As you may or may not be aware, since January 1st 2005, all electrical work in dwelling's and similar premises became a part of the building regulations, Part P - Electrical Safety to be precise (part p does not apply to scotland), this means there's now a legal requirement that domestic electrical work complies with the building regulations, compliance with part-p can be achieved in two ways, for DIY work that is notifiable (see below), you can either have the work done by a registered electrician (see below) or the local  authority  building  control (LABC) must be notified so they can come and inspect the electrical work.

Almost all Electrical work DIY or otherwise is notifiable except for

•      Replacing any electrical fitting including socket-outlets, control switches and ceiling roses which does not include the provision of new fixed cabling
•      Replacing the cable for a single circuit only, where damaged, for example, by fire, rodent or impact
•      Re-fixing or replacing the enclosures of existing installation components
•      Providing mechanical protection to existing fixed installations
•      Installing or upgrading main or supplementary equipotential bonding

And except for the following minor work that does not involve or take place in a kitchen or special location and does not involve a special installation

•      Adding lighting points (light fittings and switches) to an existing circuit
•      Adding socket-outlets and fused spurs to an existing ring or radial circuit

Any of these works that are in a kitchen or special location or involve a special installation must be notified along with any other works not listed to the local authority building control (LABC)

Special locations are
•      Locations containing a bath tub or shower basin
•      Swimming pools or paddling pools
•      Hot air saunas
Conservatories, garages (attached or not) and garden sheds are not special locations.

Special installations are
•      Electric floor or ceiling heating systems
•      Garden lighting or power installations
•      Solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply systems
•      Small scale generators such as microCHP units
•      Extra-low voltage lighting installations, other than pre-assembled, CE-marked lighting sets

You don’t have to notify the following
•      Replacement, repair or maintenance jobs, even if in a kitchen or special location
•      The installation of equipment attached to an outside wall, provided there are no exposed outdoor connections
•      Fitting and replacing cookers (provided no new circuit is needed)
•      Fitting and replacing electric showers (provided no new circuit is needed)

Any notifiable electrical work that is not conducted by a registered electrician, may be done by a DIY'r, so long as all the work complies with the requirements of part-p (see approved document P), and the local authority building control (LABC) are informed before work commences, so they can inspect the work at various stages, to ensure the work is in compliance.



Registered Electrician's will be in an approved self-certification scheme, run by one of the following organizations:

BRE Certification 0870 043 4383
BSI Product Services 01442 278607
ELECSA 020 7864 9913

National Association of Professional Inspectors & Testers 0870 4441392
National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting 0800 0139000

Important Document's

Approved Document Part-P - Opens as a PDF which you can print or save. PLEASE wait patiently for it to open, can take some time!
Statutory Document (Law), Free to view

If you have any questions about Part P or any other electrical questions, then please feel free to ask your questions by making a new topic - We're here to help!

Special thanks goes to Stoday for his help in providing up to date information on the amended Part-P.