What is Part P? Notifiable electrical work explained

Part P is the section of the Building Regulations (England & Wales) that covers electrical safety in dwellings. Certain electrical work is notifiable — it must either be done by an electrician registered with a Competent Person Scheme, or notified to building control before it starts.

What Part P actually requires

The rule itself is short: electrical installation work in a home must be designed and installed to protect people from fire and shock. The practical weight is in how compliance is proven for notifiable work — through certification and, where needed, building control sign-off.

What’s notifiable?

• A new circuit.
• A consumer unit replacement.
• Work in special locations — e.g. within a bathroom or shower room zone.

Most like-for-like repairs, replacing accessories, and adding to an existing circuit outside a special location are not notifiable — though they still have to comply with BS 7671 and should be certified appropriately (a Minor Works Certificate where relevant).

The two routes to compliance

Registered electrician: a member of a Competent Person Scheme (NICEIC, NAPIT and others) can self-certify notifiable work and notify building control on your behalf — you get a certificate and a compliance notice, no separate application needed.
Building control notification: if the person doing the work isn’t scheme-registered, the work must be notified to your local authority building control before it begins, and they inspect and sign it off.

Why it matters when you sell

Notifiable work done without certification can surface in a conveyancing search and hold up a sale. Keep the certificates for any electrical work — they’re the paperwork proof that the job was done properly and signed off. Part P is separate from an EICR: Part P governs new work, the EICR is a condition report on what’s already there.