What Electrical Work Can You Legally Do Yourself?

The Building Regulations in England and Wales do not restrict who may carry out electrical installation work, but the work must still meet them. Some jobs must be notified to local building control before they start. Because of the serious risks involved, Electrical Safety First advises that any electrical work should be left to competent professionals.

Why the rules matter before you start

Electricity is inherently dangerous, and poor wiring can lead to fatal shocks or severe house fires. This is why electrical work in homes is covered by the Building Regulations. When people ask if DIY electrical work is legal, they are usually trying to understand which jobs need formal notification. The rules exist to protect you, your family and future owners of your property.

In the UK, the national wiring standard is BS 7671, which is often called the Wiring Regulations. Electrical work must follow these standards. This is a heavy burden for someone who does not test and inspect electrical installations for a living.

Even if a job is not legally restricted, getting it wrong has serious consequences. Faulty wiring might not show signs of failure immediately, but it can degrade over time and cause a fire long after the work is finished. This is why Electrical Safety First advises that any electrical work should be left to competent professionals.

What Part P of the Building Regulations is

Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in dwellings in England and Wales. It sits alongside BS 7671, the wiring regulations, which electrical work must follow.

To help people understand how to comply with this law, the government publishes Approved Document P. This document gives practical guidance on meeting the electrical safety rules. For the rules that apply to a particular job, check with your local authority building control or ask a registered electrician.

Part P is not limited to large jobs such as a full rewire. The work still has to meet the regulations whether it is a small repair or the installation of a new consumer unit, which is also called a fuse box or fuse board. What differs is whether the job is classed as notifiable.

Which electrical jobs are notifiable

Notifiable work is a category of electrical work that is considered higher risk. These jobs must either be carried out by a registered electrician, who will issue you with a certificate on completion of the work, or they must be reported to the local authority building control before they begin. The rules on what counts as notifiable differ slightly depending on where you live, but the core list remains the same.

Installing a new consumer unit is a notifiable job. Installing a complete new circuit is also notifiable. This includes running a new ring circuit for sockets, a new lighting circuit, or a dedicated circuit for a cooker, shower or immersion heater. Alterations to existing circuits are only notifiable if they take place in special locations.

Many smaller tasks do not require you to inform building control. Most repairs, replacements and maintenance jobs are not notifiable. You also do not need to notify building control for alterations or additions to existing circuits, provided the work takes place outside of a special location.

This table shows which electrical jobs are classed as notifiable and not notifiable under the Building Regulations.

Special locations differ in England and Wales

The rules pay close attention to areas where the risk of electric shock is much higher. These are known as special locations. The rules treat spaces where water is present as higher risk. However, the definition of a special location depends on which nation you live in.

In England, special locations are specifically defined as the spaces around baths and showers. Adding a power or lighting point to an existing circuit in these spaces counts as notifiable work, so it must be notified before it starts or carried out by a registered electrician.

In Wales, special locations include kitchens and outdoors. This means that adding a power point to an existing circuit in a Welsh kitchen falls in a special location, whereas in England a kitchen is not itself a special location. Check the rules for your country with local authority building control, or use a registered electrician.

What the law says about who may do the work

The building regulations do not restrict who may carry out electrical installation work in England and Wales. However, if the job is notifiable, the law provides three distinct routes to ensure the work is safe and legal. The recommended route is to use a registered competent person. These electricians can self-certify their own work, meaning they confirm it complies with the regulations and no separate inspection is needed.

The second route applies if an unregistered installer, such as a homeowner or a general builder, carries out notifiable work. In this case, the building control body or a registered third-party certifier must be notified before work starts. The work must then be inspected, approved and certificated by a building control body, which could be your local authority or a private registered approver.

The third route is available in England only. Here, the work of an unregistered person is inspected and certificated by a registered third-party certifier, who must be notified before work starts. For notifiable work, notification must happen before the work starts.

What happens if work is not notified

Ignoring the rules around notifiable work can have serious consequences. If you press ahead with a notifiable job without using a registered electrician or informing building control beforehand, you may be failing to comply with the building regulations. The person doing the work could be prosecuted and fined for failing to comply with the building regulations.

If faulty work is found, the building control body could make you pay to fix it.

The consequences also extend to your property value and your ability to move house. Without the proper approval, you may lack the certificates of compliance you may need when you want to sell your home. Missing paperwork can cause problems when you sell.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules

It is vital to understand that building regulations are devolved, meaning the rules in England and Wales do not apply across the whole of the UK. Scotland operates a completely separate building standards system. In Scotland, local authorities act as verifiers and are responsible for granting permission for work to be done, which is known as a building warrant. They also administer and enforce the Scottish building standards system.

Under standard 4.5 of the Scottish building standards, every building must be designed and constructed so that the electrical installation does not threaten the health and safety of people in and around the building, or become a source of fire. The Scottish Government expects electrical installation work to be inspected and tested by people with sufficient technical knowledge, skills and experience. An approved certifier of construction can certify compliance with these standards.

Northern Ireland also has its own distinct set of building regulations. The official guidance used in England, Wales and Scotland does not set out the requirements for homes in Northern Ireland. If you live there and need to know which rules apply to your home, you should ask your local council building control department or hire a registered electrician to guide you. Never assume that English rules apply to your property if you live outside of England and Wales.

Why a registered electrician is the safer route

Even when a job is not legally classed as notifiable, tackling it yourself is a major risk. Official guidance describes notifiable work as requiring certification by a competent electrician, but safety advice goes much further. Doing any electrical work yourself is listed under things to avoid. The message to homeowners is clear that if you are not sure, do not do it.

Using a registered electrician provides peace of mind because they have the training to spot dangers you cannot see. Electricity is invisible, and a circuit that appears to work perfectly might actually lack vital earthing, putting anyone who touches an appliance at risk of a fatal shock. A registered professional carries out comprehensive testing with calibrated equipment to ensure every part of the installation is safe before they turn the power back on.

You do not need to get building control approval yourself if you use someone registered with a competent person scheme. For dwellings, the government-authorised scheme operators include the following.

• BESCA
• Blue Flame Certification
• Certsure
• NAPIT
• OFTEC

TopRatedElectricians.co.uk is a directory that lists local electricians to help you find one, but does not employ, vet or guarantee anyone. You should always check a tradesperson is registered directly with their scheme operator before you hire them.

Paperwork to expect and keep

When you hire a professional, the job should always end with the correct paperwork. For new work, such as a new circuit or a consumer unit replacement, your electrician will issue an Electrical Installation Certificate. For smaller jobs they will usually issue a Minor Works Certificate. These documents prove that the work was tested and meets the national wiring standards.

If the work was notifiable, you will receive an additional document called a Building Regulations compliance certificate. When you use a registered electrician, they deal with the notification through their scheme. You should keep both the electrical certificate and the compliance certificate in a safe place. You will need to hand them over when the property is sold.

If you are a landlord, the paperwork requirements are even stricter. Landlords have legal duties to have installations inspected at least every five years, with nation specific rules and substantial penalties in England. This results in an Electrical Installation Condition Report, or EICR. For owner-occupiers, having a periodic inspection is a recommendation, not a legal duty, but you can read more about electrical certificates and part p to understand exactly what you need.

How electricians price their work

When you decide to step away from doing the work yourself and hire a professional, it helps to understand how the trade charges. Small jobs and fault finding are usually charged by the hour. Electricians often apply a call-out fee or a minimum charge that covers the first hour of their time. Out-of-hours work, such as an emergency call-out late at night, carries a premium.

For defined jobs such as an EICR, a consumer unit replacement, a full rewire or installing an EV charger, you should expect a fixed price quote rather than an hourly rate. This price will be based on the size of your property, the number of circuits, how easy it is to access the wiring, and the specification of the parts used. Keep in mind that prices in London and the South East cost noticeably more than in other parts of the UK.

Always check what is included before you agree to proceed. A proper fixed price quote should clearly list the following points.

• The total cost including VAT
• All materials and parts required
• The cost of final testing and certification
• Making good any damaged plaster and decoration

A quote is a fixed price, whereas an estimate is not.

Your rights when hiring an electrician

If you hire a registered electrician, you are protected by consumer law if things go wrong. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, any service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill. If the electrical work is substandard or dangerous, the customer can legally ask for poor work to be put right at no extra cost.

You also have protections regarding how the contract is agreed. Services arranged at home, by phone or online usually carry a 14-day cooling-off period. However, this does not automatically apply to urgent repairs the customer has asked for, such as fixing a dangerous fault that has left you without power.

If you are unhappy with the service, you should first complain directly to the electrician. If they are registered with a competent person scheme, you can also raise the complaint with their scheme operator. For specific advice on your own situation, you should point your questions to Citizens Advice.

Common questions

Can I change a light switch or plug socket myself?

Most repairs, replacements and maintenance jobs are not notifiable under the Building Regulations, but the work must still meet the wiring regulations. Electrical Safety First advises that any electrical work should be left to competent professionals, so use a registered electrician even for small jobs.

Do I need a certificate for changing a light fitting?

Most repairs, replacements and maintenance jobs are not notifiable, so a Building Regulations compliance certificate is generally not needed for them. Whether a particular job is notifiable depends on the work and where it is, so check with local authority building control or ask a registered electrician. Leave the work itself to a registered electrician.

Can I run a new cable and get an electrician to connect it?

Do not run cable yourself. Notifiable work must be certified by a competent electrician, so speak to a registered electrician before any work starts, since they may not be willing to certify work they did not carry out.

What should I do if I find unsafe DIY wiring?

If you spot damaged equipment or suspect that previous electrical work is dangerous, keep away from it. Do not attempt to remove covers, open a consumer unit or touch any wiring yourself. Call 999 for a fire or serious electric shock. Otherwise, your next step should always be to hire a registered electrician to inspect the installation safely.

Does home insurance cover bad electrical work?

Policies differ, so check the wording of yours and ask your insurer what it expects. You can check how policies handle home insurance and electrical faults for more detail.

Next steps before you hire

Working out whether you need a professional is the first step toward a safe and successful project. If you are planning an upgrade or suspect a fault, follow these steps.

• Ask a registered electrician or your local authority building control whether the work you want done is notifiable or sits in a special location.
• Contact your local authority building control if you are unsure about the specific rules in your area.
• Look for an electrician registered with a government-authorised competent person scheme.
• Check their registration status directly on the scheme operator website.
• Ask for a fixed price quote that includes materials, VAT, certification and making good.
• Ask exactly what paperwork you will receive when the job is finished.

Hiring a registered professional keeps you on the right side of the law and ensures your home remains safe for years to come. They handle the testing, the certification and the building control notifications so you do not have to. When you are ready to get quotes for your project, you can find an electrician near you to discuss the work and arrange a safe installation.