership is built into the electrician’s pricing, and the documentation produced provides a clean compliance record.
Route 2: Notify building control yourself. An unregistered person, whether a homeowner carrying out their own work or an electrician not registered with a competent person scheme, must notify building control before the notifiable work begins. Building control will assess the proposal, may inspect the work during and on completion, and will issue a completion certificate once satisfied. This route involves building control fees, typically in the range of several hundred pounds depending on the local authority and the scope of work, and requires at least one building control visit.
This route is rarely used for domestic electrical work because it is more expensive, more complex, and more time-consuming than simply using a registered electrician in the first place. It is worth knowing it exists, but it is not the practical choice for most people.
Competent Person Schemes: What They Are and How They Work
The government-approved competent person schemes for domestic electrical work in England are the mechanism by which registered electricians are authorised to self-certify notifiable work. The main schemes currently approved for electrical installation work are NAPIT, NICEIC, ELECSA, and STROMA.
Membership of a competent person scheme requires the electrician to demonstrate that they hold the relevant qualifications for the type of work they intend to self-certify, that they have appropriate public liability and professional indemnity insurance, and that they can demonstrate competence in the design, installation, inspection, testing, and certification of electrical installations to BS 7671. Scheme members are subject to ongoing assessment and monitoring, including periodic inspection of their work by the scheme body. Membership is not self-declared. It is assessed and maintained.
As a NAPIT-registered contractor, Flodman Electrical is authorised to self-certify and notify notifiable domestic electrical work on your behalf. When we complete notifiable work at your property, you receive an Electrical Installation Certificate confirming the work was designed, installed, inspected, and tested to BS 7671, and a Building Regulations compliance certificate confirming notification has been made to building control. Both documents should be kept safely, as they form part of the legal compliance record for your property.
You can verify whether any electrician is registered with a competent person scheme by searching the relevant scheme’s online register. If an electrician cannot be found on any scheme register, they are not authorised to self-certify notifiable work.
What Happens If Notifiable Work Is Not Notified?
Failure to comply with the Building Regulations is a criminal offence. This is not a mild administrative matter. Local authorities have the power to require the removal or alteration of work that does not comply with the regulations, regardless of how long ago it was done.
The most common practical consequence of unnoted electrical work is encountered at the point of property sale. Solicitors routinely ask for Part P certificates covering any notifiable electrical work carried out since 2005. If certificates cannot be produced, the buyer’s solicitor will raise the absence as a legal enquiry. The buyer may require evidence of compliance before exchange, or may seek a reduction in the agreed price to reflect the cost of regularising the work.
Regularisation is the formal process by which unnoted work can be retrospectively brought within the Building Regulations framework. It involves applying to building control, paying a regularisation fee, and having the work inspected. If the work is concealed within walls or ceilings, some opening up may be required. Building control must be satisfied that the work meets the required standard. If it does not, they may require remedial work to be carried out before issuing the certificate. The cost and disruption of regularisation is generally considerably greater than the cost of having used a registered electrician in the first place.
Home insurance is also relevant. Most home insurance policies require the property to be maintained in a legal and compliant condition. Electrical work carried out in breach of Building Regulations is not compliant. In the event of an electrical fire where unnoted work is identified as a contributing factor, an insurer may have grounds to challenge or reduce a claim.
Non-Notifiable Work Still Has to Be Done Properly
This point is important and widely misunderstood. Non-notifiable work does not mean unregulated work. It means work that does not require notification to building control. All electrical installation work, whether notifiable or not, must comply with BS 7671 and be installed, inspected, tested, and certified to the required standard.
The 2013 Approved Document P is explicit on this point: non-notifiable electrical installation work should be designed, installed, inspected, tested, and certificated in accordance with BS 7671 in exactly the same way as notifiable work. If local authorities find that non-notifiable work is unsafe and non-compliant, they can take enforcement action. The absence of a notification requirement does not mean the work is free from scrutiny or consequence.
Part P and Electrical Work in Commercial Premises
Part P does not apply to commercial or industrial premises as a general rule. Electrical work in shops, offices, factories, and other business premises is governed instead by the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which require that electrical systems are maintained in a safe condition.
However, as explained above, where business premises share their electrical supply with a dwelling, Part P applies to those business areas. A hairdresser operating from a property that uses the domestic meter, a bed and breakfast where the commercial and residential areas share a supply, a shop below a flat on the same meter, are all within the scope of Part P for the electrical installation in the business areas.
Business owners in mixed-use premises need to be aware that their electrical installation may fall under both Part P and the Electricity at Work Regulations simultaneously. This means both the Part P compliance route for notifiable work and the ongoing maintenance duties under the Electricity at Work Regulations apply. An EICR carried out by a qualified and NAPIT-registered electrician addresses both.
Why a Registered Electrician Matters Beyond the Paperwork
The documentation that comes with notifiable work carried out by a registered electrician is not just bureaucratic box-ticking. It is evidence that the work was designed, installed, inspected, tested, and certified to BS 7671 by someone whose competence has been independently assessed and monitored.
An electrician who has been tested in the design and installation of electrical systems, who understands the requirements of BS 7671, who uses properly calibrated test equipment and knows how to interpret the results, and who is accountable to a scheme body that can remove their registration if their work is found to be substandard, is a materially different proposition to someone who does not have those qualifications and oversight.
For landlords in particular, the documentation trail matters legally. Where a landlord cannot demonstrate that electrical work carried out at a rental property was notified and certified correctly, they face exposure in the event of a fire or injury and may find that their landlord insurance does not respond. The compliance record that a NAPIT-registered electrician produces is an asset, not an inconvenience.
Talk to Flodman Electrical About Notifiable Work
Flodman Electrical are NAPIT-approved electricians based in Farnborough, covering Hampshire, Surrey, and Berkshire. All notifiable electrical work we carry out is self-certified and notified to building control on your behalf as part of the job. You receive the correct documentation on completion and don’t need to involve building control yourself.
Contact Flodman Electrical to discuss your electrical project
Flodman Electrical Ltd, NAPIT Approved Contractor. Serving Farnborough, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire.
